When it comes to opening a brokerage account as a beginner investor, it’s important to find a broker that can offer the investment choices and services that you will need to help you achieve your specific investment goals and objectives.  

Especially as a new investor, it’s important that you choose a broker that aligns with your investing/trading strategies, and allows you the ability to execute those strategies with ease. 

Additionally, it’s important to understand both the different services your broker offers, and how this could potentially assist you in the future, should your investing objectives or goals change. For example, is the brokerage purely self-directed, or do they offer advisory and/or portfolio management solutions as well?  

All things considered, let’s take a look at some different online discount stock brokers, and exactly what they have to offer in terms of the services, fees/commissions, account features, and other factors. Here are 3 online, discount stockbrokers to consider if you are a new to the market:

1. Charles Schwab 

Charles Schwab is a full-service broker, offering self-directed options for active traders and individuals who want to take control of their money and “own their tomorrow”.

Schwab also offers a wide range of investment advisory services, including personalized financial advice and guidance for your portfolio, recently announced thematic ETFs (exchange traded funds), and they also offer their own in-house ETFs and mutual funds.  

Like most brokerages these days, Schwab offers $0 commissions for online equity/stock and ETF trades, (just $6.95 for OTC stocks), and a .65 per contract standard rate for options. 

Click here to Open an Account with Charles Schwab  

2. Fidelity

Like Schwab, Fidelity offers clients self-directed options and the ability for you to self-direct your portfolio for $0.00 per buy and sell trade for exchange listed stocks, along with the choice for individuals to have their money managed by an Advisor, with full-service wealth management and advisory services.  

Fidelity also has their own in-house ETFs and mutual funds clients can choose to invest in, and like Schwab, Fidelity makes it easy for clients to self-direct their portfolios, offering the ability to invest in a wide range of assets including stocks, options, bonds ETFs, mutual funds, etc.  

Commissions are also $0 for online equity/stock and ETF trades, and their standard options commission is just .65 per contract.  

Click here to open an account with Fidelity  

Robinhood  

Unlike Schwab and Fidelity which we just discussed, Robinhood does not have any managed solutions as of right now and is a full discount broker that charges $0 commissions for stock/equity trades, and $0 commissions for options as well. The fact that Robinhood charges $0.00 for placing options trades is one benefit vs a broker like Schwab or Fidelity.  

However, what you are giving up in exchange for paying absolutely nothing in terms of commissions for any type of trade, is that Robinhood is a discount brokerage house and doesn’t offer the managed solutions, portfolio guidance and other financial advisory services for your portfolio, which would come standard with many other brokerage houses.

Additionally, although Robinhood allows access to trade stocks and exchange traded funds (ETFs), they do not support trading of mutual funds or bonds. Depending on your investment goals and objectives, this might not matter to you, but it is something to consider.  

Thus, Robinhood can be a good choice for someone who is looking to self-direct their portfolio, and only wants to invest in stocks, options, ETFs and/or cryptocurrencies.  Also, I have heard individuals say that Robinhood’s interface is very easy to use, which would definitely be considered a plus if you are new to the stock market and don’t want to deal with an overly complicated platform.  

Click here to open an account with Robinhood  

To Summarize  

These are some good choices if you’re looking for a broker to begin your trading and/or investing journey. Rather you are looking for managed portfolio guidance, or a completely self-directed portfolio, hopefully this has given you some valuable information in terms of where you could potentially invest your money and what each broker has to offer.