"Zero commission" does not actually mean zero commission.
The commission just ends up being baked in to the prices they show you.
e.g. If the market (institutional) bid/offer for MSFT were 39/41, they would show customers prices of 38/42. For an order of $1000, that would mean they charge you $25 of implicit commission on the trade. It just doesn't show up on your bill.
Get real. Their only innovation is hiding fees from their customers, not reducing them.
Comments
"Zero commission" does not actually mean zero commission. The commission just ends up being baked in to the prices they show you. e.g. If the market (institutional) bid/offer for MSFT were 39/41, they would show customers prices of 38/42. For an order of $1000, that would mean they charge you $25 of implicit commission on the trade. It just doesn't show up on your bill. Get real. Their only innovation is hiding fees from their customers, not reducing them.