TraderNovice.com
My comments here of course, are directed towards individual traders. I hope this information can help with Trading brokerage assessments
When deciding on which broker to use, several things must be considered:
I have used many different brokers and can give you an honest opinion on them from long term use. There are also many trading brokerage reviews .by many different agencies, but the best is Barron's. The Barron's reviews are available online with much of the information that you will need. I will review here Barron's top brokers and will interject my thoughts on each.
TradeStation is not for the true novice. I have used it and found it to be an excellent product, and quite detailed. It allows you to tailor your interface as you see fit. The software is quite functional, provides backtesting and advanced data but has a rather steep learning curve. It definitely takes time to master. Barron's also notes that there is a $99/ month platform fee if your trade volume is low (less than 5000 shares stock or 50 options).
I liked TradeStation, but found it less user friendly than other programs. Fees are reasonable for the active trader,especially in the futures markets (less so equities) but they have a $30,000 minimum for day trading accounts, with only 5k for non day trading
Pricing:
Trade station can easily be reached online. To do so and go to their main website click here
To see Barron's complete review of Tradestation click here.
This is a brokerage I have never used. I asked around and none of my trading friends have used it either. MB Trading is ranked quite highly by Barron's, who notes that its platform is well designed and traders get a lot of attention here. This obviously could be very important for Novice Traders!. I simply will refer you here for information. Pay attention to the comments on after hours fees.
Commissions:
Click here to go directly to the MB trading site.
I have used I.B. For many years. The brokerage is unparalleled for active, self supporting traders. Traders have access to global markets and almost all products. If you think you will need customer support, you would be far better off with another broker. However commissions are the most competitive in the industry
"I.B. trader workstation chart" |
The platform, TRADER WORKSTATION, is quite functional and allows almost any type of order. It is not the most user friendly and there is a learning curve, but I have used it for several years now and find it easy to control. This is however, the biggest area where other brokerages may surpass I.B. Though I think Interactive Brokers is great, it is not the best for novice traders. You must have a good understanding of your products, order types, and trading in general to use this brokerage, otherwise mistakes are imminent.(TWS CHART ON RIGHT)
To see Barron's complete review of Interactive Brokers click hereCommisions:
If commissions are your only concern.....Look No More. You cannot beat these commssions. But don't expect much help.
Interactive brokers has a website with a great deal of information, including educational material, click here for the main site.
I was once a TD Ameritrade customer. This is a fine brokerage tailored to those with less trading experience. I found them to be fine, and only switched to Interactive Brokers because of commission structure, and multi market access.
TDA has since incorporated Think or Swim, whose title alone is appealing. Research, a good platform, analysis, and purportedly the best options set up makes this a viable consideration.
TRADE FREE FOR 30 DAYS available now as well.
This is a great brokerage for a novice stock trader who wants accessible help, a lot of online information, and reasonable stock and option transaction fees. If you intend to trade futures only. This is not the brokerage for you
TD Ameritrade has a website of course as well, click here to go to TD AMERITRADE.
Click here to see Barron's complete review of this brokerage.
There are many, many other brokerage firms that are quite reasonable and have a great deal to offer. Some are listed below. To go to Barron's complete summary click here
In this group, I have used E*Trade and Scottrade and found them to be very servicable brokerage houses.