EASIEST to use online trading company for beginners ??

[Cosmosis]

Hey all, new guy here. I'm just getting into all of this and i'm trying to find an online trading company that is very easy and simple to use for someone who has absolutely NO knowledge of buying and selling Stock shares. All i'm interested in is buying shares and being able to sell them at any time i choose online, something that's quick and simple. Any help would be well appreciated.

[Luc1Grunt]

SCottrade. If you have a branch office close by, even better. They can help website details and provide you some basic knowledge. $7 a pop and gainskeeper makes transactions easy to access. Had E-trade, like Scottrade.

[BrianB]

if you are new here, take a look at the other posts before creating a new one. there are posts similar to yours on page 1.

[deepinwonder]

Doesn't Scottrade limit after hours access (A/H trading closes at 8pm est, not 6pm) and hold your money up for days, so you can't make another trade, right away? If so, I think it bears mentioning, when recommending to others. I do not have those limitations with mine.

[Cosmosis]

SCottrade. If you have a branch office close by, even better. They can help website details and provide you some basic knowledge. $7 a pop and gainskeeper makes transactions easy to access. Had E-trade, like Scottrade.
Thanks for that info Luc1Grunt. I went to the site and was wondering if you had to pay the $500 deposit when you go through the "Get Started Apply Now" process or do you pay at a later time when you decide to?

[Luc1Grunt]

The 500 is to open the account and is still your money. You can deposit it and use it as soon as it's settled...Mine took 2 days.

If you enroll on-line, someone will contact you from the local branch.

In the past (may now be changed), you have to either mail the check or hand carry it to a branch. They do not let you comletely enroll on line (yet).

You may want to find a friend who has Scottrade and have them refer you. That way, you get 3 free trades and they get 3 as well. If you enroll on your own, you DO NOT get free trades.

They had some hacker scares with E-transfers from a bank account for your future deposits, but it was a precautionary "scare" only and no damage was done. Pretty typical with any online transaction/e-transfers.

Hope that helps, and good luck in your investments.

[Cosmosis]

The 500 is to open the account and is still your money. You can deposit it and use it as soon as it's settled...Mine took 2 days.

If you enroll on-line, someone will contact you from the local branch.

In the past (may now be changed), you have to either mail the check or hand carry it to a branch. They do not let you comletely enroll on line (yet).

You may want to find a friend who has Scottrade and have them refer you. That way, you get 3 free trades and they get 3 as well. If you enroll on your own, you DO NOT get free trades.

They had some hacker scares with E-transfers from a bank account for your future deposits, but it was a precautionary "scare" only and no damage was done. Pretty typical with any online transaction/e-transfers.

Hope that helps, and good luck in your investments.
Thankyou very much for that info and good luck in your investments also!

[deepinwonder]

Pump the brokerage without explaining what the drawbacks are, real helpful... I even asked you to spell it out, but you deliberately ignored my questions. Why? 8)

[Luc1Grunt]

Deep.....me? Not pumping anything. I have no drawbacks from my experience as compared to E-trade. It is cheaper and gives me what I need. This thread is recommendation. ?

Drawback, explaining drawbacks.

[deepinwonder]

Drawbacks... like being blocked from pre-market trading, blocked from bidding in after hours on anything but Nasdaq and only up until six o'clock, and blocked from using your money immediately after selling for another buy. I asked those questions, which were ignored, while only the positive side was presented. That's why I used the word "pumping." I had to take the time to look them up myself and I was correct, I've seen those complaints from Scottraders before.

These are all serious limitations that could cost an investor money and opportunity that a cheap seven dollar trade might not compensate for. Other than that, people love it, from what I've read, but I wouldn't put my money in there. I have it much better than you do and access to everything. My trades will be seven dollars soon, too. But right now, I do not recommend my brokerage, because that remains to be seen. Hopefully, in two weeks. :o

[ki klempa]

sorry to hear you hate scottrade deep., I feel like you get what you pay for $7.00 a trade. I use scottrade and I read all the threads and you asked: don't they hold your money and you can't place a trade for a few days, here's the skinny: you must deposit funds before you start trading: 1) send them $1,000., it must clear 2 days
2) 1,000 is open to invest, you buy siri on Monday
3) it does take 3 days to settle no biggie, but if you want to sell on tuesday because you made a rash decision, then YES you can sell, it's not settled yet but no biggie, again as long as you are using your own money to start you can sell on Tuesday or monday afternoon if you really wanted too....

4) okay here's where it gets sticky, if you decide to buy SIRI on monday and then sell on tuesday but decide you want xm instead, you can buy xm after selling siri on tuesday morning HOWEVER you CAN'T SELL XM., you are still using settled funds, that is the only draw back I found w/ scott

But again you get what you pay for, I'm willing to pay $7.00 because I am not a day trader I only would sell the next day if I only made a mistake in buying in the first place.

Kim

[Luc1Grunt]

Again, I will refere to the subject and title of the first thread.........................

Post subject: EASIEST to use online trading company for BEGINNERS ??

[ki klempa]

Luc - being a new comer since march I use scottrade and I haven't regretted it one bit

Kim

[Gonz]

blocked from using your money immediately after selling for another buy

Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's actually federal law rather than a quirky inconvenience of Scottrade, no? And you can buy immediately after selling, you just can't sell the new purchases until the funds from the original sale have settled (no free rides).

And to answer the question, I too use Scottrade.

[xboilermaker]

That's what I have believed also, Gonz. I sold one time with unsettled funds and got a warning that sec didn't allow it and my account might be limited in the future if it occurred again. Then I opened a margin account just in case. A msrgin account has a $2000 min, unlike a regular account, which has a $500 min.

[Luc1Grunt]

Good thread

[ecugis03]

I use ShareBuilder and really enjoy it. It works well for what I want to do, small amounts, long term.

[Luc1Grunt]

I've heard that from a friend. He gets what he wants for a good price. Bottom line is this.......Whatever tool fits your goals and style. Sharebuilder is a great tool for a more hands-off, long term investor, with beginner skills. I would have loved it 10 years ago.

[ecugis03]

You really can't beat $4 for buying, the only thing that stinks is when you decide to sell the fee is high. Plus the setback with the low buying fee is you have to wait until a Tuesday for it to post, and it seems they buy the shares at the highest point in the day for some reason!

Other than that, for the long term it seems great.

[xboilermaker]

I wanted Sharebuilder when I first started, but they don't serve Puerto Rico, so that's why I went to scottrade. Cosmosis, you can go to Scottrade and play with their platform, and maybe even access the glossary, explaning all the terms used in trading. I think they are the only one that lets you place limit orders (the only way to trade) for $7.

[ki klempa]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's actually federal law rather than a quirky inconvenience of Scottrade, no?

yep GONZ your right, I just felt like I needed to defend scottrade, So I was pointing out the drawbacks, but your right that is a drawback for every brokerage....


yep those free rides will get you but at least scottrade is there when asked a question I always received a reply in 2 hours and my branch manager has always answered my question, does the lower than 7.00 a trade brokerages do that?

Kim

[axb8000]

Sharebuilder is good. It's pretty simple to use for stockmarket newbies who want to invest small amounts (about $200-500 a trade) for long term investments.

It's cheap, straight-forward, and uncluttered by confusing programs and alerts.

BUT there are serious drawbacks if you want to day trade or trade penny stocks forget about it with Sharebuilder. They only let you trade on tuesdays (for the cheap $4 trades) and that bulk trade guaruntees you'll be paying more than you'd wish to buy a stock. Selling is costly too if you are cashing out of a small amount ($15).

Sharebuilder does have a monthly fee progam that gives cheaper market/limit-order trades but it still comes out to be more than the competition.

I uese Sharebuilder btw and am happy with it... most of the time.

[Cosmosis]

Thanks for all the help everyone! So with Scottrade, after i pay the $500 to open an account can i use that $500 to start buying/selling shares or is that just to keep the account open?

[xboilermaker]

Once they get your funding to open your account, and you wait three days for the funds to settle, you're good to go. Keep in mind that any trade you make takes three days to settle, so if you bought 400.00 of a stock today, then you can't sell it for three days unless you have enough funds left in your account to settle your purchase price, and the other way around (when you sell, funds take three days to settle, and you can't use unsettled funds to buy something else).

[deepinwonder]

sorry to hear you hate scottrade deep

I didn't say that *at all* and only brought it up, because Scottraders keep stating the pluses and leaving out the negatives, on these recommendation threads... for some strange reason. I only know about them, myself, from seeing complaints on other threads and was just saying that there are a few drawbacks to this brokerage that I don't have to deal with. How can anyone have a problem with presenting the positives, as well as the negatives?? People should know how any brokerage compares to another, imo, then they can make decisions based on their own self interest, and everyone's is different.

As far as it being "against the law" to use my money after a sale to buy another stock, I can do it, I just cannot withdraw it. Not every brokerage makes you wait, like Scottrade does, so I was just pointing it out to give a balanced picture of what you are gaining, but also might be losing. It's your money, I don't care where you put it. Many people **love** Scottrade and don't care if they have those features, but I would, so to each their own. :o

[xboilermaker]

DW, I only pass along my satisfaction with Scottrade because it is the only one that I have used, and now that BAC has merged with KRB, I have thought about checking them out in Jan, because that's when the rep told me my MBNA card will be part of BAC. If you check with BAC, I believe you will find that funds from your sale are not settled until three days after your sale, meaning the same money cannot be used. Please don't hesitate to correct me if I am wrong, because I am curious.

[vthokienj]

Deep...who do you trade with that is switching to $7 trades?

[deepinwonder]

I was fully invested all summer and couldn't have made some buys, had they not allowed me to use those funds again... but I did not sell those new stocks I bought, immediately, before the first sale was settled. You guys are probably right about that. Also have a small Spousal IRA set up to trade with, so I never withdraw that money. Don't know how that would work for people in different situations than mine. :?:

BAC just lowered their trading fees, but still charge twice as much as Scottrade, for people who don't make more than 31 trades every six months. Don't know if there is a minimum balance for the lowest rate at BAC, which is now $7. For each brokerage, there are trade offs, and I didn't say it was the best. It just is for us. Didn't recommend it on this thread for newbies with balances under $1000, either, and not everyone cares about pre-market or after hours trades, where Scottrade limits people unfairly, I think. I would complain... customer complaints about high trading fees to BAC got them lowered. You guys deserve to have access to the market when everyone does, don't you think? And now that other brokerages are lowering their rates, Scottrade should not be allowed to use that as an excuse, which is lame.

[the_menace]

Thanks for all the help everyone! So with Scottrade, after i pay the $500 to open an account can i use that $500 to start buying/selling shares or is that just to keep the account open?

You can use all $500 as you wish to buy stocks. However, you have to wait til your funds settle before you can sell and also the other way around.

[Cosmosis]

.......Keep in mind that any trade you make takes three days to settle, so if you bought 400.00 of a stock today, then you can't sell it for three days unless you have enough funds left in your account to settle your purchase price......
I'm not sure i understand this correctly. What exactly does "settle your purchase price" mean? Guess i have alot to learn. 8O Let's say i have $1,500 dollars of already settled funds in my Scottrade account and at that point i go ahead and buy 1000 shares of a stock at $1.00 a share. If later on in that same day i want to sell all those shares real quick because it's now at $1.20, your saying that with Scottrade i have to wait 3 days to do that?

[deepinwonder]

I think it works like this:

If you sell your stock, it takes three days to get that money clear and back into your account, so you can use it to buy another one. If you sell a stock and want to buy another one the same day or the next, Scottrade won't allow it. Maybe I got to do that at my brokerage, because I have an IRA and can't just withdraw my money, before a certain age, without paying some stiff penalties. Even if I was that age, I couldn't take it out, until it cleared all the way through.

[Cosmosis]

I think it works like this:

If you sell your stock, it takes three days to get that money clear and back into your account, so you can use it to buy another one. If you sell a stock and want to buy another one the same day or the next, Scottrade won't allow it.....
I guess to start out i'm ok with that being that i'm completely new to all of this but now if i 'buy' shares and want to sell them later that day to make a profit i'm wondering if i have to wait the 3 days to do that? I'm kinda confused about this whole 'settle purchase price' thing when i buy shares. Not really sure what that means.

[deepinwonder]

I think you can do daytrades like that just fine, it's buying another one before the money clears from a sale back into your account that you have to watch. If I'm wrong, someone from Scottrade correct me.

[ki klempa]

this but now if i 'buy' shares and want to sell them later that day to make a profit i'm wondering if i have to wait the 3 days to do that? I'm kinda confused about this whole 'settle purchase price' thing when i buy shares. Not really sure what that means.>>>>>>>>>>

The quick answer is YES, you can day trade - AS LONG AS YOU STARTED WITH CASH FROM YOUR CASH ACCOUNT AND NOT FROM ANOTHER SALE FOR THE DAY. The confusion would be if you buy on monday and sell on monday night, your all set, profits made, but if you use that new money on tuesday you CAN'T SELL THAT TUESDAY POSITION Because the monday sell didn't settle yet.... as long as you have money in your cash account you will never run into a problem

kim

[Luc1Grunt]

It is called a "Free Ride" and it falls under the SEC. All companies (brokerages are the same on this, because it is a federal SEC Issue.)

Buy stock X on Monday with $500....remaining balance is zero.
Sell stock X on Tues for $650.....new account balance is $650 unsettled.
You cannot buy until funds settle on Friday, then spend your $650.

Simple as that........so,

Forecast yourself in buys, sells, and holds so you don't miss opportunities.

I don't see how Scottrade is alone on this....same rules apply unless you are buying on margin, then additional stipulations apply.

[deepinwonder]

Thanks, Kim! I never bought and sold and bought and sold that fast, usually just keep the second buy for a while, so didn't know. Also, it's hard for me to tell what others have, in comparison to what I have with my broker (as is probably the case with most of us, as xboilermaker pointed out) and from what I'm seeing, Scottrade has excellent research tools... in fact, I don't get all the research tools my husband does with our broker, because he has a lot more money in his account than I do. I just use his or other websites for what I'm missing, so it's no problem, but with Scottrade, I think you get all that with a minimum balance. Still think being blocked from pre-market and most after hours trading is enough for me to avoid Scottrade, but for some people, it doesn't matter. Thought it was important to point out, though, and still would suggest you guys complain, so maybe they will make things better for you in the future. :arrow:

[Cosmosis]

I think you can do daytrades like that just fine, it's buying another one before the money clears from a sale back into your account that you have to watch. If I'm wrong, someone from Scottrade correct me.
The quick answer is YES, you can day trade - AS LONG AS YOU STARTED WITH CASH FROM YOUR CASH ACCOUNT AND NOT FROM ANOTHER SALE FOR THE DAY. The confusion would be if you buy on monday and sell on monday night, your all set, profits made, but if you use that new money on tuesday you CAN'T SELL THAT TUESDAY POSITION Because the monday sell didn't settle yet.... as long as you have money in your cash account you will never run into a problem

kim
It is called a "Free Ride" and it falls under the SEC. All companies (brokerages are the same on this, because it is a federal SEC Issue.)

Buy stock X on Monday with $500....remaining balance is zero.
Sell stock X on Tues for $650.....new account balance is $650 unsettled.
You cannot buy until funds settle on Friday, then spend your $650.

Simple as that........so,

Forecast yourself in buys, sells, and holds so you don't miss opportunities.

I don't see how Scottrade is alone on this....same rules apply unless you are buying on margin, then additional stipulations apply.
Ahh, ok, got it now. That seems easy enough. Thanks for the help! Now to start it all off, any good low priced stock picks for a beginner? j/k :mrgreen:

[Luc1Grunt]

Plenty of people in this forum riding IES.....do your homeowrk before you jump into anything, then decide entry/exit points, and your targets.

Plenty of low dollar suggestions out there, just do the homework first. Luc

[Cosmosis]

Plenty of people in this forum riding IES.....do your homeowrk before you jump into anything, then decide entry/exit points, and your targets.

Plenty of low dollar suggestions out there, just do the homework first. Luc
Thanks. I'll have to check that IES out. From what i've read so far i have to say it looks promising.

[optimus25]

scottrade, ameritrade. Its better late then never.

[meth]

to answer ur question first, i am a NEW trader and i find SCOTTRADE to be EASY to use.

although i did not try any of the others. i had a look at etrade, it looked similar, if i had to guess, i would say all the etrading websites are run almost the same way or with a similar interface, someone correct me if i am wrong.

i like scottrade. but i did run into that unsettled funds thing. i bought GME stupidly as i saw it on the rise(my mistake) i thought the release of xbox would have helped me out. i bought it on a monday, i saw it starting to drop faster than i would have liked, so i sold it on tuesday at a small loss(smart move as it continued to drop). when i sold, i wanted to buy BBI, but i couldn't because my funds were unsettled.

now, for u scottrade users. were they unsettled because of my initial purchase of GME, or were they unsettled from my sale of GME. this is where i am confused.

if unsettled from the purchase, that means if i hold the stock longer than 3 days and sell it, the funds should be immediately available for trading again right?
if unsettled from the sale, that means every time i sell a stock, i cannot use that money til 3 days later?

hmm, which is it.

[Luc1Grunt]

unsettled from the sale. The money has to be moved back into scottrade, then to your account. Normal if you think about it. Traders, to brokers, to you. Keep enough settled funds in your balance to jump on opportunities, but believe me.....there are opportunities everyday, and one that gets away today, will rise again tomorrow.

Keep a target list updated daily and you won't miss the fun.

[meth]

unsettled from the sale. The money has to be moved back into scottrade, then to your account. Normal if you think about it. Traders, to brokers, to you. Keep enough settled funds in your balance to jump on opportunities, but believe me.....there are opportunities everyday, and one that gets away today, will rise again tomorrow.

Keep a target list updated daily and you won't miss the fun.


damn, that is what i was afraid of. yeah, i learned that the hard way. as soon as i had sold it, i wanted to jump on something right away, but my $$$ was unsettled, and i couldn't make a move. so i now i have like 3k in the bank ready to go, but it kinda sux i missed out on something for like 2 days as i watched it go up and pass me by, now i am over it.

[manningsh7]

I'm also new to trading, though I've been studying it for the past few months preparing for my entry (which began last week on the 30th). I've made eight trades so far, and quickly realized the dilemma vis-a-vis the whole settled funds thing.

I was told, and I did this twice, that I can buy shares with unsettled funds from a sale, but I could not sell that second buy until the first sale settled. I did get a warning about this when I placed the trade(s). My response to scottrade when I inquired about this was, "So, if I buy shares with unsettled funds I'll be accused of free-riding, but I won't actually be guilty of free-riding unless I sell shares bought with unsettled funds (from a prior sale) before that sale settles?" My broker told me that was a good way to put it.

Then I realized how stupid it was to buy shares with unsettled proceeds. If I can't sell those shares for three days (assuming I sold and bought different positions the same day), and the stock starts tanking, I'm stuck on that downhill run.

So, this morning I was waiting at my local office when they opened, and I set up a margin account. I am not interested in leveraging anything (at this point...maybe in a year or so), and I'm not ready to start shorting stocks. I just want to be able to buy and sell without worrying about the whole settled funds issue. By 3 pm today, my account had changed and it says nothing about settled funds. Instead I got "available free cash" and "available buying power," the latter being what was before unsettled funds. Basically, when I buy shares now with proceeds from a prior unsettled sale, scottrade is loaning me the money to do so, and I'm free to sell whenever I choose. I don't mind the interest, since now I have the ability to dump a bad pick, or jump on an opportunity should it present itself, without having to keep track, and I can stay fully invested.

Sorry for the long post, but I hope it contributes...

[deepinwonder]

I can buy shares with unsettled funds from a sale, but I could not sell that second buy until the first sale settled.

That's the way it is for me, so then there is no difference, other than more limitations on hours of trading. You can always buy yourself a partial load, then see what direction the stock heads, before loading up some more, too. Cramer recommends doing that.

[nefrologocatracho]

unsettled from the sale. The money has to be moved back into scottrade, then to your account. Normal if you think about it. Traders, to brokers, to you. Keep enough settled funds in your balance to jump on opportunities, but believe me.....there are opportunities everyday, and one that gets away today, will rise again tomorrow.

Keep a target list updated daily and you won't miss the fun.


damn, that is what i was afraid of. yeah, i learned that the hard way. as soon as i had sold it, i wanted to jump on something right away, but my $$$ was unsettled, and i couldn't make a move. so i now i have like 3k in the bank ready to go, but it kinda sux i missed out on something for like 2 days as i watched it go up and pass me by, now i am over it.

Hi all

I have been reading this forum for a few weeks and like the discussions. This is my first post and I hope not to irritate anyone, but you are all incorrect as far as Scottrade is concerned. You can use unsettled funds from a sale to buy new positions. However, you are restricted from SELLING those newly bought positions until the original sell has cleared. In fact, I just did this yesterday. If you use Scottrade, from the HOME page go to EDUCATION CENTER for all the rules and regulations.

Good luck!

[manningsh7]

meth...I think that's what I said above:

I can buy shares with unsettled funds from a sale, but I could not sell that second buy until the first sale settled.

[nefrologocatracho]

meth...I think that's what I said above:

I can buy shares with unsettled funds from a sale, but I could not sell that second buy until the first sale settled.

You did, sorry, didn't see that.

[church mouse]

Cosmosis,

I noticed you were asking about a beginner investor, so I can share a couple of lessons I learned. I am still a beginner and don’t claim to have much more to offer than my experience with Sharebuilder and Scottrade.

When I decided to begin investing outside of our Vanguard 401K, I began with a Roth IRA at Sharebuilder. Most of the pros and cons are covered really well in this thread. It was a great way for me to dollar cost average QQQQ (then QQQ) on a disciplined monthly basis, rather inexpensively. It served me well while I built a balance worth transferring to another online broker- but I didn’t move when I should have because as a beginner I was comfortable with the whole setup. My bad. I decided to add a few new stocks in “real time”. When I got tired of $19.95 limit orders, $15.95 market orders and long hold times for telephone questions, I chose to move to Scottrade.

The final knife in the back from Sharebuilder was the $50.00 they wanted to move my holdings- that hurt. If I understand correctly, Scottrade does not charge for this transfer. Staying with Sharebuilder so long was my own ignorance, because I never bothered to figure out how much money I would have to earn on my investments to wash the fees. Lesson learned!

If I had to do to again, I would save $500.00 in a savings account then open an account at Scottrade. I really enjoy dealing with Scottrade. Instead of a long wait time for telephone questions, I dial up my local office (local for me is two hours away) and never wait more than 15 or 20 seconds for an answer. Yes, one of the brokers is not the smartest person I have ever dealt with, but the others are great! They were ultimately very helpful on my recent IPO purchase of UARM, and only charged me for internet trade, even though it really was a broker assisted trade.

As others have mentioned, GainsKeeper is an awesome addition to the account at no extra cost. But my very favorite is the panel of live quotes they have complete with more information than I really understand at this point. I keep it on all day long when I am ready to trade. It has helped me greatly with timing.

Since you are a beginner as I am, you might find as I do that the education center is a huge help. This site is helping me with the learning, as well. People are very kind and patient here. I took a detour to a Yahoo stock message board when researching QTWW and IES and felt like I should take a shower after reading just a few posts. Oftentimes, they are not very charitable towards one another there.

There is one downside about Scottrade which truly bothers me- the do not take electronic withdrawals from my checking account at the moment. I know they are working in a new system. That means I have to either wire or mail my deposit to them and wait for it to post. I hope they get it set up very soon.

So, that’s my beginner experience for what it’s worth. I hope you enjoy whatever choice you make.

Beth Ann

[Cosmosis]

Cosmosis,

I noticed you were asking about a beginner investor, so I can share a couple of lessons I learned. I am still a beginner and don’t claim to have much more to offer than my experience with Sharebuilder and Scottrade.

When I decided to begin investing outside of our Vanguard 401K, I began with a Roth IRA at Sharebuilder. Most of the pros and cons are covered really well in this thread. It was a great way for me to dollar cost average QQQQ (then QQQ) on a disciplined monthly basis, rather inexpensively. It served me well while I built a balance worth transferring to another online broker- but I didn’t move when I should have because as a beginner I was comfortable with the whole setup. My bad. I decided to add a few new stocks in “real time”. When I got tired of $19.95 limit orders, $15.95 market orders and long hold times for telephone questions, I chose to move to Scottrade.

The final knife in the back from Sharebuilder was the $50.00 they wanted to move my holdings- that hurt. If I understand correctly, Scottrade does not charge for this transfer. Staying with Sharebuilder so long was my own ignorance, because I never bothered to figure out how much money I would have to earn on my investments to wash the fees. Lesson learned!

If I had to do to again, I would save $500.00 in a savings account then open an account at Scottrade. I really enjoy dealing with Scottrade. Instead of a long wait time for telephone questions, I dial up my local office (local for me is two hours away) and never wait more than 15 or 20 seconds for an answer. Yes, one of the brokers is not the smartest person I have ever dealt with, but the others are great! They were ultimately very helpful on my recent IPO purchase of UARM, and only charged me for internet trade, even though it really was a broker assisted trade.

As others have mentioned, GainsKeeper is an awesome addition to the account at no extra cost. But my very favorite is the panel of live quotes they have complete with more information than I really understand at this point. I keep it on all day long when I am ready to trade. It has helped me greatly with timing.

Since you are a beginner as I am, you might find as I do that the education center is a huge help. This site is helping me with the learning, as well. People are very kind and patient here. I took a detour to a Yahoo stock message board when researching QTWW and IES and felt like I should take a shower after reading just a few posts. Oftentimes, they are not very charitable towards one another there.

There is one downside about Scottrade which truly bothers me- the do not take electronic withdrawals from my checking account at the moment. I know they are working in a new system. That means I have to either wire or mail my deposit to them and wait for it to post. I hope they get it set up very soon.

So, that’s my beginner experience for what it’s worth. I hope you enjoy whatever choice you make.

Beth Ann
Hi Beth Ann. Thankyou for that info, very helpful! I finally made my decision on monday and went with Scottrade. I love that live streaming Quote section they have also. Now i just have to jump into the whole learning process, doing alot of reading.

[xboilermaker]

nefrologocatracho, after looking back at my post on page 2 at 12:17 pm, I don't see how I said that a buy couldn't be made with unsettled funds, since I have done it many times. I will be more careful in the future, and thank you for your clarification.

[Pytheas]

You could always convert your Scottrade account to a Margin account. Just be careful, and you wont get burned.

[xboilermaker]

I just had a minor shock when I saw my 9.2% margin interest bill this month (78.96) on $11,442 avg. debit for 27 days. But I have been hoping for the Dec. yearly rally and extended myself. On the brighter side though, I was up over $3,000 in Nov, and attribute nearly a fourth of that to margin (at least $700), so the interest was well spent. But it can be a double edged sword, since you could be down on stocks you wouldn't have had if not for margin, and the margin bill to boot.

[nefrologocatracho]

nefrologocatracho, after looking back at my post on page 2 at 12:17 pm, I don't see how I said that a buy couldn't be made with unsettled funds, since I have done it many times. I will be more careful in the future, and thank you for your clarification.

You're right, I think I skimmed through some of the replys too quickly, but if I was confused maybe others were too. Just wanted to clarify. Anyway, we're all on the same page.

I like Scottrade, it's relatively cheap and easy to use, and I've had quite good customer service from the Chicago office, for what it's worth.

Stay warm!

[soundlanguage]

I'm considering completion of opening my Scottrade account (by depositing funds, im registered already but its in limbo) to add to my Sharebuilder which is a nice starter account (but with fee's so high can be draggy if turning over stocks every few days) but I'm curious if Scottrade holds your money in an interest earning account or are fundsdrawn directly from an external account like primary checking. If they do what is the current interest rate?

With Sharebuilder when your money isnt invested it sits in a solid money market account which earns about 3.5% *weekly*. Not bad for doing nothing, plus its actually pays for my "Advantage" (their upper tier account) monthly fee of $20. Interest is accredited monthly...


Part Two:

The Scottrade small print says you are not opening the account to intentionally earn interest on your primary funding but I'm not sure how they weight it. What if you're unlucky and can't deal with proper managing of your account? One example: a friends boyfreind was hopsitalized for months after a motorcycle accident and spent the majority going through reconstruction surgery then rehab. with no time/thoughts about anything else. (i know he trades but don't know the brokerage)

For arguements sake assuming it is Scottrade (dont know the interest rate %) and he's got a good chunk of change there, legally and otherwise it seems fair for the funds to stay where they are, which happen by no fault of his own to be earning interest whether "they" like it or not. Idle accounts must raise suspicion, esp those with 5 figures .... maybe a broker freezes an account when a certain interest threshold is reached

Just to state the obvious i'm not advocating such a sneaky strategy to intentionally gain an advantage over your brokerage but I do wonder how they discern who's playing them (must be a few) out of the majority who aren't.

[madcowdisease]

I'm considering completion of opening my Scottrade account (by depositing funds, im registered already but its in limbo) to add to my Sharebuilder which is a nice starter account (but with fee's so high can be draggy if turning over stocks every few days) but I'm curious if Scottrade holds your money in an interest earning account or are fundsdrawn directly from an external account like primary checking. If they do what is the current interest rate?

I have Scottrade and never anything else. Therefore I can't comment on the other guys, but I can tell you about my experiences with Scottrade. Yes, any capital on the sideline will earn interest.

The rate is something of an abnormality. When I check my account history I see I've earned interest on my balance at rates varying from 1/2% to 1.25%. Maybe others in here with Scottrade can explain this.

With Sharebuilder when your money isnt invested it sits in a solid money market account which earns about 3.5% *weekly*. Not bad for doing nothing, plus its actually pays for my "Advantage" (their upper tier account) monthly fee of $20. Interest is accredited monthly...

Nothing like that w/ Scottrade. I'm assuming "Advantage" is like Scottrade Elite which i dont' subscribe. But the basic service suffices my needs and there aren't any fees just for holding the account. I could cash out and sit on the sidelines all day and no fee.


Part Two:

The Scottrade small print says you are not opening the account to intentionally earn interest on your primary funding but I'm not sure how they weight it. What if you're unlucky and can't deal with proper managing of your account? One example: a friends boyfreind was hopsitalized for months after a motorcycle accident and spent the majority going through reconstruction surgery then rehab. with no time/thoughts about anything else. (i know he trades but don't know the brokerage)

For arguements sake assuming it is Scottrade (dont know the interest rate %) and he's got a good chunk of change there, legally and otherwise it seems fair for the funds to stay where they are, which happen by no fault of his own to be earning interest whether "they" like it or not. Idle accounts must raise suspicion, esp those with 5 figures .... maybe a broker freezes an account when a certain interest threshold is reached

Just to state the obvious i'm not advocating such a sneaky strategy to intentionally gain an advantage over your brokerage but I do wonder how they discern who's playing them (must be a few) out of the majority who aren't.

I never paid much attention to that line simply b/c I intended to trade. I guess they could take action but I can't see why anyone would even attempt this. I highlighted the interest rates I've seen on my account and they aren't anything to write home about. You'd be better off in a CD or savings account. Hell, even an interest earning checking account may earn more than what Scottrade offers.

[soundlanguage]

The rate is something of an abnormality. When I check my account history I see I've earned interest on my balance at rates varying from 1/2% to 1.25%. Maybe others in here with Scottrade can explain this.

But the basic service suffices my needs and there aren't any fees just for holding the account. I could cash out and sit on the sidelines all day and no fee.

I never paid much attention to that line simply b/c I intended to trade. I guess they could take action but I can't see why anyone would even attempt this. I highlighted the interest rates I've seen on my account and they aren't anything to write home about. You'd be better off in a CD or savings account. Hell, even an interest earning checking account may earn more than what Scottrade offers.

Thanks for the info, by the way that's an *intense* avatar, you're actually shy and polite in real life right? ... ;)

Got to thinking after reading your post that sideline interest isn't so bad with Sharebuilder when i've sold off and need to attend to non-stock matters. The "Advantage" is ok, sounds high & mighty but i'm still test driving it- last month i upgraded from the "Basic" which was free but per share transactions were a killer at $14.95 per. To play their game right, one should be a buy & holder for sure, they structured it for that. "Advantage" runs $20 per month but is offset by cheaper trade fee's- $12 per, ouch. You $7 is beautiful number indeed.

Sharebuilder is pedestrian to the point of feeling like the training wheels are still on but Scottrade is still too hardcore for what i need so i'm hangin' on. Only complaint i have so far are sluggish time lags between buy order & actual purchase, predictable however (they need their cut too!) otherwise there are no other fees. Perk about the high interest money market is that when my money's idle it's still working for me, passively so that $20 Advantage fee is reduced down a bit, in the end it balances out.

Scotttrade will be the better bet once i pick up trading but i'm not quite there yet, still engaged in very necessary *R & R* (researching & reading that is!)