Being a college student I don’t have a lot of money, but I would like to try buying some stocks. Which online broker (for example E trade, Scott trade, ING, Ameritrade, Share Builder, Options X Press, etcetera…) would be the best way to go for my low volume trades, considering account fees, trading fees, broker fees, minimum fees, and any other kind of fees or costs that I am not aware of? If you have had bad experiences please share them with me as well. Thank You!
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3 Comments on “Which online broker is the best for a 1st time college student investor and why?”
Anita 10th March 2010
It took me a while to figure out which broker to go with, but ultimately, I’m not a HUGE trade either, like yourself, and I wanted something inexpensive that gave me a lot of no-load mutual fund options. Plus the online broker needed to have a low minimum $500 requirement. I went with Scottrade.
I’ve been nothing short of thrilled with their customer service – phone calls, emails, letters – making sure everything is OK and I’m comfortable with their system. I’ve not encountered any additional fees, either.
Plus it’s easy to score free trades with them all the time by referring people. It’s normally only $7 a trade but they are running a promo until the end of October – I refer you, and we both get 7 free trades. That’s a perfect way to get up and started.
You’ll need a referral code when you sign up either online or in writing – it is JQCP1359.
Yardbird 10th March 2010
Scottrade is good because you only need $500 to open an account and they have a user-friendly interface, S&P stock reports, and low trading fees. Good luck and have fun! These are exciting times for the market!
iluv2tradestks 10th March 2010
I have been with Ameritrade, E-Trade and Scottrade. They all have their pluses and minuses. All are relatively cheap. Ameritrade seems to have more on line tools, but trades are about $10. You can trade more stocks, eg: pennies, with Ameritrade, that I couldn’t with E-trade. All the sites are relatively simple to use. Good luck