Which stock broker is best for a beginner?

Question

Hi guys. I'm 25 and in school for a Master's. I'm seriously considering throwing a small amount of money (probably less than $5000) into a mutual fund or two. I've done a little research, and I'm pretty sure about the types of funds I want to invest in. However, I'm not too sure about the actual company. I was thinking about Fidelity - their fees are low, their stocks seem to do well, and they're user friendly. Is this a good place for someone like me? Or does it even really matter where I choose to invest?

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

I would recommend Scottrade.com over Fidelity; that's the broker I used before company regulations forced me to switch to Fidelity.

The nice thing about Scottrade.com is that you pay $7/trade, no matter what. Fidelity charges you $20/trade if you have less than $50K in your account.

The results are staggering if you're a short-term strategic investor with $5K in the account. $20/trade means you give up about $40 in earnings every time you get in and out of a stock. If you plan on owning two stocks and switching things around every six months, that's $160/year, or 3% of your total investment income.

Wish you the very best!

Answer 2

two places to look first Barrons.com they recent did a survey on the top brokers. The other is Broker Advisor. They intorduced me to some different brokers that I wasn't familiar with and one (mbtrading.com) I am seriously considering.

As for experiences Scottrade is ok they mean what they say but their help could be a little more helpful. Sharebuilder is ok for INVESTING only NOT trading. They have high trading fees and they are a little snippy when it comes to transferring securities. Zecoo NOT recommended they have serious customer service issues and sogoinvest is NOT recommended as well it took me three months to get my cash money back from them (good thing it was only $25) still I refuse to even talk to them now. Thinkorswim $5 trades but they lost me when they saisd PIQ was a pink sheet stock and refused to allow me to buy it. PIQ is an ETF from Powershares. I said see ya when they told me that one.

Now then if MUTUAL FUNDS are your choice then go on and take a look at Bank of America. They have quite a few exclusive funds that are really very good.

Answer 3

Scottrade is a really easy brokerage to use. It's 7 bucks per trade and they have over 290 branches nationwide.

http://www.scottrade.com

The CFO for Fidelity is getting fired or something like that so I think they're sucking.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/04/20/pf/funds/fidelity.moneymag/index.htm?postversion=2007042016

Here's a brokerage chart comparison...

http://www.scottrade.com/online_broker_comparison/discount_brokerage_comparison.asp

Answer 4

I think Vanguard would be best for you ..the cost to buy and sell will not be a factor if you buy an Index Fund at Vanguard..I don't think a new investor should try to pick stocks until you learn more about the market..then if you trade a lot ..go for a discount house to make trades..

Answer 5

I'd stick to nursing wounded share investors!

Answer 6

Zecco.