Stock trading? What do you use?

LoPo · 06-06-2006, 02:18 PM

Only respond if you actually trade or roll the dice on the stock market.

Just curious how you do trading and what you feel are the pro's and con's of your method of choice.

{OF}MadD! · 06-06-2006, 02:40 PM

Scottrade.....it's cheap.

If you happen to use scottrade let me know, I think I get 3 free online trades if I use you as a refferal.

{OF}Flying_Dutchman · 06-06-2006, 07:43 PM

I use scottrade, it's cheap ($7/trade for regular, stop and limit trades).

Also, no minimum account balances, signup fees, montlhly mininum fees or account maintenance fees or any of that kind of BS.

They have tons of info, but little guidance. So basically, I get my investment info/guidance from elswhere (www.fool.com is one place , I'm signed up for one of their monthly newsletters) and trade online with them.

Their online streaming ticker and trading is great, and almost frightingly quick. One conformation message (sure you want to buy 100 shares of ABX at $XYZ) and you've bought it a tenth of a second later.

Their recordkeeping is good, they keep all your activity online so it's easy to go back if you need stuff for tax records ,etc.

Don't have any experience with the other ones, so I might be missing something, but I like what I've got.

Mac · 06-06-2006, 07:50 PM

used ameritrade and was VERY disappointed. I got in back when they started after about a year they starting imposing things like had to have a certain amount of cash value in your account. If your stocks dropped and the value of your portfolio went below their 2000 market you got hit with additional sur changes. The thing that really ticked me off is when I went to close and take all my money out cause I was not only losing in Stocks but they had all these fees for being low funded and crap.
I was glad to get away from them. Now if I have to I just goto the broker down the road and for a small fee I don't have to worry about that other crap. Administration fees are my favorite. What did they do? I did all the work? Dumbarses...

d-fragger · 06-06-2006, 10:17 PM

I have a broker in the family so I have to stay with them or be disowned.

Doom · 06-06-2006, 11:54 PM

Heh, I was a stockbroker before I got into academia...trust me, you're better off training a monkey to toss darts than go with a broker, the system simply isn't set up for investors.

I do a little options trading still with a cheapie company (not on my computer, and can't recall their name...Farr Financial?). They're ok, but never do a market order with discount guys, they get a nice 'commission' selling at a price that you would LOVE to find in the market yourself. One time one of my gold calls got sold at BELOW intrinsic value, something of an achievement with over a week until expiration.

Skidz · 06-07-2006, 01:06 PM

I also use Scottrade. Same reason as everyone else. It's hard to beat the price.

{OF}RKT · 06-26-2006, 09:53 PM

I use my brokers from Charles Schwab and Merril Lynch and a few other firms. Always make trades by phone and will not allow account managers to call with advice. I get discounted transaction fees lower then regular customers.

One time one of my account managers called me at work and told me I need to do something. I told him the next time he called, 40K was being transfered to a brokerage firm. Sure enough two months later he called and told him to execute a 40K wire transfer to another brokerage firm.

He never called again to tell me I must do something.

Word to the wise. "If a stock broker is so good, they should be so busy making money for themselves, tey would have no time for other people." Mother Theresa does not live on Wall Street.