Why Online Stockbrokers?

Do you want access to the same market news, charts and graphs, forecast tools and analyst reports that professional stock brokers have? Nobody has as much stake in the future of your investment portfolio as you, so it's important to become a confident and informed investor. With a good online stock trading service, you can learn everything you need to know to become a smart investor, and buy and sell stocks online.

With an Online Stock Trading Service You Can

Buy and Sell Stocks
Utilizing a stock trading service you can buy and sell stocks, options, mutual funds, exchange–traded funds and various fixed-income securities including bonds and CDs. Some online investing services will even provide free broker assisted trades.

Invest
Many stock trading services offer investment options such as IRAs and investment funds for education or retirement.

Monitor and Watch Stocks
Most online stock trading services also offer useful tools such as alerts, watch lists, third-party analyst reports, option chains, investment calculators and virtual trading.

Learn About Trading
Trading can be intimidating and there really is no sure thing, however many stock trading services provide educational tools so you can learn the basics or advance your skills. The best services offer free webinars, newsletters, blogs, seminars, forums, glossaries and definitions, and more.

In this site, you’ll find articles on investing 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

The top online stock trading services should provide you with all the resources you need to make well-informed financial choices and the ability to buy and sell stocks from anywhere, including from your cell phone. Some support resources include educational materials such as articles, real–time charts, streaming news, investment calculators and a user-friendly trading platform.

For the purpose of this review, we looked for services that provide good tools for choosing stocks or investments, and also offer a competitive trade and margin rate. Though many experienced traders may not need all of the tools offered by the services, we looked for services that can provide tools and investment options for everyone, no matter how much you know or how much you can afford to invest. We also looked for trading services that can offer excellent, responsive customer support.

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

Fees/Commissions
Fees and commissions can quickly escalate, most services charge fees for trades, broker assisted trades, option trades and so on. We compared fees and margin rates as well as requirements like minimum account balances and account maintenance fees.

Investments Offered
Generally, all online stock trading services offer the ability to buy and sell stocks, options, mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. However, comprehensive services also provide access to a selection of international markets as well as investment services or options for retirement and education saving..

Trading/Investment Tools
Buy and selling stocks without the assistance of a broker can be intimidating. We looked for online stock trading services that provide educational resources as well as monitoring tools. The best online brokers offer tools such as investment calculators, analyst reports, cell phone alerts and useful charts, chains or graphs.

Ease of Use
Not all investors are pros; many are just starting out or only have a small amount to invest, so we looked for services that are easy-to-use for everyone, regardless of experience. The best online brokers also offer free assistance such as tutorials, articles, FAQs, blogs and so on. Additionally, some also offer one-on-one training.

Support/Customer Service
Because buying and selling stocks online can be a bit nerve racking, the best services provide excellent support by telephone, email, instant messaging and chat.

Be sure to read the review on optionsXpress, the online stock trading service our reviewers ranked #1.