The online brokerage industry offers a lot of options for new and experienced investors. There is a company for every trading style
and investing strategy. Each brokerage firm provides a number of investment choices, a suite of tools and services, and sometimes
even a few pricing plans. Below you will find the list of 10 best online stock brokers in 2018.
Top 10 Online Brokerage Firms
There are now hundreds of online brokerage firms on the market trying to lure investors with their pricing, promotions, investments
choices, and trading tools. Below we will briefly describe the best 10 brokerage firms in 2018.
TD Ameritrade. Combination of high-tech and free professional grade tools with a long history
in the brokerage industry makes TD Ameritrade a solid choice to beginner investors as well as for experienced and active traders.
The broker offers investing in futures and forex, something that almost no other online brokerage provides. A rich selection of
commission-free ETFs from 13 providers, including Vanguard, iShares, Pimco, PowerShares and SPDR, was ranked by Forbes as the best
for investors who are looking for the most liquid and lowest-cost ETFs.
Ally Invest is a popular discount broker, offering $4.95 equity trades for all customers
and even lower commissions ($3.95) for active traders (30 trades in 90 days) and high net wort investors ($100K). The investment
choices are on par with the bigger names in the industry and even include forex and futures trading. With no initial deposit to open
an account at Ally Invest, anyone can start investing with the company. The brokerage does not charge a set-up fee and an annual fee
for IRA accounts.
Ally Invest is one of the industry's leading low-cost brokers for self-directed investors with a broad array of investment and banking choices,
modern trading technologies and excellent customer service.
Firstrade is a deep discount broker that beats everyone else in this list when it comes to
pricing. The firm charges only $2.95 for stock and ETF trades. Options are just 50 cents per contract. Mutual funds that
have a transaction fee are at rock-bottom $9.95 per trade.
Firstrade now has the best selection of commission-free ETFs with over 700 funds! These exchange traded funds could be bought and sold
without paying any commission if they are held on investor's account for at least 30 days (otherwise $2.95 commission applies).
TradeStation is included in the Barron's top brokers in the 'Best for Options Traders' category. The broker offers a low trading cost
in two different pricing plans such as the per-trade plans or the per-share plans. With its main focus on active traders,
TradeStation offers one of the best trading platforms and cheapest per-share commissions to active traders. Its one of the best in the
industry trading platforms is fast and highly customizable. Barron's said: "When it comes to trading tools, the sky is the limit at
TradeStation."
Fidelity Investments is one of the larger brokerage companies in the US, and as such, provides an astounding array of services and benefits to its
investors. The investment firm offers advice in wealth management as well as services of a discount broker. Fidelity provides extensive
educational materials for novice and professional investors alike. Fidelity's branch network has over 180 local offices. Although fees are
a bit higher at Fidelity, the massive brokerage house offers investors their money's worth in options, benefits, education, research and
customer service.
Scottrade. TD Ameritrade
announced an agreement to acquire Scottrade. TD's purchase of Scottrade is expected to close in
the second half of fiscal 2018.
Having over 500 branches across the entire US, Scottrade combines the convenience of a discount broker with the comfort of a local business.
A wide selection of investment options, from stocks to municipal bonds and CDs along with $6.95 stock trades, makes Scottrade a top option for
investors. The brokerage offers a great selection of no-load mutual funds (2,637 to choose from) that have no transaction fee when trading
online.
Charles Schwab.
A wide selection of investment products, great research, customer support and in-person guidance are the strongest advantages of Charles Schwab.
Schwab received 4 stars in the Barron's 'Best for Long-Term Investing' category this year. The broker requires a $1,000 initial deposit to
open a brokerage or an IRA account. Great selections of mutual funds and commission-free ETFs are available. The cost of mutual funds that
are not on the broker's list of commission-free funds is the highest among major competitions. Advanced trading platforms are available to
all customers. However, people new to trading might find those quite intimidating.
Etrade is a well-established brokerage with a wide selection of investments. It charges a flat $6.95 fee for
each stock or ETF trade. Unlike TD Ameritrade, Etrade charges a steep fee for its advanced trading platform. The broker offers futures
and forex; however, you need to open separate accounts for trading any of the two. Etrade has 30 branches in 17 states across the country
for personalized help and one-on-one guidance. A lot of tools and educational content are available at the website at no cost.
USAA Investments is a well-established brokerage that is committed to providing good investment services,
loyalty, integrity and honesty to the military members and the general public. The brokerage would be a good choice for investors who
have low capital to trade with. Low-volume, fairly active traders and high net worth investors ($50,000+) can benefit from the USAA's
Platinum member fee schedule. In J.D. Power U.S. Self-Directed Investor Satisfaction Study, the company ranked higher than Scottrade,
the No. 1 in the survey. However, it was not included in the final rankings because it is "open only to U.S. military personnel and their
family members," stated the JDPower.com. Nevertheless, a full range of USAA self-directed investments and wealth management services are
available to the general public as well.
Motif Investing provides a low investment commission on a basket consisting of up to 30 stocks or ETFs in a
particular sector. The trading platform has lots of visual information, step-by-step instructions and descriptions, and is very simple to
use for investors of any level, including those people who are just starting with investing. The broker does not charge inactivity or any
other account fees and offers no-fee IRA accounts. The brokerage was ranked the №.1 Most Innovative Company in Personal Finance by
Fast Company.
The top investment firms provide a wide array of options for investors and traders. Equity, options, futures, forex, and fixed income
investing have become cheaper, more efficient, and in real-time.
Learning about and understanding what are the most important criteria for you as an investor, can help you select the very best
investment company for your investment needs.
If you don't see a particular brokerage company on this page, please take a look at our extended
list of top stock brokers in the United States.
It's usually very helpful to see customers' rating of a brokerage firm, and read online investment company reviews from a number of
sources.
Any former or current investment company customers can post their brokerage firm reviews or broker IRA account reviews, add positive
or negative feedback, or ask a question. Posting a feedback on the TopRatedFirms.com is very easy. The reviews must be honest. Please
use civil, professional language. User reviews could be edited by the website stuff to keep TopRatedFirms.com free of inappropriate
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When adding a review, you can set your brokerage firm rating, list investment company's pros (advantages) and cons (disadvantages,
problems, complaints).