I'm ready to buy stocks. Other than TD Ameritrade, I do not know of any other markets. Does anyone want to recommend some reputable trading sites?
Thanks
PeakOil is You
Trading sites... Recommendations
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Trading sites... Recommendations
by LaLaLand » Thu 16 Oct 2008, 14:46:02
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LaLaLand - Peat
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Re: Trading sites... Recommendations
by smallpoxgirl » Thu 16 Oct 2008, 14:55:21
"We were standing on the edges
Of a thousand burning bridges
Sifting through the ashes every day
What we thought would never end
Now is nothing more than a memory
The way things were before
I lost my way" - OCMS
Of a thousand burning bridges
Sifting through the ashes every day
What we thought would never end
Now is nothing more than a memory
The way things were before
I lost my way" - OCMS
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smallpoxgirl - Expert
- Posts: 7258
- Joined: Mon 08 Nov 2004, 04:00:00
Re: Trading sites... Recommendations
by smallpoxgirl » Wed 22 Oct 2008, 09:03:09
Looks like nobody else is going to chime in on this thread, so I'll add some more. I'm very happy with Optionsxpress. Reasons:
1. No monthly service charges.
2. Really good free stuff- charting, real time quotes. If you're into fundamental analysis, they have pretty good free news feeds and such. Their tools for technical research are kind of formulaic, so if you're wanting to program your own technical search, you'd need to find an outside package to do that. I use Telechart for that.
3. If you're into trading options at all, they're great for that. Easy to find the greeks for a whole string of different options. They've got a nice pricer tool that allows you to input a future date and stock price, and it will estimate the option's price on that date.
4. Their prices are very reasonable. I think it starts at $14.95 for stocks, but pretty quickly drops down to $9.95 per trade. Options are in that same ballpark.
5. They do futures, so you have the ability to trade futures and get futures data.
6. They have a very nice streaming quotes screen with level 2 and the whole deal that's free. After a while, I decided all that data was more than I can handle. They have a real-time charting package and you can place trades directly from there. That's what I usually end up working with mostly. It's got an impressive selection of technical indicators that you can use with it. Probably 60 different possible indicators in all. I'm very impressed with their charting software.
7. They've got a nice selection of contingent orders that you can use. It's easy to program in something like "If the S&P 500 goes up 20 points, cover 100 shorts on Boeing and buy 300 IBM." or whatever.
1. No monthly service charges.
2. Really good free stuff- charting, real time quotes. If you're into fundamental analysis, they have pretty good free news feeds and such. Their tools for technical research are kind of formulaic, so if you're wanting to program your own technical search, you'd need to find an outside package to do that. I use Telechart for that.
3. If you're into trading options at all, they're great for that. Easy to find the greeks for a whole string of different options. They've got a nice pricer tool that allows you to input a future date and stock price, and it will estimate the option's price on that date.
4. Their prices are very reasonable. I think it starts at $14.95 for stocks, but pretty quickly drops down to $9.95 per trade. Options are in that same ballpark.
5. They do futures, so you have the ability to trade futures and get futures data.
6. They have a very nice streaming quotes screen with level 2 and the whole deal that's free. After a while, I decided all that data was more than I can handle. They have a real-time charting package and you can place trades directly from there. That's what I usually end up working with mostly. It's got an impressive selection of technical indicators that you can use with it. Probably 60 different possible indicators in all. I'm very impressed with their charting software.
7. They've got a nice selection of contingent orders that you can use. It's easy to program in something like "If the S&P 500 goes up 20 points, cover 100 shorts on Boeing and buy 300 IBM." or whatever.
"We were standing on the edges
Of a thousand burning bridges
Sifting through the ashes every day
What we thought would never end
Now is nothing more than a memory
The way things were before
I lost my way" - OCMS
Of a thousand burning bridges
Sifting through the ashes every day
What we thought would never end
Now is nothing more than a memory
The way things were before
I lost my way" - OCMS
-
smallpoxgirl - Expert
- Posts: 7258
- Joined: Mon 08 Nov 2004, 04:00:00
Re: Trading sites... Recommendations
by davep » Wed 22 Oct 2008, 11:02:42
SPG, does that site trade NYMEX options?
If not, does anyone know a reputable online proker that does?
I´m feeling now is the time to start buying those options three years hence.
If not, does anyone know a reputable online proker that does?
I´m feeling now is the time to start buying those options three years hence.
What we think, we become.
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davep - Senior Moderator
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Re: Trading sites... Recommendations
by smallpoxgirl » Wed 22 Oct 2008, 11:16:03
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('davep', 'S')PG, does that site trade NYMEX options?
Yes. There is a list of the futures contracts they trade here: http://www.optionsxpress.com/products/futures.aspx
"We were standing on the edges
Of a thousand burning bridges
Sifting through the ashes every day
What we thought would never end
Now is nothing more than a memory
The way things were before
I lost my way" - OCMS
Of a thousand burning bridges
Sifting through the ashes every day
What we thought would never end
Now is nothing more than a memory
The way things were before
I lost my way" - OCMS
-
smallpoxgirl - Expert
- Posts: 7258
- Joined: Mon 08 Nov 2004, 04:00:00
Re: Trading sites... Recommendations
by davep » Wed 22 Oct 2008, 12:48:13
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('smallpoxgirl', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('davep', 'S')PG, does that site trade NYMEX options?
Yes. There is a list of the futures contracts they trade here: http://www.optionsxpress.com/products/futures.aspx
SPG, I was looking at their faq and apparently you can´t buy calls until you´re ´level 2´, whatever that is. How does one progress from level 0 (which I assume is the initial level) to level two? I´m not interested in trading stocks (level zero) and covered calls (level one) in order to get to the relevant level. Can you shed light on how they calculate this?
What we think, we become.
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davep - Senior Moderator
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Re: Trading sites... Recommendations
by smallpoxgirl » Wed 22 Oct 2008, 13:24:43
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('davep', 'S')PG, I was looking at their faq and apparently you can´t buy calls until you´re ´level 2´, whatever that is. How does one progress from level 0 (which I assume is the initial level) to level two? I´m not interested in trading stocks (level zero) and covered calls (level one) in order to get to the relevant level. Can you shed light on how they calculate this?
Yeah. The regulatory agencies require that they screen people regarding whether they are adequately experienced to take on more risky kinds of trading. The factors that go into it include: Total net worth, liquid net worth, trading experience, and trading goal. The requirements to get approved for futures are: trading for at least a year, liquid net worth at least $25,000, and trading goal of "speculation". They don't say what the requirements are for the different levels, but it's along the same lines. It's based on a questionnaire that you fill out when you open the account, so it's not like they're going to require documentation of your net worth or anything. I'm not sure they're particularly vested in limiting your trading, but the regulatory agencies require them to screen people so they're not pulling some schmuck off the street and telling him to trade an iron condor on the S&P futures and watching him lose his shirt.
"We were standing on the edges
Of a thousand burning bridges
Sifting through the ashes every day
What we thought would never end
Now is nothing more than a memory
The way things were before
I lost my way" - OCMS
Of a thousand burning bridges
Sifting through the ashes every day
What we thought would never end
Now is nothing more than a memory
The way things were before
I lost my way" - OCMS
-
smallpoxgirl - Expert
- Posts: 7258
- Joined: Mon 08 Nov 2004, 04:00:00