Kiplinger’s Top Discount Brokers
Tip It!While perusing the latest issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, I ran across an article critiquing the top online brokers (see also my earlier article on the best online discount brokers). They rated twelve different brokers based on commission, research/tools, commissions/fees, investment choices, and ease of use, and customer service.
Here’s what they came up with:
- Fidelity
- Charles Schwab
- Muriel Siebert
- TradeKing
- E*Trade
- OptionsHouse
- TD Ameritrade
- WellsTrade
- Firstrade
- OptionsXpress
- Zecco
- Scottrade
Frankly, I was surprised to see TradeKing and E*Trade back in fourth and fifth place, as they’re both popular among FiveCentNickel readers. Moreover, SmartMoney picked E*Trade as their top online broker, and TradeKing has received rave reviews for their combination of excellent customer service and cheap trades.
Looking further down the list, Zecco came in second to last despite their free trades. When it comes to Zecco, people either seem to love them or hate them. However, if you don’t have a lot to invest and you’re trying to keep your costs as low as possible, it’s hard to argue with free.
Published on October 24th, 2008 - 6 Comments
Filed under: Saving & Investing
About the author: Nickel is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!
Related articles...
» SmartMoney’s Top Online Broker for 2008» FNBO Direct has the Best Online Savings Account
» Kroger Gas Discount, Take Three
» SmartMoney’s Best and Worst Brokers
» Which Online Broker is Your Favorite?
» The Best Brokers in the Land
» Is it Un-American to Ask for a Discount?
» Kroger Gas Discount Comes to an End
Was this article useful? Please sign up to receive our content via e-mail:
6 Responses to “Kiplinger’s Top Discount Brokers”
Leave a Reply
Top Cards by Category
Earn $200 Bonus Cash Back after you make $500 in purchases in your first 3 months. 5% Cash Back on up to $1,500 spent in bonus categories each quarter.
Receive 10,000 Membership Rewards bonus points when you spend $1,000 in 3 months of Card membership.
Earn up to 20,000 bonus miles with your first purchase 10,000 of which count as Medallion(R) Qualification Miles. Earn up to 5,000 bonus miles when you add two additional cards to your account with initial application.
Earn up to 5% cash back* in categories that change and enjoy a 0% introductory rate for 15 months on Balance Transfers and 15 months on Purchases.
Enjoy no balance transfer fee for a limited time. 0% introductory rate on Balance Transfers and Purchases. Earn up to 5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*
Enjoy no balance transfer fee for a limited time. 0% introductory rate on Balance Transfers and Purchases. Earn up to 5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*
Enjoy amenities for you and your business, like: complimentary airport club access, including American Airlines Admirals Club(R) lounges.
5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*. Up to 1% unlimited Cashback Bonus on everything else. No annual fee
Earn 3X points on airfare, 2X points on gas and groceries, and 1X points on everything else.
Reports to 3 major credit bureaus monthly and acceptance at millions of locations worldwide, including website purchases and reservations.
- How to Become a Millionaire
- How to Get Out of Debt
- The Best Dollars I've Ever Spent
- How Our Estate Plan is Structured
- How We Paid Our Mortgage In Less than 10 Years
- Money Making Ideas
- How to Manage Your Asset Allocation with Multiple Accounts
- Consumption Smoothing - Save While the Saving's Good
- How to Save on Groceries
- How Much Life Insurance Do You Need?
- Eleven Great Books About Money
- Dave Ramsey is Bad at Math
- Dish Network Customer Service SUCKS
- $8,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Pay Off Mortgage Early or Invest?
- How to Claim the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Reduced Credit Limits? Share Your Experience
- $15,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Ethanol Blended Gas = Lower Mileage?
- Termite Control: Sentricon vs. Termidor
- How Much Should You Pay a Babysitter?
- Federal Income Tax Rates Went Down but Your Federal Tax Withholding Increased. Here's Why...
- Would the "Fair Tax" Gut the Economy?
How to save money on insurance
- Double-Check Your Ally CDs
- Stocks are Not Bonds, CDs, or Savings Accounts
- The Best Values in Colleges - 2012 Edition
- Five Myths About Renter's Insurance
- Own Your Investments, Rent Your Fun
- Citibank to Issue Credit Cards in China
- Heartstrings and Pursestrings
- Saving Money at the Grocery Store: Store Brand Pricing on the Rise
- Missing Tax Paperwork?
- Is Your Investment Allocation Right?
October 24th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Wow – I wonder why they ranked Scottrade so poorly. I’ve had an account with them for a number of years now and am constantly amazed by their superior customer service.
Granted, I don’t trade very often, but ranking them even lower than Zecco (whose customer service is abysmal in my opinion) seems odd.
October 24th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
I love Fidelity! I’ve been a satisfied customer now for over 10 years and must say that they definitely deserve the top spot. I just wish their commissions were a little less.
I am also an E*Trade customer and can say that they have improved over the past couple of years, but still fall short of Fidelity.
October 24th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
I’ve got no complaints with TradeKing. $5 trades, great tools, and when I’ve needed it their customer service is very helpful.
October 25th, 2008 at 12:37 am
Been using Zecco, don’t need much customer service, but I am annoyed about their 5 day holding period for ACH transfers. Means you can’t hurry and move money in to buy stock on sale.
November 2nd, 2008 at 10:11 pm
I do not see Interactive Brokers (IBKR) on this list. You can trade stocks,bonds,options,futures, and currency. I think they just started offering some mutual fund companies. Their commissions are only $1 for first 100 shares then drop to 1/2 penny a share . Cheapest in the industry unless your high volume trader. Great execututions. Have used them for over 5 years.
STOCKMANMARC
November 5th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Zecco much improved after many problems with heavy trading volumes during the market downturn.
http://friends.zecco.com/r/b02d9210e051102a8555