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Merrill Edge vs TradeMonster
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TradeMonster vs Merrill Edge: Commissions and Investments 2012
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- Stocks and ETFs: $7.50
- Stocks and ETFs broker assisted: $22.50
- Options: $0.50 per contract (minimum $12.50 for single leg orders and $15 minimim per spread for multi-leg orders)
- Futures: $1.50 per contract
- Options on Futures: $1.50 per contract (excluding exchange fees, NFA fees, overnight and platform fees as applicable)
- Mutual Funds: $15 to buy, $0 to sell
- Bonds: $15 (Municipal, Corporate, Agency, Treasury)
- Investments: stocks, options, mutual funds, bonds, ETFs
- Minimum to open TradeMonster account: $2,000
- All TradeMonster fees
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- Stocks and ETFs: $6.95
- Stocks and ETFs Agent assisted: $44.95; Automated phone trades telephone system: $32.50
- Options: $6.95 + $0.75 per contract
- No Load, Transaction Fee Funds (TF) Mutual Funds: $39.95 per transaction
- Merrill Edge Self-Directed Mutual Funds: 0.75% gross proceeds, $50 minimum, $250 maximum
- Investment products: stocks, bonds, mutual funds, options, ETFs, Bills, Notes, Bonds. Agency: Discount, Notes, Bonds. Zero Coupon Bonds: Corporate, Government, Agency
Municipal Bonds, Corporate Bonds, Brokered Certificates of Deposit
- Minimum to open Merrill Edge account: $0
- All Merrill Edge fees
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- Very good margin rates
- Selling mutual funds is free
- No inactivity, account maintenance or hidden fees
- No-fee IRAs
- Free trading simulator (virtual trading)
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- Free trades if meeting certain conditions
- Free checking account
- Great research tools
- Free DRIPs (have to call to get it)
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- Additional 1.5 cents per share surcharge on extended hours trades
- Additional $0.0005 per share on the entire order for any stocks priced less than $1
- Trading tools are not intuitive and could be hard to master
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- High margin rates
- Limited, badly designed trading tools and charts
- Terrible executions
- Account balance discrepancies
- Technical issues
- Customer service complaints
- Mutual funds Self-Directed Short-Term Redemption fee if held less than 90 days: 0.75% gross proceeds, $50 minimum, $250 maximum
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TradeMonster vs Merrill Edge: Comparison Summary
Trademonster (Trademonster Review)
is very similarly priced online broker as
Merrill Edge (formerly known as Merrill Lynch/BOfA/Bank of America brokerage) (Merrill Edge Review):
$7.50 for a stock and ETF trade versus $7 for the same trade at Merrill Edge.
Both brokerage firms don't have large order surcharges.
Trademonster offers excellent trading experience and powerful trading tools. Barron’s magazine gave the company 4.5 stars
(out of 5) on their Trading Platform, Usability, Research and Educational Resources, Portfolio Analysis and Reporting Tools.
Trademonster doesn't have IRA annual and setup fees and the company a good choice for a retirement
account even though it was not included in our
Best IRA Accounts list.
Out of these two discount online brokerage firms we strongly recommend Trademonster to all investors.
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