I'm looking for a new, preferably online, broker. I'm not a trader, more of a buy and hold type investor, slowly building a portfolio but my current broker is expensive- 1.75% every time i pick up the phone! The things i like about my current broker are that they offer a very wide international choice of stocks (Korean sml caps etc), they use Pershing (for custody, i believe) who i understand are rock solid and there are no other account fees. I was just reading an earlier thread that Penson may be in trouble. What does this actually mean for a retail investor with an account at a broker using Penson eg Noble Trading, which is one i have been looking at? And is this only a concern if you keep your shares registered with the broker in 'street name' rather than hold the certificates yourself? Finally, can anyone recommend a broker with good international equity offerings, reasonable trading costs (fixed price per trade rather than a %), preferably no/low inactivity fees and offers rock solid safety? Many thanks.