TheRumpledOne
6,411 posts
msg #66772
- Ignore TheRumpledOne |
8/28/2008 10:38:03 PM
Think or Swim? Yuck!
TD Ameritrade may or may not still offer IZONE accounts. $5 per trade no share limit. Great for penny and/or low dollar stocks. Use QuoteTracker interface.
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miketranz
961 posts
msg #66777
- Ignore miketranz |
8/28/2008 11:08:08 PM
Fidelity $16 round trip w/good fills,great sevice and support.5 stars overall..............
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rlac
7 posts
msg #66787
- Ignore rlac |
8/29/2008 8:12:54 AM
Check out Ninja Trader...It's free like quote tracker...I like the charting a little better than quote tracker. You can use several brokers like Ameritrade as the data feed.
If you trade alot...Call and ask Ameritrade for $6 trades.
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guru_trader
485 posts
msg #67189
- Ignore guru_trader
modified |
9/11/2008 9:15:10 PM
As much as I Iike Thinkorswim (TOS) for charting and options, I agree with TRO that commissions elsewhere (TDAmeritrade iZone, Scottrade) are probably better. Thinkorswim charges 0.015 cents per trade, minimum of $5.00. If you are trading hundreds to thousands of shares for small profits, such as day trading some of TRO's systems, these commissions will eat up all your profits quickly.
Anyone have experience with Interactive Brokers (IB) or MBTrading (MBT)?
More reviews from the web ...
Consumer Search review of reviewshttp://www.consumersearch.com/www/internet/online-brokers/reviews.html
SmartMoney's 2008 Annual Broker Surveyhttp://www.smartmoney.com/brokers/
InvestorPlace Summaryhttp://www.investorplace.com/broker-center/compare.html
The Motley Fool's Summaryhttp://www.fool.com/investing/brokers/index.aspx
Scottrade's Summaryhttp://www.scottrade.com/online_broker_comparison/discount_brokerage_comparison.asp
MoneyCentral broker reviews (6/21/2006)http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Extra/TheBestOnlineBrokers.aspx
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lvainik
52 posts
msg #67264
- Ignore lvainik |
9/13/2008 6:06:05 PM
My buddy owns a Think or Swim Office and may be able to get you even more discounted pricing and he will teach you the system...
If you want his phone # email me
Dan @Dashover.com
Dan
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FuriousThug
256 posts
msg #67268
- Ignore FuriousThug |
9/13/2008 11:36:14 PM
I'm on the hunt for a more appropriate trading platform (& broker). I've been with Fidelity since starting to trade only months ago. Active Trader Pro is starting to make me want to slit my wrists, though it's been adequate as a starting point.
This week and last, I've learned that the trading style I'd like to ramp up ran into a snafu...pattern day trading rules.
The basic pattern day trading rule is 4 or more daily round trips in a 5-day period flags you as a pattern day trader. With a margin account (as was recommended by Fidelity at the beginning), this means you need a total account value of at least $25,000. With a $20,000 account and rarely open positions totalling even 25% of that, I was flagged with an equity margin call because of the frequency of trades. The brilliant part is that no two Fidelity CSs I spoke with had the same resolution for going forward (one said simply trade "cash" instead of "margin"; I actually sat on hold at one point on Friday having tried unsuccessfully to enter a single cash option contract order and watched the position make $1,000 while I waited for the trading rep to "figure this out"...he then asked if I'd like to still enter the order...uh...no thanks).
Point is, I have lots of money in other Fidelity accounts but I have no intention of "topping up" to $25k for my trading account...at least not at the moment. So, what I need is a broker that I can swing/day trade options with reasonable commissions and not run into the same problems. I'm not trading stocks in this account...only options. I'll check out TOS but would love to hear any other suggestions based on what I'm trying to do.
Thanks for the posts.
FT
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FuriousThug
256 posts
msg #67270
- Ignore FuriousThug |
9/14/2008 12:45:39 AM
Oh...and any thoughts on Tradestation (as both a broker and platform)? I've read great things about the platform (and it's free through the end of the year if you open an account by the end of Sept).
Options contracts appear to be $1/per which is $.25 more than Fidelity, but if a robust platform's thrown in I'm guessing it'd be worth it.
Thanks.
FT
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wirechild
11 posts
msg #67278
- Ignore wirechild |
9/14/2008 6:55:52 PM
I use Thinkorswim and I am not thrilled with it so far. The commisions can be high if you are not careful
by the way the pattern day trade rule is an SEC/NASD rule not a Fidelity rule so all brokers should have the same $25K limit.
http://www.patterndaytraderrule.com/
I was thinking about switching to IB, but I haven't been able to figure out all of the cost (not just trade commisions).
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gpleas
2 posts
msg #67320
- Ignore gpleas |
9/16/2008 3:40:35 AM
How about E-Trade the 100 commission free trades in the first month look interesting. Anyone have any positive or negative feedback?
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FuriousThug
256 posts
msg #67321
- Ignore FuriousThug |
9/16/2008 9:19:29 AM
when I first got interested in trading, I tried to open up an account with E-Trade (probably nearly a year ago). Was one of the most frustrating experiences ever...reps had no clue about stuff, they didn't make setting up an account easy...there were waiting periods for various clearances that totalled at least three weeks during which time you could do nothing.
Sorry, just woke up and the grammar and syntax gnomes seem to have had their way with me last night...but the short of it: bad experience with E-Trade...I cheered when they crashed hard at the end of last year.
FT
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