Binary Options Guest Post by John Schmoll, veteran of the financial services industry

We have all seen the commercials for online brokerages; one has a green line, another wants you to talk to someone named Nick and still others have celebrity pitchmen telling you to take control of your financial future with their platform. They are all members of the multi-billion dollar online brokerage industry. Up until the last few decades if you wanted to invest in the stock market you had to go through a high priced broker that might charge you several hundred dollars. With the advent of online brokerages that price has seen a significant drop. However it has also put more of the responsibility on us as self-directed investors to be aware of what is going on with our investments. As someone who has worked in the financial services industry for over ten years and in the discount brokerage industry for four of those years I have some wisdom to share about choosing an online brokerage.

Price is Important, But Only to a Point

As someone who likes to be frugal price is an important subject for me especially when I can get the same thing done for less. Most online brokerages will charge you anywhere from $3- $10 or more to place a stock trade. I can tell you that many of these discount brokerages are only being charged $2 or so a trade at the market. The rest of the cost you pay is pure profit to them and will go towards their overhead costs. Knowing this do not be afraid to contact your online brokerage and negotiate your commission. If you are a good client and ask nicely many will lower your rate so do not feel that you have to settle for the advertised commission. The problem I have seen though is that many will base their online brokerage choice solely on the commission. Yes it is important to save money but you have to look at what the online brokerage is offering you. If their services are lacking then you may not be getting a good value even though you are paying the lowest price.

Back up Your Online Broker

As with any financial dealing it is extremely important to keep record of activities with your online brokerage account. Online brokerages are only required to keep statements on file for six years and trade confirmations for three years. After that it is up to the broker as to whether or not they keep the information. The best and easiest way to verify what you paid for that stock 12 years ago is to keep your statements. I have spoken to countless people who had a tax loss to take but there was no record of the purchase price because it was so far back and no one had the records. That is a headache I do not want. Once we receive our brokerage statement we scan our statements so we can access them at any time. It is also vital to review those brokerage statements once you receive them to make sure they did not make a mistake. Most of the larger brokerages service millions of clients so it is certainly possible a mistake can be made; don’t let them go by unnoticed.

Each Online Brokerage Has a Specialty, Find One That Fits Your Needs

Every online brokerage has their own special offering that sets them apart. Some are big on pricing while others are big on educational tools. You are probably not going to find the perfect online brokerage but find one that fits with your needs. There are several things I look for such as the ability to contact at any time of the day a smartphone app and chat capability on their website. I am busy so I want an online brokerage that I can communicate with on my schedule and when I have time. Determine what you are wanting in a broker and look for ones that are in that realm. When it comes down to choosing an online brokerage keep in mind that it’s serious business as you are entrusting your hard earned-money to someone else.