Why Online Stockbrokers?

What if you had access to the same charts and graphs, streaming news and modern tools your broker enjoys? No one cares more about your investment portfolio than you do, and now you can be a shrewd, educated trader. An online broker provides everything you need to strategize and maximize your investments.

Online stockbrokers provide an array of investment options, so you can diversify your portfolio and create accounts that fit your and your family’s lifestyle and financial goals. Invest in and trade stocks, options, mutual funds, exchange–traded funds and various fixed–income securities including bonds and CDs. Deposit your investments in an IRA or set your children up for success with an education savings plan.

Stock trading services provide a variety tools to help you effectively buy and sell securities and ultimately increase your net worth. A few of these features include alerts and automated, wireless and phone trading. The broker also provides the information you need to make profitable trades like streaming news, analyst reports and newsletters.

In this site, you’ll find articles on investing, news stories and comprehensive reviews on online stockbrokers that will help you make an informed decision on which broker is right for you. At TopTenREVIEWS – We do the research so you don’t have to.™

What to Look for in an Online Stockbroker

An online stockbroker should provide you, the investor, with all the resources you need to make educated financial decisions and buy and sell investments using a variety of strategies. Some of these resources include educational materials, real–time charts, streaming news, various high–quality tools and a user–friendly trading platform.

Below are the criteria TopTenREVIEWS used to evaluate online stock trading.

• Fees/Commissions – Lower fees and commissions mean more of your money goes into investments. Some online brokers have a tiered commission schedule. Depending on your account balance and the number of trades you make, you may or may not benefit from a tiered schedule.
• Investments Offered – Top stock trading services offer multiple account types and diverse investment opportunities, including stocks, options, mutual funds, exchange traded funds (ETFs) and fixed income investments that allow you to diversify your investment portfolio.
• Trading/Investment Features – Online brokers that offer practical tools, educational resources and real–time news, charts and quotes help investors make split–second decisions and plan effective investment strategies.
• Security – Security is of utmost importance when it comes to transferring private information over the web. A secure website, fraud protection and a Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) membership are necessities.
• Ease of Use – Investors come from all lifestyles; a superb service accommodates everyone regardless of their knowledge of computers, the Internet or trading online. Accommodations may include a navigational website, in–depth tutorials or one–on–one training.
• Support/Customer Service – First–class customer support makes clients feel comfortable with the broker because they know help is just a phone call, email or instant message away.

To read the review on optionsXpress, the online stock trading service our reviewers ranked #1, click here.