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Trying to find the right online stock broker for your small business can feel overwhelming. After all, if they all get you access to the same stocks, why are there so many different options? And when so many offer “commission-free” online trading, how are you supposed to choose?
We get it. But we also get what the key differences are between brokers, and we get why those differences matter. So we’re going to break down those key differences to help you find the right online broker for you.
Data effective 5/11/20. At publishing time, pricing and features are current but are subject to change. Offers may not be available in all areas.
TD Ameritrade tops our list of the best online brokers for small businesses thanks to its variety of offerings and its low fees.
Whether you simply want to trade stocks or you want to get in the complex world of Forex trading, TD Ameritrade can meet your needs. It offers just about everything you’d want to buy or sell on the market. (The only exception is cryptocurrency, and it looks like TD Ameritrade plans to offer that too in the future.)
Data effective 5/11/20. At publishing time, pricing and features are current but are subject to change. Offers may not be available in all areas.
But aside from all its offerings, TD Ameritrade also has nice low costs. Things like stocks, EFTs, and mutual funds are all available commission-free.
And while there are some costs associated with things like options and futures, the fees are competitive.
As an added bonus, TD Ameritrade has some of the most comprehensive educational content out there. It doesn’t matter if you simply need to brush up on how futures work or if you want to learn about more advanced trading strategies―TD Ameritrade has articles and videos to help.
So for most small-business owners, we think TD Ameritrade will be the best online broker available.
If you’re interested in buying and selling options, Firstrade may be the best broker for you.
Many brokers, including those on this list, offer commission-free options. But while they may not charge a trading commission, those brokers do still charge a contract fee. Sure, it’s usually small―but it can add up. Fortunately, Firstrade doesn’t charge any such trading fee on its options (or anything else). You can get a truly no-fee options trade.
Data effective 05/11/20. At publishing time, amounts, rates, and requirements are current but are subject to change. Offers may not be available in all areas.
Now, Firstrade doesn’t offer as many choices as some other brokers. If you want cryptocurrency, Forex trading, or even futures, you’ll need to work with another broker. Also note that you’ll have to mail in an application to open a business account with Firstrade, because they evidently still operate in the year 2001.
But if you plan on being an options trader, Firstrade gives the cheapest way to do so.
Are you a try-before-you-buy person? Then you may like Interactive Brokers.
Interactive Brokers offers a unique free trial. When you sign up, you get a fake account with $1 million in it. You can then use the account as usual, giving you time to test out all Interactive Brokers’ trading tools and features to your heart’s content. Sure, other brokers show you screenshots―but that’s not the same as actually using a trading platform to see if you like it.
Data effective 5/11/20. At publishing time, amounts, rates, and requirements are current but are subject to change. Offers may not be available in all areas.
If you do end up liking Interactive Brokers’ trading platform, you’ll get commission-free online trading on many products and low fees on others. Do note, though, that Interactive Brokers may charge a low maintenance fee if you don’t use your brokerage account enough.
Even so, the ability to try Interactive Brokers before you start using your own money makes it a standout brokerage.
Tradestation is your best―and only―brokerage option if you want to buy and sell cryptocurrency.
Most brokers that offer business accounts don’t currently do cryptocurrency. At all. Tradestation is the exception. It lets you buy, sell, and trade a variety of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, and XRP.
Data effective 5/11/20. At publishing time, amounts, rates, and requirements are current but are subject to change. Offers may not be available in all areas.
Note that Tradestation offers commission-free trading on things like stocks and ETFs, but not on cryptocurrency. The commission fees on crypto trading range from 0.25% to 1%, depending on your account balance and the transaction type. And if you want to save money, just keep an eye out for promotions―we’ve seen Tradestation run promotions that drop those rates as low as 0%.
Put simply, if cryptocurrency is part of your business’s trading plan, Tradestation will be the best online broker for you.
When it comes to online brokers, a DIY approach seems to be the norm. But if you’d rather get broker assistance with your trading, you can do just that with Zacks Trade.
To be clear, all the brokers above offer broker-assisted trading. But that assistance often comes with hefty fees―think the $25 to $30 range. That’s a pretty big trading fee, and it will add up in no time. But Zacks Trade? It doesn’t charge any extra fees for broker-assisted trading.
Data effective 5/11/20. At publishing time, amounts, rates, and requirements are current but are subject to change. Offers may not be available in all areas.
Of course, there’s a trade-off (investor puns!). Unlike the brokers above, Zacks doesn’t do commission-free trading. Everything, from stocks to bonds, comes with a commission fee. But those commission fees are pretty low. So when you take into account Zacks Trade’s free broker assistance, there’s a good chance it will end up being cheaper for you despite those commission fees.
In other words, if you’d rather have a little help conducting your trading, Zacks Trade is probably the online brokerage you want.
We’ll cut to the chase: Charles Schwab requires you to have a lot of cash before you can invest. To even open a business investing account, you need to have a $250,000 relationship with Charles Schwab. So if you’re a small-business owner trying to invest spare funds here and there, Charles Schwab likely won’t work for you.
Data effective 5/11/20. At publishing time, amounts, rates, and requirements are current but are subject to change. Offers may not be available in all areas.
If you do decide to go with Charles Schwab, you’ll get pretty much the same things you get elsewhere: commission-free trading on many products. The biggest difference? Charles Schwab gets (slightly) higher customer reviews than other online brokers do. But for that much money, you’d expect nothing less.
Merrill Edge is another big name in investing, and it’s a perfectly good option. It offers commission-free trading on stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, and more. So if you like the brand-name recognition or you have a Bank of America account and want to keep your eggs in one basket (Merrill is owned by Bank of America), it’s a fine stock broker to go with.
Data effective 5/11/20. At publishing time, amounts, rates, and requirements are current but are subject to change. Offers may not be available in all areas.
To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with Merrill Edge―we just think the brokers above offer more value and convenience. Still, plenty of customers have had good experiences with Merrill Edge.
Just keep in mind that (like Firstrade) you’ll have to submit a physical application to open a business account at Merrill Edge.
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Business investing and personal investing have a lot in common. Either way, you’re funding an account with a brokerage firm, then using that account to buy and sell stocks (or options, futures, etc.). You get access to the same stock market and the same stocks.
So what’s the difference? Mostly, it comes down to account types.
All the online brokers above offer accounts specifically for small businesses. That matters. You can get in big legal trouble if you try to fund a personal investment account with a business bank account (or if you put business funds in a personal bank account).
Unfortunately, many brokers for online stock trading don’t offer business accounts, so your options are much more limited than if you’re trying to get into personal investing. On the other hand, you’ll have many more options for brokers if you’re using your personal funds―like these popular online brokers:
But again, if you’re using small-business funds, you need a small-business account. And in that case, we recommend the online stock brokers ranked above.
Any of the brokerages on our list work well for beginners. They all offer broker-assisted trading and plenty of resources for first-time traders.
When you’re trying to figure out which online broker will work best for you and your business, you should consider a few key questions:
Your answers will help you figure out which broker you need.
If, for example, you want to deal in cryptocurrency, you’ll have fewer options to choose from. Or if you want to do broker-assisted trading, you’ll want to find the broker with the lowest associated fees.
Nobody knows the best stock to buy in 2020. Don’t believe us? Then try this quick thought experiment.
Try to guess what stocks rose the most in the last 10 years. You probably think of things like Netflix, Amazon, and Apple. And sure, they make the list―but the real winners are companies like DexCom (which makes monitoring systems for people with diabetes) or Exact Sciences (which makes a stool test that screens for colon cancer).1
We’re not saying that you never would have bet on a company that deals primarily with human feces―but it does seem unlikely, doesn’t it? And even if someone had told you to buy stocks in the poop company, you probably would have been skeptical, right? (Who wouldn’t?)
In other words, picking stocks is harder than you might think. There have been plenty of “surefire” stocks that have failed and plenty of obscure stocks that have done quite well.
For what it’s worth, even billionaire Warren Buffet suggests investing in index funds rather than individual stocks.
If you want to use your business funds to become an investor, the online brokerages above can help. With features like free trades, free trials, and more, they’ve got plenty to offer you as a trader.
Good luck with your investments!
Think you’d rather put your business funds into savings? Learn more about the types of business savings accounts.
Disclaimer
At Business.org, our research is meant to offer general product and service recommendations. We don't guarantee that our suggestions will work best for each individual or business, so consider your unique needs when choosing products and services.
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