I looked up some comments on "Dogs of the Dow" site and found a lot of negative comments about TDAmeritrade compared to other on-line brokers like Schwab, IB, Scot, Fidelity, and E-Trade. I was wondering what posters here like or dislaike about any of the brokers above. Pete
You have to differentiate between on-line brokers and direct access brokers. IB is a direct access broker and the rest are just on-line brokers. IB is the most popular direct access broker due to low costs and universal trading account. They are best for very active short term and swing traders. Schwab and Fidelity are good online brokers with solid reputations and customer service. They are good for investors and swing type traders. I can't recommend using TD Ameritrade, E-Trade or Scottrade.
I've known about IB for quite a few years and I'm glad to see some support for it. Fidelity and Schwab were the two that impressed me the most out of the on-line borkers I listed in my post and checked into today. I think I will probably choose Schwab, as they offer some good FDIC insured 3-month CD and a good non-FDIC MM until I get a better feel for this market. Last year was not a "Sell in May and go away" year but I think this year the summer slump might be make a comeback, unless of course mergers pick up a lot. (Sorry Microhoo.) Thanks again, Pete
Don't forget to read the broker reviews here also (http://elitetrader.com/br/) and maybe also on epinion.com [ http://www.epinions.com/Brokers--~all ]