Discount online brokerage

Is it a good choice for online stock market trading brokers?

When a trader needs a broker, one obvious choice is some discount online brokerage firm.

But sometimes you’ll hear that it’s better to have a full-service broker. So what is better?

A full-service broker is a company that offers stock execution services but also several “value added” services like analysis and opinions. Therefore, these companies’ fees for trades are higher, like over $100 USD per trade.

The trader doesn’t need any value added services. The trader himself prepares most of the analysis and trade decisions. So, what really matters is quality of execution.

Discount stock broker

A discount online brokerage firm is a good option for private trading. These discount brokerages are oriented only to execution of trade orders provided by clients. A good discount brokerage should execute trades in seconds and provide good fills (good price) without big slippage.

It’s also very good if the discount online brokerage offers direct access to several different exchanges. It means the trader could route his order to a specific exchange or ECN. This feature is very important if you’re looking for a day trading stock broker, but it’s also very useful for swing and position trading.

Although I think the value of commissions is not the most important issue (good execution is the primary goal), the standard basic fee for trade should not exceed $15 USD. For traders who trade small amounts of shares per trade (up to 500 pcs) it’s also good to check per share fees.

Online discount stock brokers

I haven’t mentioned it yet, but stock broker firms should offer stock trading online through the Internet. They should offer good online software for stock trading.


Personal note

I’ve used several different discount stock brokerage firms my trading career.

Now, I use two of them for my professional stock trading. They offer very good services, have excellent execution, and their fees are reasonable.

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