Comments on: Smart Money 2009 Best Online Brokers

By: zach

zach — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 17:03:40 +0000

I am surprised that a brokerage like Think or Swim, MB Trading, and Interactive Brokers doesn’t make this list. They are all receive top marks from Barron’s. I know like MB Trading at IB require like a min 10k, but TOS is 3k. TOS has superior charting software that they provide you with for free. They as well have a web-based trading platform for those who have their desktop software blocked by company firewall (when at work).

They offer you the option of .015/share (5 dollar min) or a flat 9.95 a trade if you trade more than 5,000 shares a month.

By: Jim

Jim — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:02:15 +0000

I rolled my 401k into Vanguard because I liked the selection of funds. I think that your best option is to go with Vanguard or Fidelity if your intent is to go with funds. Check the funds you want, compare expense ratios, and pick the cheapest one. I know that Fidelity’s Spartan 500 index fund has a 0.10% expense ratio whereas Vanguard’s 500 Index has a 0.18% expense ratio, so if you were to go all S&P 500 index then Fidelity is a better choice. You’ll have to do the legwork to figure out that comparison for all the funds you’re interested in.

By: Kyle

Kyle — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:44:40 +0000

Just came across this site.
I am looking for broker to open IRA account to rollover 401k. Which is better among Vanguard, Fidelity and TD Ameritrade? I am going to invest the money to various funds. TD Ameritrade is advertising $500 reward for rolling 401k, which is very tempting but suspicious that there might be catch. I will appreicate your opinions. Thanks.

By: thomas

thomas — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 05:50:38 +0000

I have Fidelity and I am very happy. I will admit however that I do not have any experience with other brokers.

By: Lucy

Lucy — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 19:36:52 +0000

Not much change from last year, it looks like. Though, I do love how Charles Schwab had lowered the operating expenses for a number of its equity mutual funds. And their min investment amount is merely $100!

By: Jay

Jay — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 19:02:52 +0000

That would be a question for me as well. A friend of mine who is not a citizen or permanent resident is using TradeKing. It would be interesting to find out what restricts one to use ETrade.

By: Julian

Julian — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:27:58 +0000

Can international users who are not citizens or affiliated with the country the stock being traded use these services?

I tried E*Trade once but I needed to be a US/Canadian Citizen or be living in the country permanently to participate.

By: Jay

Jay — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 17:19:59 +0000

Hey Guys,

Need an advice from you. I have just entered in professional life 2 months ago after graduating. I want to start investing a little amount of money in stocks as a beginner. Which online broker would be good for me? I am not going to invest thousands of dollars and I think I would make a very few transaction per month.

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:21:52 +0000

I do the same exact thing, except I use E*Trade and Tradeking for individual stocks out of convenience (I had savings at E*Trade). But I’m slowly transitioning all of it to TradeKing because $4.95 is a pretty good price.

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:21:06 +0000

No I haven’t, but it’s mostly index funds at Vanguard (total market, 500 index, and a ginnie mae bond fund) and some individual stocks.

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:20:27 +0000

The downside of Sharebuilder is that when you sell, it’s $9.95 a trade, which makes the round-trip cost more than some of the discount brokers. For example, if you do a scheduled trade at $4 and then later sell it at $9.95, the total cost is $13.95, which is more than TradeKing at $4.95 each way.

By: Todd @ The Personal Finance Playbook

Todd @ The Personal Finance Playbook — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:48:20 +0000

It was, but with some companies going even lower than Tradeking (Just2Trade, Sogotrade, Zecco when it’s free) – I find it hard to be impressed with $9.99/trade either. Of course, if you’re buying 1000 shares at a time, price might not matter much. For small fish, like me, however, I use Tradeking for my individual stock investments and Vanguard for my retirement accounts. Fees matter.

By: Mark Wolfinger

Mark Wolfinger — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:21:10 +0000

“(I’m sorry, but $9.99 a “isn’t “discount”).

Too young to remember?

You obviously never used a full-service broker.

These were fantastic prices not too many years ago, but today there are deep discount brokers.

By: jillianlou

jillianlou — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:06:14 +0000

I think they should have a best “starter” broker category. I started my Roth IRA with Sharebuilder because I could only afford to put in $75-100 per month. That wasn’t really an option at many of these “best” brokers.

By: eric

eric — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:48:19 +0000

Have you ever talked about your non-retirement investments? Curious to hear!