Zero-commission (on some trades), but a bunch of random fees for other things, and no guarantee that it will stay fee-free. They plan on making money by providing liquidity (ie. being a market maker) and offering premium services...
With my current brokerage, I get online trading in 10+ worldwide markets, I can hold a variety of currencies, I get excellent execution, and there's no fees, there's plenty of services available including charts, real-time quotes, reports and many things that would otherwise cost me money, and all I have to pay is a flat commission fee on my trades. I really don't see how Robinhood is superior, now or in the future... And many brokerages already offer API access, even if they don't advertise it.
TD Waterhouse (Canada). Commissions aren't the lowest, depending on the market too (I usually trade on European and Asian markets), but I'm very happy with the service. Keep in mind TD is also my main bank, so it is convenient to use them as my broker as well (part of the reason I don't mind the slightly higher costs).
If I were to switch, it would probably be to Interactive Brokers - their fees are significantly lower and they have an equally or possibly slightly more compelling set of features.
I use Scotiaitrade in Canada, and they are similar. You don't pay any commission if you have more than 50k invested with them (as far as I remember).
I feel happier letting a major bank hold onto my shares, do my trades, calculate interest and balances, etc. rather than some startup. I also use scotiabank for my banking, so it's very convenient.
Comments
Zero-commission (on some trades), but a bunch of random fees for other things, and no guarantee that it will stay fee-free. They plan on making money by providing liquidity (ie. being a market maker) and offering premium services...
With my current brokerage, I get online trading in 10+ worldwide markets, I can hold a variety of currencies, I get excellent execution, and there's no fees, there's plenty of services available including charts, real-time quotes, reports and many things that would otherwise cost me money, and all I have to pay is a flat commission fee on my trades. I really don't see how Robinhood is superior, now or in the future... And many brokerages already offer API access, even if they don't advertise it.
Now I'm curious, who's your current broker?
TD Waterhouse (Canada). Commissions aren't the lowest, depending on the market too (I usually trade on European and Asian markets), but I'm very happy with the service. Keep in mind TD is also my main bank, so it is convenient to use them as my broker as well (part of the reason I don't mind the slightly higher costs).
If I were to switch, it would probably be to Interactive Brokers - their fees are significantly lower and they have an equally or possibly slightly more compelling set of features.
I use Scotiaitrade in Canada, and they are similar. You don't pay any commission if you have more than 50k invested with them (as far as I remember).
I feel happier letting a major bank hold onto my shares, do my trades, calculate interest and balances, etc. rather than some startup. I also use scotiabank for my banking, so it's very convenient.
Interactive Brokers also integrates with Quantopian.