Top 5 brokerage companies in 2012. Best and highest rated online stock broker firms for individual investors.


	OptionsHouse Commissions and Investment Products Stocks and ETFs: $3.95 Stocks and ETFs Broker assisted: $3.95 Two plans for options: 1. Up to five contracts for $5; each additional contract $1 2. $8.50 + 0.15/contract (great if trading over 10 contracts) Two plans for spreads: 1. Up to 10 contracts for $10; each additional contract $1 2. $12.50 + 0.15/contract 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 Minimum to open Optionshouse account: $1,000 for cash account, $2,000 for margin account All Optionshouse fees OptionsHouse Advantages Lowest commissions Free streaming quotes 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 accounts No volume requirements, maintenance and inactivity fees Free check-writing privileges Free DRIPs (complete shares only) No surcharges for large orders and extended hours trading Very low margin rates Free virtual trading OptionsHouse Disadvantages For stocks priced $2 or less that are not options eligible, add $0.005 per share for the entire order Shortened extended hours trading: 8:00 am - 9:30 am and 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm EST International investors are not accepted Read OptionsHouse Review Optionshouse Review

	Scottrade Commissions and Investment Products 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 Scottrade Advantages 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) Scottrade Disadvantages Additional 0.5% of the principal value commission for stocks under $1 No electronic withdrawals (but can use debit card or checks) Read Scottrade Review Scottrade Review

	TradeKing Commissions and Investment Products Stocks and ETFs: $4.95 (for stocks/etfs priced over $1) Options: $4.95 plus $0.65 per contract (for up to 8 contracts) OR $8.95 plus $0.15 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 TradeKing Advantages 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 TradeKing Disadvantages Additional $0.01 per share on the entire order of stocks priced less than $1 $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 TradeKing Review TradeKing Review

	OptionsXpress Commissions and Investment Products 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 OptionsXpress Advantages 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 OptionsXpress Disadvantages Higher than average commissions on stocks and ETFs Read OptionsXpress Review OptionsXpress Review

	tradeMONSTER Commissions and Investment Products 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 tradeMONSTER Advantages Best margin rates Selling mutual funds is free No inactivity, account maintenance or hidden fees No-fee IRAs Free trading simulator (virtual trading) Lots of learning materials for beginner investors, including webinars Very good customer service tradeMONSTER Disadvantages 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 could be a bit hard to master for beginners Read tradeMONSTER Review tradeMONSTER Review

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Top 5 brokerage companies in 2012. Best and highest rated online stock broker firms for individual investors.