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Best Brokerage Accounts in 2012. Open Brokerage Account.
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- Stocks and ETFs: $7
- Stocks and ETFs broker assisted: $27
- Stocks and ETFs interactive voice response (IVR) telephone system: $17
- Options: $7 plus $1.25 per contract
- Mutual Funds: 2,800+ free mutual funds, $17 for others
- CDs, OTC Secondary Corporates, OTC Secondary Municipals, U.S. Treasury Bills, Notes, Bonds and STRIPS, New Corporate Offerings: subject to a markup or markdown
- Listed Corporate Bonds: $35 fee plus $3 per bond (minimum investment $1,000)
- Unit Investment Trusts (UIT): $50 liquidation fee
- Foreign Stocks Transferring In or Out: $60 per transaction
- Investment products: stocks, options, mutual funds, CDs, munis, U.S. Treasury, Canadian and foreign stocks, ETFs
- Minimum to open Scottrade account: $500 for a cash account, $2,000 for a margin account
- All Scottrade fees
- No inactivity, account maintenance or hidden fees
- No-fee IRAs
- One of the highest customer satisfaction ratings according to JD Power and Associates
- 500+ local branches
- Great support for beginner investors with massive amount of educational resources
- Online user community
- Banking services: savings, CDs, money market and checking accounts (visa check card and first order of checks is free)
- No ACAT fee
- Only $500 minimum to open account
- Free real-time streaming quotes and charts
- Free dividend reinvestment for mutual funds (but not for stocks)
- Additional 0.5% of the principal value commission for stocks under $1
- No electronic withdrawals (but can use debit card or checks)
Read Review and Open Brokerage Account
Scottrade Review
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- Stocks and ETFs: $4.95 (for stocks/etfs priced over $2)
- Options: $4.95 plus $0.65 per contract (for up to 8 contracts) OR $4.95 plus $0.65 per contract (for over 8 contracts)
- Short options valued at 5 cents or less, can be bought to close these positions for no charge (commission free)
- Multiple legs will only be charged one base price of either $4.95 or $8.95, depending on how many total contracts are involved
- Mutual Funds: $9.95
- Bonds: $4.95 per bond ($14.95 minimum)
- Treasuries: $24.95 per transaction
- Certificates of Deposit (CDs): $24.95 per transaction
- Investments: stocks, options, mutual funds, bonds, CDs, treasuries, ETFs
- Minimum to open TradeKing account: $0
- All TradeKing fees
- Great commissions
- No minimums, maintenance or hidden fees
- Free real time quotes
- Award-winning trading tools
- Best rated customer service
- Low margin rates
- Best online investor community
- Fee-free IRAs
- Extensive educational resources
- Additional $0.01 per share on the entire order of stocks priced less than $2
- $50 annual inactivity fee if BOTH apply to an account(s):
- Combined account value of the household account(s) is less than $2,500
- No commission-charged trades have been executed in the account(s) during the last 12 months
Read Review and Open Brokerage Account
TradeKing Review
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- Stocks and ETFs: $8.95
- Options (active traders): $12.95 for up to 10 contracts, $1.25/contract for over 10 contracts
- Options (non-active traders): $14.95 for up to 10 contracts, $1.50/contract for over 10 contracts
- Mutual Funds: $9.95
- Bonds: $5 per bond, $9.95 minimum
- Futures: 1-40 contracts $6.99; 41-100 contracts $5.99; 101-300 contracts $4.99; 301-1,000 contracts $3.99; 1,001 + contracts $2.99
- Options on Futures: 1-40 contracts $12.99; 41-100 contracts $8.99; 101-300 contracts $7.99; 301-1,000 contracts $6.99; 1,001 + contracts $5.99
- Covered Calls: $22.90 up to 10 contracts
- Penny Options: 1-10 contracts $4.95 flat; 10 + $0.50/contract
- Spreads, Straddles & Combos: 2-10 contracts - $12.95 Flat (active traders) $14.95 Flat (non-active traders); 10 + contracts - $1.25/contract (active traders); $1.50/contract (non-active traders)
- Investments: stocks, options, mutual funds, bonds, futures, options on futures, covered calls, ETFs
- Minimum to open OptionXpress account: $0 for cash account, $2,000 for margin account
- All OptionXpress fees
- Best customer service
- Many well-designed trading tools and cutting-edge trading technology
- Free streaming quotes
- $100 bonus for opening new account
- No fee IRA accounts
- Great research
- Free paper trading
- No money down to open new account
- Free account transfers
- Free instructor lead online classes
- Free broker-assisted trading
- Free dividend reinvestment (contact customer service)
- No platform fees
- Higher than average commissions on stocks and ETFs
Read Review and Open Brokerage Account
OptionsXpress Review
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