low cost brokerage accounts
low cost brokerage accounts you use
to trade stocks and exchange-traded funds can have a
big impact on your investment expenses and trading capabilities. Whether your
goal is to lower costs such as trade commissions or gain access to better
research or a larger selection of asset classes, NerdWallet researched the
options to find the best available. Here are our picks, divided by category to
help you quickly find the right online broker for you.
low cost
brokerage accounts
These brokers have no inactivity fees or account minimum. They offer
advanced trading platforms, a breadth of research and access to a wide range of
investments.
Both OptionsHouse and TD
Ameritrade offer strong customer support, advanced trading platforms with no
balance or trade minimums, and an impressive amount of research. TD
Ameritrade’s trade commissions are on the high side, but many traders find
their first-class trading platforms, Trade Architect and thinkorswim, worth that
higher cost. The broker also offers a large selection of no-transaction-fee
mutual funds and commission-free ETFs. Although OptionsHouse fails to offer
either, it has very competitive commissions for stock, ETF and options trades.
low cost
brokerage accounts
In addition to top pick OptionsHouse — a strong
deep-discount broker — these brokers are formidable choices for
fee-conscious investors. They both offer rock-bottom commissions, but investors
won’t sacrifice much in the way of tools and investment selection.
Stripped-down apps like Robinhood offer commission-free trading. But for investors who want more, TradeKing and Interactive Brokers
prove that it’s possible to pair low commissions with advanced features. Both
companies score high for their trading platforms and investment selection.
TradeKing falls a bit short by not offering futures trading, but the broker has
a $0 minimum deposit requirement and lower inactivity fees when compared with
Interactive Brokers. Frequent traders will pay less in commissions at
Interactive Brokers. It offers volume discounts but requires traders to
meet monthly activity minimums and maintain a $10,000 balance.
If you’re new to the
markets and looking to dabble in a little trading, you may value handholding
over fancy tools, research or even low fees. You want to be able to pick
up the phone — or visit a branch — and talk to someone who can walk you through
your choices. With these brokers, you can do that (though making a trade
through a broker, rather than online, will generally cost extra). They also
both offer a wide selection of commission-free ETFs and no-transaction fee
mutual funds, as well as educational content to help you gain your footing. Charles Schwab
often waives its $1,000 low cost brokerage accounts