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lol. Actually, I have had this broker for a long time (since about 2007 ish)
It first was Zecco.com (first commission-free online broker to my recollection).
Zecco turned into Tradeking
Then Tradeking turned into Ally Invest. It has been the same turd all along, with a different name.
Another broker for you, Otto? You are addicted!
Do NOT, under any circumstances, EVER, open an account with Ally Invest. Useless. I've been trying to log in and DEPOSIT money for the last 20 minutes.
I can log in, but constantly (not just today), there are issues with the website. I thought it was Firefox, but Microsoft Edge doesn't work either.
They won't even take your money?? lol.
Maybe Ally Invest is concentrating on the "app" platform, and neglecting the web-based platform. Either way it is Walrus Diarrhea !!
That's a great point. And on Fidelity and Schwab not charging, is that for everyone or just active traders?
Well, neither Fidelity nor Schwab charge for mandatory reorganizations, and they are both commission free (for "big board") stocks.
(Schwab is $6.95 for OTC, where as Fidelity is free. )
And both of them have direct email "contact us" methods. Their phone hold times are not ridiculous either (as you and I discussed here some time ago)
There is just so much competition out there for online brokers now. and especially with crypto trading......and legalized online sports betting.......taking away from stock trading........ you would think brokers would be adding incentives (removing fees) not adding them.
Wow, my guess is that once they got rid of commission they changed a lot of things. I remember APEX. Here's your answer:
TD Ameritrade Apex Account (2022)
TD Ameritrade APEX Has Been Discontinued
TD Ameritrade has discontinued its APEX account. Please use one of the alternative TD Ameritrade accounts or read TD Ameritrade Review.
https://www.brokerage-review.com/online-broker-reviews/ameritrade-apex-account-review.aspx
Ok, so you opened up a can of worms here for me with Etrade! I decided to do a search on reorg charges in my account and I found out that of my four linked accounts, there were three charges in one and three charges in another and never a credit for any of them.
In the past, if you made 30 or more trades per quarter you were considered an active trader. I always got credited for these reorg fees.
So I contacted them via their website - and yes, they have online email turned off, but I replied to an old inquiry and was able to submit it.
I first received a reply stating that they reverse the charge for active traders but he check my account and I am not an active trader. I replied that I wanted to know what constitutes an active trader now? I got this answer: The requirements for Active Trader have changed. I am not able to provide the exact terms through secure message.
Just to give you an idea I counted how many trades so far this year I made:
Jan-193, Feb-142, March 215, April - 87, May-62, June-70, July=41, August-88, Sept-49 (as of this date).
The fact that they won't give a specific number as to what constitutes active trader status tells me this is a bunch of bs. It used to be clearly written in their TOS. Their answer is always "give us a call" but they clearly ignore the constant complaints about how difficult it is to get someone on the phone.
I might have been wrong on the credit:
The reorganization charge will be fully rebated for certain customers based on account type.
https://us.etrade.com/what-we-offer/pricing-and-rates
I forgot which broker (if it is only one) you are using now. Fidelity? Schwab?
For non OTC stock trading, they are pretty similar.
Yes, but I think that they are not giving that credit to high balance accounts anymore. I could be wrong but I seem to remember seeing a reorg fee that didn't get credited and this was post Morgan Stanley. Because of the phone wait I didn't even call about it. I can't get over how bad they have gotten. I only have kept them because I like the trading platform and have been using it for years. It's also a pain to transfer accounts - I've done it in the past. I'm going to go on the site to see if they mention credits for certain accounts. Also, did you try to email them by clicking on the last message that appears and hitting reply even if it has nothing to do with your issue now? It should work. I've done it.
well, I called this morning. A direct number to the corporate actions department. Actually got a person almost immediately. You have to go searching for direct numbers (found a Reddit post).
Anyway, As a courtesy, they will reimburse one of the $38 fees in each account. They are arguing that it was actually 2 separate corporate-actions, which is BS.
TD Ameritrade also charges a $38 fee for mandatory reorganizations, and they did NOT charge me twice for this. Nor have I ever seen (to my recollection) an attempt to charge twice for a (Reverse split followed by forward split) corporate action.
One way you can email them is to respond to a former message you have up on that page. That will let you generate an email. I see from your last three posts that they have done NOTHING to improve. How long were you on hold? Also, before MS took over, when you got a reorg fee, you would always get a credit for it a day or two after it posts. I wonder if they still do that? I don't trade pennies anymore where there are many rev splits so I haven't checked.
Etrade: I have been searching, and I cannot find anyway to email customer service. NONE.
Under the "contact us" page, or the "message center" page, there is no way to send a message (email)
They force you to stay on the phone for an hour waiting now. Unreal.
That didn't end well. The customer service guy at Etrade was nice, but he needed to contact the corporate-action department, which closes at 6pm eastern. After being on hold for 10 minutes, I was routed to the corporate-action voice mail, and ask that they call me back during business hours. (which probably won't happen).
This is in regards to a penny stock that went through a reverse split, followed immediately with a forward split. The result, is that you end up with 100 shares (eventually) after all is said and done.
Etrade decided to charge me twice for the $38 mandatory corporate action fee. Once on August 24, and $38 today (when the final 100 shares came into my accounts)
They are considering the reverse split and forward split as Separate corporate actions! But that has never happened in any other brokerage account....ever.
Even the wording in the SEC filings, and Finra website states "reverse split, followed immediately by a forward split". It has always been considered a singular corporate action.
Problem is, Etrade will automatically sell other stocks I have, to cover the stupid -$33 balance I now have. I hate Etrade, so I almost never use it, and I never keep any money in it lol.
Hopefully I can talk to someone tomorrow morning, before they sell my stock.
Oh Goodie. I'm on the phone with Etrade, On hold, waiting for customer service. This shouldn't take too long lol
ugh, ever since Morgan Stanley took over.
I have a negative balance (as of today) because of a corporate action fee, that was already charged to me.
I have a bad feeling I am not going to get this resolved in my favor. I'll add to the post when it's "resolved"
as if we didn't already know, avoid Etrade
8 minutes on hold so far.......
oh yeah, I had Choicetrade too, lol. terrible
lmao that's a lot! There are a couple of others on that list I never heard of. I do remember Tradeking. The only small-scale broker I ever tried was choice trade and they were horrendous. Every time something went wrong they would blame it on their clearing firm. Then they changed to a different clearing firm and they still were the pits.
Over the years I have opened so many different brokers lol. I still have some old shares in some of them. I really only use Fidelity for trading. they are still commission free.
Ally Invest was formally Tradeking, and before that, it was Zecco.com. (I think Zecco was the first commission-free broker out there).
I would open an account at an online broker if it was low commission, and no minimum balance,.....just to see how the trading process was......so I would open an account at some pretty obscure brokers lol
Some of them (which are closed now) are:
Wang Investments,
Trading Direct
SogoTrade
5 dollar Trade.com
Regal Securites
Cobra Trading
MB Trading
BrokersExpress
OptionsExpress
MyTrack.com
Gain Securities
I guess I have nothing better to do with my life 😆😆
lol i never heard of them. How many brokers do you use? Geez!! I think the most I ever had at one time was three. It became annoying at tax time so I just consolidated to one.
the following are the only brokers I know of that currently are commission-free for OTC
Firstrade.com
Fidelity
T. Rowe Price
In some rare cases, I suppose...Technically..... Wells Fargo Brokerage. They are zero commission for any stock above $1 per share. For stocks below $1, they charge $34.95 commission (ouch). Sometimes, rarely, there are OTC stocks priced above $1. Wells Fargo also has extra restrictions on some otc stocks. Something I could buy in Fidelity, will be restricted at WF, so it's not an option really.
cintrix-fidelity is zero commission for otc at least in retirement accounts. I find TD’s customer service far superior but they are $6.95
Wowza. Even with pink current they still wouldn't let you buy it? And if they weren't allowing you to buy it online they should have waived that broker assisted fee. And Schwab was one of the most recomended brokers on this board!
lol. I wanted to buy a pinksheet stock at Schwab the other day. It is a "Pink Current" status, so it should have been no problem.
I couldn't buy the stock online, I got a message saying I need to call in and talk to broker.
The first time I called, the broker said it was "sell only" status. I hung up unconvinced.
I called again, and spoke to a different broker. He eventually told me that the stock is fine to buy, but I would be charged $25 for broker-assisted trade. I said I have never ever been charged that rate. Every time the last xx years I've called in to any broker, they offer me the online rate (for my inconvenience etc).
He checked with his "manager" and got back to me saying the $25 charge still stands.
I guess they really don't want people trading OTC/pinksheet stocks anymore. Too "risky" I guess.I bet they will eventually jump on the Crypto-trading bandwagon though. 🙄
Schwab was off my OTC list anyway because of the $6.95 commission for OTC/pinkseets, but I wasn't expecting a $25 charge if you have to call in.
Another broker to add to your bucket, Otto? lol
I don't think they allow that for retail customers. I know Etrade doesn't. Of course, they will fill you using that many decimals but they don't allow you to put your order in using them.
I have Fidelity as well and it has been a great experience. Any time I call, I get someone right away. No commissions, no pressure to manage my portfolio. They just execute trades and do it well.
Is it possible to put in bids to the 5th and 6th decimals place?
WOW penny stocks are really becoming harder and harder to trade. At least they are allowing you to still hold and sell previous positions.
Yep, that was a problem for me years ago when I wanted to transfer my account from Choice Trade to Etrade. Ended up that Etrade only allowed me to transfer one penny equity and that was because I originally purchased it from them and had transferred it to Choice back when there were no restrictions. What I had to do was to liquefy my account and sell anything that was nontransferable.
Yes, I have SHMP shares at a transfer agent, unrestricted, vested etc…no one will take them although you can buy and sell the same crappy stock on each platform, it’s insane.
Are you talking about making a transfer? From Interactive Brokers who used to be the best broker to transfer penny stocks to (I don't trade pennies anymore so I am not up on who may still accept pink sheet stocks from another entity):
It should be noted that not all shares are DRS eligible. In general, most U.S. exchange traded securities are, but many OTC shares, as well as shares subject to a restriction and therefore held in certificate form, are not.
https://ibkr.info/article/2192
Why aren’t brokerages taking DRS of pink sheet stock?
Hi. BNCM is a pinksheet stock,(pink current status) currently trading at $0.135. So you should be able to buy it at most online brokers.
I suggest Fidelity.
They will charge zero commissions to buy it. They have zero minimum account balance requirement.
IF you already have an online brokerage account, but don't know how to buy a stock.......then well........I can't much help you
Hello bro! I would like to buy bncm shares. can u help me how?
You're welcome!
Nice board, btw! Keep up the good work!
I very much appreciate all the information you have presented here. If I have further problems with Etrade I will most definitely check out Schwab on your reco. I am hoping that this new phone number they gave me will satisfy my complaints. I currently have four accounts with them. I'm thinking if I have to go the route of changing brokers I will maybe do a half transfer to try out Schwab first. This way I can keep my Etrade trading platform until I figure out if the other one is comparable.
Once again, thank you for that detailed post.
Obviously great customer service !
Are you a very active trader?
More an active investor with aggressive tendencies ;) I could make a statue cringe at times.
Their site provides everything one would need to make decisions. I don't know how they would be for a day trader, but I would think they are set up fine for that by the looks of what streetsmart edge can do and the speed in which it can do it. I have nothing to compare it to though.
How are their executions? Do they get you the best possible price?
My experience is it's easily requested and immediately filled, and as for best price - They say they beat the best price? I never feel that is in Schwabs control. I feel it's in yours. You are watching L2. The trades are right in front of you. You know what's available and where to place a limit, etc. Or if you are taking market, you know what you are going to get based on shares available in that price range - but that's probably where my trading style is different? I don't really care about best price. I care about accurate price. What is in front of me. A few pennies don't matter. So maybe that's a question more for them?
What about trading tools?
StreetSmart Edge is their trading platform. I believe that is free if you do a certain amount of trades in a quarter. Here is how Schwab defines StreetSmart...
Experience the platform that thinks like a trader.
-The platform and tools are designed to make sophisticated technology approachable.
-Linked tools work together to make finding, evaluating, and placing trades quicker and easier.
-Layouts and tools are flexible and can grow with you as your skills and strategies advance.
Power every step of your trade with advanced features and designs.
-Find trade opportunities with custom screeners, watchlists, and high/low tools.
-Research a trade using built-in fundamental and technical tools plus advanced charting.
-Build, edit, and place trade orders quickly with the All-in-One Trade Ticket®.
-Monitor orders, positions, and buying power at a glance, and set up custom alerts.
Customize your platform to fit the way you trade.
(I love that you can make it your own)
-Create and edit multiple layouts with tool combinations for specific strategies.
-Toggle individual tool data and features on or off and change fonts or colors.
-Change the scale of a layout or drag to a different screen when using multiple monitors.
-Access on your desktop as trading software or over the web using the cloud version.
-Powerful options tools help you execute your ideas, including 3- and 4-leg strategies.
-Quickly find bullish, bearish, and neutral trade ideas with our proprietary Idea Hub™.
-View options chains, Greeks, watchlists, and options "top 10" with streaming updates.
-Analyze potential trades with an interactive Trade & Probability calculator.
-Automatically build orders from options chains and place auto-adjusting limit orders Tooltip .
______________________________________________________________
The only other site I use is Marketsmith, because I do look at charts and at fundamentals before I buy something and I do track earnings and changes.
If one was interested in fundamentals I highly recommend that site for convenience but they are a pay for site and are expensive.
Marketsmith puts it in front of me all at once. Everything I question - right there on one page and I can compare funnies on stock after stock with one quick click. I don't need to scroll thru different pages to find fundamentals. Obviously For investors not traders - but cool info!
The fundamentals like this: (stole that example off their site)
Sorry about the length of this post! LOL
Wowza, thanks for the info. So their customer service sounds like the old Etrade exactly except they never sent me flowers! lol
So great customer service. What about trading? Are you a very active trader? How are their executions? Do they get you the best possible price?
What about trading tools? What type of tools do they provide you with and how advanced are they and are they free? Do they have scans?
Etrade has finally reached out to me. Got a manger to call me. Spent an hour on the phone with him. He got the tax division to contact me and they followed up exactly when they said they would. He also provided me with a different phone number that he claims will connect right away. I haven't tried it yet so I don't know if this will get me to customer service right away. If the lack of quick customer service would get fixed I would not have a problem.
Thanks for all the valuable info! If this problem with Etrade doesn't get rectified I will definitely look into Schwab.
Platinum service?
Schwab - bar none the best out there.
I have a team who is always available to me if I needed them but they also have a 24/7 number that has been able to answer any question I throw at them so I tend to just call that number. It's quick. It's easy. It's instant. It's free.
Sometimes they have specialists you can talk to. I had a question about a zero coupon bond and I was given a number of someone to consult with. He answered immediately, and answered the question within seconds. Very knowledgeable.
They had a consultant that took over the application for an account for my nephew who lived in Arizona (I live in Colorado) and my team got the ball rolling here and they followed up in AZ.
They really are amazing.
My personal consultant is someone I now consider a friend. She is located at an office near me. She invites me to every thing Schwab offers. Different seminars, training sessions etc - which are all free and typically include lunch if you are into that kinda thing.
Speaking of lunch - They have taken me to lunch more times then I can count. Never wanting a thing from me aside from just staying at Schwab and you just connect with them. I have been with them for 28 years.
They sent my family flowers when my father died. They took over rolling an IRA into my Mothers name, made her RMD's easy and set them up to take place automatically. Which helped under that time of duress.
That's my experience with Schwab. That's who they are. I will never change company's -- ever. Plus I can just drive down the street and pop in and say Hi.
Never once have they tried to push me to a managed portfolio. All they have ever done is supported me in doing me - the way I do me. They gladly help and do it for free.
Highly recommend them.
filed it...thanks
where can i get a question about a need for 8k when someone retires shares to lower company float? want to know if its actually needed as it would show up at the clearing house level. any help would be appreciated
wow. yeah. terrible reviews. Not surprising actually.
This is absolutely unreal! How do they get away with this? When you get a chance read these:
https://www.sitejabber.com/reviews/etrade.com
https://topratedfirms.com/brokers/customer/etrade-review.aspx
https://www.consumeraffairs.com/finance/etrade.html
https://etrade.pissedconsumer.com/review.html
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