I have been with Fidelity for ~ four years. I make 10-20 trades a month with them. $8 stock trades if that really matters. I have never had a problem or error. Executions are uneventful, stock and options. They have conditional trading templates on their website that cover most scenarios. Their ?live? trading platform ActiveTraderPro is OK, but has to be loaded on your computer which limits its utility at work, I wish they had a web-based version. Fidelity has the typical three-day clearing.
I do not seek broker assistance so I cannot comment on advice/recommendation quality. The few calls I have made to them were either answered immediately or within a couple of minutes on hold. They have a banking service I have not used, so no thoughts on that.
I am looking at opening another account with another firm, maybe Tradestation or Schwab, to get additional SIPC insurance above the standard 100/500k. Additional insurance can be purchased through Fidelity if you want that.
I can recommend Fidelity based upon my experience and needs which is a reliable, self-directed trading service. I was with Etrade years ago before they went nuts lending into the mortgage bubble and ruined their business and out-sourced their customer service. I do not recommend etrade.
