There are so many brokerage firms, how does one decide which one to use? If you are a day trader, then things like charting, alerts, and techincal analysis would dictate which broker to use based on what features they offer. However, for value investors (like you and me :smile:), we don’t pay attention to technical indicators, so all of those features are meaningless.
As a value investor, you will want to choose a brokerage with as low a commission structure as possible. Many of the big brokerage firms charge anywhere from $5 to $10 per trade. They also have advertising budgets, so they can blast the internet and TV with their promise of helping investors. Lesser known brokerage firms charge less, and some are even commission free! Back in 2006, Zecco was launched, which stood for Zero Commission Cost – they charged no commission! Unfortunately, in 2012 they merged with TradeKing and no longer offer free trades. However, today you can still make free trades on RobinHood (this is free advertising for robinhood – we receive anything for recommending them)
For people who have portfolio