Liren,
I have written advice concerning your type of problem several times on SI. I tried to find it on the archives without success. So, I'll try to SUMMARIZE the important points for you. As much as I want to help people, I'm not about to explain this fully over and over again every time a new disgruntled Schwab person finds their way to SI.
If Schwab enticed you into staying with them with their "special" rate, it's not worth it. Schwab is for investors who make only a few trades a year. Any more than that, I can't in any way justify their rate. Their reps are the nicest brokers I have ever spoken to but I rather deal with nasty brokers (Brown - $19 flat) for a lot less. You get ripped off by both when trading moving NASDAQ stocks, but at least you get charged less for it at Brown. If your trading system/method allows you to buy stocks when they are not moving, the MM will give you the bid/ask. No problem then.
If you are a trader that trade breakouts/breakdowns, forget it. By the time, you confirm the break and enter the order, you missed the bulk of the move. Chances are if you get it at the bid/ask, you are about to be wipsawed. If you put in a market order, you will most likely get it near the end of the move. All of this is no accident, as Schwab uses their subsidiary market maker Mayer and Schweitzer (MASH). Market Makers have 90 seconds to fill your order and if the stock is moving they'll take their time to give you the worst fill they can get away with. Not because they are mean, but because it's in their interest to do so. The worst fill YOU get, the more money THEY make. No brainer. Schwab is no worst than other discount brokers in this regard as others also get paid for "order flow", including Brown (also use MASH). It's just the way it is. How else do you think they make money charging $19, $18 (Lombard,Ceres), $15 (E-trade),$12 (E-broker)? I'm not recommending any of the above brokers. However, where else are you going to go? Just find the cheap one with the best accessablity, quick fill reports. There is usually an inverse relationship. Datek at $9.99 may warrant consideration, but I'm not sold on them yet either.
If you happen to have $50k-$100k, open an account with a SOES firm and you will eliminate all of the above NASDAQ fill problems mentioned above. Be warned that you must trade actively, like 10 times a day minimum. Nothing comes easy. Please don't ask me who I trade with. |
