I'm thinking about starting to buy some stock from one of those dicount stock brokers like Scottrade, etrade, etc. What are some things I should look for? I want to be careful about fees and charges that I don't have to pay but I'm not sure what the typical fees are. Can anyone recommend an online broker that you like?

I used to use Scottrade and was quite happy with them. However, I moved my trading accounts and Roth IRA's to USAA for the convienience of seeing all my finances on one website. USAA's funds are really high quality if you go the fund route, and their minimum investment is very low (even lower if you do automatic funding). On the trading side, I think new account owners get the first 25 free trades making it quite a bargin compared to Scottrade's 7.95 (ish...).

Hope that helps. Oh, and I don't work for USAA. Just a happy user.

I use Scottrade, and have for years. They are best for me. I do not recommend buying any stocks without good advisors; that also costs money. Unless you have money you can afford to gamble with, as that is what the market is- gambling, put your excess money in a certificate at the credit union. For advice, or for being able to trade Asia & overseas markets, I recommend contacting UBS Financial Services Inc. They have offices in Seoul and operate worldwide. USAA is great for starters, if you are eligible for membership. Ask at www.usaa.com.

I was a Datek member before they were purchased by Ameritrade, but Ameritrade's fees made me leave to maintenence fee-free Scottrade. They're fine, but recently I saw an ad online for www.Zecco.com and have been considering switching to them since they offer free trades too.

I have to agree, the stock market is gambling and it's far wiser for the average person to buy mutual funds.

Depends on what you want from a broker. I've used Etrade, Ameritrade and Scott trade in the past. I am currently with Schwab. prompt execution is most important to me. Schwab has never let me down, yet, when it comes to promptly executing my trades, within a second or two after I click. Schwab does charge 12 bucks per trade, they have an active trader program with access to higher level data and cheaper fees but you need to be a notch above the average retail trader as far as your frequency rate. It probably would not be worth it if you don't trade more than eight times per month. I had problems with all my past brokers when it came to execution of my requests. The brokers all watch for signs of day traders (four trades on the same stock in one week) and they are supposed to keep you in line when it comes to trading with unsettled money (sometimes trading gets fast and furious and people want to use money from a sale they just made but in certain cases, you can't and must wait a couple days until the funds are settled). If you are like most of us, looking for one or a few things to invest in and planning on selling them if they rise a certain amount, I highly recommend Schwab. They have good research tools and good advice.

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If you don't mind buying over the long-term use Share Bulder.

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