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The software program also offers tax-accounting tools that match trades and send the output to any file format, and its platform is flexible enough to allow easy customization. What's more, the broker has joined some of its competitors in offering a Web-based platform, with almost all of the bells and whistles of the software offering.
Despite Sosnoff's comments about pricing, thinkorswim's commission schedule is reasonable: An order for 500 shares of stock is $7.50, and 10 options contracts are $12.95. Clients can also make three free mutual fund trades per month, including those that other brokers charge for. Thinkorswim's interest rates on cash are on the high side, and its margin fees are on the low side. Customer service is excellent.
A supersmart router
TD Ameritrade's Web-browser system is tackling some of the same issues. Its proprietary order-routing technology can discern whether you're at a buy or sell, the size and whether it's a limit or market order, among other things, and compares the order to the prevailing market price. If the order is marketable, it goes through a host of market centers to fine-tune how the trade will be executed. This supersmart router tries to get the best available price in the market. A few bucks on 1,000 shares might not sound like much, but the savings add up quickly if you trade frequently.For more-active traders, TD Ameritrade's Streamer Suite Console offers numerous customizable real-time data and charts. You can set up 50 watch lists, with as many as 35 symbols per list, and switch between them quickly using a drop-down menu. You can add technical studies to charts and even trade from the quote or chart pages. The site offers excellent screeners and recently added contingent orders to its entry screens that allow you to make multiple automatic moves based on various price changes or relationships. We were impressed by the ETF (exchange-traded fund) center, powered by Wall Street on Demand.
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TD Ameritrade's commissions and other costs are in the middle of the pack but easy to understand. The firm charges $9.99 for any stock order, and its options commissions are $17.49 for 10 contracts. Margin rates are on the high side, but it's possible to move cash into a sweep account that pays close to 4.5%.
Other top software brokers
Among the software-based systems, Interactive Brokers and MB Trading trail thinkorswim on points but still merit four and a half stars. Four-star software brokers are TradeStation Securities, Fidelity Active Trader Pro, ChoiceTrade, Charles Schwab's CyberTrader and E*Trade Pro. All deserve serious consideration.- Video: How to select a broker
Interactive Brokers, for example, has the best international offerings, many futures choices and low fees. This last year, it added access to Swedish, Japanese and Hong Kong stocks, along with floor-traded Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) futures, NYMEX (NMX) physical energy futures and soft commodity futures, and CBOT electronic agricultural futures. Penny-priced options are available not only for 13 underlying symbols being tested but for all equity options using the firm's well-regarded proprietary technology.
| Top software-based brokers | ||
|---|---|---|
Company | Total points* | Stars |
35.8 | 4.5 | |
35.1 | 4.5 | |
34.6 | 4.5 | |
33.5 | 4 | |
31.2 | 4 | |
31 | 4 | |
30.5 | 4 | |
29.7 | 4 | |
29.2 | 3.5 | |
28.5 | 3.5 | |
28.1 | 3.5 | |
28 | 3.5 | |
27.5 | 3.5 | |
21.3 | 2.5 | |
*Graded from 0 to 5 (40 total points is perfect) in the following categories: trade experience, trading technology, usability, range of offerings, research amenities, portfolio analysis and reports, customer service and access, and costs. | ||
**Weighted | ||
Continued: Top Web-based brokers
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