Online broker resources
Choosing Your Broker
There are many factors to consider when choosing which online retail broker to use. Before picking a broker, we recommend starting with beginner level courses to learn different investment and trading strategies; this is also where you will begin to absorb how the markets function and some of the most critical aspects and components of the financial and crypto markets.
The larger and more established brokers typically have similar platform tools, resources, and fees. As you start to build up a strong foundation and skillset in the markets and you are ready to get started, here are some general questions to consider before choosing your broker:
- What type of trader or investor are you? If you are learning technical trading for example, you will need charting software and real-time quoting
- What else do you wish to learn? Some brokers may offer options trading, but they don't offer futures trading. Depending on what areas of the markets you wish to focus on, this may be a deterrent.
- What are the fees, commissions, and minimums? This will depend on your personal situation and how often you plan to trade and use the tools.
- What have you tried before and what specific tools do you feel were missing?
- Do they offer fractional shares and are you looking to only trade stocks?
- Will you be trading fixed income securities?
- Do you need access to retirement accounts or retirement planning tools?
Additionally, here are some resources about the different online broker tools for the financial markets, as well as resources for cryptocurrencies: