Comments on: Best Options Broker Review

By: TradeKing Client

TradeKing Client — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:28:56 +0000

Oh by the way, TOS customer service was nice and professional, but could not and would not meet or beat TradeKings fees. So tradeking gets my money, and I use TOS papermoney for free.

By: TradeKing Client

TradeKing Client — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:26:30 +0000

Here’s an idea, use the FREE TOS papermoney for the tools and use TradeKing for placing the real money trades? You get the best of both worlds. Simply go back into TOS papermoney after you place the real trades and place them on the papermoney account so you can monitor everything all in TOS. DUHHHH!

By: Ken

Ken — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:48:37 +0000

I have used TOS for years and the platform and customer service has been outstanding. After being acquired byTDAmeritrade, service is still pretty good and research has improved. I agree, if you do not need the TOS platform, others would be less expensive for commissions.

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:40:04 +0000

Jackie “Interactive Brokers is the lowest commissions broker in the world.”
Jackie-IB is fine if you are trading one or two contracts, but as soon as you start putting on multi-leg spreads their costs are amongst the highest! The author of this article has obviously researched this pretty thoroughly, as did I, and as much as Think or Swim has probably the one of the best, if not the best platform out there, they do not compete on pricing….swings and roundabouts…if you dont need the TOS platform, there are far more cost effective brokers as mentioned…and as previously mentioned IB customer service rates way, way down the list!

By: Greg

Greg — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 22:40:34 +0000

Trademonster did the same with me on a transfer of an IRA to them. It took them almost 60 days to get the account open, which is pushing the envelope from an IRS perspective.

Their trade platform is not as robust as thinkorswim, but see my post below.

By: Greg

Greg — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 22:38:11 +0000

thinkorswim has a great platform for trading stock and options. However, their customer service is pathetic, especially since being acquired by TD Ameritrade and even more if you survived the conversion. You can ask the same question to 3 different support reps and receive 4 different answers … not a typo. If you’re a trader and don’t think you’ll need support, TOS is your platform.

By: Roger

Roger — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 11:49:43 +0000

Think or Swim have decided not to service customers in the U.K.any more and have closed my account..I am very annoyed about this,but what can I do?
Trademonster must be amongst the worst in the world to try and open an account with.They simply ignore emails requesting any kind of service.
I have opened an account with Interactive Brokers now,so am hoping that they shape up.

By: Glenn

Glenn — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 18:50:17 +0000

I haven’t even started trading yet. Although I been studying it for a long time. I been studying pros and cons on many brokers and have come to my conclusion that TOS would be a good place to start. After reading all these posts, I feel even better about my choice.

By: Blain

Blain — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 18:30:56 +0000

TOS has only gotten better since being acquired by TD Ameritrade. They now have unlimited resources for growth. Check out the StockBrokers.com and Barron’s 2011 reviews, they both rated thinkorswim highly.

By: DG

DG — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 19:02:08 +0000

TOS has gone to hell after being acquired by TD Ameritrade… their service just SUCKS! They were down for over 4 hrs recently due to glitchy software update ran on Sunday night (impacted Monday), and not even a word of apology. Their customer service are both arrogant and stupid, always trying to blame the customer for issues, regardless of whose fault.

By: Bhanwaar

Bhanwaar — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 05:55:16 +0000

I really agree with all, regarding TOS. I use TOS for opton/stock/future/forex charting and trading.Best option platform as far as I know of. Best broker platform next to Tradestation. I do use Interactive brokers TWS for trading only because of their dirt cheap comm on all markets. However IB stands out of the crowd because of their worst and uncivilized customer support. I think lightspeed/Mbtrading offer comparable price with IB.

By: Jackie

Jackie — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 19:48:11 +0000

Interactive Brokers is the only broker in the world that doesn’t charge for the options assignment. Zero, Nada, Zilch. All the other brokers charge at least $20. I personally have 10 to 50 assignments per month. Do you need a calculator?
IB is the only broker in the world that charges $0.69 total for a transaction (write or buy) of ONE options contract. (yes sixty nine cents today – Dec 08, 2010, for AMR DEC 2010 $8 Call written).
Interactive Brokers is the lowest commissions broker in the world.
The fact that you never mentioned IB tells me that you either paid the firms mentioned or you do not qualify for writing this article.
Jackie. IB trader – 10 years and counting

By: Scott Dowd

Scott Dowd — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 07:43:19 +0000

Hi Brad !

Thanks for your comment re: Options commissions. I’m looking for a good site/broker to open an account and TOS is on my list. Quick question: When selling Puts/Calls, does the broker(TOS)require that you be Long the underlying or have comparable buying power in a Margin Account ?

By: R Kendall

R Kendall — Thu, 13 May 2010 16:20:21 +0000

REALLY GLAD you didn’t list Interactive Brokers (IB) as a ‘good’ broker! The brokerage firm from hell…the way they treat their customers, wonder how they stay in business.

By: Wayne Lary

Wayne Lary — Sat, 01 May 2010 11:32:53 +0000

I can’t believe that you missed ThinkOrSwim. It has one of the most competetive commission structures as well as the best tool set in the industry. In addition to that, you get a paper trade account without having to fun your account. For icing on the cake, they also offer a slew of free option trading classes. These guys have been rated #1 by Barrons, so it seems like a huge omission to leave them out.