broker setup

[teknobucks]

i'm using
bofa for trading acct.
free trades versus the 7 or 8 buck grind


https://www.baisidirect.com/live/login.jspv;jsessionid=eZHegBo8EU6rZBh3fBSieg**?cid =2509150




fidelity, schwabb, & tos for data and long term stuff ...tos best data feed imho

spread accts around outta fear...lol

[Bullitt]

Tekno,

Currently I'm using Scottrade basic. Used Scottrade Elite for a bit, but wasn't a fan of the extra fees and it offers much more stuff than I have time for. I've considered BAC's investment website because of zero commission trades and it looks like over $50K waives the $50 yearly fee. Even if one had to pay the fee, alone I probably spend a couple hundred in commissions a year.

What have you used in the past and how easy was it for you to transfer your accounts to Bank of America?

[teknobucks]

no trouble moving....if it's an ira you may want all funds to settle for about a week.
had an ira at fidelity we moved ....they produced a balance of 250 bucks or so about a week after we closed acct.

had i not checked back and detected this it would of caused some irs heartache i'm sure

been with datek, fidelity, schwabb, bofa, & e trade

[teknobucks]

just looked it up.....was a div payment on few shares of a stock i did not even expect a div with

267.36.....lol enough to mess with ya


wrote new broker a check for same amount about 2 weeks after initial rollover

[XL-entLady]

no trouble moving....been with datek, fidelity, schwabb, bofa, & e trade
I just opened an etrade account. Since I'm still learning the system anyway, it might pay to switch to BofA before I get too comfortable. Do you recall why you left etrade?

BTW, the 'many small accounts instead of one large one' is not a bad idea in today's world. It may be smarter to keep my etrade account and open another one at B of A ..... Comments?

TIA for any insights on etrade,
Lady

[teknobucks]

I just opened an etrade account. Since I'm still learning the system anyway, it might pay to switch to BofA before I get too comfortable. Do you recall why you left etrade?

BTW, the 'many small accounts instead of one large one' is not a bad idea in today's world. It may be smarter to keep my etrade account and open another one at B of A ..... Comments?

TIA for any insights on etrade,
Lady

prolly wanna keep etrade for data source and open the bofa acct for the trades bofa is real thin marginal trading site...like any big banks' portal

left them when they broke the 1 winning trade i had with unsettled funds while leaving me in the two other trades that went south. they kept about 3700 in profits i had in the good position...while leaving me in the losing moves :O
told me it was just chance which trade would be broken...informed me most of the time they lose money when this occurs...lol
filed a sec complaint....waste of time btw...same with finra....crooked cops basically overseeing the elitists crooks

[XL-entLady]

prolly wanna keep etrade for data source and open the bofa acct for the trades bofa is real thin marginal trading site...like any big banks' portal

Thanks for the information, Teknobucks. I appreciate it!

Lady

[XL-entLady]

Has anyone ever used ING Direct's Sharebuilder? If so, what did you think of it?

Thanks,
Lady

[teknobucks]

share builder yeah...


my wife had one from years ago...setup for each kid

they forced her to liquidate the darn things in 07 or maybe 08 early.... it was the one where u can buy one share at a time..with little or no fee at all


it was from mer i think...no mater in the end they kicked everyone out

[XL-entLady]

share builder yeah...


my wife had one from years ago...setup for each kid

they forced her to liquidate the darn things in 07 or maybe 08 early.... it was the one where u can buy one share at a time..with little or no fee at all


it was from mer i think...no mater in the end they kicked everyone out
Thanks, teknobucks, you probably just saved me some grief. :toung:

Lady

[XL-entLady]

I found a site that has recently done an indepth and detailed broker review of 12 different major brokers.

http://onlinebrokerreview.blogspot.com/2008/11/overall.html

Everything to details about registration processes to trading to charts, complete with screen shots. See if you agree with the reviewer.

One caveat: I did notice that his glowing review of e-Trade may have something to do with the fact that there is a sponsored link to e-Trade on his site. :huh:

Lady

[etftalk]

Great source. Does anyone here use zecco?

[XL-entLady]

I found a site that has recently done an indepth and detailed broker review of 12 different major brokers.

http://onlinebrokerreview.blogspot.com/2008/11/overall.html




Great source. Does anyone here use zecco?
I know that TSPTalk's roskopfm and JB45 use Zecco. Poolman checked it out and wasn't sure about their customer service. I think CB uses Sharebuilder. And there are lots of folks using Scottrade.

I've read elsewhere in a couple of reviews that during times of great market activity, a person may have trouble getting real-time trades through at Scottrade. Anyone here having those problems?

I've just done my 2008 taxes and it appears that Uncle Sam will let me keep enough to fully fund 2 IRA's (mine and spouse's). And I'd like to spread things around a little bit, so I'm looking to open an account with another broker.

If you wouldn't mind, could you please do me a big favor and post a thumbnail review of whatever online broker you are currently using or may have used in the recent past? How hard was it to sign up, what do you think of their charting and research tools, how is their customer service, can you cancel or modify a trade quickly, have you ever had a problem with site slowdown keeping you from making a trade, etc.

My sincere appreciation,
Lady

[teknobucks]

they sure dislike bofa....lol
agree with um on fidelity....bofa is still FREE...& that is hard to beat

[teknobucks]

oh all those day trades at bofa zipped right into my turbo tax....none of that 20 page sweatshop spreadsheet crap

[justbizness45]

I know that TSPTalk's roskopfm and JB45 use Zecco. Poolman checked it out and wasn't sure about their customer service. I think CB uses Sharebuilder. And there are lots of folks using Scottrade.

I've read elsewhere in a couple of reviews that during times of great market activity, a person may have trouble getting real-time trades through at Scottrade. Anyone here having those problems?

I've just done my 2008 taxes and it appears that Uncle Sam will let me keep enough to fully fund 2 IRA's (mine and spouse's). And I'd like to spread things around a little bit, so I'm looking to open an account with another broker.

If you wouldn't mind, could you please do me a big favor and post a thumbnail review of whatever online broker you are currently using or may have used in the recent past? How hard was it to sign up, what do you think of their charting and research tools, how is their customer service, can you cancel or modify a trade quickly, have you ever had a problem with site slowdown keeping you from making a trade, etc.

My sincere appreciation,
Lady

I signed up with Zecco but haven't made a trade yet. 2/5/09 after hours did a transfer from my checking account to Zecco account. The transfer hasn't cleared yet, both sides show pending (2 business days). Does it normally take this long on the first one? How long does it take for other brokers? I haven't formulated an opinion yet on Zecco.

[etftalk]

It is almost instantaneous with Scottrade.

[XL-entLady]

My baby account is at eTrade, but I'm opening another account and I want to consider using another broker. So I've been spending a lot of time looking at online broker options. A LOT of time. :rolleyes: And here is what I decided for me. Others would probably come to completely different conclusions. :toung:

I narrowed choices down to 4 different brokers: another eTrade account, Zecco, Scottrade or Schwabs.

I decided no on eTrade. More costly trades. And its biggest plus to me was its researching tools, but I already have more favorites sites to read in a day than I have time for.

I decided no on Schwabs. More costly trades and its only really huge plus to me was it had a local office.

I decided no on Zecco ... maybe. It had the best trading price. But it's biggest plus seemed to be a big 'community' tool. And Tom's two worlds fill that need for me. And I thought its online tools were just a bit too plain Jane. I need just a few more bells and whistles. Although I'm still thinking about this one. I may open a baby account with Zecco ... I have some active trading ideas and it wouldn't cost as much at Zecco to try them out. JB45, if you see this, please keep us informed about your Zecco experience, okay?

But for my new fully funded IRA I went with Scottrade. The $7 trade price seems just about right. I liked the 'smarttalk' screen. And the research and charting bells and whistles seemed adequate without being more than I wanted to pay for.

For whatever it's worth,
Lady

[Show-me]

Are you talking about the trade "settling"? That takes three day.

[XL-entLady]

Are you talking about the trade "settling"? That takes three day.
Trade settling? Show, yet again that is a phrase that is new to me. :embarrest: Could you explain please?

Thanks!
Lady

[justbizness45]

JB45, if you see this, please keep us informed about your Zecco experience, okay?


You got it.

[justbizness45]

Are you talking about the trade "settling"? That takes three day.

No, Zecco let's you set up a transfer from my bank account to my trading account. The first one I did took a few days to get to my Zecco account. I think my bank is treating the transfer like a credit card charge on my debit card. Those are always pending for a day or two before they clear. I will see how it goes next payday when I make another transfer. It just may be slow because this was the first one.

[Spaf]

..........If you wouldn't mind, could you please do me a big favor and post a thumbnail review of whatever online broker you are currently using or may have used in the recent past? How hard was it to sign up, what do you think of their charting and research tools, how is their customer service, can you cancel or modify a trade quickly, have you ever had a problem with site slowdown keeping you from making a trade, etc.

My sincere appreciation,
Lady

Hi Lady!
I don't recommend any broker, because of what floats the boat. Like you did, it's best to shop around for your own preferences.
Any internet broker should first...be reputable and safe.
Charts and stuff are a matter of taste. Other web sites offer plenty research i.e., http://www.barchart.com/ for ETFs, etc.
Trade cost is a big factor, as over time it's amazing what you can spend.
I have had NO problems with Scottrade. They have easily reached customer service offices. Any site problems have not been with Scottrade, rather my IP and bad weather, since I'm on a satelite.
The only problem I have noticed deals with ETF companies, namely some don't appear to transmit constant updates; which confuses the ask/bid task. I have found that iShares seems to run real constant and I tend to use their products; they also are associated with the TSP funds.
Spaf

[XL-entLady]

...I have had NO problems with Scottrade. ...I have found that iShares seems to run real constant and I tend to use their products; they also are associated with the TSP funds.
Spaf
Thanks, Spaf, for the feedback! I just opened my Scottrade account online the other day. Got a phone call from my home office the same day welcoming me to the company and asking if I had any questions. Wow!

Good to know about iShares. With all the ETFs out there that basically track the same things, it's good to have some type of track record on products!

Lady