Brown is the best I have experienced. I have heard a lot of good things about all these new daytrading broker firms and their software, but I am just a little reluctant to send a significant money off to them yet. Brown is $5 market as you know, and $10 limit. Phone is $20 I think, but since they rarely go down, I am not sure. I get excellent service. And a damn low margin rate. Last month it was 7%. As compared to AMTD at 7.5%. I think some of the complaints come from those who like to trade penny stocks and some of the new ipo's. I get the impression Brown does not want these customers. As you may know, it takes a pain to get full options approval at most firms. Sometimes months just to get the ability to sell uncovered Puts even. But at Brown, you can get it right away, on one form, when the account is opened. The website updates positions in real time, but it is just basically an order entry format. No bells, no whistles, you will need a good quote provider or L2 service.
As for the IRA thing. You really can't daytrade in it with any broker. You spend your cash once, then you have to wait until the next day to spend it again. I know several people who were allowed to run afoul of this rule for a long time. But I think the SEC is making these online brokers crack down of the practice. There seemed to be a "new" attention to these minor details since late last year when all the backlash against daytrading firms started. |
