Broker/
Web site |
Market/
Limit Order |
Fees/Minimum
Balances |
Mutual Funds |
Research |
Bonds |
Options |
Tiers of Service |
|
|
American Express
americanexpress.com |
$19.95 up to 1,000 shares,
+ 3 cents/share over 1,000 |
$10/quarter unless: account has $25,000+ in assets, or household
accounts total $100,000+,
or there is one trade per quarter;
$50
exit or $75 transfer fee;
$4 order-handling fee |
4,000+;
$39.95 for no-loads not in no-transation-fee program |
Standard & Poor's, WR Hambrecht; Lehman Bros. for accounts
$100,000 and up |
No |
No |
3 (Under $100,000 assets,
under $500,000,
$500,000 and
above) |
|
|
Ameritrade
ameritrade.com |
$10.99 |
$15/quarter inactivity fee if account is under $2,000 and has fewer
than four trades in previous 6 months |
13,000;
$17.99 to buy, sell, or exchange no-load fund;
$17.99
to sell or exchange load fund |
Level ll quotes and streaming quotes for Apex traders |
$5/bond up to 50,
then $2.50/bond ($40 minimum commission) |
$10.99 + 1.50/contract |
Basic or Ameritrade Apex (30 trades/3 months or $100,000 assets) |
|
|
BrownCo
brownco.com |
$5/$10 + 1 cent/share over 5,000 |
$50 outbound transfer or sell-out |
7,000+; $5 to trade no-load or to sell or exchange load funds |
J.P. Morgan, S&P, Multex, Thomson First Call |
$4/OTC bond;
$50/order Treasuries |
$5 (market) or $10 (limit) + $1.50/contract |
Basic,
Select ($1 million+ assets, 50 or more trades/6 mos. Or
$300,000 margin balance),
Elite ($1 million assets or 250 trades/6
mos.) |
|
|
E'Trade Financial
etrade.com |
$9.99 |
No |
5,500; most no transation fee,
$24.95 for others |
S&P; Level ll and streaming quotes for Priority and Power
traders |
$40, or an amount based on net yield basis |
$9.99 + $1.50/contract (+$1.25/contract for 50 and above) |
Basic,
Priority (9 trades/quarter or $50,000+ assets),
Power
(27+ trades/quarter) |
|
|
Fidelity.com
fidelity.com |
$32.95/$37.95 + 2 cent/share over 1,000 (Bronze level);
or
$14.95/$19.95 (Silver),
or $8 (Gold) |
$50 maintenance fee can be waived for higher assets, more frequent
trading, all-electronic communications delivery, or multiple accounts |
5,000+; $75 to buy no-load funds not in no-transaction-fee program |
Argus, First Call, Lehman Bros., S&P, Market Guide; streaming and
Level ll quotes for very active traders |
No charge for Treasuries;
$36 + $4 or $3 (26th bond and up)/bond
for corporates;
markup or markdown for municipals |
$25 + $2.25/contract (Bronze service tier) or
$20 + $1.75/contract
(Silver) or $8 + $1 -- $1.50/contract (Gold) |
Bronze (basic),
Silver ($100,000 household assets, or $30,000
household assets and 36+ trade/12 mos., or 72+ trades/12 mos.),
Gold
($1 million household assets, or $30,000 household assets and 120+
trades/12 mos.) and
Active Trader Pro (36 trades/12 mos.) |
|
|
Harrisdirect
harrisdirect.com |
$9.99 (if 60 trades/quarter),
$14.99 (if 18 trades/quarter) or
$19.99 for 1,000 shares (5,000, for Select), then 2 cent/share |
$15/quarter unless $10,000 assets,
$2,500 margin balance, or three
trades/12 months |
9,500 load and no-load funds;
$35 for no-load,
$20 exchange
between funds |
S&P, Zacks, Thomson Financial Morningstar; Credit Suisse First
Boston for Preferred and Select |
$0.25 - $3/bond |
$25 + $1.75/contract or $22.50 + $1.50/contract (Select level) |
Standard,
Preferred ($100,000+ total assets),
Select $500,000+
total assets),
Active Trader (60+ trades/quarter) |
|
|
Merrill Lynch Direct
mldirect.ml.com |
$29.95 + 3 cent/share over 1,000 |
$95 account-transfer fee |
2,600; no additional fee |
Merrill Lynch, S&P, Dow Jones news, BusinessWire |
No fee over bond price and yield |
$0.50 -- $1.50/contract + 1.2%--1.6% of principal if premiums under
$0.50; $23--$79 + 0.25% -- 1.3% of principal if premiums above $0.50 |
No |
|
|
QuickandReilly
quickandreilly.com |
$19.95 (if $250,000 assets), $21.95 (if $50,000 assets) or $23.95 |
$25/quarter for accounts under $25,000; $50 exit fee |
9,500+; fee for no-loads is 0.7% of principal up to $14,999, and 0.2%
after |
Argus, S&P, First Call; streaming real-time quotes for some
tiers |
No |
$25, $32 or $34, plus $1.75 or $1.80/contract, depending on asset
level |
3 based on assets level (under $50,000, $50,000 -- $250,000, $250.000
and up) plus Active Trader Program with 31 trades/quarter and $50,000
assets |
|
|
Schwab
schwab.com |
$29.95/1,000 shares; 3 cents/share larger trades |
$25-$250/quarter, depending on asset, advice, service level--waived
for high assets: $95 transfer-out/$50 partial transfer; $3 handling fee
for some trades |
Ê 3,100+; 20% discount off broker-assisted rate (0.7% of 1st $15,000
principal, then 0.2%), subject to a $49.95 minimum and $164.95 maximum for
no-load and low-load funds not in no-transaction-fee program |
S&P, First Call, Reuters, Schwab ratings; Goldman Sachs, Argus for
top tiers |
Corporate: lessor of $5/bond for first 25 bonds, then $3/bond or 1% of
principal. Treasuries: markup included in price |
$29.95/first contract, then $1,40 or $2/contract (depending on service
tier) up to 30 contracts, then $1.10 or $1.75/contract (depending on
service tier) |
5 (plus CT below) geared toward online investors; tiers available to
all investors but cost varies depending on asset and trading level |
|
|
Schwab Trader CT
schwabtrader.com |
$9.95 |
$30/mo. (basic), $40/mo. (premium) if less than 10 trades; same
transfer fees as above |
No |
Real-time steaming quotes, Level ll quotes for Premium |
No |
$9.95 + $1.50/contract |
Basic ($30/month unless 10 trades),
Premium ($40/month unless 10
trades) |
|
|
Scottrade
scottrade.com |
$7/$12 |
No |
9,000+; no additional fees |
S&P, Thomson Financial, Dow Jones news, Edgar, Value Line Fund
Analysis |
$35 + $3/bond for listed: OTC varies |
$1.50 above cost of market/limit order |
Basic,
ScottradeElite with $25,000 in assets |
|
|
T. Rowe Price
troweprice.com |
$19.95 + 2 cents/share over 1,000; $5 extra for limit order |
$25 annual fee waived with two trade or $10,000 in assets; $35
transfer-out fee |
2,400+; $35 fee for some no-loads not in no-transaction-fee program |
First Call, Edgar; Level ll quotes for active or high-asset
customers |
No |
10% off broker-assisted rate (0.015% of value of trade + $27 for up to
$2,500 worth, then 0.008% + $44 up to $10,000 worth, then 0.003% + $84)
|
2 -- additional free research for accounts with 20 trades or $250,000
minimum balance in 12 month period |
|
|
TD Waterhouse
tdwaterhouse.com |
$17.95 (Choice tier),
$12 (Premier),
or $9.95 (Select and
Select Plus) $3 for limit orders unless 10 trades/month |
$25/quarter unless $25,000 assets or more than two trades in previous
6 months |
12,000; $30-$75 fee for no-loads not in no-transaction-fee program |
Goldman Sachs, Argus, First Call, S&P; streaming and Level ll
quotes for active or high-asset customers |
$45 flat fee for up to 9 exchange-traded bonds, otherwise traded on
net yield basis |
Same as market order |
Choice (basic),
Premier (18 trades/quarter or $250,000 assets),
Premier Select (36 trades/quarter),
Premier Select Plus (72
trades/quarter) |
Copyright 2004, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
