“All great points, but can you show me the different features of the brokerage platforms, that are the driving factor behind choosing them?”
K,
Why does one person like broccoli (or cilantro) and another doesn’t? Some of it is genetics. Some is exposure and familiarity.
Same-same with brokerage accounts, which differ fairly widely among themselves in terms of how they look, how easy it is to navigate their menus, what products they offer, how good are their help files and tutorials, how detailed are their scanners, how easy it is to build charts, much less trade off of them, what sorts of tracking they offer on open and closed positions, their commission schedules, whether they support fractional share trading and with what order types, how easy it is to talk to a live rep, how fast they can fix problems, etc., etc.
What I’d argue is this. Every brokerage firm has its own strengths and weaknesses. Every would-be investor has his or her own needs and preferences. So much so, that no one broker is likely to meet all of one’s needs and that setting up multiple accounts is both a necessity and not much of a hassle. (IMHO, 'natch)
Charlie