After enjoying some delightful pastries during our mid-morning snack, we got down to business and continued our stock trading reviews for the second day in a row. Star Reviews had to take the opportunity to look at E*Trade, a dynamite and widely-used brokerage service that can cater to your financial needs. Their website interface was bright and visually appealing, leaving us excited to see what else they offered! Here’s the scoop on our findings.
What's New?
- Online Global Trading - 6 Markets & Local Currencies
- Get 100 commission-free stock & options trades
- No-fee customizable trading platforms.
Star Reviews Favorite Feature:
Webinars - E*TRADE offers online seminars that teach novice stock traders how to invest and build their portfolios. These training services can really help beginners avoid some of the common online stock trading pitfalls. The best part is that as valuable as these webinars are, they are absolutely free to attend.
About E*TRADE:
Hosting its first trade in 1983, E*TRADE was one of the first online stock trading websites to hit the Internet. They offer services that cater to a wide range of individual needs and investment levels worldwide. This service is home to about 4.3 million accounts globally and has raked in $176 billion in consumer assets. Whether you have a net worth of $500 or $5 million, there are E*TRADE account options that will serve your needs.
Navigating the E*TRADE Website:
At first site, our team was impressed with E*Trade and wanted to find out what features and trading tools they offered. Because E*TRADE has so many different products and services, navigating the website can be overwhelming at first and may take some time to fully grasp. While the website is a bit complex and in-depth, it is partially because E*TRADE offers some of the most comprehensive stock options on the Web.
We liked the ‘Welcome’ section with useful links like ‘Open an Account,’ ‘Forms & Applications,’ and ‘Special Offers.’ We liked the option to search by stock quote or keyword, which produced comprehensive listings. There is a clearly visible ‘Customer Service’ tab, which of course we applaud. We liked how features like ‘Mortgages’ and ‘Retirement Planning’ were set apart in their own tabs, making the search process simpler.
Getting Started with E*Trade:
We really love how E*Trade gives their customers options. When we clicked on ‘Open Account,’ we were given a list of their Most Popular stock brokerage accounts. There is also a tab for ‘All Accounts,’ with neatly-displayed icons of accounts like ‘General Investing,’ ‘Rollover IRA,’ and ‘Global Trading.’ We’re no stock experts, so we opted for the most basic account we could get our hands on.
We liked that the application process only took us about 10 minutes and all of the steps were pretty self explanatory. If you should run into any problems, there are links to ‘Learn More’ next to questions, just in case you’re not sure whether to choose between a ‘Joint’ or ‘Custodial Account.’ Once you signup and form an ID, select your features, verify your account and place funds, you can get in on the market action!
The E*Trade Process:
E*Trade didn’t begin the whole online stock trading boom for no good reason. We really appreciated their stock trading platform, POWER E*TRADE PRO. The thing we liked the best about it is its customizable user-interface. Everyone has their own taste and choice in stocks, so why not provide a platform that each broker can tweak to fit their style? E*Trade delivers.
We really liked the free, Nasdaq TotalView feature, as well as streaming Dow Jones® News. These are the Top Dogs in investment and E*Trade keeps you in the know. We liked the direct-access trading for stocks and options, as well as conditional orders. Their platform is very advanced, but still user-friendly. You can take part in great features like high-tech charting apparatuses, technical studies and market trend lines.
E*TRADE Features:
- Free streaming real-time stock quotes.
- Free independent research from six leading sources.
- Different account types for different levels of trading.
- Advanced charting and stock screeners.
- Global investing through international ADRs, ETFs, and mutual funds.
E*TRADE Fees:
- $6.99 to $9.99 per trade if you have more than $50,000 in your E*TRADE accounts.
- $12.99 per trade if you have less than $50,000 in your E*TRADE accounts.
- 75-cent options contract fee per contract.
Special Incentives:
- Get 100 commission-free trades when you open a qualifying account.
Customer Support:
Customer support at E*Trade was readily available and very efficient. E*TRADE offers customer support via an extensive FAQ database, free online training seminars, toll-free phone support and email. The FAQ database is truly comprehensive and addresses almost any questions a trader would run into. The online training webinars are also easy to follow and very informative.
When we called E*TRADE’s customer support line, our call was answered in less than 3 minutes and we were able to speak with a rep who was very knowledgeable. She addressed our questions immediately and provided us with insightful information.
Email support was also prompt (we received a response within 1 business day) and though the response we received was rather short, the answer did address our question adequately.
Upside:
Competitive fees, advanced reporting options, free online training.
Downside:
The website can be a bit overwhelming for those new to the online stock trading arena.
Summary:
All in all, we felt that E*Trade is a great online stock trading service and is well worth any broker’s time. They essentially began the Internet stock trading rage and still deliver incredible features and tools for novice or experienced stock traders. We appreciate their recognition that not everyone knows the ins and outs of brokerage, offering convenient and fun webinars. We also liked that their fees weren’t as high as some of their competition’s, which wins major points from us. They offer good special incentives and have great customer support. We think they’re a great choice in online stock trading.