Online Stock Broker Options: Where Should You Invest
Online Stock Broker Site Number One – Fidelity.com
Fidelity.com has been ranked as the top online broker by several consumer sites including ConsumerSearch.com. This high ranking is due to their combination of service, fee structure, ease of use, and excellent customer service. They offer several investment products including: Annuities, Mutual Funds, College Planning, Trading, Active Trading, IRAs, and 401(k) Rollovers. On their site you can access informational sites for each of these products to get a rundown of what the company has to offer, what the product is good for in terms of investments, research tools, and fees associated to that particular investment options. This site also offers portfolio management tools like Real-Time Watch Lists, Alerts,, and ETF Research.
Like most of the other online stock broker sites, their fee schedule will vary depending on the amount of money that you invest each year. They basically offer three different investment fee packages. The gold package allows you to make trades for $8.00 + 75/contract. To qualify for this price you will need to have $1 million in household asset or you will need to make at least 120 trades a year and have $25,000 in household assets. If you don’t qualify for the gold package then you may qualify for the silver package which charges $10.95 + $ .75/contract. To qualify for this price you will need $50,000 in household assets or make at least 36 trades a years and have a household asset value of $25,000, or make more than 72 trades a year. If these scenarios don’t fit your investment profile then you can take advantage of their bronze investment program, which offers trades at $19.95 + $.75 per contract. The minimum amount of money to open an account will vary depending on the type of account that you want to open. For more information about fees, investing, or setting up an account please visit their website located at http://www.fidelity.com.
Online Stock Broker Site Number Two – E*Trade
E*Trade is another online stock broker site that offers several different investment products. On this site you will be able to access investment products that cater to general trading and investing, to retirement planning, or to active trading options. Like Fidelity, E*Trade bases its fees on the amount of investment activity you take part in during a year. The more you trade the less you pay per trade. For example if you make more than 1500 trades in a quarter then you will pay $6.99 per stock trade plus $.75 for the option contract. If you make between 150 and 1499 trades in a quarter than your fee will be $7.99 plus the $.75 option fee. If you have more than $50,000 in household assets or if you make between 30 and 149 trades a quarter then your fee per trade will be $9.99 plus the $.75 option fee. Finally if you have a household asset value of less than $50,000 or if you make less than 30 trades per quarter then your fee will be $12.99 plus $1.25 for the option fee. To open an account you will need at least $1,000 for a cash account or $2,000 for a margin account. For more information about this stock broker site please visit their website at http://www.etrade.com, or call them at 1-800-387-2331.
Online Stock Broker Site Number Three – Scottrade
Scottrade is yet one other online stock broker site. This site has many advantages. They offer a $7 trade, they offer no share limits, there are no inactive account fees, there are not account maintenance fees, they provide their customers with free stock research tools, they offer a $25,000,000 account protection plan, they offer no-fee IRAs, they don’t charge a transaction fee for mutual funds, they offer CDs and Bonds, and it only takes $500 to open an account. If you are interested in this company you can set up several different types of accounts including: a standard account, an Individual Retirement Account, a Specialty Account, or you can request Advisor services. As mentioned above this site offers several investment products including stocks, options, mutual funds, IRAs, CDs, Bonds, and Fixed Income Investments. If you are interested in any of these products, or if you would like to open a trading account with this company then you will need to visit their website located at http://www.scottrade.com, or you can call them at 1-800-619-7283. This phone number will allow you to speak to a local Scottrade broker.
