Which Stock Broker do you use?

MisterL · Member

I'm in the process of finding a new one. Currently I use TD, but I'm looking to pay less for more. I have level 2 streaming quotes and pretty good service through TD, but I'm checking out what the best option is.

Please let me know which Broker you use, the fees, and your level of satisfaction. Thanks!

TD charges me 10 a trade, and it comes with some decent services.

alfredso · Member

ScottTrade is nice.

$7 per order. The interface is very simplistic, but they do have local offices if you want to reach a human.

MisterL · Member

I've been highly considering Scottrade. Are ALL orders $7? Including penny stocks, shorting, stop limits, etc?

If so that's quite a deal.

Gingir · Member

I was with scottrade until I switched over to Ameritrade. Scottrade does have a pretty simplistic stock watch screen. You can't get level II quotes unless you are using scottrader elite which means you have to have liquidity above 25 thousand. They don't allow you to trade pre-market but they do let you trade after market hours. They don't have an electronic funds transfer you have to either write a check and wait for it to clear or wire funds. Also they charge a 1/2 percent surcharge on whatever amount you use when trading stocks under 1 dollar. They just did lower their commision on limit orders from 12 to 7 dollars. They are ok to use if you don't trade stocks on a regular basis but if you are an active trader I think you would want more features. They are as basic a discount online broker as you can get. But I think their niche is they have offices around the country for those who need to talk to a live person on a regular basis.

MisterL · Member

Scote · Member

I'm kind of stuck on E-trade out of laziness....My company automatically creates an Etrade account for us to dump our stock purchase plan shares and options into. At $25/trade I can't tell you how much I appreciate that

But I've heard great things about Scottrade - that's probably where I'll go next. I'm going to liquidate a good chunk in the spring to pay off school. At that point I might liquidate a bit more and transfer it over to Scottrade.
Having to clear $50 on each trade just to break even is a pain in the a**.

James H. · Member

I am VERY lucky. My friend's dad is the number 1 stock broker in Austin, so I get hooked up with some sweet advice and some cheap trades. I rarely trade through him though, i usually just use his advice. I use Ameritrade and am quite satisfied with it.

MisterL · Member

longTrade · Member

Ameritrade is a reliable broker. Their customer service isn't bad, and the trading interface is user-friendly.