Can anyone comment on the pros/cons of their particular broker or make any recommendations on some reputable firms? I’m currently considering E-Trade Canada, however any additional insight or suggestions are welcomed. I am seeking a low-commission, self-directed trading platform to build my portfolio.
who do you bank with?
Currently invested in mutual funds through my bank as I haven’t had the time to analyze individual shares and build my own discretionary portfolio. However I’d like to do this as well, and bank commissions are higher than through the discount brokers.
Kiplinger’s rates the online brokers each year. This is a pretty informative read. http://www.kiplinger.com/magazine/archives/2006/07/brokers.html
I know Wellsfargo now offers 100 commission free trades per year. I think Bank of America has a similar deal.
Duplicate
If you’re in Canada check out qtrade.ca
what I meant to get at was, why don’t you just open a DB account with your bank?
The commisions with my bank seem to be higher than what I’ve seen with most other discount brokerages by approximately $10/trade. Are there any other distinguishing features worth noting? What are most of you using? Any fees to be mindful of?
The one I’m with has a package where you pay 395 for 50 trades (works out to be 7.90 per trade) and if you go over they charge you 6.95 per trade. It’s actually a pretty good deal. Without the package its 25/trade at the minimum (for equities)
Interactive Brokers is usually the rock bottom in terms of trading costs… I don’t see it on the kiplingers list. Trade King looked pretty good, although Fidelity is the best if you want to access research. Maybe put 5k in fidelity to access the research, and use Interactive Brokers of Trade King to do your trades.
Personally I use Scottrade. I like them. Another discount broker worth noting is Sharebuilder.