OT - Top Nine Penny Brokerages by www.PeterLeeds.com
Hi everyone,
Below is an e-mail I got from www.peterleeds.com after signing up for their free e-mail alerts. Hope some of you might find it interesting. Let me know if any of it sounds like BS.
Also, let me know your opinion on Peter Leeds and his website and newsletter, if you have one. I was thinking about signing up for his newsletter ($200 a year!!), but since he doesn't give you a very complete breakdown on his performance record, I will probably pass. But, let me know if you've ever used it with any success.
P.S. I use E-Trade, which didn't make the list (no real surprise).
Top 9 "Penny Stock Friendly" Brokers size
This report includes:
1. How we researched the brokers
2. The findings from the top 9
Scott Trade
Speed Trader
MyTradz.com
Trading Direct
Lightspeed Trading
RealFastTrader.com
Success Trade Security
Ameritrade
Noble Trading
1. HOW WE RESEARCHED THE BROKERS:
In penny stocks, it is important to get the right stock broker. Penny stock traders generally make more trades, more trqades per dollar, and more shares per trade. We also have to watch for low trading-volume stocks, and we need our broker to be reliable and helpful.
So, we decided to research the discount brokers exactly like we research the stock picks we make at PeterLeeds.com - by looking at every factor. We went above and beyond the call of duty, just like we do with our penny stock picks.
For example, we e-mailed every broker two different e-mails:
E-mail #1 appeared as if it was coming from a prospective client.
E-mail #2 came from PeterLeeds.com staff, with full disclosure of the broker rankings we were working on.
We called them all too, and ranked their helpfulness, professionalism, and friendliness.
We took a good look at their policies, hidden charges, and commission rates. We even took into account the ease of setting up an account, and the quality of the trading webpage.
From the hundreds and hundreds of discount brokers, here are the top nine. They are in no paticular order, because what is important to one person is not as important to another. You may want low commissions, while someone else wants helpful phone support.
Take a breeze through these rankings, and decide for yourself which broker is best for you!
Also, provide us with your feedback. We'd love to hear about your experiences with the discount brokers.
THE FINDINGS FROM THE TOP NINE:
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1.) Scott Trade size
2.) www.scottrade.com
3.) Minimum to open an account = $500
4.) E-mail #1 response time = Didn't respond
5.) E-mail #2 response time = 11 hours
6.) E-mail professionalism rank = 8
7.) E-mail helpfulness rank = 7
8.) E-mail friendliness rank = 8
9.) Telephone call answered? Got voice message and had to type in zipcode to get directed to local office.
10.) Hold time? No hold time.
11.) Called back if required? N/A
12.) Time before call back? N/A
13.) Telephone professionalism rank? 9
14.) Telephone helpfulness rank? 9
15.) Telephone friendliness rank? 9
16.) Cost to buy 1,000 shares at $1.00 = $7.00 on all trades $1.00 and above, Broker assisted $27.00.
17.) Cost to buy 10,000 shares at .25 = $19.50 ($7.00 per trade plus 1/2% of total amount)
Notes and Observations: Very helpful. To open an account you can do it online.
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1.) Speed Trader size
2.) www.speedtrader.com
3.) Minimum to open an account = $2,000
4.) E-mail #1 response time = 1 hour
5.) E-mail #2 response time = 1 hour
6.) E-mail professionalism rank = 9
7.) E-mail helpfulness rank = 9
8.) E-mail friendliness rank = 9
9.) Telephone call answered? Voice menu
10.) Hold time? 15 seconds
11.) Called back if required? N/A
12.) Time before call back? N/A
13.) Telephone professionalism rank? 10
14.) Telephone helpfulness rank? 10
15.) Telephone friendliness rank? 10
16.) Cost to buy 1,000 shares at $1.00 = $9.95 flat fee or lower depending.
17.) Cost to buy 10,000 shares at .25 = $9.95 flat fee or lower.
Notes and Observations: Call when setting up your account to let them know you're investing in penny stocks and they will set-up your account. Possibly will offer some discount rates for penny stock trading at the time you call. Can only invest in a maximum of 200,000 shares before having to do another trade. Very friendly about penny stock trading.
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1.) MyTradz.com size
2.) www.mytradz.com
3.) Minimum to open an account = $200 cash account ($2,000 for margin)
4.) E-mail #1 response time = No response.
5.) E-mail #2 response time = 10 minutes
6.) E-mail professionalism rank = 9
7.) E-mail helpfulness rank = 9
8.) E-mail friendliness rank = 9
9.) Telephone call answered? Immediately / transferred to broker from receptionist.
10.) Hold time? 1 minute
11.) Called back if required? N/A
12.) Time before call back? N/A
13.) Telephone professionalism rank? 9
14.) Telephone helpfulness rank? 10
15.) Telephone friendliness rank? 9
16.) Cost to buy 1,000 shares at $1.00 = $17.95 per trade
17.) Cost to buy 10,000 shares at .25 = $17.95 per trade
Notes and Observations: Very helpful. Gave additional information. Easy online sign-up process.
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1.) Trading Direct size
2.) www.tradingdirect.com
3.) Minimum to open an account = No minimum
4.) E-mail #1 response time = 4hrs 25min
5.) E-mail #2 response time = No response
6.) E-mail professionalism rank = 10
7.) E-mail helpfulness rank = 10
8.) E-mail friendliness rank = 10
9.) Telephone call answered? Immediately
10.) Hold time? None
11.) Called back if required? N/A
12.) Time before call back? N/A
13.) Telephone professionalism rank? 5
14.) Telephone helpfulness rank? 5
15.) Telephone friendliness rank? 5
16.) Cost to buy 1,000 shares at $1.00 = $9.95 per trade.
17.) Cost to buy 10,000 shares at .25 = $9.95 per trade.
Notes and Observations: 1 Trade per year is required to avoid the $60 inactive fee.
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1.) Lightspeed Trading size
2.) www.lightspeedbrokers.com
3.) Minimum to open an account = no minimum
4.) E-mail #1 response time = 5 days
5.) E-mail #2 response time = 4 days
6.) E-mail professionalism rank = 9
7.) E-mail helpfulness rank = 9
8.) E-mail friendliness rank = 9
9.) Telephone call answered? Immediately
10.) Hold time? N/A
11.) Called back if required? N/A
12.) Time before call back? N/A
13.) Telephone professionalism rank? 7
14.) Telephone helpfulness rank? 6
15.) Telephone friendliness rank? 5
16.) Cost to buy 1,000 shares at $1.00 = $9.95 flat fee
17.) Cost to buy 10,000 shares at .25 = $9.95 flat fee
Notes and Observations: Currently getting registered in all 50 states. Should be registered within a month or two from 1-26-06.
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1.) RealFastTrader.com size
2.) www.realfasttrader.com
3.) Minimum to open an account = $2,000
4.) E-mail #1 response time = 30 minutes
5.) E-mail #2 response time = 13 minutes
6.) E-mail professionalism rank = 10
7.) E-mail helpfulness rank = 10
8.) E-mail friendliness rank = 10
9.) Telephone call answered? Immediately
10.) Hold time? None
11.) Called back if required? N/A
12.) Time before call back? N/A
13.) Telephone professionalism rank? 9
14.) Telephone helpfulness rank? 9
15.) Telephone friendliness rank? 9
16.) Cost to buy 1,000 shares at $1.00 = $9.95 per trade or lower with more shares
17.) Cost to buy 10,000 shares at .25 = $9.95 per trade or lower with more shares
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1.) Success Trade Security Inc size
2.) www.lowtrades.com
3.) Minimum to open an account = Cash no minimum / $2,000 margin
4.) E-mail #1 response time = no response
5.) E-mail #2 response time = no response
6.) E-mail professionalism rank = N/A
7.) E-mail helpfulness rank = N/A
8.) E-mail friendliness rank = N/A
9.) Telephone call answered? Immediately
10.) Hold time? None
11.) Called back if required? N/A
12.) Time before call back? N/A
13.) Telephone professionalism rank? 9
14.) Telephone helpfulness rank? 10
15.) Telephone friendliness rank? 9
16.) Cost to buy 1,000 shares at $1.00 = $2.99 per trade for the first month, $5.00 per trade after the first month.
17.) Cost to buy 10,000 shares at .25 = $2.99 per trade the first month, $5.00 per trade after first month.
Notes and Observations: Insurance up to $500,000 and the clearing firm has additional insurance for account holders.
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1.) Ameritrade size
2.) www.ameritrade.com
3.) Minimum to open an account = no minimum, no balance required. Maintain total $2,000 in account or trade 4 times in prior 6-month period to avoid $15 maintenance fee per quarter.
4.) E-mail #1 response time = no response
5.) E-mail #2 response time = no response
6.) E-mail professionalism rank = no response
7.) E-mail helpfulness rank = no response
8.) E-mail friendliness rank = no response
9.) Telephone call answered? Voice menu / announced wait time
10.) Hold time? 2 minutes
11.) Called back if required? N/A
12.) Time before call back? N/A
13.) Telephone professionalism rank? 10
14.) Telephone helpfulness rank? 9
15.) Telephone friendliness rank? 10
16.) Cost to buy 1,000 shares at $1.00 = $10.99 flat fee; phone system $14.99, broker assisted $24.99.
17.) Cost to buy 10,000 shares at .25 = (same as above)
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1.) Noble Trading size
2.) www.nobletrading.com
3.) Minimum to open an account = cash $500 / margin $2,000 or more / day trading over $25,000
4.) E-mail #1 response time = no response
5.) E-mail #2 response time = no response
6.) E-mail professionalism rank = no response
7.) E-mail helpfulness rank = no response
8.) E-mail friendliness rank = no response
9.) Telephone call answered? Immediately
10.) Hold time? None
11.) Called back if required? N/A
12.) Time before call back? N/A
13.) Telephone professionalism rank? 10
14.) Telephone helpfulness rank? 10
15.) Telephone friendliness rank? 10
16.) Cost to buy 1,000 shares at $1.00 = Two options either flat fee per trade, or a percentage per share. It's up to the investor. Either $4.95 per trade or $.006 per share with a minimum of $2.00.
17.) Cost to buy 10,000 shares at .25 (same as above)
Notes and Observations: They don't negotiate trades. Investor's offers go directly to the floor. Noble Trading offers software that you can do this through, as well. One software package is free and it offers charts, money etc... for execution. Various costs for other software.