The first thing you should do is find a good online stock broker and open a brokerage account. There are several options when it comes to brokerage firms. It is important to know exactly what you will need from your broker, by familiarizing yourself with the account interface and tools. Robinhood is a good start for new investors who want to manage their own portfolios. Robinhood is favorite choice for beginners because they offer commission free trading that forced other brokerage firms to follow inline. The downside of Robinhood is limited customer service and poor trading platforms. Below are brokerage firms ranked by Investopedia. Best Overall: Fidelity Investments Fidelity earned our top spot for the second year running by offering clients a well-rounded package of investing tools and excellent order executions. In 2020, Fidelity continued to enhance key pieces of its mobile-responsive website while committing itself to lowering the cost of investing for its clients. Read Full Review Best for Beginners: TD Ameritrade TD Ameritrade wins our best for beginners by having the features that help new investors learn as they are starting their investing journey. It has top-notch educational resources, easy navigation, clear commission and pricing structures, and portfolio construction tools. Read Full Review Other honorees: MERRILL EDGE Read Full Review E*TRADE Read Full Review TRADESTATION Read Full Review Best for Options Traders: tastyworks tastyworks is our best broker for options trading in 2020. It has a wide range of tools that help you measure and manage risk as you determine which trades to place. It also includes valuable education that helps you grow in sophistication as an options trader. Read Full Review Other honorees: E*TRADE Read Full Review EOPTION Read Full Review Best for Advanced Traders: Interactive Brokers Interactive Brokers (IBKR) earns this award due to its comprehensive set of tools for sophisticated investors and its wide pool of assets and markets. The firm makes a point of connecting to as many electronic exchanges as possible and you can trade equities, options, and futures around the world and around the clock. Read Full Review Other honorees: FIDELITY INVESTMENTS Read Full Review Best for ETFs: Charles Schwab Charles Schwab is the best broker for ETFS in large part thanks to their ETF screener on the StreetSmart Edge platform, which is extremely customizable and can be saved for future re-use. They also offer particularly high-quality streaming data and the ability to find ETFs that are optionable. Read Full Review Other honorees: INTERACTIVE BROKERS Read Full Review Best for Mobile: TD Ameritrade TD Ameritrade is the best broker for mobile experience with the combination of the thinkorswim mobile platform along with the regular mobile app. TD Ameritrade’s regular mobile platform is almost identical in features to the website, so it’s an easy transition. With thinkorswim, there are additional extensive features for active traders and investors alike. Read Full Review Other honorees: TASTYWORKS Read Full Review INTERACTIVE BROKERS Read Full Review Best for International Trading: Interactive Brokers Interactive Brokers is the best broker for international trading by a significant margin. Interactive Brokers allows investors to access 125 exchanges in 31 countries across the globe. This reach is combined with a massive inventory of assets and 60 different order types to plan your trade entries and exits. Read Full Review Best for Low Costs: tastyworks tastyworks scored well on 16 different cost categories and, combined with our overall rating of the platform, it’s our best broker for low costs. Read Full Review Other honorees: EOPTION Read Full Review...
