I am now at a point in life I am ready to start investing in individual stocks. It will take a while to learn what strategies I want to use, and to later decide if day trading/full time trading is for me. But I am interested greatly in investing and the stock market. I have had my Roth IRA and 401k maxed out for 5 years (and don't plan to stop). I own mutual funds, and some real estate in an LLC. I have extra "mad money" to play with, and I believe it is time to invest in stocks for real (and not just on investopedia anymore). Who do you recommend for an online stock broker? I am looking at Zecco.com, very impressive. Though maybe I would be better to go with a bigger broker, like ScotTrade or E-Trade. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
Interactive Brokers is great for stock and option trading both. They have a lot of very powerful and good tools. Etrade/Ameritrade are good beginner platforms in my opinion. As you learn you can roll your account to something like IB. The flat rate commissions in those Etrade/Ameritrade accounts might not be bad for you either. It's personal preference but for a new trader I'd say Ameritrade/Etrade offer the better tools to learn and research.
Depending on your strategy, I'd second etrade/ameritrade Flat fee is not necessarily a bad thing... and if you qualify for etrade pro or ameritrade apex you get a whole bunch of perks. IB is good too, but you might not need that level of sophistication.
Thank you for your help guys! I feel so lucky to have been refered to this website. I have to ask, why E-Trade over ScotTrade? ScotTrade has lower trading costs ($7.00 v. $12.99). Does E-Trade have better tools? Has anyone tried Zecco.com, and their free trades? Thank you again!
Mr. UNLV running rebel. If new at online trading best at first to stay away from free trading accounts. If you have question about your account could take awhile. Scottrade ($7) and TD ameritrade ($10) both flat rate. Both have good customer service if you have a question.
I have ameritrade and they have just changed. Anyone know of another site that has bridgestation/reuters? I really prefer the old screens. Thanks.
I am so excited, but also being patient. Thank you for your help. I would lean towards ScotTrade, because if I start small (invest a few thousand or so) $7 v. $12.99 for E-Trade will add up to a good % in time. Does E-Trade or Ameritrade have any extra tools that ScotTrade does not have? I am hoping that the online brokers have charts that compared stock price to the earnings, so you know that historically if you are paying more or less for the companies earnings. Thank you!