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US stock broker selection and precautions

· 4 min read
Eddie
Eddie
Content research and curation
Tay
Tay
Content research and curation

US stock brokerage selection​

I'll start with the conclusion here, and then go into the details.

  • If you trade infrequently and have a U.S. related bank account, then choose a bank-related brokerage on: Charles Schwab, fidelity, Etrade, Merrill Lynch, TradeKing. here recommend Charles Schwab and fidelity, both of which have global atm cash withdrawals no fees god debit card.

  • If you trade frequently and have a need for global trading varieties, and have a large financing needs: recommend ib, but IB seems to have no or very little Chinese customer service, and ib additional costs such as 10 knife monthly fees, real-time data subscription fees, etc., at your own discretion.

  • Whether you trade frequently or infrequently

    • If you have a need for global trading varieties, and also do not want additional subscription fees, etc., and do not intend to use the financing for a long time, you can consider td.
    • If you only play U.S. stocks and U.S. options, and do not plan to use financing for a long time, we recommend First Securities, which also has free options and 7/24 Chinese customer service.
    • If you want to play A-shares, Hong Kong stocks, U.S. stocks and American options and have some financing needs, you can consider Tiger, Futu, and Xueying.

  • The brokerage companies listed above are safe enough, do not consider those that are not on this list, especially what American Eagle Securities and the like, honestly, even if the scammers want to cheat money, but also to hire some cultural quality customers well.

Notes on the choice of brokerage firms​

The choice of brokerage firms is simply to examine these points.

  • Fund Safety: Don't worry about this, the following brokerage firms are members of the U.S. Securities Investment Protection Corporation (SIPC), SIPC members in case of collapse, each customer can enjoy a maximum of $500,000 in compensation, including cash insurance to $250,000 as the maximum.
  • Trading commission: Now most of the U.S. brokerage stock trading is 0 commission, options is 0.5 or 0.65 a contract, very few brokerage options is also 0 commission, this piece of the ordinary players really is not a big gap.
  • Financing rates: In addition to IB can get a relatively low financing rate, the other gap is not very large, very few are higher, as will be noted below. In fact, it is not recommended for newcomers to use financing.
  • New stock subscription: Most brokerage firms support this, although some require your capital to reach a certain size to do so.
  • Shorting: Big brokerages like IB and TD have a better chance of being able to borrow stocks.
  • Additional fees: Only a small number of brokerages will have inactivity fees, or monthly fees. As for infrequent operations such as withdrawals, some brokerage firms will have a fee of 10-35 knife, but such operations are not frequent, so don't worry too much.
  • If you have a U.S. bank, ACH transfers can be made in as little as one day, otherwise you can just wire transfer the money out. If there is a bank-related brokerage, it is recommended to open a bank card so that the bank account and brokerage account are associated, and the transfer is fast and free.
  • Minimum capital to open an account: the minimum capital to open an account is 0. Some accounts open financing accounts are also a few thousand knife requirements, not very high.
  • The minimum amount of money required to open an account is 0. Some accounts require only a few thousand dollars to open a financing account. But don't be tempted by these when choosing a brokerage firm, you must think long term.
  • Demo accounts: Some brokerage firms offer demo accounts, which operate basically exactly the same as real trading, so newbies can play with a demo account first. However, this should not be the main factor in your choice of brokerage, you can apply for a demo account at brokerage A and then open an account at brokerage B to do the trading once you are familiar with it.
  • Trading means support: Most brokerages support shorting, financing, intraday and other common rules, very few do not support shorting, as will be noted below.
  • Programmatic interface: In a word, IB is the king.