In fact, limiting your trading costs is often easier and more effective than trying to pick better-performing investments. Ally Invest is simply the most affordable broker there is, with its great rebates and super-low commission structure.

Best Brokerage Firms: Top Rated Discount Online Stock Brokers

We are living in a golden age for small-time investors. Market data that was once exclusive to well-heeled money managers is now free to anyone with an internet connection via sites like Google Finance. The answer is actually simpler than you think. For most investors, the cheaper choice is always better.

Meanwhile, complex hedge fund strategies chase the latest fads and rack up big costs along the way. How can you just set it and forget it, and end up beating high-priced money managers?

As you can see, fees really eat into your gains. That means in order to make the same net return, your performance has to be a whole lot better to offset the additional costs. Every investing strategy is different, of course, and some strategies like trading on margin — that is, using borrowed money from your broker to bet on ideas — always come with a significant cost and additional risk. However, these items are the cost centers for the vast majority of individual investors and the ones I focused on limiting as much as possible.

If this is your strategy, then I encourage you to check out my review of the Best Day Trading Platforms — which includes my selection for the Best Low-Cost Day Trading Platform.

Ally Invest is among the best discount brokers even without these offers. But the fact that there are valuable introductory offers above the great baseline pricing is the icing on the cake. That philosophy of giving something to everyone is also present in its tools, which range from sophisticated forex platforms for the high-octane world of currency trading, to education about mutual funds for conservative retirement investors. Some brokers focus on a certain kind of options trader or high net-worth investor, but Ally Invest offers a great experience for investors of all kinds.

The discount broker also is eager to win your business, offering rebates for balance transfers and wire fees — annoying charges that your old broker may tack on if you choose to cash out your account. With the focus on cost, you may think Ally Invest would skimp on some services for the more active traders out there.

Most interestingly to me personally was the online Trader Network that allows individual investors to chat with each other in the platform as they trade. Seeing the experiences of real people can be educational, and help you uncover ideas in real time that you may miss by simply reading headlines.

Best Discount Brokerage Reviews - Online Stock Trading

Fidelity , on the other hand, offers a similar suite of commission-free index funds under its own name, but also allows you to explore the rest of the market in a cost-effective way.

And with a great introductory offer to big account holders that lets you trade commission free for the first six months, you can effectively waive all your trading fees for the next year or two — leaving more of your investment gains in your pocket. However, buy-and-hold investors can take advantage of this great introductory offer for six months and then rely on the robust list of commission-free ETFs to meet all their needs going forward — for a cost that is effectively zero.

Of course, one of the other reasons that I highlighted Fidelity as one of the best brokers for beginners was its accessibility and its tools. The tool really takes the guesswork out of finding the best funds, and comes complete with a video tutorial to ensure you make the most of it.

Take capital gains taxes, for example: As such, the IRS wants to reduce the burden on patient investors who could actually be helping a business and the economy in the long-term. Why the big difference with just one extra day in the above scenario? The deadline between short-term and long-term had to fall somewhere, and the tax man has decided that one year is the cutoff. All transactions and investments are different, of course, but the tax difference is worth taking into account.

As I mentioned earlier, Warren Buffett beat his high-priced peers in the hedge fund industry not by racking up bigger gains, but simply by reducing costs. These expense figures are expressed as percentages, so seem small, but can wind up being deceptively large. Broker fees, taxes, and fund expenses are by far the biggest cost centers to watch out for; however, there are other costs and fees you may encounter, too.

These can average 0. While more of an indirect cost, inefficiencies in the bid-ask spread can add up. There are many more fees out there you may run across, too, depending on your investing style. So always read the fine print, and look to save money where you can. Ally Invest or Fidelity are going to be your best options for keeping your broker fees as low as possible, which means keeping more of your money, both in your initial investment and in the profits you take out at the end of the transaction.

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