Attn: Stock Gurus

**waynemorgan** · 07-11-2010, 10:39 AM

I am thinking of getting something started on sharebuilder or e-trade... Does anybody have any opinions on which one of these sites is the best to piddle around on with some extra $$?

Also, who has the next "google type" stock that is just going to boom in coming years the way the googles, apples, etc. did..... I would be interested in hearing some of your ideas and why you have them...

Thanks!

**Dopey** · 07-11-2010, 10:45 AM

I'm on Scottrade. Very low initial investment ($500 I think). No inactivity fees. $7 commissions. Good customer service.

There are a couple things I don't necessarily like though. I haven't found a way to reinvest my dividends. (If there is one, please, someone enlighten me.) Also, I recently sold a bunch of stock and took the cash (thank goodness), but the only way you can get the money is for Scottrade to mail you a check. Not a big deal, I was just nervous having a check like that sitting in my mailbox. You can do an automatic withdraw into your account, but they aren't allowed to credit that money back into your bank account for whatever reason.

**wherenext100** · 07-14-2010, 09:40 PM

One of the great things about Scottrade is that their brokers don't own yachts or eat crab and lobster for lunch. I like that.

**SCNCY** · 07-14-2010, 09:47 PM

I have Scottrade too and like it. Even though I do not trade that much, it works for me. I would assume that the research from e-trade, sharebuilders, etc. come from the same places, so there really is no advantage between who has the better information. Scottrade has free weekly reports in pdf from Standards and Poors, Reuters, and Second Opinion (never heard of them but it's there). Given this may not be for the smaller traded stocks.

As for stocks to look at. Look at GE, I read a few months ago that they are looking at raising their dividends in the near future.

**Cyclonepride** · 07-14-2010, 09:49 PM

Another for Scottrade. Cheap trades, pretty easy to get into. No other BS

**ketelmeister** · 07-14-2010, 10:33 PM

Here's simple advice...put your money in the bank. Mess around money in scottrade equals losing money. Unless you have money to lose, collect your money in a place you can at least know you won't lose it. Until you have money to lose, don't mess.

**twojman** · 07-14-2010, 10:39 PM

I have a account with Schwab.com. The trading fees are $8.95 and dividend reinvestment is free. Of course you can also choose to get the cash. The customer service has been OUTSTANDING! I have learned a lot of from speaking with them and no matter what questions I have they do not make me feel stupid. I would highly recommend Schwab to anyone looking to start some investing. (Make sure you can afford to lose money and have the stomach for ups and downs.)

**Cyclonepride** · 07-14-2010, 10:45 PM

Originally Posted by ketelmeister

Here's simple advice...put your money in the bank. Mess around money in scottrade equals losing money. Unless you have money to lose, collect your money in a place you can at least know you won't lose it. Until you have money to lose, don't mess.

My Scottrade account is essentially gambling money. It's taken me almost three years to lose all of it, and that's a lot longer than it would last at Prairie Meadows

**cyeah** · 07-15-2010, 05:13 AM

I have and ING Sharebuilder account and like it. Fees are low, no minimum investment, no charges for inactivity and I made a killing on Citi and AIG back in the crises.

**GoCubsGo** · 07-15-2010, 07:12 AM

Originally Posted by wherenext100

One of the great things about Scottrade is that their brokers don't own yachts or eat crab and lobster for lunch. I like that.

What does that even mean???

**JY07** · 07-15-2010, 07:15 AM

Originally Posted by GoCubsGo

What does that even mean???

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpsO16nI4sU]YouTube - Scottrade TV Commercial Featuring Chad Ridgeway -- Yacht[/ame]

**cycloneworld** · 07-15-2010, 07:49 AM

If you do any business with Wells Fargo, you may check into their brokerage accounts. I have several services there and they give me 100 free transactions per year. Their analysis/information isn't great but you can go many other places to get that.

**kilgore_trout** · 07-15-2010, 07:55 AM

Can you explain PE ratio and free cash flow? Ever look at a balance sheet? If not, get familiar with the term "capital loss deduction". Or put your extra cash in a mutual fund, for now, and start studying.

That said, I prefer Schwab to Scottrade, if only because dividend reinvestment is free at Schwab.

**DJSteve** · 07-15-2010, 09:18 AM

I have a personal account and Roth IRA with Scottrade. IMO, they've been OK. I've found their website to be pretty sluggish at times, and as already mentioned they have to mail you a check to withdraw funds. I pulled some money out a few months ago and had to call the DM branch office to request a check--don't recall if calling is a hard requirment or if I didn't have the proper paperwork on file to allow me to do it online.

If this is a personal account (not an IRA) I don't really see the benefit of automatically reinvesting dividends. When you auto reinvest dividends you end up with a bunch of little transactions that are all at different prices, which make it a PITA to figure out your cost basis whenever you decide to sell, especially if you don't sell out the position at one time. IMO it keeps things a lot simpler to let the dividend cash accumulate and then periodically reinvest all the dividends into a stock/fund of your choosing.

I would echo the recommendation of starting with funds/ETFs and building a base there before investing in individual stocks. To that end, Vanguard has a lot of low cost index funds and if you invest through them directly there are zero buy/sell fees, though I believe there is a minimum investment.