When I researched a discount broker in the past, one of the most important pieces of information I was always looking for in the commission that the broker charges for buying and selling stocks. I want it be as cheap as possible. However, the problem is when I went to a certain broker and checked out their commission & fee page, I often found they only compare themselves with their peers who usually charge a higher fee to show potential customers that they are the cheapest. For example, this is what you will see at Zecco:
Obviously, nobody wants to show people there are cheaper options available unless they have other features to separate themselves from others. For me, I usually had to go to a few brokers’ websites and cross-compared their fees to find the one I wanted. It would be nice if I can find all broker commissions in one page without going from one website to another.
Well, if that’s what you are thinking as well, then here’s the table I put together with how much discount brokers change for trading stocks, mutual funds, and options, plus minimum deposit required to open an account. As you can see, I have excluded brokers that charge $10 or more for each trade. Some well-known brokers in that category include E*Trade ($12.99/trade), Charless Schwab ($12.95/trade), and optionsXpress ($14.95/trade), etc. I just think it doesn’t make any sense to pay $10 commission to be a few thousands of dollars worth of stocks. Also, from the table, it seems that using a broker, even a deep discount broker, to buy mutual funds doesn’t seem to be a good idea because fees for trading mutual funds (all non-load, transaction-fee funds. Some brokers do offer non-transaction-fee funds, but the selections are usually limited) are generally much higher than for stocks/options. For mutual funds it’s better to go directly to the fund company instead.
Of course, the table is by no means complete. I will add to it when I find other brokers with discount rates. If there’s any other brokers you know that charge less, please also let me know.
| Broker |
Stocks |
Mutual Funds |
Options |
Account Minimum |
| Lightspeed Trading |
$0.00395/share |
N/A |
$0.50/contract |
$10,000 |
| Just2Trade |
$2.50 |
$2.50 |
$2.50+$0.50/contract |
$2,500 |
| SogoTrade |
$3.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$500 |
| Marsco |
$3.95 |
$15.00 |
$3.95+$1.25 |
$2,500 |
| ShareBuilder+ |
$4.00 |
$0 |
$9.95+$1.50/contract |
$0 |
| Zecco |
$4.50 |
$10.00 |
$4.50+$0.50/contract |
$0 |
| LowTrades |
$4.95 |
$25.00 |
$4.95+$0.60/contract |
$500 |
| OptionsHouse |
$4.95 |
N/A |
$9.95/trade |
$1,000 |
| MB Trading |
$4.95 |
$50.00 |
$1.00/contract |
$1,000 |
| TradeKing |
$4.95 |
$14.95 |
$4.95+$0.50/contract |
$0 |
| ChoiceTrade |
$5.00 |
N/A |
$5.00+$0.99/contract |
$0 |
| MarkeTrade |
$5.95 |
$25.00 |
$10.00+$1.50/contract |
$1,000 |
| AB Watley Direct*** |
$6.95 |
$40.00 |
$9.95+$1.50/contract |
$2,000 |
| Firstrade |
$6.95 |
$9.95 |
$6.95+$1.25/contract |
$0 |
| Scottrade |
$7.00 |
$17.00 |
$7+$1.25/contract |
$500 |
| Wang Investments |
$7.00 |
$30.00 |
$7.00+$1.00/contract |
$0 |
| Terra Nova Financial |
$7.50 |
N/A |
$7.50+$1.25/contract |
$5,000 |
| TradeMonster |
$7.50 |
$15.00 |
$7.50+$0.50/contract |
$2,000 |
| Investrade |
$7.95 |
$15.00 |
$7.95+$1.50/contract |
$2,000 |
| ThinkOrSwim** |
$9.95 |
$0 |
$9.95+$1.50/contract |
$3,500 |
| TD Ameritrade |
$9.99 |
$49.99 |
$9.99+$0.75/contract |
$0 |
| Trading Direct |
$9.95 |
$21.95 |
$15.00+$1.50/contract |
$0 |
| TradeStation* |
$9.99 |
N/A |
$9.99+$1.00/contract |
$10,000 |
*TradeStation offers both per-share commission plan and flat-fee plan. $9.99/trade is flat-fee plan for 1 - 9 trades/month.
**ThinkOrSwim’s per-share commission is $.015 per share ($5.00 minimum)
***AB Watley Direct’s 90-day introductory rate. $9.95 afterwards.
+ShareBuilder $4 commission for automatic investment plan. $9.95 real-time trade. ING mutual funds only.
Original Post on The Sun's Financial Diary
