Online stock "brokers"

[joker7037]

Has anybody used any of the many online brokers to buy stock? I was wanting to buy only few shares, and didn't want to be tied to a monthly fee. Any help or opinions in this matter are appreciated.

Chris

[bmemily]

I have used Zecco.com in the past without any problems.

[PEARCE]

I used sharebuilder without any issues. No monthly fees, and 9.99 real time trades. They don't keep real-time prices, so I look at yahoo and google for near real-time results. The type of online broker you go with just depends on how often you buy and what type of trader you are. Share builder is nice way to get started.

[melensdad]

I use Vanguard. No monthly fees. They provide real time quotes. If you have a large enough portfolio they eliminate all the normal fees and give you all sorts of services too. Maybe not the best if you are just starting out, however. On the other hand if you have an IRA, some mutual funds, stocks, bonds, etc and want to consolidate the record keeping all into one brokerage you can do that for free and make the end of year tax accounting much easier.

[slacker]

Both of my parents use Scot Trade (Online Stock Trading, Discount Brokerage Firm, Investment Accounts, Stock Research, Online Broker, Retirement Investing, IRA - Scottrade) and they seem happy with it.

[Feign]

Are there any that don't require a minimum starting balance? Say if I just wanted to drop $100 on a certain stock and let it sit...? And what happens if I hold onto a stock and the broker that I use dissolves or whatever? How would I control my shares/dollars at that point?

[melensdad]

Originally Posted by Feign

Are there any that don't require a minimum starting balance? Say if I just wanted to drop $100 on a certain stock and let it sit...?

None that I know of. Most want something like an initial $2000 or $2500 investment. Once you put the money in an account at the brokerage, then you can choose to buy $100 worth of stock if you like. That, however is not really very smart. If you buy $100 worth of stock and your trade cost you $9.99 or $12.99 or $15 or whatever, then you have to factor that into your break even and/or profit analysis because it will cost you the same 'fee' to sell that stock later. So if you buy $100 in stock, it costs you $10 to buy, and $10 to sell, you have to sell that stock for $120 just to break even. A 20% gain is going to translate into ZERO $ profit for you.

On the other hand, buy $1000 of the same stock, the fee are the same as they are if you buy $100. So if the $1000 goes up 20% you have $1200, deduct your $20 to $30 in fees and you pocket a profit of $170 to $180.

Originally Posted by Feign

And what happens if I hold onto a stock and the broker that I use dissolves or whatever? How would I control my shares/dollars at that point?

If a brokerage firm closes or sells out then you still own your shares in the company you purchased, simply transfer your account to a different brokerage.

[Cwood]

Originally Posted by Feign

Are there any that don't require a minimum starting balance? Say if I just wanted to drop $100 on a certain stock and let it sit...? And what happens if I hold onto a stock and the broker that I use dissolves or whatever? How would I control my shares/dollars at that point?

I use ShareBuilder, they do not require a minimum starting balance.

[melensdad]

Originally Posted by Cwood

I use ShareBuilder, they do not require a minimum starting balance.

But they charge a $12 per month fee don't they? At least their standard package does.

They also charge to purchase 'no load' mutual funds, and that is sort of bizarre since no load funds, by definition are not supposed to charge fees when bought or sold. They also ding you big time for options. Can you set stop loss limits and exercise other trading programs with them?

[Cwood]

No, the 12 a month fee is a option for up to your first 6 automatic investments.

There still is no account minimum or fee.

https://www.sharebuilder.com/sharebu...s/Default.aspx