The Best Options Broker. Latest Update October 28, 2016. The best options trading platform isn’t going to be an afterthought tacked on to an existing suite of products: it should be robust and easy to use. Beginners need enough support to learn the ropes and experienced traders are after low fees and powerful tools. We signed up, assessed the fees, took the tools for a spin, and narrowed it down to three top picks. The one that's best for you depends on what you’re after. Tons of online and in-person support, plus a practice platform that lets you try everything out with “paperMoney.” The downside? Higher fees. Rock-bottom pricing, but no research or method support. Unrivaled tools & research with pricing that favors active traders. There are a lot of brokers that are perfectly capable of trading options — nearly all of the big (read: old-school) names have an options platform integrated into their suite of offerings.
But for those looking to really dive in, whether as a beginner just starting out or an active trader looking to level up, the best platform won’t be something that’s just tacked on. How We Found the Best Options Broker. To find the brokers that cater specifically to options, we looked at 36 choices and analyzed their products. We prioritized the most important aspects: Cost matters a lot when it comes to trading options. It’s the very nature: part of the appeal of options is that the returns can be major even if you don’t fork over a lot of cash up front, and many traders use options as a cheaper alternative to going long on a high-priced stock. Fees can add up and even wipe out the profits from any profitable trades. Granted, slightly higher fees may be worth it if a broker can provide other perks (say, excellent resources and education for beginners), but we wanted all our picks to have competitive pricing. We also wanted to avoid minimum balance requirements, or a set number of trades per month. Easy-to-use interfaces are a make-or-break for most platforms. The price of options contracts can swing a lot over the course of a trading day poking around a clunky options chain can literally cost you. Education and resources are important, especially for investors who are getting their feet wet. Sure you’ve got a handle on multi-leg options trades, but do you know when it’s the right time for a bull call spread? What’s an iron butterfly? Not all traders will need hand-holding, but we wanted to find at least one excellent options broker we could recommend to newcomers. Flexibility can be interpreted a few ways.
For us, it meant the robustness of the platform (could we research and purchase stocks and ETFs in addition to options?) its flexibility (could we streamline a multi-leg options trade, or did we have to input them all separately?) and whether or not we could customize it to our liking. It was quick work to eliminate the most expensive platforms, as well as the ones that had absolutely no resources or reports. To test ease of use and flexibility, we signed up for accounts and simulated making trades on all the rest. Three brokers rose to the top, and each brings something unique to the table. Our Picks for Best Options Broker. TD Ameritrade Higher fees on an ultra-easy platform. Plus, tons of support and education. TD Ameritrade is one of the largest online brokerages in the market today, with over 7 million funded customer accounts and over $700 billion in total client assets, and despite its slightly higher prices, it provides the best platform for a beginner trading any product, options or otherwise. For more novice traders, the platform supports the jump from trading stocks with the funds in an IRA to more sophisticated products like options. It’s robust, plus it has the customer service and educational resources to make the transition. There are webinars and hours of on-demand videos that’ll teach you about options strategies and how to literally execute those strategies on the platform. TD Ameritrade is a full-service broker, and that full service (we’re talking 247 customer service and 100 branches for face-to-face consultations) does come with higher fees.
Barron’s agrees, awarding it “best platform for novices” five years running. We can anticipate its service only getting better too. In 2016, TD Ameritrade started the process of acquiring Scottrade, another platform known for it’s in-person customer service offerings. In fact, TD Ameritrade is one of the best platforms for all levels of investors, serving up two discrete products: thinkorswim and Trade Architect. Thinksorswim is a desktop platform designed for an all-around trading experience: charts with real-time data, news tickers, 300-plus technical studies, alerts and alarms, heat mapping, options screeners, securities scanner, and more, all accessible in a single click. It’s definitely for seasoned investors — newcomers will likely be overwhelmed — but it’s worth bringing up because a virtual playspace called paperMoney allows even total novices to cut their teeth without risking even a single penny. We recommend beginners stick to TD Ameritrade’s web-based platform Trade Architect. It is nowhere near as robust as thinkorswim (and has nowhere near as jazzy a name), but it provides everything a new investor would want and it’s ultra-easy to use. It’s not bogged down with all the bells and whistles and live-streaming CNBC. Tabs at the top are simply categorized under jargon-free headings: account overview, watch lists, alarms, idea generators, and heat maps. Unlike thinkorswim, the platform is customizable. If you want more widgets, like say, additional stock tickers or video, they’re there for the adding. If beginner investors use TD Ameritrade’s education library to learn the ropes, practice using paperMoney in thinkorswim, and then easily execute trades with Trade Architect, the slightly higher fee may suddenly seem worth it. OptionsHouse The lowest fees and no minimum balance requirements.
OptionsHouse isn’t the most recognizable name in the industry, and that’s probably because this online broker hasn’t pursued an aggressive marketing campaign like some of the other brokers out there (remember E*Trade’s old Super Bowl ads?). The company was founded in 2005 and was established to specifically provide options traders who demanded lower fees from the then burgeoning online brokerage industry. Those low fees are still what makes OptionsHouse so popular. There’s a $0 minimum deposit to join and options trade at $4.95 + $0.50contract (stocks trade at a flat $4.95 fee). This is the lowest price in the industry. Only TradeKing comes close — matching that $4.95 options base fee, but charging $5 more than OptionsHouse for the exercise fee. The OptionsHouse platform is striking if a bit chaotic — there are buttons, tabs, and menus all over the place. It’s intuitive and there’s a tutorial to walk you through, but to a beginner it might seem more like sitting in front of the controls of an aircraft than is comfortable. Beginners take note: OptionsHouse does have a virtual platform that’s great for practicing. And, the tradeLAB makes dissecting options spreads simple — the green smiley face is good the red frown is no good. What you won’t get for those low fees is method and research: OptionsHouse has about 30 technical studies TD Ameritrade has 300. It’s important to note that E*Trade purchased OptionsHouse for a whopping $725 million in 2016. It is still unclear how any pricing structures or account features and perks will change after the sale is completed, but an OptionsHouse blog post suggests that E*Trade’s tools and services will become available after the platforms merge. Best Tools and Research.
optionsXpress A one-stop shop within a major firm, with an options-native platform. OptionsXpress was purchased by Charles Schwab back in 2011 to enhance Schwab’s competitive edge in options trading. The result is a one-stop shop with an options-native platform that’s pretty whiz-bang. Everything happens through the desktop platform, Xtend, but all the trading tools are also on the optionsXpress web platform. It’s fully customizable, and it’s easy to find real-time quotes and market data, news and reports, and company background information. The Idea Hub scans the market for volatility, earnings, and income-based strategies and offers new trade ideas. With Walk Limit, you can set a few parameters, and it will scan updated market data and re-create an order you may have made at a higher price in the past. Sign up for the Xpresso newsletter and you’ll get a daily email alerting you to the day’s risks and opportunities. Add to that an impressive library of educational resources, as well as access to all of Charles Schwab’s investment research (and free access to its seminars and meetings at local branches), and a virtual trading platform that helps beginner investors practice all types of trading with $25,000 in fake cash. If you need help from a broker — to calm your first-timer nerves or to walk you through a complex method — they’re ready to help and totally free, too. The standard rates are steep, so we don’t recommend optionsXpress to the casual trader. Make more than 35 trades a quarter and you’ll click into “Active Trader” status and your fees will go down. Trade in volumes and there’s another discount trade contracts under a nickel and there’s another discount.
This is all to say the price structure favors the active. And while optionsXpress has a $0 account minimum and does not charge any annual or inactivity fees, if you leave, there is a $60 full outgoing transfer fee. The Best Options Broker at a Glance. Options are contracts that allow an investor the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an asset on or before a set date. Here’s an example: Say you are a buyer looking for a specific vintage car and you end up finding one you just have to have. When you find it, however, you know you won’t have any cash to buy it for another six months. You then negotiate with the owner to give you an option to buy the car in six months for a specific amount. If the owner agrees, you pay him a percentage up front for that option. The same scenario applies in the stock market – just for financial assets instead of vintage cars. If you were trading stocks, you’d be actually buying the car. Or, rather, not buying it since you didn’t have the money. Because options are simply options and not promises, if something happened to that vintage car — say it was sitting in the driveway and a tree fell on it — you wouldn’t have to buy it. You’d still be out the price you paid for the options contract, but at least you wouldn’t have lost all that money on a now-worthless pile of steel. And, if in those same six months something happens that makes the car go up in value, well, hey, you’ve already locked in your price.
If you’re new, you should prize learning tools. If you’re experienced, you’ll need to choose between low cost or amazing tools. No matter what, options trading shouldn’t be an afterthought tacked onto your platform. Best for Beginners. TD Ameritrade TD Ameritrade fees might be higher, but sometimes you get what you pay for. Consider your entire investment method. Don’t make your final decision solely based on options trading if it’s not the only kind of trading you’ll be doing. These online brokerage firms all offer a variety of investment opportunities. You may want to take into account their extra perks or the price of their mutual funds, for example. Know your expirations. Options are contracts that expire if they’re not acted on and an expired contract is worthless. Make sure you understand your expirations and set reminders using your broker’s platform, or on your calendar if you’re not trading every day.
We find the best of everything. How? We start with the world. We narrow down our list with expert insight and cut anything that doesn't meet our standards. We hand-test the finalists. Then, we name our top picks. 5 Best Online Broker Platforms For Options Traders. Options trading can be simple, but can quickly get complicated. Online brokers provide customers tools to handle the tons of quotes, statistics and underlying-securities tracking they might need to succeed in trading puts and calls. IBD's 2013 Best Online Brokers Survey found the five options trading platforms that clients rated highest.
They were OptionsXpress , TD Ameritrade ( AMTD ), Interactive Brokers, Charles Schwab ( SCHW ) and TradeStation . "Options can be used by a wide variety of investors to target a wide variety of objectives," said Jim Bittman, director of program development and a senior instructor for the Options Institute at the Chicago Board Options Exchange. Brokerage firms have developed platforms to help options traders of all levels, from novices who buy a call or put to advanced folks who put on multilegged positions. While some platforms are bare-bones, others have a barrage of features such as streaming data, sophisticated analytics and pricing tools. Investors can choose a platform that's Web-based or downloaded as a separate program. A Web-based trading platform is accessed from your broker's website. These are generally less fancy and less customizable. Downloaded platforms tend to use flashier charts and tools. They also tend to give users the ability to customize screens and layouts. OptionsXpress, owned by Schwab, has offerings for clients ranging from beginners to more sophisticated traders.
The broker's Web-based platform is not flashy, but is laid out well. It has easy-to-use order-entry interfaces under secondary navigations for single-option orders as well as spreads and covered calls. The company also has an all-in-one trade ticket that makes entering orders with multiple options faster and easier. Just select the method you want to put on, and the different legs of the trade will be set up for you. OptionsXpress also has tools to help find trade ideas, as well as volatility charts and price calculators. TD Ameritrade also offers a basic, Web-based platform that has something for every level of investor. Order entries for single options, covered calls, spreads and strangles can easily be accessed under a secondary navigation. For single options orders, you can choose an exchange to handle the order or you can have it done automatically. Whether you're putting on a spread, strangle or straddle, you easily get quotes for those trades as a package rather than viewing them in individual legs. For traders who want more advanced features, TD Ameritrade offers the Trade Architect and Thinkorswim platforms.
Trade Architect is a Web-based platform catering to active investors, who can select a method and get profit-and-loss graphs to see how the trade can play out. Thinkorswim, which requires a download, is TD Ameritrade's platform for advanced traders. Packed with sophisticated features, investors can monitor the market and place trades in one screen. Complex strategies can be easily placed, and investors can switch layout views to see implied volatilities and probabilities. Interactive Brokers has two platforms for customers. One is its Web Trader platform, which has just the basics for viewing option chains and entering orders. The company also offers a much more advanced tool for options traders. Interactive Broker's OptionTrader, which is within its Trader Workstation platform, lets users view options chains, including key statistics such as implied volatilities and greeks -- a term that refers to delta, gamma and other measures of options' sensitivity to various factors. Orders for single options or combination orders can easily be entered. Buttons are conveniently placed to reverse a position or hedge it from price risk. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of NASDAQ, Inc. Best Options Trading Brokers and Platforms. NerdWallet offers financial tools and advice to help people understand their options and make the best possible decisions.
The guidance we offer and info we provide are deeply researched, objective and independent. We spent over 300 hours reviewing the top online brokers before selecting the best for our readers. And to help you find the one that’s best for you, we’ve highlighted their pros, cons and current offers. Who is the best options broker today? The answer depends on whom you ask and what they value. For some investors, the best broker for trading options is the one with the cheapest commissions. Others prioritize trading tools, platform design, research, customer service or all of the above. While most of the brokers on our best-of list below would be a good, all-encompassing choice for many investors, we’ve also highlighted the standout candidates in specific areas that matter most to options traders. Unsure what you’re looking for? See how to choose an options broker for more on what can make or break an options trading experience. Summary: Best online stock brokers for options trading.
Best for low-cost. Best options trading platform. Best for research and education. Best overall for options trading. Our top picks cover all the option trader needs — access to high-quality research, analytical tools, a user-friendly platform — at reasonable prices. TD Ameritrade and Interactive Brokers earn high marks for options investors for their advanced trading platforms, deep bench of research and tools, plus their high-caliber options trading capabilities. TD Ameritrade handily serves option traders no matter where they are on the learning curve. The broker’s thinkorswim platform offers a robust options trading experience for active investors seeking professional-grade tools to identify trading opportunities, analyze potential risks and rewards, test trade strategies and quickly place even the most complex options trades. The broker’s web-based Trade Architect platform is for investors just getting into options or those who don’t require a high-octane platform. Its stripped-down, easy-to-use interface won’t overwhelm newbies. And although Trade Architect isn’t as fully stocked with tools and data as thinkorswim, it’s no slouch, either. Intermediate investors will find advanced features like a marketoptions heat map, screening and tradefinder tools, and streaming news. Get details in our TD Ameritrade review.
For cost-conscious, active options traders looking for low costs and a platform with a lot more meat on its bones, Interactive Brokers may be more your style. Interactive Brokers charges just 70 cents per contract with no base fee ($1 minimum order), plus discounts for larger volumes, if you can manage the $10,000 account minimum. Its Trader Workstation platform (with an options method lab) is considered one of the best and most sophisticated around. But watch other fees to ensure that the lower commissions pay off. Both brokers allow prospective clients to test-drive the goods without putting any real money on the line. TD Ameritrade offers a paperMoney virtual trading account to test out the thinkorswim platform. At Interactive Brokers, once customers open a real account (which has a $10,000 minimum funding requirement), they can set up a paper trading account that offers them hands-on practice using IB’s Trader Workstation platform and tools. Best brokers for low-cost options trading. These brokers offer competitively priced options trading commissions and have eliminated or dramatically capped minimum trading fees. In early 2017 most of the mainstream online brokers slashed commissions to levels once reserved for their deep-discount peers.
That doesn’t mean that they’re the best deal in town for every investor. For active options traders, eOption earns five stars from NerdWallet for its low options trade commissions. The company charges a fixed $3 base plus 15 cents per contract. Another plus: eOption is known for having some of the lowest margin rates available. Although eOption charges a $50 annual inactivity fee on accounts that have placed fewer than two trades in the past 12 months or have less than $10,000 in credit or debit balances, the minimum trade workaround isn’t onerous, even for infrequent traders. Charles Schwab’s trade commission of $4.95 base rate plus 65 cents per contract puts it within spitting distance of deep-discount peers. Schwab recently fully took over the old OptionsXpress and incorporated that broker’s options experience into its own platform, with both web-based and mobile functionality. Commissions aren’t the only costs associated with trading options. Platform, data and other fees can quickly cancel out what you save on commissions. See our full reviews of Charles Schwab and eOption for details on what they offer. For those simply looking for a cheap way to execute options trades, Charles Schwab and eOption get the job done. Best options trading platforms. These brokers offer some of the most powerful trading platforms available for a reasonable price. Judging a broker’s trading platform by the number of features it offers is like buying a car based solely on what you read in the dealer brochure.
While all investors have their must-have features, what’s more important is how the platform feels when it’s in their hands. The trading platforms at Ally Invest and TradeStation offer a wide variety of analytical tools, provide stable and speedy trade execution, and allow investors to customize the tools and design to best suit their needs. Unlike TradeStation, Ally Invest (formerly TradeKing) is technically a deep discount broker as reflected in its commissions (options traders pay a $4.95 base plus 65 cents per contract with only one base charge per spread), $0 account minimum and free access to research and data. Frequent traders (those who place 30 or more trades per quarter or who carry a balance of $100,000 or more) pay a discounted $3.95 base and 50 cents per contract. But don’t be fooled by the lower prices: Customers get a lot of platform power for free. Ally is suitable for newer options investors. The browser-based platform resembles the offerings of its pricier competitors and comes with free options trading tools for screening and advanced charting. Navigation is easy and streamlined. Customers can create a custom dashboard with movable modules with the data and features they want to use. The setup extends to what users see across all devices, including mobile and tablet. TradeStation is best left to more experienced, tech-savvy investors who want to experience options trading using the same tools as pro traders.
The broker provides all the tools needed to design, test-drive, monitor, automate and speedily execute the most complex trades via direct-market access (no pesky middleman to slow down the process). Its OptionsStation Pro platform is fully integrated into TradeStation’s regular trading platform. An added bonus is the broker’s active investor forums, where traders discuss ideas, ask questions and get help. Access to all of TradeStation’s bells and whistles used to come at a steep $99.95 monthly platform fee for those who didn’t meet account balance or trading activity minimums. But in March 2017 TradeStation eliminated the service fee, lowered its trade commissions for stocks and options and tossed in free real-time market data and free access to its market-monitoring and portfolio-level back-testing tools. Educational tools and platform tutorials are plentiful, which is a plus: Because of the sophisticated nature of the platform, it may require some time to become familiar with all that it offers. See more in our TradeStation review. Best research and options trading education. Both offer extensive research and data for free, as well as live classes and webinars for beginning and advanced options traders. If you’re new to options trading or want to expand your trading strategies, a broker that devotes its resources to research and customer education is a must. Because Schwab and Fidelity each have offices across the country in addition to their online options education libraries, they’re able to offer in-person guidance and free seminars on how to trade options, as well as one-on-one guidance on using the tools each platform offers. Fidelity’s constantly refreshed library draws from more than 20 providers, including Recognia, Ned Davis, S&P Capital IQ and McLean Capital Management. The full suite is available to customers when they sign into the broker’s web-based platform.
And you don’t have to stop digging when you’re away from your computer: Fidelity has a strong mobile app that lets customers access the company’s full suite of research through a mobile browser. Charles Schwab’s options trading capabilities and lineup of trading data and research got a big boost as the company integrated its purchase of OptionsXpress. In October Schwab re-launched its online platform under the StreetSmart name, with both web-based and mobile functionality, though for now only former OptionsXpress clients have access to the new platform. In the first quarter of 2018, Schwab will begin rolling out the new platform to all clients. While the platform name is changing, Schwab still provides a fully realized suite of offerings for options traders, including trade assessment tools, customizable screeners, access to Schwab analyst options-market commentary, live online webinars and pre-recorded seminars. Best brokers for beginner options investors. These brokers provide ideal conditions (educational resources, user-friendly platforms, customer support and low minimums) for investors just learning the options trading ropes. TD Ameritrade — one of our top overall brokers — ranked highest in this category, too. But since there are many types of beginners with many different preferences, instead of highlighting the category champions we’ve focused on brokers that are excellent candidates in three key areas: Low minimum opening balance requirements. Ally Invest, TD Ameritrade, Merrill Edge: If you’re not yet ready to devote a lot of your capital to options trading, you don’t want to tie up much in an account to meet the minimum.
Many of the brokers on our list require no money to open an account. However, industry regulations require that traders maintain a $2,000 minimum to trade options. Strong customer support. Scottrade and TD Ameritrade: On-call help is particularly handy when starting out. One way to test a broker’s level of service is to contact the company with any questions you have about its option trading offerings before you even open an account. Scottrade is known for its standout customer service and huge physical presence of 500 branches. So is TD Ameritrade, with around-the-clock phone and email support and 100 branches where clients can attend seminars and meet with investment associates. At the end of 2017, TD’s acquisition of Scottrade will be complete, increasing each broker’s ability to serve clients. User-friendly platforms. Ally, Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade: There’s nothing better than test-driving a broker’s platform before you commit. Check to see if the broker you’re considering offers paper trading (virtual trading on a platform that mimics the real deal) or contact customer service to see if they will set you up with a demo account. As for brokers discussed in this review, Ally Invest’s browser-based platform is intuitive and easy to customize. And both Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade have multiple platforms customers can use to start learning the ropes, then graduate to more sophisticated tools and trades if desired.
Best options trading brokers: summary. Updated June 30, 2017. Disclaimer: NerdWallet has entered into referral and advertising arrangements with certain broker-dealers under which we receive compensation (in the form of flat fees per qualifying action) when you click on links to our partner broker-dealers andor submit an application or get approved for a brokerage account. At times, we may receive incentives (such as an increase in the flat fee) depending on how many users click on links to the broker-dealer and complete a qualifying action. Best Online Trading Platforms for Day Trading. NerdWallet offers financial tools and advice to help people understand their options and make the best possible decisions. The guidance we offer and info we provide are deeply researched, objective and independent. We spent over 300 hours reviewing the top online brokers before selecting the best for our readers. And to help you find the one that’s best for you, we’ve highlighted their pros, cons and current offers. If you’re an active trader looking to try your hand at beating the market, you probably have a good idea of what you want in a brokerage: low costs, premium research, innovative method tools and a comprehensive trading platform. Below, we’ve selected the best online brokers in a variety of categories so you can choose one based on your personal priorities.
One note before you begin: Pattern day traders — as defined by the SEC — must have at least $25,000 in equity in their accounts and be approved for margin trading, regardless of whether their broker’s account minimum is lower. » New to this world? Learn the basics with our guide to how day trading works. Best Online Trading Platforms for Day Trading. Interactive Brokers: Best overall & for low margin rates TD Ameritrade: Best overall & for trading platform Charles Schwab: Best for trading platform Ally Invest: Best for options trading TradeStation: Best for options trading EOption: Best for low margin rates. Summary: Best Online Trading Platforms for Day Trading. Best trading platform. Best for options trading. Best for lowest margin rates. The best online brokers for day trading. These brokers are our best overall picks because of their competitive pricing and strong trading platforms and tools. TD Ameritrade and Interactive Brokers have that powerful combination that every trader wants: Low commissions paired with advanced trading tools and platforms. Interactive Brokers may have an edge with traders who prefer per-share pricing and can meet the $10,000 account minimum and $10 monthly commission minimum — both of which docked the broker slightly in our star ratings.
TD Ameritrade offers a very competitive flat rate and no minimum balance requirement. Both brokerages offer a very extensive investment selection, including futures options and forex trading, while Interactive Brokers also offers precious metals. The best trading platforms. These brokers offer some of the most powerful trading platforms available, with no minimums or fees. Both top picks, TD Ameritrade and Interactive Brokers, have strong trading platforms. But TD Ameritrade also excels here, as does Charles Schwab . TD Ameritrade offers what may be the best trading platform available, thinkorswim , along with Trade Architect , a second platform designed for simplicity. Charles Schwab also offers two excellent platforms: Streetsmart. com, a Web platform suitable for beginners, and StreetSmart Edge, a more advanced option with elevated charting functionality. Both brokers make all of their tools and platforms available to all customers with no trade activity or balance minimums (taking into account Schwab’s easily avoidable $1,000 account minimum).
The best online brokers for options trading. These brokers offer the strongest tools for options traders. Ally Invest and TradeStation are both superior brokers for options traders, though their appeal depends largely on trade activity and platform needs. TradeStation is for seriously committed traders: The company’s platform — which is outstanding — comes with a $99.95 monthly fee, waived only for those who in the previous month carried a $100,000 account balance or traded at least 5,000 shares, 50 options contracts or 10 round-turn futuresfutures option contracts. (Note: In March 2017 the company eliminated monthly service fees for its desktop, mobile and web-trading apps for non-professional subscribers on the per-trade pricing plan.) Active but low-volume options investors will probably prefer TradeStation’s per-shareper-contract commission schedule ($1 per option contract, no base or ticket charge, with a minimum one contract market or limit order). Options traders at Ally Invest (formerly TradeKing) pay a $4.95 base plus 65 cents per contract with only one base charge per spread. They also get access to a powerful platform with no additional charge, including free options trading tools for screening and advanced charting. Navigation is intuitive, and customers can create a custom dashboard that includes the data and features they want to use. The setup extends to all devices, including mobile and tablet.
The online brokers with the lowest margin rates. Traders who utilize margin should prioritize a broker’s margin rates in their search. Our top choice for best online broker wins here, too — in fact, no one comes close to Interactive Brokers when it comes to margin rates, so if that’s your No. 1 priority, you’ll likely find your home there. The broker charges a blended rate based on account balance, but features a calculator on its website to help investors quickly do the math. As noted above, Interactive Brokers does impose monthly trade minimums. EOption has a lower minimum deposit requirement and more reasonable trade requirements, charging a $50 inactivity fee only on accounts that haven’t traded at least twice in the past 12 months or have less than $10,000 in credit or debit balances. Both brokers charge very competitive commissions for stock and options trades. Best platforms for day trading: summary. Interactive Brokers. Low margin rates. min. $1, max. 0.5% of trade value.
Ally Invest. base + $0.65 per contract. EOption. Learn more about day trading before diving in. Day trading is buying and selling stocks within a short time frame, often inside a day. The goal is to capitalize on stocks with rapid and frequent price fluctuations. Day traders often buy a stock they expect to rise in price, or short-sell a stock they expect to fall. Day trading isn’t for the faint of heart — it magnifies all the inherent risks of investing — and should be used as a secondary method, after you’ve invested for long-term goals like retirement. To learn more, read our primer on day trading. How much money do you need to day trade? The SEC requires that pattern day traders maintain at least $25,000 in equity in their accounts.
Under the SEC rules, you’re a pattern day trader if you day-trade four or more times within five business days and the day trades represent more than 6% of your total trading activity in that same five-day period. Day trading, defined by the SEC, is buying and selling or short-selling and buying the same security on the same day. In our view, that means you should have an awful lot of money to engage in day trading, because that $25,000 should represent just a small piece of your overall investment portfolio — the bulk of which should be invested for the long term. What’s the safest way to day trade? Our guide to how to day trade gets into advice for minimizing risk, but as a quick synopsis: Rule No. 1 is only put up money you wouldn’t mind parting with. In other words, treat day trading like gambling, not long-term investing. Beyond that, be sure to do your research before you jump in, and establish an exit plan. It’s easy to make rash decisions when your positions start going bad, so setting rational strategies in advance can help curtail emotional reactions. How do you learn how to day trade? Practice. Many brokers offer virtual trading accounts that essentially let you test the waters with Monopoly money.
It’s a great way to get started without the risk. We’ve put together a list of virtual trading platforms, along with more information about how these work. We highly recommend testing out your trades on a virtual platform before putting your money on the line. What securities are best suited for day trading? Most day traders trade stocks, though you can day trade bonds, currencies or commodities, too. Generally, you want to look for securities that are: Highly liquid, with large trade volume. Relatively volatile. You want frequent price changes, which allows you to make a profit quickly. Known to you. An understanding of the stock’s price history, and how it reacts to various events — earnings reports, economic shifts — is key. Many day traders trade only a few specific stocks, developing expertise in those companies and narrowing their focus. Newsworthy. Coverage of a stock will trigger people to buy or sell it. As a day trader, you’ll want to follow the news to find trade ideas.
» Don’t think day trading is for you? Here are other suggestions for how to invest. Updated Sept. 22, 2017. Arielle O'Shea. Arielle is a personal finance writer at NerdWallet. Her work has been featured by Esquire, Money, USA Today, Forbes and The Associated Press. Read more. Disclaimer: NerdWallet has entered into referral and advertising arrangements with certain broker-dealers under which we receive compensation (in the form of flat fees per qualifying action) when you click on links to our partner broker-dealers andor submit an application or get approved for a brokerage account. At times, we may receive incentives (such as an increase in the flat fee) depending on how many users click on links to the broker-dealer and complete a qualifying action.
The Best Online Stock Trading Sites. Latest Update March 15, 2017. The 5 Best Online Stock Trading Sites. Best for Cheap Trading: Ally Invest. Ally Invest leads the industry in low-cost commissions structure for all kinds of investors, from high-net-worth individuals to beginning buy-and-hold traders. Even though a rash of brokers dropped their commissions in 2017 to be competitive with Ally Invest’s $4.95 flat rate, it keeps its edge with a zero account minimum and enticing discount for active investors –– equity trades drop to $3.95 for users with 30+ trades each quarter or a balance of $100,000. While cheaper trades can still be found (Robinhood’s mobile platform boasts totally commission-free stocks and ETFs, for example), Ally Invest’s platform and resources stand out with quality research and tools, including access to its online trader network. Best for Beginners: E*Trade. If you’re looking for something with an easy learning curve, but endless of room to grow, we recommend E*Trade. Its learning center is filled with educational videos, articles, and webinars to guide your through the basics.
From there, you can stay up to date on investing news, reports, and commentary from their team of market analysts. Branch appointments are free to book, and online chat tools and 24-hour hotline are there to guide you from anywhere in the world. If you’re looking to expand your investing over time, E*Trade is equipped to handle everything from entry-level IRAs to aggressive trading of stocks and options. Best Platform: TD Ameritrade. TD Ameritrade offers two best-in-class platforms, designed for two types of investors. Trade Architect is good for beginners, or anyone who prefers a simplified, educational interface that can walk them through the ordering process and explain potential strategies. Thinkorswim, on the other hand, is a powerhouse designed for advanced investors. This platform regularly racks up praise and awards and offers superior tools and features — including research reports, real-time data, charts, and technical studies. Both platforms are free to use for any investor with a TD Ameritrade account, which for many investors makes the $6.95 commission worth it. Best for Active Traders: OptionsHouse. OptionsHouse is a top platform for investors with an options focus — but it’s the hands-down winner for active traders.
Like Ally Invest, it’s been a longtime leader in rock-bottom pricing, with a flat $4.95 trade commission ($4.95 plus $0.50 per options contract) and, unlike many brokerages catering to active investors, no account minimums or inactivity fees. It’s also a standout with a streamlined interface and smart tools. It doesn’t offer currency trading, and has limited commission-free and transaction-free offerings, but its 2016 acquisition by E*Trade should help fill in those gaps as the two brokers continue merge. Best Research & Tools: Fidelity. Fidelity wins for its quantity and quality of trading and investing research — ideal for the DIY investor looking to unleash their potential. Featuring research from more than 20 providers, plus stellar execution, it’s no surprise Fidelity was awarded best overall online stock broker in 2016 by both Barron’s and Kiplinger . And Fidelity shows no signs of slowing down. In early 2017, Fidelity lowered its commissions from $7.95 to $4.95, a sign that it’s looking to become a bigger player in the discount scene, as opposed to the high net-worth individuals it historically has catered to. It still reserves some of its tools and features for high-volume, active traders, but looking forward, Fidelity is going to get harder and harder to beat. How We Found the Best Online Stock Trading Sites. It’s a tumultuous time for online stock brokers. The players have largely remained the same, but between significant cuts in commissions and a few major acquisitions (E*Trade acquired OptionsHouse TD Ameritrade and Scottrade merged Ally Invest now lives under Ally Bank), the competition is fierce. This is all to say there is no one best online stock broker, but each one has different strengths and weaknesses.
Our mission is to spotlight those, and help you find the best one for your investing style. We leveraged the expertise of two stock traders — a former day trader and a financial commentator who has been trading for over 20 years — to dig into 13 of the most popular online stock trading sites. Different investors are going to prioritize different things — a day trader, for example, requires speed and flexibility whereas a beginning trader may value educational resources and customer support. But one thing every trader should care about is cost, so we spent a lot of time balancing price with what each site offered. A few of the fees we analyzed include: Cost per transaction: Commissions are typically an investor’s biggest cost base. In 2016, a typical unassisted transaction fee averaged about $8, but early 2017 saw a slew of brokers decrease their commission, including Fidelity, E*Trade, and TD Ameritrade. Now, many trade for as low as $4.95, which is where, historically, only a few brokers, like Ally Invest and OptionsHouse, operated. No matter what the price, though, transparency is key. We wanted to see affordable pricing structures that were locked in for the long haul. We also took note of new customer promotions, where brokers give you a chunk of free trades, usually based on how much you deposit. Promotions change regularly, but they can be a good indicator of the type of investor a broker is a good fit for. (Ally Invest, for example, offers incentives for deposits as low as $500, whereas Fidelity Investments has a higher barrier for entry — a $50,000 deposit to get 300 free trades.
) Another thing we compared: how many commission-free ETFs a broker offered. Account minimums: Seeing your nest egg shrink due to a tough market or bad method isn’t fun. It’s worse if you’re also getting dinged by your broker’s minimum account balance requirement. Charges for data, research, and tools: All the best online stock trading sites have quality market data like real-time quotes, educational resources, and stock-screening tools built right into their platforms. But some, like Fidelity and TD Ameritrade, stand out for also providing top-shelf resources, totally free of charge. Extra costs: There are lots of brokers that boast having financial experts on-call 24 hours a day to help you make a trade, but don’t tell you those services come with additional fees. (Executing a trade over the phone, for example, can increase an $8 commission fee to $25 or more.) Some platforms do offer free education on sophisticated strategies like options and futures, but require an upgraded platform with an annual fee. There are plenty of additional fees that may crop up along the way (we discuss some of the more common ones here), but for pretty much every investor, cheaper will always be better. Depending on your method — trading on margin, for example — increased fees might just be the cost of doing business, but we looked to mitigate these costs in our top picks. Alongside cost, we also valued educational resources, reports and tools, and the usability of the platform itself. Our expert users took each broker for a test-drive and weighed in on standout features. We also took ratings from investment publications like Barron’s and Kiplinger into account. Our Picks for the Best Online Stock Trading Sites.
Best for Cheap Trading. You’re not going to find lower fees than Ally Invest, especially as an active investor. In a nutshell: It’s the most affordable broker there is, with a rock-bottom commission structure and easy entry point, plus a quality platform that gives you access to the entire universe of stocks and ETFs. Where some discount brokers focus on only one kind of trader — options, for example, or high-net-worth investors — Ally Invest provides an excellent experience for investors of all kinds. It’s the blend of great trading tools with low prices that makes Ally Invest a standout. A focus on discount costs can be a red flag for quality (what is it skimping on?), but Ally Invest truly delivers with sophisticated calculators, profit-loss estimators, and more. Ally Invest also offers a robust research library that incorporates visual slides and interactive media into its market data. Let’s dig into that discount pricing. At $4.95 a trade, Ally Invest’s fee structure is the lowest out there, matched (but never beat) by other players. Those low fees alone make it one of the best discount brokers, but they also have no inactivity charge and only a $50 full outgoing transfer fee. If you’re an active investor, 30+ trades per quarter or $100,000+ balance, you get a discount that takes equity trades down to $3.95. That significant discount makes Ally Invest the cheapest platform for active investors. We’re not the only ones who think Ally Invest is a remarkable service. Barron’s has rated Ally Invest’s past self, TradeKing, at least 4 out of 5 stars for the past 10 years, and it regularly racked up kudos for its offerings with StockBrokers.
com. But in 2017, there was a rash of price slashing from pretty much every top-tier discount broker, and the competition is getting stiffer. Case in point: Fidelity dropped its pricing from $6.95 to match the $4.95 flat rate of Ally Invest, but its perks aren’t quite as accessible for newcomers, and its barrier for entry is higher: You need to fund your account with at least $2,500, and it requires a $50,000 deposit to score the 300 commission-free trades it offers as a sign-up bonus. Vanguard, as another example, charges as much as $20 a transaction if you want to trade stocks or funds by another provider. May 19th 2017 – Previously acquired by Ally Bank, TradeKing has been rebranded into Ally Bank’s own online trading platform, Ally Invest. Much of their interface, low prices, and offerings have remained the same, but some promotions and discounts are no longer offered. This review has been updated to reflect these changes. *Fidelity requires a $2,500 deposit to open an account. Ally Invest One of the most affordable platforms there is, with rock-bottom pricing and excellent tools. Even better — it's a discount broker that doesn't skimp on research or customer service. Best for Beginners. Promotion: 60 days of commission-free trades with $10,000 deposit. New investors need two things from their online stock trading platform: an easy learning curve and lots of room to grow.
E*Trade has both. Their platform boasts a library of educational videos, articles, and webinars for each type of investor. Once you’ve mastered the fundamentals, read up on market news, reports, and commentary from E*Trade analysts. The only real drawback to E*Trade: Commission fees start at $6.95. It’s not until investors make more than 30 trades a quarter that the fees drop down to $4.95 that OptionsHouse and Ally Invest off up-front. While E*Trade can’t match OptionsHouse or Ally Invest’s low flat fees, it racks up points for its transparent pricing model. Take OptionsHouse, which E*Trade actually acquired in 2016. OptionsHouse is known for its super-low fees, but buried in the fine print, OptionsHouse says it actually charges $0.0005 per share on penny stocks. Let’s compare the two, imagining you execute 500 transactions in the quarter for about 50,000 shares each. That adds up to about a $500 transaction for a stock trading at 1 cent — pretty modest overall. With E*Trade, there are no surcharges for low-priced stocks and no inactivity or other surprise add-on fees. For new investors, we also liked TD Ameritrade's platform, Trade Architect, which walks you through the ordering process as you use the interface. But when it comes to commission fees, TD Ameritrade falls short.
Its fees stay at $6.95 per trade, for stocks, ETFs, and options. E*Trade does require an investment minimum for new brokerage accounts ($500), but for most investors, you’ll need at least that much to see real growth. E*Trade Commission Structure. OptionsHouse Commission Structure. Even though the flat rates are the same after 30 trades, the per-share fee can really rack up if you’re trading a high volume of low-priced shares. Beyond the math, though, E*Trade and Charles Schwab are very similar. In 2016, Barron’s rated them within one point of each other, and you can trust both these veteran brokers to have the resources, research, tools, and platforms to accommodate penny stock trading and far beyond. $6.95, plus $0.75 per contract. *Fees drop from $6.95 to $4.95 at 30 trades per quarter. E*TRADE No surcharges for low-priced stocks, reasonable volume restriction, and a low minimum account balance make E*Trade a solid penny stock trader — especially for over 30 trades per quarter. Promotion: 60 days of commission-free trades with $10,000 deposit.
TD Ameritrade Review. Best Trading Platform. Promotion: 60 days of commission-free trades with $3,000 deposit. TD Ameritrade has been a powerful player in the online stock trading ecosystem for years, and even though its pricing structure is more expensive than some of the other discount brokers, there are many traders who think its best-in-class trading platforms, Trade Architect and thinkorswim, are worth it. Trade Architect is often in the shadow of thinkorswim, but the web-based platform is streamlined and easy to use, and particularly appealing to beginning investors. It has a tab-based navigation that lets users flip between trading tools and their account overview, plus charts, stock screeners, heat maps, and more. Its Trade Finder feature is an excellent tool for novices, allowing investors to make some selections (think direction, timing, allocation), and then walking them through the ordering process while spotlighting different strategies that map to their selected guidelines. All-up, Trade Architect achieves a good balance of key information without being overwhelming. Thinkorswim, on the other hand, is designed for advanced investors. It’s a desktop application that gives TD Ameritrade customers free access to tools and features that pretty much any other broker would charge a premium for, including research reports, real-time data, charts, and technical studies. Customizable workspaces, extensive third-party research, and a thriving trader chat room where investors can share strategies and tips are also included. Where Trade Architect keeps information overload in check, thinkorswim is a firehose. Thinkorswim is a standout especially in options trading, with quick-to-get options-trading tabs (just click “spread” if you want a spread, and “single order” if you want one leg) plus just-in-time links that explain the strategies on the order page. Its method Roller feature lets investors create custom covered calls and then roll those positions from expiration to expiration. There’s also a fully functional mobile app.
The flipside to such robust platforms is cost. Even though TD Ameritrade lowered its fees in 2017 from $9.99 to $6.95, pretty much every other major discount broker slashed its prices too — Fidelity, for example, dipped from $7.95 to $4.95. That means TD Ameritrade remains one of the more expensive options out there, even with over 100 commission-free ETFs. That said, it continues to be one of the largest trading platforms in the world, with nearly $740 billion in assets, and has ranked as the best platform for novices by Barron’s five years running. Since it acquired Scottrade, our favorite platform for beginners, in 2016, we can predict it will continue getting better and better over the coming years. TD Ameritrade TD Ameritrade hosts Trade Architect and thinkorswim, two of the best-known platforms in the industry, and available to anyone with an account. Promotion: 60 days of commission-free trades with $3,000 deposit. Best for Active Traders. Promotion: $1,000 commission-free trades with $5,000 deposit. If you already have a firm handle on your investment method and want to maximize your profits, OptionsHouse is excellent. What it lacks in some of the investor education features that competitors like E*Trade and TD Ameritrade can claim, it makes up for with its low-cost, streamlined trading platform. OptionsHouse’s biggest draw is its pricing structure: $4.95 plus $0.50 per contract, with absolutely no minimum to join or to maintain an account. A single-leg options contract is $5.45 all-in. Even better, the low prices apply to futures and stock trades as well, giving you a cost-effective way to manage your entire portfolio. (Who wants the hassle and cost of multiple brokers for multiple things?) Along with competitive pricing, OptionsHouse has one of the most accessible platforms around: clean design, loads of information, and truly user-friendly tools.
Trigger Alerts lets users set up their accounts to automatically purchase an order based on a particular scenario. For example, you can set an alert to buy any number of shares of one stock if its direct competitor falls by a certain percentage. When that’s triggered, you get an alert on any device that lets you confirm the purchase or ignore in one simple reply. Tools like tradeLAB help dissect options spread, with green smiley faces for the statistical probability of making a profit, and red frowns for a loss. OptionsHouse also offers a “dime buyback program” that makes it easy to close any short options without paying commission fees. Barron’s named OptionsHouse “Best for Options Traders” and gave it a 4.5 out of 5 stars overall, and a perfect 5 for its mobile performance. Whether you prefer to trade via desktop, tablet, or mobile, its customizable interface seamlessly transitions between all three — though, admittedly, customers seem to love or hate the app. Beginners to the more advanced world of options may feel more comfortable with the resources and education that E*Trade and TD Ameritrade excel at, including on-demand videos that show each click of a trade, webinars on method, and in-person tutorials at physical branches. (Since E*Trade acquired OptionsHouse in late 2016, we can anticipate a merger of tools, services, and support that will help OptionsHouse grow here, although it hasn’t happened yet.) OptionsHouse does fall short in mutual funds — it charges $20 per trade, as opposed to Ally Invest’s $9.95 — currency trading, and commission-free ETFs, but for the active trader who know what they’re doing, it’s one of the best platforms available. *Fees drop from $6.95 to $4.95 at 30 trades per quarter. OptionsHouse An options-first broker that leads the competition in both price and platform. It stands out for having no minimum to join or to maintain an account.
Promotion: $1,000 commission-free trades with $5,000 deposit. Best Research & Tools. Promotion: 300 commission-free trades with $50,000 deposit. If there’s a way to slice and dice the market, Fidelity has thought about it. Its platform wins for user-friendly design, plus there are tons of educational resources for deeper research. If you’re a do-it-yourselfer who enjoys geeking out over data and analysis, Fidelity’s tools will help take the guesswork out of finding funds and nosing out strategies. We admired Fidelity’s platform that lets you explore your options with a slick and intuitive design, complete with color-coded rankings and charts that call out what’s important. You can sort stocks by size, performance, and even criteria like sales growth or profit growth. Want to sort ETFs by the sectors they focus on, or their expenses? Done. There’s even a box to check if you want to only explore Fidelity’s commission-free offerings.
A few other discount brokers do offer screeners, but none match the depth and user-friendliness of Fidelity’s. When it comes to research, Fidelity is pretty much in a league of its own. The intellectually curious can dive into research from more than 20 providers, including Recognia, Ned Davis, and McLean Capital Management. Fidelity’s Learning Center featured videos are organized by topic – including not just the concept, but also how to apply those concepts to your own investments using the Fidelity platform. It’s a powerful way to learn investing techniques and immediately put them to practice. Fidelity’s accolades keep stacking up. Kiplinger ’s 2016 Online Broker Survey ranked Fidelity best overall against seven other major brokers. Investor’s Business Daily ranked Fidelity among its top five brokers based on site performance, research tools, and customer service. Barron’s 2016 Online Broker Survey compared 16 platforms, and awarded Fidelity with the top overall score of 34.9 out of a possible 40.0, stating, “Fidelity Investments made it to the top this year due to the variety of trading and investing tools, and the quality of its trade execution.” Better yet, Fidelity dropped its commission fees from $7.95 to $4.95 in February 2017, making it competitive with other historically low-cost platforms like Ally Invest and OptionsHouse. That said, some of Fidelity’s advanced tools are only available to high-volume traders (for example, charting with Recognia requires a significant 120 trades per year to use, and its Active Trader Pro requires 36 trades per year). TD Ameritrade stands out in contrast by offering its premium tools to anyone with an account. With that said, even Fidelity’s basic tools are high-quality enough to make it a top pick.
Fidelity Industry-leading research from over 20 providers make this the go-to broker for do-it-yourselfers who want to dig deep into the data. Promotion: 300 commission-free trades with $50,000 deposit. Investments come in multiple shapes and sizes for different levels of expertise. *Offers commission-free or transaction-free trading. Stocks: a portion of a company ownership. The more valuable the company, the more valuable its stock. Unfortunately, the reverse is true as well. Level: beginner Bonds: a loan you make to a company or government in exchange for interest and the return of principle at some future date. If your city wants a new stadium, for example, it might issue a bond to pay for it. These investments are rated for safety by third-party companies, with AAA being the least risky. Level: beginner ETFs: short for exchange traded fund.
These are investment funds that trade like a stock on a stock exchange, but their performance tracks an underlying basket of stocks. They provide diversification within one investment product, so they present lower risk than futures. Level: beginner Options: a contract between a buyer and a seller to buy or sell something at a specified price at a specified time, basically as a way to bet on the future price of an investment. Level: advanced Futures: short for futures contract. This is an agreement to buy or sell assets, such as commodities or shares, at a fixed price to be delivered and paid for at a later date. If you think you can speculate on next year’s price of gold, this fund is for you. Level: advanced Forex: short for foreign exchange. This market is for trading currencies and speculating on what today’s yen, for example, will cost tomorrow. Level: advanced. Cheaper is always better for investors.
Warren Buffett is the best example to hit this point home. In 2008, he bet some hedge fund managers $1 million that they wouldn’t be able to make more money in a decade than a cheap, boring index fund. An index fund has a fixed portfolio of stocks that never change — and therefore don’t accrue a lot of fees – while more complex hedge fund strategies may pivot and rack up big costs along the way. Buffett is so far ahead that he’ll almost certainly come out the winner when the contest ends in 2018. He’s beating his high-priced peers not because he’s scoring bigger gains, but because he reduced costs. Let’s say you put $1,000 in a stock and the investment goes up to $1,200. Broker fees can have a big impact on your net returns — that is, your total investment profits after fees. In order to beat that “two and twenty” fee structure, your investment has to perform really well to offset the additional costs — something that is a lot harder to control in the long term than costs. A Few Other Fees and Costs to be Aware Of. Broker fees are typically where most costs add up, but your investing method can also be a big source of expenses and fees. The capital gains tax rate favors long-term investments. An investor who buys and sells their stocks within a few months will face a higher capital gains tax rate (25 percent) on their profits than an investor who buys and holds their stocks for a full year (15 percent). If you’re looking at a $10,000 profit, waiting those extra months could make a full $1,000 difference.
Granted, there’s a risk to holding an investment, but if you’re close to that one-year cutoff, it might be worth it to sit tight for a few more weeks. Mutual funds and ETFs come with their own set of fees too. Like broker fees, pay attention to the expense ratio (usually a percentage) of any mutual funds or ETFs you purchase in your account, even if you’re buying them commission-free. These extra fees are another big cost to investors, but they aren’t deducted from your account balance. Instead, these fees show up in the price on the ticker tape. That’s why many high-priced mutual funds’ and ETFs’ value per share doesn’t seem to change over time — any growth is offset by fees. Also watch out for mutual funds that charge a front - or back-end load for each purchase or sale. These usually range from 0.5% to 1% and can add up quickly. Play with your own fake money. Give yourself a few thousand in fake money and play investor for a bit while you get the hang of it. “Just start. Even with just a virtual portfolio. Start and then commit to building over time,” says Barratt.
“Don’t expect anything major to happen in a short time — build your money muscles by taking risks in a virtual portfolio.” TD Ameritrade offers paperMoney, its virtual trading platform. If you open an account, OptionsHouse offers its paperTRADE account to test your strategies. Outside of actual trading sites, MarketWatch and Investopedia offer simulators to get you started. Buy what you know. Our experts suggest you begin by looking at your own life. “Buy what you know, where you are. If you can, identify good companies locally,” says Randy Cameron, a portfolio manager and investment advisor with 35 years of experience. “Look for companies you and your friends are talking about, ones with plans to go national.” As for how much time and money you need, “Start with what you have,” he says.
There is literally no minimum to get started. You can buy one share of a company if you like. Don’t check your account too often. The best investors are in it for the long haul. Checking your account too often might make you react to the fluctuations in the market too quickly. Personal finance expert Ramit Sethi has written that you should check your investments, “probably every few months, with a major review every year.” On many sites, you can also set an alert if a stock dives. Other than that, just set a quarterly recurring appointment so you know you’ll handle it at the right time. More Online Stock Trading Site Reviews. We’ve been looking into online stock trading sites for a few years now, and you can check out some of our other reviews. They aren’t consistent with our latest round of research (yet!) so be on the lookout for updates in the coming weeks: We find the best of everything.
How? We start with the world. We narrow down our list with expert insight and cut anything that doesn't meet our standards. We hand-test the finalists. Then, we name our top picks.
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