Looking for Cheap Stock Trading Sites?
February 2nd, 2010 at 2:40 pm Posted by The Dean
When it comes to stock trading it makes sense to try and do it as cheaply as possible. If the charges you pay for making your trades are more expensive with one site than another, this will cut into your profit margin. And that’s not something you want to be doing every day.
So how do you find cheap stock trading sites?
The number one point is research. As you start to look into the market you will see there are plenty of trading sites that promise to help you make your all important trades. But there are a couple of questions you need to ask. Firstly, what starting balance do they require? A quick look online for the purposes of writing this article revealed one company that needs a $15,000 start up balance. In contrast, another one found soon afterward requires just $2,000 to begin. It just goes to show what a difference five minutes of research can make. $15,000 will be beyond the reach of a lot of people hoping to start in stock trading.
Another thing you need to ask is what the charges are. You will sometimes find that those sites who demand a higher starting balance charge lower commissions. Lower balances meanwhile can point to higher commissions. But this does not always ring true so do make sure you look into the details.
One thing you do need to be aware of is that online brokers are usually the best way to go. Just as with other businesses they have little in the way of overheads so they can be more competitive in the marketplace as a result.
Once you have a shortlist of potential brokers to use, it is worth doing a bit of background research on them. You can bet that other people out there have used them and reviewed them somewhere online, so take advantage of that fact. If a particular service is less than satisfactory you will find evidence of it in reviews that have been left online.
Finally remember that cheap does not necessarily mean good. Obviously you want to find a cheap stock trading site you can use all the time. But you don’t want to do away with quality and an efficient service for the sake of spending a couple of dollars less per trade. Always balance out the two essentials to find the best sites for your needs.
I found this helpful: http://online-stock-trading-review.toptenreviews.com/
this is a guideline – don’t trust it – check each provider to confirm this.
note the “Investments Offered” Rating – make sure you pick a 4-square one,
especially if you daytrade penny stocks, otherwise you may not be able to
get shares, or must call in the trade instead of trading it online. check
to see if these are any service charges for getting a paper copy of your
trades and statements by mail, and watch out for account inactivity fees.
better “Trading/Investment Tools” mean they are available, but they may
not be free – often requiring heavy trading activity and/or high balance.
if you often trade by voice phone – see “Broker-Assisted Orders” added fees.
i have tons of other advice on making the choice, but it’s not my blog