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Friday, December 13th
Merrill Edge, backed by Bank of America, is a stock trading platform that excels in saving people money through low fees - and no account fees - and has some of the most competitive pricing in the industry. With Bank of America being integrated into the Merrill Edge stock trading platform, all your banking and trading can be done in the same place. In addition, those who are customers of Bank of America can receive special perks and incentives. While Merrill Edge is a great value for self-directed accounts, its guided accounts can be pricey. There are some downsides to Merrill Edge, like having no ability to trade cryptocurrency, and customer service is hard to get a hold of. However, customers say that when you do reach them, Merrill Edge representatives will get your problem resolved. For these reasons and more, Merrill Edge still comes out as one of our top picks as a stock trading platform.
SogoTrade is a stock trading platform geared to the DIY self-directed investor. It is dedicated to offering good, easy-to-contact customer service. They have several channels to get in touch via phone, which is an industry exception. With a dedicated New York office and a midwest and nationwide office, as well as a nationwide Chinese-speaking office, you don't have to wait more than a minute or two to get the help you need during office hours. SogoTrade has five different platforms used for trading, so it can take a while to get used to it, but once you do, you will find it a pretty intuitive process. While it doesn't have all the bells and whistles that other stock trading platforms do, it has more than enough for the average trader. SogoTrade's dedication to customer service and their goal of maintaining no fees for the majority of trading and very low ones for selected transactions make it one of our top picks for a stock trading platform.
This can be an overwhelming question for beginning investors - but that's a great place to start. First, ask yourself what level of skills or knowledge you have in investing and what your purposes for investing are. Are you brand new to the financial world of stocks, ETFs, fractional shares, and options? Are you trying to manage a large amount of wealth? Are you looking for a safe place to grow your savings over the next few decades?
Or, are you someone who has had a lot of experience in investing and wants to get back into the game or take your game to the next level? Are you wanting to take high risks, or are you more conservative in your approach? There are plenty of options out there and there are some who focus on everything and some who specialize in one or two niche markets.
For beginning traders, there are platforms that have devoted a big part of their online presence into education. Some have partnered with banks so you can do all of your investing along with your banking.
For active traders, the best platforms will have advanced charting capabilities, responsive customer service, robust toolkits, and they will also offer high-quality research resources. We highly recommend those platforms that allow for backtesting - a way to put in a particular strategy simulation and see how it might play out before committing to the trade in real life. Be sure to ask questions and double-check that whatever stock trading platform you use, they will have the tools that fit your particular needs.
For example, if you are going to be trading mostly on your mobile phone, you will want to make sure the stock trading company you choose has a strong mobile platform. Some companies do a bare-bones mobile app, and that would not be a suitable fit. Be sure to check if software platforms have a history of outages or glitches, too.
Are you the kind of investor who doesn't want to actually pull the trigger on choosing which stocks to buy on your own? You might want to look into robo-advisors or a dedicated financial advisor or team of advisors. These accounts usually come with fees as a percentage of the total amount invested, but it can be well worth the cost if you don't want to be involved in the day-to-day management and strategy on your account.
Most advisor accounts (robo or personal) involve you completing a questionnaire and/or a phone call that considers your time frame, financial goals, and risk tolerance. From there, the company will create a portfolio matching the information you gave. This portfolio will be rebalanced automatically, and you don't have to do a thing. On those types of accounts, you can find options with no fees, and the ones that do charge fees are usually much less expensive than working with a human advisor one-on-one.
Keep in mind that most of today's online stock trading platforms very proudly advertise that they charge "$0 fees." That usually just refers to a $0 commission fee. There will definitely be at least one or two fees for most accounts. Whether it's for withdrawal or broker-assisted transactions, there are going to be some extra costs associated with your account.
So, which online stock trading platform is best for you? Here are some of the criteria to keep in mind:
To help you make the most of your investments, Top Consumer Reviews has evaluated and ranked today's most popular online stock trading platforms. We hope this information helps you reach your financial goals!
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