Online Trading

[rcw]

Scott Trade, E-Trade or Fidelity? Not looking to drop a bunch of cash, just trying to get started!

[-JAW-]

Scott Trade, E-Trade or Fidelity? Not looking to drop a bunch of cash, just trying to get started! I use E-Trade, but know almost nothing about the others. ~ I would say that if you don't have at least $20,000 to play with then it is not worth your time. Instead, put it in a mutual fund, and if you want to learn to trade create an imaginary fund on a site like Lycos and practice trading there where losing play money won't hurt.

Good Luck!



:rybka:

[Kyle 1974]

RCW, Like Jaw mentioned, most people recommend you had a substantial amount of money to invest before trading (I read one article that suggested 40K to 100K)... but I think I had the same idea you have. I had a few thousand bucks, and just wanted to see how the game works, learn a few ins and outs, learn how the tax part of the trading game plays out.

I set up an account on Etrade, mainly because they were offering 100 free trades for the first quarter you sign up. That way, with a free trade, you're not paying the 10 bucks every time you sell or buy, which can cut into your profits when you don't have much to invest.

Since I've had the account started about 3 months ago, I'm up approximatley 20%... it's not a huge sum of money, but it's 20%, and better than I would have done leaving it in a savings account.

good luck to you

[pelican]

-JAW- and Kyle are right ... you need an account of 20-50 k minimum or the commissions will significantly eat into your profit ... not to mention needing some experience and training. Figure putting no more than 10% of your equity into each trade! So with a $10K account only $1k goes into a single trade. If ... IF ... you make 10% on a trade ($100) you're losing 20% for commissions (9.95 each way).

A lot depends on what type trading you plan to do ... micro, day ,swing, short or longer term. More trades, more commission expense.

I currently use eTrade (switched from Fidelity) but am thinking of going to Interactive Brokers or TradeStation.

[Sow Trout]

I use e-trade and Schwab. I really like the e-trade format and ease of use. I think it is the most user friendly of the several that I have tried. I don't buy on margin and don't make a lot of trades. I buy stock in a good company and hold it until something about the company or the industry changes. If you want to invest less than $20,000 I would put it into some Vanguard funds with low expenses.

[Fubar]

I've used Ameritrade since 1997, no problems. They advance their platforms yearly and keep the fees reasonable.

[Spiderweb]

Take a look OTA. It is a traning company. Vince Rowe has a Radio Show on 1320 at 11am. See what you think. http://www.tradingacademy.com
I planning to attend in March.

Spidy

[D. Walker]

If you want to invest online, you should go with Scottrade. They offer the best fee structure in the industry with seven dollar trades and no maintenance fee's. 9,000+ mutual funds, CD's, equity, and bonds. Check out the broker comparison chart under reasons to apply @ Scottrade.com. I work in the Corpus Christi office and have been using them as my broker for almost four years now.