📈 Compare Best Stock Brokers

📈 What is an online broker?

An investment account, known as a brokerage account, grants you the ability to purchase and sell shares, bonds, mutual funds, and other types of securities. This account is overseen by a brokerage company that acts as a middleman between buyers and sellers. To open a brokerage account, you must deposit funds into the account which can then be used for transactions.

There are two types of brokerage accounts, individual and joint, and certain minimums or requirements may need to be met to open an account. Some brokerage accounts also provide additional services like financial or retirement planning.

🫰 How to compare brokerage costs?

Comparing the costs associated with various brokerages is a crucial step when making a selection. Frequently, it requires an investment to utilize an online brokerage, whether through commissions or service fees. However, comparing brokerage costs can become a difficult task as there are various fee structures that brokerages can employ. For instance, discounts on orders of over 1,000 stocks may not be applicable for traders who make small volume trades. Similarly, robo-advisor fees may not be relevant if you prefer to personally research and select your securities. To make the most effective comparison of brokerage costs, focus on fees that pertain to the equities or services that you intend to use.

📌 How to choose the best online brokerage account?

Here are some of the key features to look out for when comparing online brokerage accounts:

• Fees: Almost every platform will charge you brokerage fees (also known as commissions) when you make trades. In general, the lower the fee if it suits your needs, the better.
• Other fees: Some platforms also charge additional fees, such as monthly fees or inactivity fees.
• Ease of use: Again, saving money makes no sense if the app is difficult to use. You should look for a platform that allows you to make trades quickly and accurately with minimal hassle.
• Access to data: Does the platform offer dynamic, real-time or delayed market updates? Some platforms offer research and broker analysis on individual stocks that can come in handy.
• Order types: Can you place orders on the market and/or on limit? Are other order types such as stop/loss orders an option to add more flexibility to your trading? These should be considered when choosing a brokerage account.
• Reporting: Check the reporting tools on each platform to help you track how your trades are performing.
• Customer support: Look for phone, email and live online chat support. Does it offer 24/7 customer service if you have problems placing a transaction?
• Education: Some platforms also have a range of educational tools and resources, such as how-to guides and webinars, to help you get more out of your trading account. If you don’t have access to the education you need through your broker, there may be additional costs, so keep that in mind.

🥁 What different types of Financial Instruments can you Trade?

When choosing a brokerage platform, it's essential to examine the types of instruments that can be traded. These should include various asset classes, such as stocks and shares, options, futures, commodities, mutual funds, and cryptocurrencies. Additionally, you should consider the number of instruments available within each asset class.

Here are some of the most common asset classes that are typically offered by top trading platforms:

Stocks and shares: This is the most popular asset class traded online and covers well-known companies like Apple, IBM, Netflix, and Facebook, among others. Most trading platforms will cover major stock markets such as the NYSE, Nasdaq, JSE, and LSE, as well as less liquid stock exchanges in countries like Singapore, Germany, Hong Kong, and Canada.

Commodities: This multi-trillion dollar industry operates 24/7 and includes precious metals like gold and silver, as well as energies like oil and gas. Commodity prices are often affected by real-world news events, making it important to stay informed about current affairs.

Indexes: These allow you to invest in the stocks and shares market without having to decide on specific equities. They cover the wider stock market, enabling you to invest in hundreds of companies through a single trade. Examples include the FTSE 100, which covers the 100 largest companies traded on the London Stock Exchange, and the S&P 500, which covers the 500 largest companies listed in the US.

Futures and options: These allow you to place more advanced trades on your chosen asset class. They enable you to speculate on the future price of an asset without actually owning it.

ETFs: Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) allow you to invest in an asset without actually owning or storing it. They track the real-world movement of a particular asset, such as gold or US dollars, and can be used to profit from an asset when the markets are down.

Cryptocurrencies: A growing number of platforms now allow you to buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin at the click of a button. The easiest way to do this is through a cryptocurrency CFD, which enables you to invest in cryptocurrencies without having to worry about storing them in a private wallet.

✍️ Online Trading Overview Summary

We selected the best trading apps to narrow down your options. If none of those work for you, compare other apps and keep an eye on fees, ease of use, the number of financial instruments and whether they offer advanced charting tools and research.

Alternatively, you can sign up for the best broker for you and use its desktop platform for trading. Almost every broker offers a mobile app, and if you don’t like it, you can use it to monitor your account between trades.