(10-27-2019, 10:26 AM)fenders53 Wrote: (10-27-2019, 07:17 AM)rayray Wrote: With most of them going to zero commissions with basic trades not sure it matters anymore other then personal preference?
The true difference now (to me) is quality of research functions. Brokerages like Schwab and TD are very good. I hope that continues because it matters to me. Most of my money is with Vanguard because I trust them and commissions were $2. They aren't concerned with individual stock research and the commission advantage is gone. I kept a smaller TDA account open only for the research, even though I dislike some of their tactics. This may be fluid going forward so I am going to keep things where they are for now.
I am with fenders on this one, though I am far from an expert. I have accounts with Merrill, TDA and Schwab. I rarely use their web interfaces, but rather desktop client. Merrill Market Pro is Java based, so not really a classic desktop client, but works great, has a very nice, clean interface, very flexible with basic stock research.
I don’t like TDA Thinkorswim, charts are blurred comparing with ME, not so easy to configure. Schwab StreetSmart Edge, which I recently started playing with, seems to be very nice, flexible and more intuitive than TDA. It also has plenty of research functions built-in, including screeners. I like it more and more and am considering moving my securities from TDA there.
Both Merrill and Schwab clients play very well with multiple monitors and Windows 10 virtual desktops.
