# Which online broker should I use? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 20, 2003, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-online-broker-should-i-use/220091 "2003-12-20T01:30:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2003, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-online-broker-should-i-use/220091/1 "2003-12-20T01:30:01Z")
I currently use Ameritrade. Is there any reason to switch to someone else? ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2003, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-online-broker-should-i-use/220091/2 "2003-12-20T02:27:10Z")
My ex-boss, who remains a good friend, and has quite a lot invested in speculative stocks (and so monitors them regularly and buys/sells frequently), swears by Ameritrade – and has shopped around with other on-line and phone-and-fax brokers. So consider this a vote of confidence for Ameritrade, though I don’t have investments myself and therefore cannot speak first person about them. P.S.: The first time I saw your thread title in the forum list, I read it as “Which online _hooker_ should I use?” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2003, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-online-broker-should-i-use/220091/3 "2003-12-20T02:33:55Z")
Thanks **Polycarp**. If you have any advice on on-line hookers, you can just e-mail me. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![pilot141](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e0b2c6/32.png) [@pilot141](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pilot141)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2003, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-online-broker-should-i-use/220091/4 "2003-12-20T15:18:01Z")
Another Ameritrade user checking in. No problems, quick execution of trades. The Streamer service is free now, but you still have to sign up for it at $0/month. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2003, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-online-broker-should-i-use/220091/5 "2003-12-20T20:07:53Z")
BTW, if anyone’s wondering, It wasn’t me who spammed my OP. ---
**Author:** ![paul\_smars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3be4f8/32.png) [@paul\_smars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paul_smars)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-online-broker-should-i-use/220091/6 "2003-12-21T02:59:23Z")
I used waterhouse and left. They were ok, then they started charging a yearly fee. Now I use Scottrade that has no yearly fee and has a larger list of NTF Mutual funds and has a GREAT on-line mutual fund search/sort. Enough to get u started anyway. … ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-online-broker-should-i-use/220091/7 "2003-12-21T13:38:37Z")
I use Waterhouse, but have been having second thoughts about them. I keep enough in my account that the maintenance fees are waived, but the trading fees have gone from $12 when I joined to $18. On the other hand, I only make a few trades a year, and they offer full dividend reinvestment for free. I used to use Suretrade but dumped them after a long-running battle to clear up an error in their records. They were taking 33% off every stock sale because they claimed I was a foreign citizen (I’m a US citizen living overseas) that hadn’t submitted a W-8 form (I’d specifically asked them about this when I opened the account and they said it didn’t apply to me). When I’d call to get the money put back, they would tell me “we’re so sorry, it was our mistake, everything will be fixed within the next two business days.” Except that nothing was fixed. For about two months and about $100 worth of phone calls (toll free ain’t toll free from the other side of the world) we went through the same dance steps until I finally had enough: I detailed my full history with Suretrade, along with the dates and amounts of all their withholdings, and my full complaint against them, in an email. I sent this email to the BBB, the SEC, the NASD, the Wall Street Journal, The Motley Fool, two or three college alumni mailing lists, and the consumer advocate desks of every newspaper and TV station in the region. And every one of those emails was CC’ed to Suretrade. The money was back in my account in under 24 hours. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-online-broker-should-i-use/220091/8 "2003-12-21T13:41:59Z")
Whoops, didn’t mean to carried away there, sorry. I just like telling that story. Anyway, if you’re investing over $25,000, or trade more than once every three months, Waterhouse is probably ok, but I don’t see any compelling reason to switch from Ameritrade. Motley Fool has a page comparing some of the major discount traders here, btw: > **[Best Online Stock Brokers of October 2021: $0 Commissions and More](https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/buying-stocks/?source=LN)** > > Here's our shortlist of the best stock brokers hand-picked by our team of experts. Learn about the top brokerage companies and get access to ETFs, fractional shares, research tools, and more.