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Friday, May 8, 2009

Which Discount Brokerage is Going to Survive

By Trading Mechanic

There are tons of stock brokers on the market but who's the best? Here's a summary of the more popular options and what I think of them.

Etrade used to be my brokerage of choice but the mortgage mess really spooked me. Add to the fact that there are cheaper alternatives out there and I'm in the process of switching to different broker accounts.

TD Waterhouse acquired Ameritrade to make TD Ameritrade. They also changed it to green but that's about all the changes they made. The online user interface still looks like it's from the 1990s when everything was based on command lines. I would recommend other options over this one any day.

Charles Schwab have been cleaning up in the last year or so, especially with the troubles of Etrade. Honestly, I've been thinking about moving my money to Charles Schwab as well since they offer everything you'd want.

TradeKing is the stock broker that I use after years with Etrade. While I've made a lot of money with Etrade, I just don't want any problems with it going bankrupt. TradeKing also offers commissions at half the cost of Etrade.

Zecco has the worst marketing ever but it is one of the few broker that offers free stock trades. If you have over $25,000 or trade 25 times or more, the trades are free. Otherwise, it's $4.50 per trade.

Sogotrade is a relatively new player and it plays the angle of cheap trades. With $3 per trade, it's hard to beat unless everything is just free. Sogotrade also ensures trading accounts for up to $5 million.

WellsTrade is Wells Fargo's self trading platform offering. The user interface is lacking and the logistics of trading is a little weird but if you have $25k with them, trading is free (actually, up to 100 trades a year). It's not for the frequent trader but for retail investors, it's a great option (who can say no to free?).

Bank of America basically has the same offering as Wells Fargo. It matches them with the free stock trades with the same conditions ($25k minimum to qualify for the free trades). I wouldn't be surprised that they will change something though after they set their feet and start integrating with Merrill Lynch though.

OptionsXpress is known for its options trade. Instead of charging you per option like most firms, this company has a set pricing. They also claim to have no hidden fees so it might be a good option (no pun intended). - 23200

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