Online Brokerage Houses.

[longshot]

I've got money to invest, and I was wondering if anyone here has any experiences, good or bad, with online investment places.

Ameritrade, e-trade, TD waterhouse, etc.

NOTE!! This is not an investment or stock tip thread. If such a thread seems interesting you... start it yourself, lazy bastards.

I'm mostly curious about fees...

Looking to start a margin/option account. Yes, I have more than the necessary 5,000 to open an option account.

I'm sure some of you invest. Who do you use?

[crazymage]

sharebuilder is cheapest

[longshot]

Have you used it personally?

Cheapest in terms of regular orders? Options?

Any time delay issues?

Thanks for the reply...
If you could provide a little more info, it'd be a big help.

[GSTamral]

For amounts under 25,000, I would recommend Ameritrade, TD waterhouse, or Fidelity. All can set you up for options package 1 (covered calls). For amounts between 25,000 and 500,000, I would recomment Schwab or Fidelity. Both have excellent research tools and options evaluators, and can be used for up to options package 3 ( covered calls, buying options and puts, creating a spread). For amounts over 500,000, the best option is having more privatized large account attention from a Merrill Lynch or such, where someone will assist you with all action. For amount over 3-4 million, it pays to have a personal private investment consultant, which can be offered as a service by a larger investment bank, or with a reputable private investor.

[longshot]

Thanks Tamral. I'll check out TD and Fidelity.

Will they allow me to write my own put options?

[Parkbandit]

Parkbandit.com

[Atlanteax]

If you plan to start with $10k minimum, I'd go with Charles Schwab.

I found them to have extraordinary customer service, and there's a lot of flexibility on what kind of account you have and how you can utilize it via online access.

[Suppa Hobbit Mage]

I always liked eTrade, but I'd go with Tamral's advice, I know dick about investments.

[Back]

Originally posted by Atlanteax
If you plan to start with $10k minimum, I'd go with Charles Schwab.

I found them to have extraordinary customer service, and there's a lot of flexibility on what kind of account you have and how you can utilize it via online access.

I’m with Scwab. Its the only service I’ve used. Yes, they have great customer service. You can set up margin accounts (after a credit check of course), and you can get your trading fees reduced if you have high volume.

Trading fees are like 29.99 on my type of account, which is one where there is little to no trading, but at one point I had them down to 16.00 a trade when I had more activity.

Oh, another thing. They provide software both mac and pc to access your account and the market in realtime.

[Edited on 4-12-2005 by Backlash]

[Valthissa]

My personal money is with Ameritrade and my 401K is with Fidelity. I've had no issues with either firm, but I have a dollar cost averaging strategy holding Spiders, Diamonds, and triple Q's so my transaction needs are pretty simple.

I did play with some biotechs for a while and I thought the cost of stop orders on Ameritrade was pretty reasonable.

good luck.

C/Valth

[Wezas]

My 401k is with Fidelity and I have a few fund with Legg Mason (they may be more DC - local, I'm not sure).

My company a year or so ago changed from E-trade to Mellon Investing.

I liked E-trade, everything was so easy - they had all kinds of calculators online so you could see the best way to go about things. I can't remember the fees of the top of my head, but I liked being able to do everything from my desktop.

Mellon I have to wait 10 business days to get my lost password. :shrug:

[xtc]

I use TD Waterhouse for discount brokerage, although I don't make alot of time senstive trades.

For full service I use CIBC Woodgundy but my broker is an asshole who has lost me money, so that isn't saying much. I have been thinking of going to an investment counsellor for independent advice.

[GSTamral]

Longshot, no. There is no reputable brokerage house in the US that will undersign you to have authority to buy calls and puts at 5,000. There are two restrictions for this activity. Age and wealth.

Options package 1: Selling covered calls. This allows you to sell calls on stocks that you own. Minimum amount required for this at most brokerage houses is an active trading account for 6 months, and 2,500 in the account.

Options package 2: Buying Calls and Buying Puts. Active account for 6 months, you must be in good standing, and some houses have an age requirement. Also, most brokerage houses will be more lax to give this authority with 25,000 minimum. There is no inherent risk beyond the initial investment in buying calls or puts.

Options package 3: Creating a Spread, Selling Puts. Active account for 6 months, you must be in good standing, and some houses have an age requirement. Also, most brokerage houses will be more lax to give this authority with 100,000 minimum, AND you own a home, or some other form of leanable equity. Creating a spread would be selling someone a call at 70 for a stock currently trading at say 73 dollars, netting you 4 dollars or so per option. You then buy the option to buy the stock at 80 for 1 dollar per share, netting 3 dollars per share. If the stock stays stagnant, you lose 50 or so dollars per contract. If the stock goes down (which is what you're prospecting), you gain 100 per contract up to 300 dollars if the stock goes below 70. If the stock goes up, you're out 100 dollars per contract, up to 1100 per contract if the stock goes to 80 or above. Because of the ability to use this method with volatile stocks, most brokerage houses require a very large minimum account balance, because you can lose your shirt quickly doing this. Selling a put presents the same risk if the stock rises quickly.

Options package 4: Naked Spreads and Futures Contracts.
I won't go into futures contracts, because they are fairly obvious, but unless you have a ton of money to invest, there is little you can do in that market, because the cost per trade is dwarfed by the inventory costs, which are painfully high (so unless you are buying or selling in massive bulk, its not worth it). A naked spread is the same as above, except you don't buy the 80 dollar call option, leaving the sky as the limit to your losses if the stock goes up a lot. Some private investors have this option, but very few personal investors ever request this right, and even fewer get it.

[ElanthianSiren]

It depends what you're trading and how much, as others have mentioned.

I started on Ameritrade, which is NICE if you want something to just kick it for awhile as you learn. Go with Apex trader -- imo. It sounds like you have the funds, and that gets you the most services in a least confusing detail if just starting out.

You can get something called Ameritrade Advanced Analyzer to buff up on chart patterns etc.

I don't like Fidelity and a few other brokerages because they charge extra for things like charts etc. It's hard to learn when you feel pressured to cover basic expenditures like charting.

Are you looking to day trade? Options trade? or Invest. All three of these have different criteria for use. Currently, I use Terra Nova because they're direct access and I can get support 24/7 via IMs due to a service I belong to. Without knowing more, I can't say much for you.


-Melissa