Ratings

Overall
Commissions & Fees
Customer Service
Platform & Tools
Research
Ease of Use
Investment Offering
Education
Mobile Trading

Trade Commissions

Equity Trades*	$9.99
Options Fee*	$0.00
Options Contract*	$1.00
Mutual Fund	$14.95
Broker Assisted*	N/A
Minimum Deposit	$5,000.00

Account Features

Virtual Trading
No Minimum Deposit
No Maintenance Fees
No-Fee IRAs
Online Trader Community
Investment Education

TradeStation Review

Broker Review

Likes - Unique trade tools and an open platform allows for 3rd party platform development; supports automated trading.

Dislikes - Pricey platform fees charged if monthly minimums are not met; tools not new investor friendly.

Bottom Line - TradeStation is a broker designed only for the tech hungry trader who trades actively, can meet the monthly minimums, and seeks to create their own trading strategies.

TradeStation is an online broker well respected for its proprietary rules based fully automated trading platform. They provide stock, option, mutual fund, bond, future, and forex trade execution for their users. TradeStation offers a complete trade simulator so its clients can create, test, and then implement custom trading strategies.

Our TradeStation review provides trade platform screenshots, detailed commissions information, and online broker ratings. Also discover how TradeStation placed in the most recent StockBrokers.com 2012 Review of Online Brokers as well as the 2012 Barron’s Review of Online Brokers.

Commission Notes

TradeStation offers two commission plans. For simplicity we utilized the Flat-Fee plan throughout the site. Full commissions schedule including both plans are broken down below.

Platforms & Fees - TradeStation requires clients to purchase real-time data feeds for every exchange that wish to trade. For example, if clients wish to trade equities in the NASDAQ, NYSE, and AMEX the price would be $3 per month ($1 + $1 + $1, respectively).

TradeStation charges a base platform fee of $99.95 per month for its main platform ($59.95 monthly for RadarScreen) unless you reach any of the following trading activity minimums during the preceding month: A. Stocks - Trade 5,000 shares. B. Options - Trade 50 contracts. C. Futures - Trade 10 round-turn futures or futures option contracts or 50 round-turn single stock. D. Other - Have atleast $1 million in account balance on the last day of the previous calender month.

Both TradeStation Webtrading and OptionStation are free for all clients with no monthly service fee charges.

Stock Trades - TradeStation offers two commission plans: Per-Share and Flat-Fee.

Per-Share pricing: First 500 shares are $.01 per share, $.006 per share all shares thereafter. There is a $1 minimum per order. For example a 500 share trade would be $5 total and a 1000 share trade would be $8 (500x.01 + 500x.06).
Flat-Fee pricing: If making 1 - 9 trades per month the rate is $9.99 per trade. For 10 - 29 trades per month the rate is $7.99 per trade. Lastly, if making 30 or more trades per month the rate is $6.99 per trade. Each month's rate is determined by the previous month's total trades. For example, if a client places 15 trades in a month, then their rate will be $7.99 for the month thereafter.

Customers much choose one commission plan per account. All phone orders cost $20 extra per trade. Pink sheet stocks (OTCBB) are also available for trading at a rate of $.01 per share for the first 10,000 shares then $.05 per share thereafter.

Options Trades - Options trades 1.00 per contract with no base fee and no minimums. Exercise & assignments are $14.95. Early exercises or assignments are $1.50 per contract ($5.95 minimum).

Mutual Funds - Mutual funds cost $14.95 per trade. Other fees may apply depending on the fund.

Other Investments - TradeStation also offers futures, forex, bonds, and t-bills. IRAs are charged a $35 yearly account fee and a $50 fee for termination.

TradeStation was reviewed by StockBrokers.com on 2012-02-27 with an overall rating of 4 Stars.

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Trade Commissions

Highlights

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Mobile Trading

Customer Service

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TradeStation Review

Broker Review

Commission Notes

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