I’ve been using Vanguard, but despite their customer orientation and not being publicly traded, I’m not too impressed with their brokerage platform. And I think I can save a lot of money elsewhere on options trading.
I’ve been thinking about transferring some money to Interactive Brokers, but I’d want to get some advice and opinions here before I move any money. Does anyone have a suggestion for a broker, and are there any that I should especially avoid?
I like Interactive Brokers because if there is a product trading anywhere on the planet, 99 percent of the time you will be able to trade it through IB.
With that said, be aware that the super low-commissions have to come at the expense of something, and in the case of IB they come at the expense of a top-tier charting platform and not much in the way of customer service. To circumvent this, I keep a small deposit at TD Ameritrade so I can use their wonderful ThinkOrswim charting platform and executive my trades through IB.
I use my bank as a trade platform since i mostly do buy and hold, but you are correct, the fees are insane 
Any suggestions for a NonUS Resident? IB Looks like a choise but i cannot fathom wether to go 10 USD per month or 20 usd per trade as i rarely trade.
My rec goes to Schwab. Low commissions, a large range of services, ongoing investor education and trading tools. Good luck w/your search.
I’d go for Schwab too.
I am with Schwab also. I run 2 platforms of their Street Smart Edge. If you don’t trade much $4.95 should be ok for you. I day trade besides having core holdings and find the Edge platform good for my needs. I get a different rate structure; .003/sh for over 2000 shares and .006/share for less. I think if you start an account there with 50k or more you may get 500 free trades.
Rob
I only buy options so I have found TradeStation to be one of the best brokerages.
Dean
I have used TradeKing for years, which recently merged with ally.com. I have been happy with the service over the years, though it is very much a no-frills do it yourself platform. I have considered moving to Schwab, but the price and service are more or less comparable for my situation so I do not feel any great incentive.
I’m with Schwab as well. A while back there was a thread on another board about transferring accounts. I did this not too long ago and suggest you check with Schwab about any current bonus offers when you switch brokerages or open a new Schwab account (like the one Moneyman3 mentioned).
Ms banjr and I had three IRA accounts at Scottrade and two Roth IRAs and a brokerage account at Schwab. I’d been considering consolidating the accounts in one brokerage, and Schwab’s trading commission drop to $4.95 tipped the scale. But wait, there’s more…
Schwab had several bonus offers available at the time, the most relevant to me being free equity trades for every year I’d been with Scottrade if I switched to Schwab. Since my first Scottrade account was opened in 2003, we now have free trades in (nearly) all our Schwab accounts through 2031. Sweet. The only fly in the ointment is that this deal applied just to equity trades, not options, and not to 401k or SEP IRA accounts.
Finally, I inherited some stocks and cash and needed to open a new Schwab account. Even though I was already a Schwab customer, and even though the inherited funds were coming from my parents’ Schwab accounts, Schwab still honored the bonus they offered to new customers.
banjr
Schwab here also. I finally transferred my IRA from USAA which charges $8.95 per trade and has a terrible investment website. Schwab thanked me with the 500 free trades over 2 years. I also have a new financial advisor who worked up yet another financial plan. Seems like there is a revolving door with the advisors. I actually like the advice I get here, but that doesn’t make the advisor happy!