In this first lesson, I would like to talk about the most important thing in trading. This is the first thing you NEED to do before you can start making money$$$!!! Yes, you need an account. It is very easy to apply for one and normally takes about 2-3 days. Then you need to either use wire transfer (gets there in 1 day) or use online transfer service (usually free and gets there in 3 days). So that process took about a week and you are all set.
A lot of people have been emailing me asking which broker is the best? And the answer is I don’t know! There are so many online discount brokers out there that you can choose from. They have different commission rates, customer service, platforms, execution speed (which everyone of them claims to be the best!), and etc. So below are some of the brokers that I suggested people to use. Feel free to check them out and if you have any comments please leave them at the bottom of the page.
Personally I like Etrade because you get free access to Etrade Pro platform (which I really like) if you do 30 trades or more in a quarter. However, sometimes they can be very slow on penny stock orders. Standard commission is $9.99/trade and if you trade more than 150/quarter then you get it down to $7.99/trade. Also if you are a new customer you’ll get free trades for 60days! Customer service is great, and I never had any problems with them. Minimum for margin account is $2,000 and cash account is $500.
SpeedTrader (1-800-874-3039), Live Chat
I have used SpeedTrader for a while and don’t really like their charting program. They use DAS as a trading platform and it’s just so much different from Etrade. The advantage they have over Etrade is the speed of execution. You can really see the difference when you trade penny stocks and fast moving stocks. Their commission is $6.95/trade or $0.0039/share. However, you can negotiate with them down to $4.95 though. The basic SpeedTrader Pro software is $49/month but if you need, level 2 on OTCBB and Listed Stocks then you have to pay $134/month. You can get the software for free by executing 20trades or more PER MONTH. (vs Etrade with 10trades/month). If you really like to play penny stocks, pump and dumps and like to have access to many routing, this is a broker for you. Minimum for margin account is $2,000 and cash account is $1,000.
ChoiceTrade (877-731-9114) Email: service@choicetrade.com
I never use ChoiceTrade before but many of my friends suggested me to check it out. One thing that I heard about them is that they are really good with international clients and the speed of execution is quite good. They also use DAS as their platform and the commission is $5/trade and $7/trade for OTCBB and Pink Sheet. Their ChoiceTrader Pro platform cost $49.95/month but if you want level 2 on listed stocks and OTCBB&Pink sheet you have to pay $144.95/month and I don’t believe that they refund your commissions even though you place a lot of trades. No minimum for cash account and $2,000 for margin.
Cheap and good customer service. Their commission is only $4.95/trade but will add $0.01/share if the stock you trades are priced less than $2. So it’s not ideal with penny stock traders. Their platform is web-base so it will be a little bit slower than DAS platform but all trading tools are free. No minimum for cash account and $2,000 for margin account. PS. No international investors accepted.
OptionsHouse (1-877-653-2500), Live Chat, Email
One of the cheapest commission out there with $3.95/trade. They also allow paper trades which is really good for new traders that wanted to test their strategies. Instead of funding real money into the account you can choose to fund “virtual money” Try it out HERE for yourself. If you are a technical trader though, OptionsHouse is not for you since their charting program is not that great. They use web-base platform which is free but will not work with Oprea. Minimum for cash account is $1,000 and $2,000 for margin account.
SureTrader (242-328-7800/1), Live Support, Email
Brought to you buy SpeedTrader. If you are looking to escape PDT rule then this is your one stop broker. DAS platform, which will give you fast execution and they have great borrows for short sellers. Commission is $4.95/trade up to 1,000 shares and will be 0.00495 per share after. However, commission can be negotiated if you place a lot of trades. Wire outgoing is $100 and free for incoming. If you place less than 15 trades/quarter though, you will have to pay $50 for inactivity fee. Web-base software is free but DAS platform is $49/month and if you like to have level 2 on listed stocks and pink sheet/OTCBB you would have to pay $124/month. Minimum for cash account is $500 and for margin account is $2,000.
Those are only brokers that I suggested for TRADERS, if you are an INVESTOR (see the difference HERE) you can basically go with any brokers out there. The ones that I highly recommended for traders are Etrade and SpeedTrader, and if you looking to get over PDT rule then go with SureTrader.
