TD Ameritrade. E-trade. et al

[ronin]

which online broker do you gents or ladies prefer of either TD, E-trade or any others? any pros or cons? suggestions?

on a second note, how about tracking tools?


engage!

[widebody911]

I have an E-Trade account, and I need to switch, but I'm too lazy. They hosed me a while back when the changed their account minimums, and one of my accounts was under the minimum, so they stuck me in the ass @ $20/month for several months before I caught it and closed that account.

[VincentVega]

Scottrade is cheap, but very basic; at least for what I need. I'm slowly moving from them to etrade, no complaints so far.

[MikeSid]

I use E-Trade. No problems, but I think they are all about the same. Every one will have some measure of "fine print" relating to account minimums and the like. I don' use Quickbooks or any accounting software, but if you do, compatibility with your trading account is something I would look for. Otherwise I think it's just a matter of the site functionality and which one you are most comfortable with. Really I don't think there is much difference.

[fxeditor]

Originally Posted by Chris Martin

Scottrade is cheap, but very basic; at least for what I need. I'm slowly moving from them to etrade, no complaints so far.

I recently switched to Scotttrade as well. So far I've been quite happy with them. Their trade execution is very quick and the fee structure is really good but he interface looks like Ameritrade circa 1998! If you want a snazzy "web 2.0" interface look elsewhere.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Avoid ETrade. They suck. On top of their horrendous over-exposure to subprime, their customer service is deplorable. I just went through a three-month long fight with them over an electronic (ACH) transfer they screwed up. In order to get resolution, I had to spend about six hours on the phone and write a letter to the Dep't of the Treasury Office of Thrift Management (federal overseer of ETrade Bank).

Basically I initiated a transfer from my ETrade bank account to another bank (I pulled my stuff out because of insolvency worries) and they debited my ETrade bank account AND my other bank's account for the same amount. Effectively I'd been out 2X the transfer amount for three months. And of course they tried to duck behind their bureaucracy and layers of India call center boneheads for weeks about it (basically my request for inquiry/resolution kept getting "blown off", I was repeatedly told "someone will look into it" but was denied a contact/investigator's name and/or extension for direct contact). Total B.S.

THEN they closed my brokerage account (without my permission) after I transferred my positions to another broker. I'd wanted to keep it open for occasional trades and research but keep the bulk of my stuff elsewhere in case ETrade went under (I know they have SIPC coverage but I don't want to have to deal with that red tape if I could. . .)

In short, I'm done with them. My advice would be to not waste my time.

My current brokerage is OptionsXpress. They've been nothing short of outstanding thus far.

[ronin]

well, a pleasing interface would be nice, but fees and efficiency (read: trade speed) are my main concerns. do any of these sites have bogus trial accounts so you can take them for a test spin? yeah, yeah. I know, I should just go and check for myself, but asking you guys and peeking between boss visits is less time consuming and a bit more stealthy. at least until I get home tonight

[ronin]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

Avoid ETrade. They suck. On top of their horrendous over-exposure to subprime, their customer service is deplorable. I just went through a three-month long fight...

-snip-

My current brokerage is OptionsXpress. They've been nothing short of outstanding thus far.

now that's the type of dirt I need. allowing me to learn from other bad experiences before falling into a similar trap is excellent. thanks for sharing!

keep it coming, fellas. and thanks for all the responses so far!

[HardDrive]

I have been using TDAmeritrade since 2001. Very happy.

[fuelie600]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

Avoid ETrade. They suck. On top of their horrendous over-exposure to subprime, their customer service is deplorable. I just went through a three-month long fight with them over an electronic (ACH) transfer they screwed up. In order to get resolution, I had to spend about six hours on the phone and write a letter to the Dep't of the Treasury Office of Thrift Management (federal overseer of ETrade Bank).

My experience with Etrade is just the opposite. I am very happy with them. (However, I don't use etrade bank much.) Been with them since 1997. I have always had top notch customer service. Also, yesterday when the market was in panic sell mode, I didn't have any trouble with execution. Several brokers were down...

YMMV....

Good luck!

[Hugh R]

I find Schwab easy to use.

[scottmandue]

Send me your money and I will invest it for you...

Trust me..

[VincentVega]

One negative about Scottrade is it's a pita to move money from your account. It needs to be done via check or account transfer, not a simple ach. If I recall correctly they had an 'issue' with the previous online process and removed it a while back. Yeah, the UI stinks, but trade execution is tip top.

[kang]

I had the unfortunate experience of having an e-trade account for a while, as my company used them for some stuff. I had no choice. As soon as our company changed, I closed the e-trade account.

I use Fidelity for everything now. I’m a happy customer.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Fidelity is good but their management fees tend to be rather high. YMMV.

[dmcummins]

Ive had TD ameritrade / Waterhouse for over 10yrs with no problems. May not be the cheapest but Ive got no complaints.

[twait01]

I have TD/Ameritrade and Scottrade. I prefer the TD website and interface.