|
Scottrade review 2010: high customer satisfaction rating and no fees
|
Scottrade Commissions and Investment Products Offered (2010)
- Stocks and ETFs: $7
- Options: $7 plus $1.25 per contract
- Mutual Funds: 2,800+ for free, $17 for all others
- Investment products: stocks, options, mutual funds, CDs, munis, Canadian stocks, ETFs
- Minimum to open account: $500
- All Scottrade fees
Scottrade offers flat rate $7 trading commission for stocks over $1. But what we really like are over 2,800
no transaction (free) mutual funds, which allows mutual fund investors invest for free.
Scottrade made the account opening process easy and painless. Their Money Direct feature allows customers to
instantly transfer cash from their checking account. Minimum to open account is a reasonable $500.
Scottrade boasts award-winning trading tools. Customers could trade from the website as well
as from fully customizable, stand-alone application called ScottradeELITE. ScottradeELITE is an advanced, professional
trading platform for active traders with an account balance of at least $25K. Clients could also trade
from their hand-held devices using Scottrade Mobile Trading Site.
- No inactivity, account maintenance or hidden fees
- No-fee IRAs
- Highest customer satisfaction according to JD Power and Associates
- 450+ local branches
- Great support for beginner investors with massive amount of educational resources
- Margin rates are among lowest of national online brokers
- Online community
- No ACAT fee
- Only $500 minimum to open account
- Additional 0.5% of the principal value commission for stocks under $1
Scottrade Review Summary
Scottrade is one of the veterans of the discount stock trading -- a solid, well-established company that
has been around for over 30 years. The firm has $7 flat rate commissions (with exception for penny stocks).
We ranked Scottrade #1 among Top Brokerage Firms in 2010.
Scottrade keeps customers happy by avoiding unnecessary fees for things like IRAs,
large orders, after-hours trading, account maintenance or inactivity.
It's also one of only two firms that does not charge account closing and transfer (ACAT) fee. Scottrade
is a leader in customer service and investor satisfaction according to JD Power and Associates.
Scottrade is an excellent choice for beginners, those who invest in mutual funds, and
long-term "buy and hold" investors (mainly because of no account inactivity charges).
No-fee IRAs make the company one of the
Top IRA Brokerages.
Because Scottrade is a stable, seasoned brokerage firm with a good reputation, it is
the natural choice for people who don't trust their money with newer companies but
also don't want to pay $10+ for trades (and multiple fees!) with other established brokers.
|
|