Stock broker commissions are becoming cheaper and cheaper. The choices are also expanding so look for competition to continually bring prices down. This is good for us, but there are so many choices to choose from. Here are a few you might want to look into.

Unless you get free trades, there isn’t an option that’s cheaper than OptionsHouse. At $2.95, it’s the cheapest place to get your trades executed. However, the broker is relatively newer so you may want to do more due diligence.

If you don’t mind the bad publicity and the fact that they might change the rules again, Zecco isn’t a bad choice. Currently, they still offer free stock trades for those that have $25,000 in assets or trade 25 times a month.

OptionsXpress is pretty awesome because they are a great options broker. However, their stock trades are $14.95 which is pretty high. This one is for those that don’t mind paying a little extra for a good broker.

Wells Trade offers 100 free trades a year for those that have a combined $25,000 assets with them. For those that already have a Wells Fargo account, this isn’t a bad option. However, just bare with the less than spectacular trading platform.

The highest rated deep discount stock broker is TradeKing. The commission is $4.95 a trade and continues to be one of the cheapest per trade price out there.

I love Etrade because of their user interface. Even though the stock commission is $9.99 and $12.99 in some cases, it is still at the top of my list of recommended stock brokers.

Scottrade offers seven dollar trades, which isn’t bad but not the cheapest. However, their customer support is second to none and they also have the most branches nationwide. In addition, they are the cheapest option that offers face to face interaction.

TradeMonster is relatively new but they are endorsed by Guy Adami and the Najarian Boys on Fast Money. People love OptionsMonster (which they also own) so I would check it out just based on that alone.

Charles Schwab, or Schwab for short, loves customers who have more than $300,000 in household investable assets. Less than that and you don’t really get the same quality attention.

TD Ameritrade isn’t that great but it works. The less than ten dollar trade was a first of its kind. They also advertise no hidden fees although there’s a fee if you transfer your account away from them.

Stock trading is great, but who is the right broker to choose? If you are on the fence, check out these TradeKing promotional code because it might help you decide.

Tweet This Post

Technorati Tags: broker, brokerage firm, cash, commissions, commodities, fees, funds, index funds, investing, Investments, mutual funds, options, stock, trading

Many mistakes, many years later and stand before you is a man who knows about stock brokers. I’ve almost tried them all so I can quickly tell whether the interface is good or not, without making a single trade. Here’s what I think about the different brokers.

Zecco still advertises stock trading at no cost, but the package it offers is a far cry from the unlimited free trades that it used to promote. Nonetheless, 10 free trades per month (for those that qualify) is still quite good.

OptionsHouse is relatively new but it’s making headlines as it provides stock trades at $2.95 per trade. The options pricing is very attractive as well at $9.95 flat fee, making it one of the cheapest brokers out there. There’s no bank or anything, but the cost may win you over.

TradeKing, while not the lowest price broker anymore, is still very good. It keeps winning awards like the Smart Money best discount broker award and others, all while maintaining their good pricing and awesome customer service.

OptionsXpress is cool because it focuses on options but they have since expanded into the arena of stocks. They do a fine job on the educational front as well.

Scottrade was one of the oldies and I have a tough time spelling this stock broker correctly. Anyway, it offers $7 a trade and is probably good for you if you like the old style trading platforms. Otherwise, stick with the others.

TD Ameritrade has good person support because you can walk into a branch and talk to someone. However, its website is lacking and looks like something from the 80s. I wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole but you may like it.

Etrade offers one of the best overall stock broker experience out there today. With its amazing array of features as well as a banking division, there are lots of flexibility with this firm.

Tweet This Post

Technorati Tags: broker, brokerage, fixed income, futures, income, investing, Investments, money, options, options broker, options on futures, stock broker, trading

After years of trading, I’ve come up with a pretty good understand of how stock brokers work and how to figure out whether the brokerage firm is a good one or not. Do you have a dud or a winner? Find the broker below and see for yourself.

Zecco still advertises stock trading at no cost, but the package it offers is a far cry from the unlimited free trades that it used to promote. Nonetheless, 10 free trades per month (for those that qualify) is still quite good.

OptionsHouse’s pricing is only $2.95 per trade. Yup. Less than three dollars. I know. It’s cheap, and their competitors know this. It will be interesting to see how everyone else response once the word is out.

TradeKing was one of the first stock brokers who invented the area of discount brokerage firms. It’s good customer support, fair pricing and good tools ranks high in my book of stock brokers.

OptionsXpress trouts itself as the best options broker and it certainly has great options trading tools. Price wise, it’s not the cheapest but if you are looking for good education and great trading tools, look no further.

Scottrade was one of the oldies and I have a tough time spelling this stock broker correctly. Anyway, it offers $7 a trade and is probably good for you if you like the old style trading platforms. Otherwise, stick with the others.

TD Ameritrade really needs to update their interface, as well as lower their pricing. The price is high, not to mention that the website have been known to be down under heavy use.

Etrade offers one of the best overall stock broker experience out there today. With its amazing array of features as well as a banking division, there are lots of flexibility with this firm.

Tweet This Post

Technorati Tags: broker, brokerage, fixed income, futures, income, investing, Investments, money, options, options broker, options on futures, stock broker, trading

Bonds are one of the main stream types of investment along with stocks and real estate, and if you want to learn how to trade bonds make sure that you get a good education in the subject 1st. There are certain things you must understand about bonds before you start investing in them. Not understanding these things may cause you to purchase the wrong bonds, at the wrong maturity date.

Like all investments it is important to learn about what you are investing in, and certainly don’t just take the advice given to you by a bond seller without checking it out first yourself. The three most important things that must be considered when purchasing a bond include the par value, the maturity date, and the coupon rate.

The par value of a bond refers to the amount of money you will receive when the bond reaches its maturity date. In other words, you will receive your initial investment cash back when the bond reaches maturity.

The maturity date is the date that the bond will reach its full value. On this date, you will receive your initial investment, plus the interest that your money has earned.

Corporate and State and Local Government bonds can be ‘called’ before they reach their maturity, at which time the corporation or issuing Government will return your initial investment, along with the interest that it has earned thus far. Federal bonds cannot be “called”.

The coupon rate is the interest rate that you will receive when the bond reaches maturity. This number is written as a percentage, and you must use other information to find out what the interest will be. A bond that has a par value of $2000, with a coupon rate of 5% would earn $100 per year until it reaches maturity.

Because bonds are not issued by banks, many people don’t understand how to go about buying one. There are 2 ways this can be done.

You can use a broker or brokerage firm to buy them for you or you can go directly to the Government. If you use a broker, you will more than likely be charged a commission fee. If you want to use a broker, shop around for the lowest commissions!

Purchasing directly through the Government is not nearly as hard as it once was. There is a program called Treasury Direct which will allow you to purchase bonds and all of your bonds will be held in one account, that you will have easy access to. This will allow you to avoid using a broker or brokerage firm.

More advanced traders may try to buy and sell bonds to take advantage of the price movements, you can even swing trade them. But this is a very risky business if you don’t know what you are doing, you will need to take a swing trading course if this was something that wanted to, but again most people just buy and hold.

Tweet This Post

Technorati Tags: banks, bonds, broker, invest, investment, money, stocks, swing trade, Trader", trading

There is a rising interest in forex dealing software, soon after the unrestricted availability of automated systems. Not long ago this was the zone where the players were large investors, be it banking companies or other financial institutions, but now even mid and tiny level investors are getting attracted towards this field. This is the marketplace where one trades currency of one country with that of another. Trillions of dollars are traded here each day without stopping making it the largest and most active financial markets of the world.

What with the advent of the internet and state-of-the-art computer technology, anyone having net, backed by forex trading software programs and some basic knowledge of accounting and brokering can do trading with forex. Stable observation is needed to keep updated with the current marketplace developments since this worldwide marketplace is open 24/7. Before you deal in any currency the automatic system allows you to not just select the currency, but also its asking and selling price. You simply want some small amount as initial investment and a broker and your buying and selling program can be done instantly.

No previous experience or expertise is needed for making money in this deal as the forex dealing software programs takes care of everything. When automatic trading systems are used by managed accounts, the program itself handles all the details for you. trading won’t be a problem for you because the auto systems will see to it that it will perform the process thus saving you loads of time. What the automatic dealing programs can do that the manual trading cannot is that it can assist you with the management of more than one account at the same time. These programs allow you the trading of multiple systems in multiple market places.

You need not be present and can choose to deal any time as the forex trading software programs allows you that flexibility and convenience. This means that you never miss any prospect to make more money, even when you are not seated in front of your computer. In that case, working on different systems is no longer that demanding which can also let you effortlessly set up your numerous forex strategies. Each system is designed to be activated by some specific deal components so you can spread your investment and get maximum returns with marginal risk accordingly.

This forex trading software programs has a wonderful feature of not taking for granted the human issues that are usually the root of why irrational trading decisions are made. You will then be able to administer and oversee or even trade in many currencies at the same time, if you like.

Being equipped with the knowledge about basics of dealing, its fundamental and technical examination, study of market indicators, etc. is something that this forex dealing software programs can’t do without if you want to benefit from long-term profits. Even if you use the top-end automatic systems, there is no guarantee of success as the forex market is guided by a number of ingredients and variables. You can easily program and customize the forex dealing computer software to suit your own specific requirements.

Tweet This Post

Technorati Tags: AI Software, broker, commodities, commodity trading, currencies, currency market, day trading, day trading robot, forex exchange, money, New York, stock market, Stock Trading Software, trading

iraepsteinfutures Ira Epstein and Company Futures Trading, Online Trading, Technical Analysis, Metals Review, Sales: 800-284-3010

Duration : 0:8:40

Read the rest of this entry »

Tweet This Post

Technorati Tags: broker, commodities, Copper, Epstein, futures, gold, index, investment, Ira, iraepsteinfutures, money, options, silver, stock, trading