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ChoiceTrade review 2010: very cheap brokerage with very few fees
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ChoiceTrade Commissions and Investment Products Offered
- Stocks and ETFs: $5
- Options: $5 plus $0.55 per contract
- Direct Access trading: $0.005 per share, $1 minimum per trade
- Mutual funds: $25 per trade
- Investment products: stocks, options, mutual funds, ETFs
- Minimum to open account: $0 for cash account, 2,000 for margin account
- All Choicetrade fees
It takes 10 minutes to complete individual account registration at ChoiceTrade -- the forms are short and very
well designed. The firm found an ingenious way to get a customer signature -- they provide a little box where one
can draw their signature with a mouse!
The application was approved in 15 minutes (during work hours, possibly longer on weekends and evenings),
after which the company emailed us user name and password (both are changeable in Settings).
At this point we were ready to use all the features and fund the account. We opened account with $0.
ChoiceTrade.com Trading Tools Review
ChoiceTrade provides two choices for trading: website-based and stand-alone, professional,
advanced trading platform developed for day-traders. Both platforms are well-designed and provide just about everything
you need as well as lots of advanced features most investors will never use.
ChoiceTrade created an Investor Community where clients connect with like-minded traders and investors, share
portfolios, and participate in ChoiceTrade-sponsored events. The Investor Community allows customers to create
a personal profile, meet and communicate with other members, form investment clubs, read and create blogs, and more.
- Very low commissions and fees
- No account minimum or inactivity fees
- No extra charges for large-sized orders or stocks below $1
- Direct access trading with lowest commissions
- Free paper/virtual trading
- Investor community
- Very good customer service
- Powerful trading tools
- High mutual fund commissions
- Extended hours stock trades $0.005 per share surcharge
ChoiceTrade Review Summary
ChoiceTrade is one of the cheapest firms in the industry: $5 stock and ETF commissions and $5 plus $0.55 per contract
options commissions. Unlike many other
online brokerage companies,
there is no surcharge for large orders or penny stocks. There is, however, additional $.005 per share commission on
extended hours stock trading. ChoiceTrade does not have account maintenance and inactivity fees.
Barron's awarded ChoiceTrade brokerage a 4-star rating for five years in a row.
In 2009, it got top scores in Trade Experience, Trading Technology, Usability and Research Amenities.
Do not open ChoiceTrade account if you plan to invest primarily in mutual funds. There are better brokers
for mutual funds, such as
like Optionsxpress or
Optionshouse.
Since there is no IRA setup and annual IRA fees, ChoiceTrade is a great company for a retirement account.
The firm is friendly to beginner investors and offers helpful online trader community. It is also one of our
Recommended Brokerage Firms in 2010.
Barron's magazine rated ChoiceTrade at the top in Best For Frequent Traders and
Best For International Traders categories in 2010.
Clients could open an account with
ChoiceTrade
 with no money down,
and try their virtual trading and other services with no obligation (non-IRA accounts have no account closing fee).
Since account could be opened with $0, it's one of the best online brokerage firms
for low initial investment.
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