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by Neil Parmar
In this annual survey, SmartMoney's Neil Parmar explains that there's no longer much difference between premium and discount brokers; fees and commissions no longer vary widely, for example, nor do products… and services offered. Instead, this review lists the best and the worst online broker in each of six categories: commissions and fees; research; trading tools; mutual funds and investment products; banking services; and customer service. This makes the review ideal for those who want to evaluate brokers based on specific criteria. TD Ameritrade and E*Trade are each named best in separate categories, and they share the honor in another. The rankings and commissions reported here are based on an assumed investor who has at least $50,000 in a brokerage account and who trades up to 20 times per year. This is the most detailed review we found, and fairly up to date.
by Theresa W. Carey
For their 13th annual ranking of the best online brokers, Barron's changes its methods and compares the brokers as a single group rather than separating them into web-only and software categories.… Twenty-three brokers are rated in eight areas. TradeStation ranks number one overall, with Thinkorswim coming in second. The top picks here don't match up with those in the SmartMoney review above, but author Theresa Carey explains that Barron's performs its analyses based on an assumed investor who has a $100,000 portfolio and trades at least 36 times per year -- different from SmartMoney's assumed investor. A table is included in which all 23 brokerages are listed in order of their overall ranking, along with their scores in each of the eight areas. Other short tables list the top brokers in four categories: best for buy-and-hold investors, for options traders, for frequent traders, and for international traders. Another ranks the three least-expensive online brokers for occasional traders (six stock and two options trades per month) and for frequent traders (100 stock and 100 options trades). Finally, the review discusses each broker in detail, listing its pros and cons. Overall, this is a thorough, well-researched review.
by Thomas M. Anderson
Kiplinger's reports the results of its 2008 survey of online brokers. Staff who contributed to this review opened accounts at the 12 online brokerages considered the best choices for the average investor.… Based on outside research as well as their experience opening and using the accounts, they assess the brokers in five areas: customer service; online research and trading tools; website design and ease of use; commission and fee structures; and number and variety of investment choices. Fidelity takes first place overall, followed by Charles Schwab and Muriel Siebert. The article notes that a number of brokers were excluded from the survey: T. Rowe Price and Vanguard because they primarily use their online brokerages to support their other business; ShareBuilder.com, because it did not answer Kiplinger's questions; and Thinkorswim and TradeStation because they are more suitable for frequent traders than for the average investor.
by Editors of J.D. Power and Associates
More than 5,000 investors who make more than half their investment decisions without an investment adviser responded to J.D. Power's annual self-directed investor satisfaction survey. Out of 15 brokers,… Scottrade is the highest rated for customer satisfaction and achieves this rank for the eighth time in nine years. Vanguard drops from second place to fourth and is replaced by ShareBuilder/ING Direct. Charles Schwab ranks third, only two points (on a scale of 800) behind second place. Lowest rated for overall satisfaction are Smith Barney and Merrill Lynch.
by Editors of Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities
Subscribers to this magazine are frequent traders who want electronic access to the best real-time data, technical analysis tools and trade execution tools. A special issue each year announces the Readers'… Choice Awards, the results of subscribers' votes for the best online brokers and trading services. We looked at the winners in the categories of best direct-access stock brokerage and futures brokerage, best stock brokerage and futures brokerage overall and best forex (foreign exchange) brokerage. (Direct access means that your order, placed via a software platform, goes directly to the market.) We also considered winners for best trading systems. For 2008, Interactive Brokers is voted best direct-access stock and futures broker, best stock broker overall and best forex broker. TradeStation is named best futures broker overall, and its software platform is voted best trading system for stocks, futures and options.
by Editors of Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports Money Lab evaluates 19 online brokers that are accessible to investors using a standard web browser. Brokers are rated using seven criteria including a minimum trade fee, research and… education and customer support. Consumer Reports finds that competition among firms has led many to reduce fees and commissions and add low-cost financial services. We downgraded this review because the data is from Feb. 28, 2007.
by Blain Reinkensmeyer
Stock Trading to Go is a site dedicated to providing market commentary from investment professionals. Site owner Blain Reinkensmeyer names his picks for top online brokers based on trading fees only. "The… cheaper, the better," he says. This review has obviously been updated since it was posted on May 31, 2007, but neither the date nor the title has been changed on the website. The article now lists six top online brokers and has links to reviews of these and three others. Most of the information in the reviews, however, is taken directly from the brokers' websites. This website includes other articles by Reinkensmeyer and his staff including a detailed October 2007 piece on "12 Ways to Compare Your Online Stock Broker." Readers add comments at the end of each article.
by Matt Krantz
Matt Krantz's article focuses on aggressive competition from banks and extreme-discount brokers, many of which offer free trades for certain investors. The price slashing means that investors might want to… rethink paying more than $10 a trade. Krantz examines 14 brokers, detailing base commission, advantages, disadvantages and best matches for investors. For example, he says that Charles Schwab is best for those who aren't fully invested and want a decent return on cash. Conversely, E*Trade suits investors who trade 150 times a year or more and need access to tools designed for day traders. This is a well-written article, but it's now out of date.
by Readers of fivecentnickle.com
This website is maintained by an anonymous self-described "30-something year old" who is a self-taught financial guru. In this article, he reports the results of his request for readers to list their… favorite online discount brokers. It is unclear how many readers responded or what number of votes each broker received. Very short write-ups provide few details about the four online brokers with the most votes. The favorites are Zecco, TradeKing, E*Trade and ShareBuilder. Readers' comments follow the article. Zecco is listed as a sponsor of the website.
by Editors of Keynote Systems
by Contributors to Epinions.com
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