Schwab, Ameritrade, Etrade --

[IndyOp]

Do people here use these online services to buy stocks, mutual funds without have to pay a broker? What is your experience them? What have you heard from others?

:shrug:

Thanks for any input! :-)

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. I've watched the TD Waterhouse ads

but that's because I like Sam Waterston. I don't have any money to invest in any market except the farmer's market downtown.

[IndyOp]

2. I like Waterston too! Maybe I'll try TD Waterhouse -> ;-) (nt)

:hi:

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

6. I've met him

and he is an incredibly kind fellow who takes time to talk with his fans, even if he's tired.

[Greyhound]

12. Please don't pick a house based on what they pay an actor to say

for them (if you were serious).

[Extend a Hand]

3. we use Etrade

but we got the account back when they were the only service offering a minimum balance that we could afford. There may be better deals now. We have not had anyproblems but we are not frequent traders. I think different firms cater to different kinds of traders

Here is a list of links to reviews of brokerages:
http://www.consumersearch.com/www/internet/online_brokers/reviews.html

[IndyOp]

4. Looks good -- Thanks! (n/t)

:kick:

[BillZBubb]

5. Schwab is a Repug whore, don't use him or anything with his name

I've used ETrade for nearly a decade and have no major complaints.

[IndyOp]

8. Thank you... No Schwab! - ;-) (nt)

:hi:

[AnnieBW]

7. I Use Sharebuilder

I use Sharebuilder from eBay. Been investing for about 6 months. So far, no complaints. And eBay is a good "blue" company.

http://www.sharebuilder.com/sharebuilder/Index.asp

[2Design]

13. I thought ebay - peg what's her name was a strong republican

where did you find out they were blue

[nick303]

9. I'm an Ameritrade (now TDAmeritrade) user

I like it.. the research and interface is tops, although I've only seen a little of my friends' accounts with other brokers.

[IndyOp]

10. What do you mean by research?

Do they have Morningstar (or other) ratings for stocks/funds?

:shrug:

[oscar111]

14. IDENTITY THEFT.. hits twent;y percent of those who do

online banking. Might also be similar figure for any online financial work. Be careful.

Stock accounts drained.. was the headline for brokers in general, some article i only read headline of. Not sure how that is done by IDT criminals.

one can buy stock directly from some companies with NO broker. also, DRIPS do the re investing of dividends with no broker.

consult academic studies to see which strategy of investing is truly rewarding. Dont listen to toutings from un sourced commentators. Go by scientific studies, i say.

the association OF BROKERS .. hmmmm.. that is supposed to ride herd on bad ones, .. i tried to get them to give me the history on one brokerage house and it was the worst bunch of hurdles i have seen online. great patience and time needed. They do NOT want to give info out, was my conclusion. Old boy gang guarding each other.. not you. Just like the AMA. I forget the assn name, but it is the only one.

ON EDIT.. i think the assn. was called NASD.. natl assn of security dealers.. IIRC . One poster here said AG spitzer's investigations meant that the stock exchange had abandoned its old role of riding herd on bad brokerage houses. Spitzer has had major victories . NY's Atty general.

See google, for some big law firm that prosecutes stockbroker fraud, for list of eight big name famous houses, and the fraud they have done. Useful list of who to avoid. Household names.

[Nite Owl]

16. You can sign up for

Morningstar for free and for the price of one trade with a broker you can probably pay for a year of the premium site. There is a lot of info on line too that is less slanted than what a broker would advise.

http://morningstar.com/

[IndyOp]

17. Ah, damn! I went with TD Ameritrade, but wound up doing my research

on Morningstar. I did *not* know one could trade through Morningstar. :grr:

Ah, well - I can always transfer the accounts...

Right now I am still waiting for the first funds to be purchased -- I placed an order late Friday afternoon, so it should go through Monday morning.

:tapfingersnervously:

[Nite Owl]

18. Oh, I didn't mean you could trade

through Morningstar just that the research is available there.

Good luck with your new funds!

[IndyOp]

19. Okay - Thank you. I wound up finding a page that had links

for the funds I was interested in -- with Morningstar & Lipper ratings. I am familiar with Morningstar so I paid the most attention to those.

Thanks for wishing me good luck -- I am a little anxious now. I should feel better when the transactin goes through on Monday and then feel even better in a couple of weeks when I see that all is (reasonably) well with the funds.

:hi:

[NVMojo]

24. my spouse using Ameritrade and swears by it ...

[applegrove]

11. Delete

[Nite Owl]

15. I have used Scottrade

for several years and they are very good. If you are trading though nothing beats Interactive Brokers. Excellent platform, really cheap too but service is scarce, you need to know what you are doing.

[CountAllVotes]

20. if you get into doing online trading watch out for the IRS

I got into a hell of a mess with Scottrade, Vanguard & T. Rowe Price. I lost money in the stock market and I ended up having to hire an accountant type of a person to bail me out. The IRS figured I had made $120,000 in the stock market. Oh don't I wish.

Every time you buy/sell it goes on your record with the IRS.

I'd be hard pressed to ever do it again. I think I learned and I got my fingers burned in the process sadly enough.

At least I admit it! :(

:kick:

[trekbiker]

22. not sure of your situation but Scottrade has been very accurate

for me for several years now. Even with the complicated "qualified" dividends I get from my Canadian Income trust investments (Fidelity and others are still screwing that up).

stock purchases are "non-reportable activity". you should have got a statement detailing purchases but it is not furnished to the IRS (but you better have it in case of an audit). Interest, Dividends and sales are reportable to the IRS and show up on your 1099

[trekbiker]

21. Scottrade is excellent....

$7 trades. even limit orders are now $7 (used to be $12). service is very good. website is good. lots of local offices across the US. I have made hundreds of trades thru Scottrade over the last few years with no problems. I also do a lot of broker assist trades thru the Toronto exchange and at $27 Scottrade is at or near the cheapest for this type of service.
I've used Fidelity, Vanguard, Schwab but Scottrade is a better deal. I'm sure Etrade and Ameritrade are good but have no experience with them and no reason to abandon Scottrade. Fidelity is a rip and I dont trust them. Some of my experiences and communications with thier people have not been good and they will ding you on fees every chance they get. Fidelity and Vanguard got a lot of commission money out of me in the 80's and early 90's before the rise of the discount internet brokers. Unfortunately I am still stuck with Fidelity as they have now become the administer my company's 401K plan.

[Robbie Michaels]

23. I used to eTrade

but that was six years ago when I could afford to (hint, hint) :grr: