wordpress analytics

From the category archives:

fidelity

E*Trade Joins Commission-Cutting Party

by Michael Comeau on February 9, 2010

Yes folks, commission rates are still falling – at a rate even I’m surprised at. Following Fidelity’s move last week, E*Trade (ETFC) announced that it was ’simplifying’ its commission rate schedule.

E*Trade is trashing its $12.99 pre-trade commission tier as well as its account activity fees – a nice bonus for those of us who don’t do much in the way of volume. It’s also getting rid of annual IRA account fees, per share commissions formerly applied to market trades larger than 2,000 shares, and all account service fees.

Starting on February 8, 2010, all E*Trade Securities customers will pay $9.99 or less per stock and options trade (plus a $0.75 per contract fee on options trades). Traders who move while higher volume traders will continue to enjoy the current $7.99 per trade rate.

As an E*Trade shareholder, I’m not sure about how much I appreciate this news. It’s likely that the company is feeling the bite of increasing competition – which does imply some risk to earnings estimates as it loses out on those high-margin fees.

P.S. Read my recent interview with Frank Curzio, and read all about Apple’s (AAPL) new Aperture 3.0 program!

{ 0 comments }

Fidelity Lowers Trading Commissions

by Michael Comeau on February 2, 2010

Yes, the online broker pricing war is still on. Fidelity Investments announced today that it is cutting its commissions for online stock trades from $8-$19.95 per trade to a flat $7.95 fee. This news comes just a month after Charles Schwab (SCHW) announced it would be cutting its own stock-trade price down to $8.95 a trade.

Fidelity also said it is waiving commissions on 25 ETF’s from BlackRock’s (BLK) iShares division. If you recall, Schwab announced eight commission-free ETF’s back in November.

However, even with its new $7.95 per-trade commission, Fidelity is still charging much more than smaller competitors like TradeKing and Thinkorswim.

So if you’re looking for the absolute cheapest trading commissions, you’ll have to look elsewhere. That said, Fidelity is offering a better deal for stock traders than E*Trade and Ameritrade – and it does have the benefit of a branch network.

Nonetheless, when choosing an online broker, commissions should never be your primary focus – unless you’re moving heavy volumes.

{ 0 comments }