by Shannon Shae

Created on: October 02, 2008

Internet stock trading puts power and control into individual investors hands. In today's environment no one can afford to deposit their hard earned savings without doing some research. Who is holding your money? What direction is the balance moving? In January we fired our full service broker. We now trade live almost daily. The technology is surprisingly easy to use. Learn quickly to trade stocks professionally on the Internet

What do you need to know to choose an online broker and trading platform to grow and control an investment portfolio yourself? Everything is online. Free educational classes, live webinars, easy to use online streaming quotes and free and low cost online stock brokers are all available. It is surprisingly easy to learn the rules of trading. Use the information and tools available at your fingertips to earn extra cash and personally oversee your finances..

Choose an On-line Broker: Free report available at www.brokeradviser.com

Broker Adviser compares the top 20 online firms for individual investors. Match your needs to their level of service and cost. Review strengths, weaknesses, commissions, service fees, margin rates and requirements. Google compare stock brokers for other choices.

Online Broker Minimum Balance Minimum Commission
www.tradeking.com $0 $4.95":http://www.tradeking.com
www.fidelity.com $2,500 $8.00":http://www.fidelity.com
www.schwaab.com $1,000 $9.95":http://www.schwaab.com
www.etrade.com $1,000 $6.99":http://www.etrade.com
www.scotttrade.com $100 $7.00":http://www.scotttrade.com
www.wallstreete.com $5,000 $9.99
www.zecco.com $2,000 $0":http://www.zecco.com
www.thinkorswim.com

Important things to value:

Easy flow. Make sure the website is interactive. If you constantly get stuck or need to retype info, chuck it and go on to another provider.

Quality and timeliness of service. Test their patience ability to answer questions and resolve your problems. If you are a beginner this will save you tremendous frustration. Check their hours of access. Evening hours while the market is closed is your best time to check charts and prepare orders for the next day.

Educational materials are available at each website. Use the trading platform for a few days to get comfortable. Value a high quality paper trade program. Check if the platform of streaming quotes ever locks up during high demand times such as the open and close of the market. Delayed quotes are not acceptable for most traders. The stock market has it's own language. Learn to speak it.

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>