Do you need a broker? Are you unsure which broker will suit your trading needs the best? I will try to help with this. Most traders will be highly suited to a discount brokerage. There are many good best discount stock brokers out there to choose from. Some rock, others suck.
The brokerage you select can have a great effect on the returns you earn on your stock market trading. For many traders the trading costs take a significant portion of the profits earned, so reducing these costs can be highly beneficial.
You need to decide which things are important to you, then select a broker accordingly. Lets take a look at a few things you might want to think about.
Maybe you trade penny stocks. Most brokers out there have more charges for penny stock traders. They don’t really want your business. This is because stock brokers often make much less money out of traders who only purchase penny stocks. Fortunately there are a few brokers out there that offer cheap trading and NO extra charges for trading penny stocks.
Maybe you like to make broker-assisted trades, this is where you phone your broker and they place the trade for you whilst you are on the phone to them. Some brokers charge up to 20 times more for trades made over the phone rather than online. They are being very greedy! There are brokers out there thankfully that charge the same for phone trading as they do for online trading.
Be wary of hidden charges made by brokers. Some stock brokers are sneaky, they have hidden charges like “inactivity fees”. These are fees that are charged to your trading account when you do not trade over a set period. They can be as high as per 6 month period, so watch out for those!