TradeStation

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Based out of Plantation, Florida, TradeStation is a large online broker than has been in business for more than two decades. As a member of the New York Stock Exchange, they have a Prime Services office based out of New York City. They are owned by one of Japan’s biggest online service providers, Monex Group, Inc. They originally began back in 1982 under the name of Omega Research, Inc. At that time, they were solely into software and launched their first software application in 1989.

Trading Platform/Virtual Trading

Real time data and a professional platform is what this company has to offer their traders. Many reviews show they have one of the best trading platforms on the internet. They have both web based and desktop trading platforms to make it easy for those conducting business. One large downside is the fact that they do not have any mobile application for all the smartphone users. Since cellular phone usage is popular among those in the trading market, hopefully they will soon add these applications to allow a larger client base.
Those new to this site will like the fact that they have virtual trading. There is no set amount of money required to take advantage of this and it is a fully functional simulated trade. Because a person is really betting their money, getting a feel for the various platforms and how a transaction works with this site is a real positive for the traders.

Trade Types/Fees:

Trades with this site are only $6.99, if a person does more than 30 trades per month. Those that do 10-29 trades will be charged $7.99 per trade and those with fewer than 10 trades will pay $9.99 per trade. There is a great potential to save money if a person does multiple trades in a month’s time. They do offer options trading, here are the fees:

•Options Exercise Fee $14.95

•Options Assignment Fee $14.95

•Options Fee Per Contracts $1.00

5 Contracts $5.00
10 Contracts $10.00
50 Contracts $50.00
100 Contracts $100.00

This company offers various trade options like Forex, Mutual Fund, EFT, Penny Stocks and international trading. They also offer:

Level 1: Long & Short Calls & Puts
Level 2: Collar & Vertical Spreads
Level 3: Time & Diagonal Spreads, Strangles, Straddles
Level 4: Butterfly, Condors, Back-Ratio & Complex Strategies

Various Other Fees/Minimum Deposit Required

The Broker assisted fee is $50.00. If the account does not meet the minimum criteria, there will be a $99.95 service fee charged. They require a minimum deposit of $5,000 to open an account, but there is no minimum amount required in the account to trade. Mutual funds are $14.95 per transaction, as are bonds, with an addition $5.00 fee per bond. Overall, they have some higher fees associated with this trading site, but they have a great reputation so some things are worth the extra cost.

Trade on Margin/ Trade IRA
They do allow trading on margin, but the minimum allowed in the account is $5,000. There is a charge of 25% on most marginable stock. The Base Rate / Margin Rate & Structures are between 6.75 – 7.75%. Those who wish to trade on an IRA will find no problems here. There is a $35 annual fee for the IRA’s and the trader must have a minimum of at least $5,500 to trade. There are also other fees for early withdrawal and excess removal.

Research & Tools/Educational Material

Typical to what one would expect from an online broker, they offer the Options Analyzer, Strategy Builder/Optimizer, Probability Calculator, and the Options Screener. They also offer their traders valuable tools like, Portfolio Management, and the ability to setup trade alerts and an automated trading feature. They have a full service educational center that has webinars, recorded videos and other materials to review. The biggest asset to this company is the community. The community has certainly got a name for itself for the way they reach out to other and help the new traders.

Customer Service

Their customer service center is open from 8:00 am till 12:00 pm EST. Those who need technical support can reach someone 24 hours a day. There are live chat options, secure email that is available anytime day or night. Someone is always within reach day or night at this company and it is not hard to find a representative that knows what they are talking about and can actually help.

Who Should Trade With This Company/Current Specials

This company offers many great platforms and other assets that are enticing to traders. Those who are full service, long term and active traders can find a site they can be comfortable with. Because they are owned by an international company, this is one of the best sites on the internet for International trading. Anyone interested in joining this online broker community, can trade free for 90 days. If a person is a day trader, that can add up to some serious savings.

Awards/Conclusion

For 2012, Barron’s rated this company the top trading experience and best software. They were also ranked number one for the best place to do day trading and international trades. The market that this company targets is the frequent traders and those dealers will find very low costs and a great place to conduct their trades. There are many reasons why people should look to TradeStation as an online broker; they offer a great trading platform for starters. Their site has trading modeling functionality that is second to none. The choices are vast and there are lots of investment products to choose to trade with. All of their options with the active online community make this a great place to conduct stock market business.

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