I have been an active trader for past one year and anyone can tell from my portfolio that I have done pretty well, to know more about it, check out Punit’s Portfolio . Btw I am very active on Twitter, if you would like to trade with me, feel free to follow me on here: Follow Punit

So far I’ve been using TD Ameritrade as my main brokerage for both Stock and Options trading. I admit that the pricing at TD Ameritrade is quite steep but honestly speaking, it was worth it for an active trader like me. Most of my trading is done on my iPhone and I have been using iStockmanager for past 6 months or so. Recently, iStockmanager was acquired by TD Ameritrade and believe me or not, now it is completely a waste of time. There are several problems with the app like

1. Quotes not displaying at all
2. Quotes getting mixed up
3. App crashing on you
4. Not allowing you to trade

For a list of more problems, please visit the Facebook page: iStockManager Problems

I took a further step and opened up a case with Consumer Forum hoping to put some pressure on TD Ameritrade. In the mean time, I have gone ahead and opened an account with OptionsHouse. Quality of service at OptionsHouse used to suck a lot until few months ago; I mean you never got what you paid for honestly. However I was pleasantly surprised at the improvements they have made. Their new trading platform is not just a surprising display of technological innovation but is also a calculative tool for out-and-out traders. OptionsHouse Platform props up a flexible option chain, professional-grade trading tools, and single-click trading. With a Picture-Perfect Trading scenario they create, transacting becomes more of fun than just an unexciting business arrangement. If time management, security and consistency be the questions, well, I found the new OptionsHouse a true friend that cares for each of my needs.  I couldn’t just keep my hands off for long and finally, yesterday I setup a transfer of 10k USD into my account to start using the account.

As I said I use my iPhone for most of my trading, another OptionsHouse feature that appeals me is their neat iPhone app that can be downloaded for free to enable for me trading-on-the-go! OptionsHouse iPhone App lets me monitor my trades and positions, search for tickers, companies and quotes, view quote charts, use trade spreads and try virtual trading.

OptionsHouse is currently offering 100 free trades OR 1 year free subscription to Wall Street Journal and many other offers that you can choose from. Click on the following link to get 100 free trades

OptionsHouse is definitely worth looking into. Their pricing makes them even more attractive as compared to TD Ameritrade. Look at following comparison table for pricing difference.

If you would like to open account with OptionsHouse or need more details, please check out: OptionsHouse Account

Also Read:-

Is New OptionsHouse Trading Platform Really Worth Your Money?

TradeKing’s Latest Pricing Comparison with Leading Online Brokers

Online trading has come into vogue in the last 10 years or so. Earlier you had to either contact your local broker or trade on your own. E*Trade and First trade laid the initial platform for online trading. Since the concept was new, it was quite expensive. However, as the times changed online trading too become easier, cheaper and more accessible.

Now any search engine will spew forth a big list of online stock brokers that offer services at discounted rates. But how many of them have the actual expertise to advice you on cheap trading. Can they offer expert service and fast execution? Let’s take a look at what are the options available to us.

Scottrade: Exceptional Online Stock Broker with local branch offices

When you trade with Scottrade you do so with all the ease and convenience. You need a minimum balance of $500 and you can trade from your Blackberry or iPhone. Though their charges seem a bit more expensive at $7 per trade and $27 for broker assisted trades but if you are dealing for huge sums of money then paying a few extra dollars for peace of mind does not pinch.

Scottrade’s Latest Review & Client Feedback

OptionsHouse: Spend Less and Get More at OptionsHouse! $2.95 Flat-Rate Stock Trades

Voted the best broker of options trade by Barron’s, Option House is among the newer players. At $2.95 for offering trades and broker assistance they are amongst the cheapest available. However, they don’t compromise on quality. They offer live chats 24×7 and customer support seven days a week.

OptionsHouse’s Latest Review & Client Feedback

E*Trade: No minimum Trades or Balances

They are very well known among trading masses and one of the reasons behind their popularity is their advertisements on television. They are amongst the most expensive for online traders as they charge $7.95 per trade and $45 for broker assisted trade. Once you open the account you get 60 days of free trade. To operate you must have a minimum balance of $1,000 and you must keep your account active or as a part of account maintenance fee you will be charged inactivity fee.  They are among the best in the market especially if you are an experienced investor. However, for a casual investor their charges are on the higher side.

E*Trade’s Latest Review & Client Feedback

Tradeking: Receive up to $150 in transfer fees when you switch to TradeKing

TradeKing charges only $4.95 per trade even if you take the help of a broker. It charges a $0.65 per contract. TradeKing has won awards at SmartMoney, Barron’s and other online stock broker rating agencies. It has a good customer support helpline. It also offers to reimburse transfer fees up to the amount of $150, in case you transfer your current trading account from somewhere else.

Tradeking’s Latest Review & Client Feedback

Zecco: 0$ Stock Trade

Zecco offers you 10 free trades if you make at least 25 trades a month or if you have $25,000 in the Zecco account. They charge $4.50 per trade. Zecco allows virtual trading which is a bit difficult to grasp. They have live chat support and promptly respond to emails.

Zecco’s Latest Review & Client Feedback

ChoiceTrade: 5$ Flat Rate Pricing – No Hidden Fees Like OptionsHouse,

Simplifying Trading for Active Traders

They have been rated four stars by Barron’s for the past five years. They offer $5 online trades with no penny stock surcharge. This feature is very difficult to find with other brokers. Their basic streaming platform is free for first four months but after that they charge a minimum of $14-95 per month.

ChoiceTrade’s Latest Review & Client Feedback

Trademonster: Get up to $250 in account transfer fees back when you open a new tradeMONSTER Account

OptionMonster a news and education site for options has started the tradeMonster which provides a studied approach to stocks and options. For their options trading Barron’s has awarded them four and a half stars. They charge $7.50 per trade. They are quite informative for retail investors and periodically suggest options strategies. They also offer to reimburse transfer fees up to $250.

tradeMONSTER’s Latest Review & Client Feedback

TD Ameritrade: Fair Straightforward Pricing

It is owned by TD Ameritrade and it boasts of a superior technology and educational information on options. They were ranked number 1 online trading broker by Barron’s. They charge a fee of $9.95. For transfer they offer a reimbursement of $100. They offer three complementary free trades.

TD Ameritrade’s Latest Review & Client Feedback

Sogo Trade

Sogo Trade is one of the less advertised broking hoses and mostly people who are registered customers know about them. They offer services at $3 a trade. They have three unique trading platforms: Sogo Trade, Sogo Elite and Laser. All help in providing the customer with detailed and latest data to facilitate trading. Instead you should opt for Firstrade: 100 Free Trades & 200$ Cash

ShareBuilder

SahreBuilder offers the cheapest fees at $4 per trade. However they need to be intimated in advance as trading can only be done on Monday. This ‘automatic investing’ is no longer popular. They also offer real time trade at $9.95. Instead you should opt for Lightspeed: Lowest Cost Broker for Frequent Traders

Read more:-

Hand Picked list of Cheap Online Discount Brokers

I will dedicate this post to my recent experience with TD Ameritrade. I must admit TD Ameritrade is an excellent brokerage firm, no doubt about that. However it comes with its own set of problems. Last week I was trying to purchase a stocks of a company (BIEL). I had been following them for a while and I knew it was time for BIEL to get buying signals and hence a great opportunity to make money.

Broker Reviews 2011 Best Commissions and Fees in Stocks, Mutual Funds, ETFs and Options

I logged on to my TD Ameritrade account to place a LIMIT order of few thousand shares of BIEL, but to my surprise I was not allowed to do so. I tried several times only to run into problems every time. Being frustrated I called the customer service, which was very prompt to respond (< 1 min hold  time). I was told that BIEL was put on hold by TD Ameritrade. Arghh!! I lost an opportunity to up my investments by about 15% in a matter of two days!

Did some research and opened an account with Zecco & OptionsHouse. They were right when they said maintain accounts with multiple brokerage firms. You might run into problems with any broker so you got to have a choice! Again by no means I am saying TD Ameritrade is bad! They are probably best among the lot, but you got to have options in the event that I ran into. I would recommend the readers to open accounts with one or more from following list:

1. OptionsHouse is currently running special ads for 100 Free Trades if you open your account before April 30th. On top of that, they are the cheapest as far as the commission rates go (2.95$ per trade).

Get 100 Free Trades with OptionsHouse.com

Read reviews at OptionsHouse Reviews

2. TradeKing is the top Rated Broker by SmartMoney – 4 years running (2006-2009). It also got 4-Star Rated Broker by Barron’s – 12th Annual Survey of Best Browser-Based Online Brokers. All that is available for low flat fees – $4.95 per trade plus $.65 per options contract

Open an account with Trading King – Tradeking

Read reviews at TradeKing Reviews

3. Zecco:Best thing about Zecco is their 10 free trades every month if you make 25 trades in a month. Hence your effective rate actually becomes a lot lower than what they advertise which is 4.5$/trade. Their effective rate comes down to 2.70$ / trade, now who can beat that? See details below:

Trade with Zecco for Free

Read reviews at Zecco Reviews

TD Ameritrade CEO Tomcyzk said today he does not plan to indulge in the price wars that its rivals Fidelity and Charles Schwab have entered into. First Charles Schwab reduced its trade from $ 12.95 a trade to $ 8.95 a trade. This was followed by Fidelity which used to charge anywhere between $8 and $19.99 to flat $ 7.95 per trade.

Broker Reviews 2011 Best Commissions and Fees in Stocks, Mutual Funds, ETFs and Options

The CEO of TD Ameritrade said that they would wait for the market to settle and then decide on what price to charge the consumers for trading. Their focus till then would be to provide great tools for RIA’s (Registered investment advisors) who would be trying independently to get large client for TD Ameritrade. TD Ameritrade plans to increase the assets invested through brokerage firm to $33 billion from $ 27 billion currently.

What it means for TD Ameritrade clients is probably they should look at alternatives like Tradeking or E-trade for opening brokerage services. TD Ameritrade is going upscale and changing its business model for people who have millions of dollars to invest. For millions of other people who do not have millions of dollars to invest a smaller brokerage firm like Options house or Tradeking might be useful. Details on popular offers from these firms are as following:

1. OptionsHouse is currently running special ads for 100 Free Trades if you open your account before April 30th. On top of that, they are the cheapest as far as the commission rates go.

Get 100 Free Trades with OptionsHouse.com

2. TradeKing is the top Rated Broker by SmartMoney – 4 years running (2006-2009). It also got 4-Star Rated Broker by Barron’s – 12th Annual Survey of Best Browser-Based Online Brokers. All that is available for low flat fees – $4.95 per trade plus $.65 per options contract

Open a TradeKing account

3. Zecco:Best thing about Zecco is their 10 free trades every month if you make 25 trades in a month. Hence your effective rate actually becomes a lot lower than what they advertise which is 4.5$/trade. Their effective rate comes down to 2.70$ / trade, now who can beat that? See details below:

Trade with Zecco for Free