Best Brokerage Firms | Top Online Stock Broker Houses In 2010

best brokerage firms

EZTrader.com


	Best discount brokerage firms and top online stock brokers in 2010 It is important to find an online broker that offers the lowest commissions without sacrificing customer service. We compare the best brokerage firms and hope the broker ratings below help you select the right company for you.


	Scottrade Commissions and Investment Products $7 per stock trade Options: $7 plus $1.25 per contract Mutual Funds: 2,800+ free. $17 for all other mutual funds Investment products: stocks, options, mutual funds, CDs, munis, Canadian stocks, ETFs Scottrade Advantages No inactivity or account maintenance fees No-fee IRAs Highest customer satisfaction according to JD Power and Associates 400+ local branches Great support for beginner investors Margin rates are among lowest of national online brokers Online community No ACAT fee Only $500 minimum to open account Scottrade Disadvantages Extra ½% of the principal value commission for stocks under $1 No dividend reinvestment Bottom Line Scottrade has been around for over 30 years and is one of the Blue Chips of online stock brokers: a big, stable and established company. Scottrade is a leader in customer satisfaction surveys and does not charge any "deal-breaking fees," like IRA account fees, maintenance or inactivity fees. Because Scottrade has over 2,800 free, no-load, no-transaction fee (NTF program) mutual funds, we strongly recommend it to anyone investing in mutual funds. If you don't feel comfortable putting your money in a newer brokerage firm but don't want to pay huge commissions with another brand name broker, then Scottrade is a perfect choice for you. Full review: Scottrade Review. Click Below To Check For Current Promotion: Scottrade

	TradeKing Commissions and Investment Products $4.95 per stock trade (for stocks over $1) Options: $4.95 plus $0.65 per contract Mutual Funds: $14.95 Bonds: $4.95/bond ($14.95 minimum) Treasuries: $24.95 per transaction Certificates of Deposit (CDs): $24.95 per transaction Investments: stocks, options, mutual funds, bonds, ETFs TradeKing Advantages One of the best in trading commissions No minimums or hidden fees Award-winning trading tools Best customer service Low margin rates Great community to watch and interact TradeKing Disadvantages Extra $0.01 per share on the entire order of stocks priced less than $1 Bottom Line TradeKing holds second position in our "Best Brokerage Firms" rating (it was our Best Brokerage in 2009) due to its great trading platform, low commissions, and lack of minimums and hidden fees. Leading investing and personal finance magazines rated TradeKing #1 Discount Brokerage House in various categories in 2006-2009, including customer service and trading tools. TradeKing is the best choice for beginner investors, since they could place broker assisted trades for the low price of $4.95 and get investment advice and learn from the TradeKing's trader community. Full review: TradeKing Review. Click Below To Check For Current Promotion:

	OptionsHouse Commissions and Investment Products $2.95 per stock trade Two plans for options: 1. Up to five contracts for $5. Each additional contract $1 2. $8.50 + 0.15/contract rate (great if you trade over 10 contracts) Mutual Funds: $9.95 Orders for U.S. treasury bonds and listed corporate bonds are accepted by phone Investments: stocks, options, mutual funds, bonds, ETFs OptionsHouse Advantages Lowest stock commissions in the industry Efficient trading tools No account minimums. Minimum initial funding size is $1,000 for a cash account and $2,000 for a margin account No fee IRA account No volume requirements and inactivity fees Free check-writing privileges No surcharges for large orders, penny stocks and extended hours trading OptionsHouse Disadvantages Might not be the best for beginner investors Bottom Line OptionsHouse ranked third in "Best Brokerage Firms"; the firm offers robust traiding tools with fast execution. OptionsHouse has no minimums or maintenance fees - and its stock commission is just 2.95! Its stock commission is just $2.95! OptionsHouse has no minimums or maintenance fees. The firm offers robust trading tools with fast execution. In a 2009 investor survey, OptionsHouse got 4.5 stars (out of 5) and was named #1 in "Trade Experience." The firm is a great choice for people looking for the lowest trading costs. Full review: Optionshouse Review. Click Below To Check For Current Promotion: OptionsHouse

	tradeMONSTER Commissions and Investment Products $7.50 per stock trade Options: $0.50 per contract, minimum $12.50 for single leg orders and $7.50/leg for multi-leg orders Mutual Funds: $15 to buy, $0 to sell Bonds: $15 Investments: stocks, options, mutual funds, bonds, ETFs tradeMONSTER Advantages Free to sell mutual funds. No-fee IRAs. Very good trading tools. No inactivity charges. No hidden fees. Paper trading (practice trading). Learning materials for beginner investors. tradeMONSTER Disadvantages $2,000 minimum to open cash account. Extra $0.015/share for extended hours trading. Bottom Line tradeMONSTER offers a great trading platform and a very good price for mutual fund investing. The firm rated 4.5 stars (out of 5) on their Trading Platform, Usability, Research and Educational Resources, Portfolio Analysis and Reporting Tools. tradeMONSTER offers the ability to practice trading stocks or options with virtual money. Our favorite tradeMONSTER tool is Exit Plan, where you create exit strategies for your trades by focusing on profit targets and by monitoring your stop-loss and exit points. This is big! TradeMONSTER is a great choice for people investing in mutual funds, beginner investors or, since there are no IRA fees, for an IRA account. Full review: tradeMONSTER Review. Click Below To Check For Current Promotion: tradeMONSTER™



	OptionsXpress Commissions and Investment Products $9.95 per stock trade, if over 8 trades in a quarter $14.95 per stock trade, if 0-8 trades in a quarter Options: 0-34 trades/quarter $14.95 (for one contract), $14.95 (for five contracts), $15 (for 10 contracts), $30 (for 20 contracts) Mutual Funds: $14.95 Investments: stocks, options, mutual funds, ETFs OptionsXpress Advantages Best customer service Many well-designed trading tools No hidden fees Free IRAs Great research Free real-time and streaming quotes Virtual trading $0 to open cash account Free account transfers Free instructor lead online classes No extra charges for broker-assistance on trades OptionsXpress Disadvantages High trading costs for stocks and options Bottom Line optionsXpress offers fantastic customer service and a top-notch trading platform. A major investor survey rated the firm one of the best in Trade Experience, Technical Trading Tools, Usability, Research and Customer Service Access. But trading stocks and options are not cheap. Beginning investors could take advantage of free instructor-lead online classes. Since there is no extra charge for broker-assisted trades, they can also call brokers and place trades through customer support (Barron's rated optionsXpress #1 Easiest To Use). If you are looking for the best service and don't mind paying a bit more in stock commissions, then optionsXpress is the way to go. Because mutual fund commission is a reasonable $14.95 and there are no IRA fees, optionsXpress is a good option for mutual fund investors and for IRA accounts. You could open new account with no commitment and see if you like it as much as we do. Full review: OptionsXpress Review. Click Below To Check For Current Promotion: optionsXpress

	Zecco Commissions and Investment Products 10 free stock trades/month with $25K min. account balance OR if you make 25 trades/month $4.50 per stock trade (if not meeting above requirements) Options: $4.50 plus $0.50 per contract Mutual Funds: $10 Bonds: $4.50 per bond, with $22.50 minimum per transaction Treasury: $24.50 per transaction Investments: stocks, mutual funds, options, Forex, Bonds, Treasury bonds, ETFs Zecco Advantages Free/low commissions. No hidden fees. Virtual trading environment. Forex trading. Free dividend reinvestment. Great investing community. Minimum to open account: $0. Zecco Disadvantages Annual IRA Fee: $30. Bottom Line Zecco offers 10 free trades each month! You have to have $25K account balance to get them or make 25 trades a month. No other stock broker offers this kind of deal. The simulated trading platform gives you an ability to test and adjust your trading skills without risking your money. Unlike most other stock brokers, Zecco also offers trading in Forex market. No account minimum, no inactivity fees and free dividend reinvestment are very nice, too. Zecco is the cheapest brokerage house if you have $25K account balance and make up to 20 stock trades a month. Full review: Zecco Review. Click Below To Check For Current Promotion: Zecco

Covestor Investment Management

Share |

Stock broker promotions:

Get $100 when you open up a new optionsXpress account: promotion link inside.
Get 100 Commission-Free Trades at OptionsHouse.com.
Switch to TradeKing and get up to $150 in transfer fees reimbursed. Promotion link in TradeKing Review.

Copyright ©2009-2010 Brokerage-Review.com. All rights reserved.