Best Trading Website?

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Gohabsgo_IHB

Gohabsgo_IHB

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Hi, I would like to know which trading website you are recommending? I've seen the ads in Yahoo finance for E*Trade, TradeKing, TDAmeritrade, ... Which one would have the best tools, best fees, and anything else I should be loking for? I guess, I should try to avoid institutions that might go bankrupt. I know my bank money is FDIC insured, but would my stock investment be protected as well?

Thanks for the help!
 
brokerage accounts are not fdic insured for the most part. if you have 25k in total assets with bofa, you get free online trades on your brokerage acct.
 
I'm with Wells, and they offer something very similar. However, they don't have very much analytic or research tools.

So if I decide to go with E*Trade and they go bankrupt, I would lose my stocks? That seems odd...the stocks would be mine when I buy them, not a property of E*Trade, so I would think I would still own them if E*Trade goes down? Just want to make sure before I make a bad decision.
 
True, acpme, brokerage accounts are not typicaly FDIC insured. That statement is misleading as most brokerages are insured by SIPC - http://www.sipc.org/ up to a value of $500K per customer.

Roo - Most brokerages are around the same. Go for low commissions. I have accounts at ETrade and TDAmeritrade and I tend to prefer ETrade a little bit. More and better information at ETrade. Use a broker that is an SIPC member so you have the insurance benefit.

Check this out too:

http://www.moneybluebook.com/is-my-money-or-broker-account-safe-if-e-trade-fails-and-goes-bankrupt/
 
I have an account with TradeKing. At $5.95 /trade, you can't go wrong with them for low costs and ease of use. Already a BofA customer, I am considering putting $25k in their CDs to take advantage of free trades.

ipoplaya's link basically breaks it down regarding E-Trade:

" For Brokerage Services: E*TRADE Securities LLC, is a Member of SIPC which protects securities customers of its members up to $500,000 (including $100,000 for claims for cash). "
 
While free trades at BoA are nice, their trading platform is really poor. You can't do things like execute trailing stops, I've found the real time quote information to be very buggy (particularly in the pre market). I think it is more suited for buying and holding positions than it is for active traders.
 
Thanks for the tip. I will have to re-consider BofA now. I'm guessing you have personal experience with using them. With the state of the market, I was hoping to increase my stock positions and reduce fees. I'm a buy and hold investor.
 
Well, for buy and hold, it's not bad. But for active traders, the options that you have with something like E-Trade are worth the price of admission. I have my SEP-IRA in a BofA trading account.
 
I haven't heard much about zecco, but I am tempted. $4.50 plus $0.50 a contract on options is damn cheap.

I have an Ameritrade account, I like how they are trying to improve with the services, but they are all over the place. One thing is java based and the other thing is web based. Just put it all together in one simple platform. But, their customer service is good, and with the big name it makes feel warm and fuzzy.

I also have a ThinkorSwim account. I do most of my trading through them. I love them. They have great technical indicators. A great trading platform. Complicated trading strategies. News feed like Bloomberg. Not so sure about the CNBC part. Trading webinars, like how I learned about the VIX. Great customer service. And, while they cost more, they are worth it. I may be frugal with my money, but I am willing to pay a premium for a superior product, and they deliver.
 
One thing worth mentioning is that even a free trading platform can be expensive if they don't execute trades efficiently. If you are trading any kind of size at all, it isn't hard to offset the low price of commissions that are prevalent today.
 
I do all of my equities and options trading at Tradestation. If you are an active trader, there is no monthly fee, and equity trades are $1 per 100 shares (very cheap.) Options are only $1 per contract as well. If you are not active, they charge a $100 a month access fee. I do some automated futures trading there, but they do have a slow stop server, and the slippage on market orders can be a problem. I do my discretionary futures trading with Infinity. Their platform is easy to use, and the orders are held at the exchange so the execution is immediate.
 
I didn't realize TS was so cheap. My father has been using their previous product (SuperCharts) since it first came out. Omega wised up and then moved to a subscription model with TradeStation, but when it first came out it was more than $100/month. I wonder if I can convince my father to switch over.
 
"And, while they cost more, they are worth it."

Graphrix - I could be mistaken, but I think stock trades on TOS are $4.95 and options, about $1.50 or something like that. Seems cheap to me.
 
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