Thanks for the web address. The info was thoro.
I have used Etrade, NDB, Regal, and Datek. Datek is best for cheap, fast trading. Regal (by phone) is best for customer service.
The posts here (what I've read) don't mention the probably most important aspect of cheap webtrading, which is their appeal to short-term and daytraders. For this purpose, the most important feature(s) may be, besides trade-price, the "tools" necessary to do short-term trading: News, news, and, lastly, news*. Jacking up the price for limit orders, as Ameritrade does, and which are absolutely necessary for most short-term trades, is absurd. Their tv ad ("buy CocaCola,etc for 8$") is also absurd.
*By "news" I also mean realtime quotes (the most basic form of "news", plus any auxilliary info that comes with a quote. I noticed that Suretrade offers the share size of the latest Bid/Ask, an addition to Datek's quote info. But daytraders may need more than 100 quotes per trade, as Suretrade offers--and Datek gives unlimited quotes.
Suretrade, however, offeres Reuters news, and I assume it is realtime. If it isn't, then it's no better than what Datek or Etrade or Yahoo, for that matter, offer : delayed news. The twenty minute delay often means the only points gained, especially on cheap stocks--a favorite of customers of cheap brokers ...
Other services, IRA, etc, should be considered irrelevant when selecting a cheap broker. Go elsewhere. No one broker will cover all bases, and almost all will raise prices once they have your account. They will move as in a herd to raise prices once the online trading frenzy is flatter.
The next step for me is to find (wait for) a broker who offers Nasdaq level ll info, for free. This may be unlikely, as Nasd has a "monopoly" on their quote info (as does NYSE, AMEX). Since quotes are all anyone really buys, any quote info offered by a cheap borker would be the most advantageous place to trade--since you would be taking money from neophytes who seem to think it really matters if they save ten dollars on a buy and hold trade.
Again, despite its problems (they all have them), Datek has my vote. They were the first fast, cheap broker. They have a flat rate for any type of order. For penny stocks (advice: don't buy them!!!) go elsewhere.... |
