for this interested in comparing online brokerages
check out sonic.net
The rate the brokerages...don't know if they are up to date as of today...but their top 6 are as follows: ( a paste)
(five stars) Brown & Co. (1-800-822-2021):
Note: Complaints having diminished, we are resuming our 5 star rating on Brown. For a brief period, there was a flurry of
complaints that Brown could not be reached quickly by phone. We suggest that all prospective customers call Brown a few
times with questions about this and that, just to check on how good/bad their phone service might be.
Strong points: low $10-$5 commissions, low 5 3/4% to 6 3/4% margin rates, fast executions, excellent customer service, free
IRAs, low rates for options, and real time quotes.
Drawbacks include: its $15,000 account minimum, and other stiff qualifying requirements.
Limit orders (online, touch-tone, broker-assisted): $10 for up to 5000 shares, then .01/share for the entire order; $110 for
10,000 shares.
Market orders (online,touch-tone, broker-assisted): $5 for up to 5000 shares, then .01/share for the entire order; $105 for
10,000 shares.
Broker-assisted & touch-tone: $17 (limit) and $12 (market) for up to 5000 shares, then add .01/share for entire order.
Options (limit orders): $15 + $1.75 per contract ($25 minimum). Assignments: $19.
Options (market orders): $15 + $1.50 per contract ($25 minimum) for up to 30 contracts, then $1.75 per contract. Spreads
OK.
Margin rate: 5 3/4% to 6 3/4%: brokers call less 0% to - 1% (very low).
Account minimum: $15,000. Other requirements: an income of at least $40,000, net worth (exclusive of real estate) of
$50,000; and 5 years of market experience.
IRA annual fee: free, no setup fee, closing fee not known. Options allowed, but no spreads.
Real time quotes: 100 free per trade.
Perks: 10% rebate if your commissions exceed $350 in any month. Checking accounts @.99/MO fee; $250 check minimum.
Restrictions/warnings: no foreign accounts. No accounts without 5 years experience even if you're a millionaire; see report.
No mutual funds.
Overall service rating: Excellent.
Comments: Founded in 1960. For many years now, Brown has combined low rates with excellent service, made possible
with very high and demanding entry requirements. Brown does not want the poor and/or the inexperienced. One client tells us
that, once you've opened an account with your $15,000, you don't have to maintain it at that level. Most clients praise this
firm's service and excellent executions, and its online service has reportedly improved. SmartMoney magazine (July 1997)
ranks Brown as tops in the phone-call trading costs category, but otherwise low overall (18th out of 21). Kiplinger calls Brown
"best for margin rates.(11/1/97)" and more recently (Oct. '98) as "best for commissions." Affiliated with Chase Manhattan
Bank. Some clients put this firm down, but not very many, and not very often.
2.* * * *(four stars) Trading Direct (1-800-925-8566):
Strong points: Low $9.95 commissions, low account minimum. Good for small as well as large margin accounts (6 1/4% and
down to 5 3/4%) margin rates, free IRAs, low rates for options and mutual funds. Fairly good for real time quotes. Fairly easy
to reach on the phone.
Drawbacks include: Customers cannot buy penny stocks. Order approval may require up to 1 minute, so this is not a broker
for active traders or day traders! Customers complain that brokers are rude and do not understand the intricacies of IRA and
Keogh accounts.
Limit & market orders (online) (including BB for $1+ shares): $9.95 for any number of shares.
Touch-tone: $19.95 for any number of shares.
Broker-assisted: $29.95 for any number of shares.
Penny stock: no stocks under $1, liquidation only.
Options: $20 + $1.75 per contract ($25 minimum).
Margin rate: 5 3/4% to 6 1/4%: brokers call less 1/2% to less 1% (very low).
Account minimum: no minimum.
Mutual funds: 2000+ funds at $15.95 per trade.
IRA annual fee: free; free setup; closing fee $50.
Real time quotes: 50 free daily; $29.95/month for dynamic quote system.
Perks: StockQuest; free news, intraday charts, quotes, and Reuters. Foreign cash accounts (but not margin accounts) OK.
Web site demo.
Overall service rating: Very good.
Comments: Trading Direct is a division of high-cost York Securities, which has an excellent reputation. They appear quick to
open accounts. Most customers think the service is excellent and have no problems. A minority is critical of rude and/or
unknowledgeable service, but experienced investors should not have any trouble with this broker. Because live brokers must
approve all online orders, active traders should avoid this broker and also Firstrade below, whose features are very similar.
Prospective customers would do well to read the latest comments in the main "Discount Brokers Ranked" report.
3.* * * * (four stars) Firstrade [formerly First Flushing] (1-800-869-8800):
Strong points: Low $9.95 commissions, low account minimum. Good for small as well as large margin accounts (6 1/4% and
down to 5 3/4%). Relatively good for options and mutual funds. Free IRA accounts. Fairly good for real time quotes.
Drawbacks include: Not much feedback. Not good for penny stocks or Canadian stock. As with Trading Direct above, order
approval at Firstrade may require up to 1 minute, so this is not a broker for active traders or day traders!
Limit & market orders (online, touch-tone): $9.95 for any number of shares (but no longer including penny stock).
Market orders (online, Nasdaq, 1000+ shares): $4.95 for any order of 1000 Nasdaq (no OTC-BB) shares or more.
Broker-assisted: $29.95 for any number of shares.
Phone service: Quick to answer phones.
Penny stock (including BB stock): $9.95 for up to 5000 shares, then .01/share for the entire order; $200 for 20000 shares @
.50. FF has changed this from $9.95 for an unlimited number of penny shares; consequently, FF is no longer a good penny
stock broker, although brokers can accept orders down to 1/128 per share.
Canadian stock: no Canadian stock.
Options (online, touch-tone): $20 + $1.75 per contract ($29 minimum); cash must be in account.
Options (broker-assisted): $30 + $1.75 per contract.
Margin rate: 5 3/4% to 6 1/4%: brokers call less 1/2% to less 1% (very low).
Account minimum: no minimum; $2000 for margin accounts.
Mutual funds: no-loads for $25 fee; broker-assisted $50.
Real time quotes: 100 free quotes per trade.
IRA annual fee: free; free setup; closing unknown.
Perks: Foreign accounts OK. Web page in Chinese.
Restrictions/warnings: Approval required for online trades; hence this broker is not for daytraders. No orders 50+% away
from market. Stocks below $4 1/8 are not marginable. Multiple charges for multiple executions (+ a $1.50 fee for each extra
trade); use AON for large orders.
Comments: Most clients think the service is very good. They like the web interface. Some recent criticism of bookkeeping
problems, and some still complain that the brokers are hard to understand.
4.* * * * (four stars) InvesTrade (1-800-498-7120):
Strong points: low $11.95 to $7.95 commissions, especially low rates for options, low rates for penny stock, free IRAs, and
very good customer service.
Drawbacks include: margin rates too high for small customers, and high broker-assisted rates. Also, foreigners cannot open
accounts here. Online orders must be approved before execution.
Limit orders (online, touch-tone): $11.95 for any trade.
Market orders (online, touch-tone): $7.95 for any trade.
Broker-assisted: $26.95 (limit) and $22.95 (market) for any trade.
Penny Stocks (less than $2): $29 for any trade; $29 for 20000 shares @.50.
BB & Pink Sheet ($2+): Most can be traded online; otherwise $27.95 for any trade.
Options (online, touch-tone): $1.75 per contract ($14.95 minimum). Same rate for option assignments. "Spreads, strips,
strangles, straddles, butterflies, etc. are only done at Regal [through] a Regal account.(5/14)"
Margin rate: 5 3/4% to 8 1/4%: brokers call less 1% to + 1 1/2% (average).
Account minimum: $2000.
Mutual funds: 3800+ funds / $29 per trade.
IRA Annual fee: free; setup free; closing $50.
Real time quotes: available.
Perks: stop orders on Nasdaq OK.
Restrictions: No foreign stocks. No foreign accounts.
Overall service rating: Very good.
Comments: We rank InvesTrade below Firstrade (and the others) for one reason only: its very high margin rates for small
investors. For large borrowers, its 5 3/4% rate is pretty good. This broker, and Dreyfus, are rated best for options traders in the
Discount Brokers Ranked report. InvesTrade is a subsidiary of Regal, which also has a reputation of very good customer
service. It gets some criticism (see report), but most comments are favorable. Customers indicate that the web site and
touch-tone phone systems are very reliable. Reports are that online orders must be approved by brokers before execution - not
favorable to active traders.
5.* * * * (four stars) Suretrade (1-800-909-6827):
Strong points: Low $9.95 commission, very low 5 3/4% to 6 1/4% margin rates, low commissions for options, low account
minimum, free IRAs, mutual fund availability, free real time quotes, charts, news, research, company profiles, and good
executions. Because of its long history of poor service, we're starting out with a mild three star rating for Suretrade.
Drawbacks include: Relatively high broker-assisted rates, no Canadian or foreign stock, and a history of relatively poor
customer service. Long telephone waits for service are still being reported.
Limit orders (online, $2+): $9.95 for up to 5000 shares, then add .01/share for the entire order; $59.96 for 5001 shares.
Market orders (online, $2+): $7.95 for up to 5000 shares, then add .01/share for the entire order; $107.95 for 10,000 shares.
Limit & market orders (touchtone, $2+): $4 extra per trade.
Limit & market orders (broker-assisted, $2+): $25 extra per trade.
Phone service: Long waits (more than 5 minutes).
Penny and BB stock (less than $2): $5 extra for the first 5000 shares, then add .01/share extra for entire order; $414.95 for
20,000 shares @.50. On sales, market orders only.
Canadian, foreign stock: No Canadian or foreign stock.
Options (online, touch-tone, broker-assisted): $20 + $1.70 per contract ($28.95 minimum). Spreads/straddles with
broker-assistance only.
Margin rate: 5 3/4% to 6 1/4%: brokers call less 1/2% to less 1% (very low). Paid on cash: 1 3/4% (brokers call less 5%) on
$2000+ cash only.
Account minimum: no minimum; $2000 for margin accounts.
Mutual funds: No-loads at $25/trade.
IRA annual fee: free; no setup fee; closing free.
Real time quotes: 100 free per day.
Perks: charts, automatic portfolio updates, dividend re-investment; stops accepted for Nasdaq, but not BB stocks. Reuters
news & profiles, Zacks, Morningside, Briefing.com, and MarketEdge. Foreign accounts (including margin) OK. Bonds
available. Long options and covered calls OK for people with no options experience.
Restrictions/warnings: No Canadian stock. No orders if 25+% away from market.
Overall service rating: Very good. Comments have been improving over the past few months, enough to change our rating
from "fair" to "very good." Online transactions seem to be executed OK.
Comments: Suretrade is a low-cost division of Quick & Reilly. Clears thru U.S. Clearing (Quick & Reilly). Since Suretrade
raised its commissions slightly and adopted an 800 number, the complaints have subsided considerably. Recent comments
have been very good. Prospective customers would do well, nonetheless, to read the latest customer comments in the main
"Discount Brokers Ranked" report.
6.* * * + (three 1/2 stars): Scottsdale [ScotTrade] (1-800-619-SAVE):
Strong points: low $12-$7 commissions, relatively low 7 1/4% margin rate, relatively low online options rates, real time quotes,
many local offices, and good (with somewhat mixed feedback on) customer service. Large number of local offices.
Drawbacks include: high rates for penny stock, high broker-assisted rates, high IRA rates especially for small accounts, and
no mutual funds. Online customers must do 75% of their trades online, otherwise they will be charged the very high "regular"
rates (i.e., $31.50 per trade and up). Also, no foreign accounts.
Limit orders (online): $12 for any number of shares of any stock.
Market orders (online): $7 for any number of shares of any stock.
Touch-tone: $5 extra; $17 per limit order; $12 per market order.
Broker-assisted: $10 extra; $22 per limit order; $17 per market order.
Options: $20 + $1.60 per contract. Assignments $17.
Penny stock (including BB & foreign): $22 + 2% of principal.
Commission (non-online): $31.50 for up to about 400 shares, then $50 for 500-1000 shares, $150 for 5000 shares.
Penny stock (broker-assisted): $35 + 2 1/2% of principal; $285 for 20000 shares @.50.
Options (broker-assisted): $27.50 + .004 X principal + $1.25 per contract (minimum $32).
Margin rate: 7 1/4%: brokers call rate + 1/2% (low).
Account minimum: $2000 (online); otherwise, no minimum.
Mutual funds: no mutual funds.
IRA annual fee: free with $10,000 account, otherwise $25; setup $25; closing $60.
Real time quotes: 100 free for each trade.
Restrictions: No foreign accounts; no penny stocks; no Canadian or foreign stock; limit/stop orders on 100+ shares only; all
non-online orders (including short sales) will be charged the regular non-online rates; touch-tone is free for 12 minutes, then
.10/minute for quotes, orders; cannot trade BB or stocks under $1 online.
Perks: Firm offers 75 local offices, business news, intraday and historical charts, and market newsletters/research (for a fee).
Overall service rating: for online, seems to be good; for phone service, very good.
Comments: Founded in 1980. Scottsdale has a somewhat mixed record since moving into the deep discount arena, starting
out with a flat $9 commission. Every once in a while, complaints have bubbled up about poor service and an unreliable web
site, but the complaints have never lasted over a long period. Scottsdale seems to pay attention to complainers, and it tries
hard to clear up problems. Clients say that market orders are quick, and many of them like the local offices. Comments about
the firm still tend to be mixed, however. See customer comments in the main "Discount Brokers Ranked" report.
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