Comments on: Penny Sleuth’s 2009 Discount Broker Guide

By: Dan

Dan — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:01:45 +0000

I have used Etrade for years. When you gave us subscribers notice of SNVP I had to sell stock in order to buy into it. It took exactly 1 week for my sale to “settle” on a popular stock HL. Of course I lost out on the gains of SNVP and am totally frustrated with ETrade to say the least. This has never happened before but it could not have happened at a worse time for me. Is this kind of “settlement” time reasonable?

By: Rich

Rich — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:56:07 +0000

Concerning Ameritrade, the 5-day hold on checks, etc. is a bad deal. But, they have the electronic transfer option (from your bank acct to your Ameritrade acct) that is a good deal. I use this myself. One can set-up up to 5 different accounts to transfer funds to their Ameritrade acct. Transfers are unlimited and FREE. And done within a day’s time. Unlike my futures account that charge you money for doing the same. Those are the ones I send a check to.

By: Rocketman

Rocketman — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:01:21 +0000

What I would like to see added to the broker list is if the broker can handle paper ownership certificates. Scottrade where I do most of my business used to do it but has since eliminated this option. I like the added security of knowing that someone can’t hack into my computer because unlike digital ownership no one can steal my shares unless the first present the certificates to the brokerage house.

By: M. Edward Triefler

M. Edward Triefler — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:52:57 +0000

The answer #6 to Rich Arotiba’so is absolute bunk. I’ve been a client of TD Ameritrade for 4 years. All he had to do was ACH the money overnight to be credited. And he could have traded the day it’s received. Also, I’ve traded penny stock with them and they are up there with the best. As for regular trading $9.99 regardless of size of trade and if Market Sale they usually get me the best price.

By: Ecomike

Ecomike — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:11:43 +0000

Does anyone know of a broker with low rates that does not charge extra for penny stocks above 1000 share volumes? I keep seeing huge volumes in real cheap stocks, but there is no way those stocks are trading at conventional broker rates as .005 cents per share rate for penny stocks to buy and sell would exceed the actual price of some penny stocks.

By: Bob Martin

Bob Martin — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 23:06:49 +0000

As a Canadian resident, most companies in Canada seriously overcharge. At one time I had an Ameritrade account. It was inactive for a while and when I went to resuccitate it (after TD bought Ameritrade), I was told I couldn’t and had to deal with TD Waterhouse (the Canadian brokerage arm). Their commission structure was a joke, as most Canadian brokerage firms are. I eventually opened an account with Interactive Brokers (with less than $10,000). This was 2 years ago and it was the smartest thing I could have done. Dirt cheap stock trades, option trades at $.70 per contract (min $1.), fast execution and great pricing (numerous orders were filled at a better price than entered). Deposits and withdrawals are electronic to/from your bank and only take a couple of days. If you are just placing your own orders and don’t need to talk to a broker (although you could phone in), then Interactive Brokers is the only logical choice. And no, although this might sound like a paid endorsement, unfortunately it is not.

By: edzuschlag

edzuschlag — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 21:13:32 +0000

Hi, just red this-thought another tdameritrade comment ws in order. They take NO responsibility for gtc orders, their 24 hour phone service stinks-during market hours, wait is ofgten over 6 minutes-thats not acceptable for most traders, even slow for an investor, and their transfer department-in or out-is terrible. You took 5 days for a cashiers check-It took 16 days for me when i deposited a cashiers check in my account, tried to transfer funds into another tdameritrade account, couldnt, and the loss was so substantial, I closed all accounts, and they took over 1 month to get my funds and positions transfered. Not option positions, stocks. To say they stink in way to kind.

By: Make Profitable Investments by Understanding "Broker Basics"

Make Profitable Investments by Understanding "Broker Basics" — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:50:48 +0000

[...] If you want to find the best bargain in brokerage, take a look at the Penny Sleuth’s 2009 Broker Guide. [...]

By: rob hein

rob hein — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:29:12 +0000

re; Rich Arotiba’s question about Ameritrade (one of my accounts is with them):
the trading site & 24hr customer serv are excellent, BUT the fly in the ointment is their refusal to process checks immediately (unlike Scottrade).
I took a Certified cashiers check to their office to act Quickly on a particular stock, they refused to treat it as cash for immediate trading!!! “all checks have a 5 day hold”. This is rip off. it cost me a lot of money, needless to say, I no longer add funds to that account.
Thank you for your site Jonas E,, RH.

By: Richard Arotiba

Richard Arotiba — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:44:59 +0000

Hi Jonas! I always look out for your article since I subscribe to Penny Sleught. Thank you for this information.
Is TDAMERITRADE good for penny? How do you rate their service on small cap trading?
Cheers!