"optionsXpress"

Barron’s, Forbes, Kiplinger’s and Smart Money have all recognized optionsXpress as one of the world leaders in online stock trading; we also distinguish this first–class broker as the best with the “TopTenREVIEWS Gold Award.” Both the seasoned investor and the young trader will find this service user–friendly, educational and containing the advanced tools needed to create profitable investment strategies.

optionsXpress offers numerous tools to help you learn the ins and outs of the stock market, whether you’re interested in trading stocks, options, mutual funds or even bonds. With low commissions and no minimum account balance requirement, this online broker offers affordable rates to everyone.

We really liked that optionsXpress offers a good balance between research/education and pricing. Often you can get low prices, but with little support, or tons of support with high prices, optionsXpress is perfectly in the middle.

optionsXpress Standout Features:

• Flat-rate fees and no minimum account balance requirement
• Virtual trading available for fun no-risk trading
• 10-day Trial account available
• Extensive education available, for trading novices and pros
• Offers numerous unique tools, including the Dragon, TradeWizard and Xspreads Spread Book

Fees/Commissions:

There is no minimum investment required to open an account with optionsXpress. The commission is $9.95 or $14.95 on all orders, including broker–assisted orders; this is excellent considering most brokers charge for assistance. optionsXpress charges $1.50 for each options contract.

Though this isn’t the cheapest commission schedule on the market, the tiered rate can work to your benefit if you make at least 9 trades each quarter. This qualifies you for the “Stock Trader Rate” of $9.95.

Investments Offered:

optionsXpress began in 2000 as a service primarily focused on options and a limited selection of equities; however, today the broker offers a wide array of investments including stocks, mutual funds, exchange–traded funds and bonds. They don’t offer CDs or some of the less popular investments like mortgage–backed securities and unit investment trusts.

Additionally, the service offers IRAs to secure your retirement and education savings plans including Coverdell ESAs and custodial accounts. These are excellent options if you want to fund your own or someone else’s higher education.

Ease of Use:

This is an easy–to–navigate website divided into sections by tabs. These tabs include “Welcome,” “Account,” “Trade,” “Quotes,” “Toolbox,” “Educate” and “Help.” Even the beginner will have no problems finding the tools, educational materials and account information he or she needs.

optionsXpress even offers webinars that will guide you through using the trading platform.

Trading/Investment Tools:

This online broker provides all the tools and educational resources you need to make wise decisions about your finances. Just some of the tools and informative materials include calculators, charts, streaming news and analyst research reports. You’ll also have instant access to level I and level II quotes.

You can organize your preferred tools and streaming reports on a customizable desktop that will best fit your trading style and needs. You can also add alerts, to alert you of major changes in stocks you are watching, and automated trading. Through automated trading, the broker will automatically buy or sell securities according to your set criteria. You don’t even have to be at your computer.

Once you are ready to trade, you can do so over the phone, through a wireless device or over the Internet. If you aren’t sure about a trade or just want to test the water before jumping in, try the virtual trading feature.

Through virtual trading, you can buy and sell securities with virtual money. The virtual market follows the real stock market so you can see what you would have made or lost had you invested real money.

They also offer a mobile traind platform. It works with cell phones that can access the internet and have Pocket Internet Explorer or the Blazer browser. This mobile service can help you check your balances and positions and place orders from anywhere your phone can access the internet.

Support/Customer Service:

Though optionsXpress only offers two offices nationwide, their online help is superb. You have access to a number of tutorials and tours that will guide you through the site and introduce you to the various tools and features.

If you have further questions about the site or about investments, contact customer support through live chat, email or the telephone. Customer support is friendly and full of good information.

Summary:

optionsXpress is one of the most technologically advanced services, but it’s still user–friendly and offers more than enough training and support, so anyone can learn how to trade online. They have an excellent reputation, competitive pricing and excellent educational resources; try them out.