How to Pick an Online Brokerage Firm

With a slew of online brokerage firms to choose from, selecting the right one can be tough. Here's a roundup of options and how to tell them apart.

After a while, online brokerage firms all start to look alike. To pick the one that's right for you, consider not only the trade rates but also added features and how they meet your personal needs. As a follow-up to our recent article Buy Low, Sell High, Start Young!, Grandparents.com has prepared this roundup of popular online brokerage firms and the features that distinguish them. Like choosing a spouse or the right school, you're looking for as close to a perfect match as you can get.

Affordable Royalty: TradeKing

Selected as the number one discount broker in Smart Money's August 2007 survey of U.S. brokers, TradeKing now features free blogs and boasts no hidden fees. Investors get charged $4.95 per trade and $.65 per option contract.

Calling All Hipsters: Thinkorswim

Your hip grandkids will feel at ease here, where photos or movies of young investors are plastered on the homepage. The site promises to credit your account $50 for every referral you make and pick up $100 of account transfer fees when you switch from another broker. At the paperMoney section of the site, you can create a virtual margin account and virtual IRA, each funded with $100,000 of play money.

Deal Maker: TD Ameritrade

Like E*Trade, TD Ameritrade offers support online, by phone, or in person. It offers special deals, including one going on at press time where you'll earn $100 cash for funding any non-IRA account with $25,000. It boasts access to independent research from Standard & Poor's and Morningstar. And, the mutual fund screener will help you find the funds that meet your specific criteria.

Obsession: Fidelity

At this site, fees are based on assets under management. For instance, if you make one to 36 trades per year, you'll be paying $19.95 per trade at $.75 per contract. As a result, it seems like this site is best suited for those looking to trade often. If you're addicted to trading, you'll appreciate the wireless trading option with Fidelity Anywhere, which allows access to trading from a Web-enabled cell phone. There is 24-seven phone support with investment representatives and trading reps.

One Popular Guy: Charles Schwab

Schwab is a name most people know, and there are more than 300 branches nationwide for clients, who prefer face-to-face support. Investors pay $12.95 per executed online equity trade for the first 1,000 shares. The site offers investment management services, a portfolio management tool, and live chat with investment professionals.

Party Central: Zecco Holdings

With its splash of hot pink, spunky cartoons and polls, Zecco's site is highly entertaining. With the ability to make 10 trades per day -- for free -- it's also affordable. Connect with fellow investors through blogs and forums.

The Original: E*Trade Financial

It was among the first to offer online financial services. This site now boasts 4.3 million accounts worldwide in 40-plus countries. Customer service reps are available seven days a week online, by phone, or in person. There are more than 7,000 mutual funds available to clients as well as banking products and services that include CDs and checking and savings accounts. You'll be charged between $6.99 and $12.99 on stock and options trades at $.75 per options contract.

The Traditionalist: Scottrade

A veteran, Scottrade has been in business for more than 25 years and offers nationwide branch offices, where you can meet with someone face-to-face to learn how to optimize the online services. An online trade costs $7 and there's a flat rate for all online market and limit equity orders.