Get Up to $100 When Switching to Scottrade
By Sun on Oct 10, 2007 in Brokerage, Investing
Post viewed 773 times, 2 so far today
I am currently using several brokerage accounts and each of them has its own *unique* features. For example, I use Firstrade for stocks that pays dividend (such as MO), but it charges $6.95 per trade, E-Trade for stocks listed in Hong Kong, and QQQDirect to buy QQQQ without commission (find out more in my brokerage firm review). Though essentially I can get all I want from Zecco which offers both commission free trading and free dividend reinvestment, the back-and-forth changes of their services doesn’t make me feel comfortable of having a large account with them. Plus, it is uncertain whether they can keep offering free trading.
Then I still have Scottrade as my primary stock broker, though it charges the highest commission ($7 per trade) among brokerages I am using and doesn’t even have dividend reinvestment plan for stocks and ETFs. I have been using Scottrade for nearly 6 years and only saw it changed its service twice: one in 2004 when it started to charge fees for a lot of non-fee mutual funds forcing me to cancel all my mutual fund purchases with them, another one in the same year (or earlier) when it eliminated its eChecking service due to a security breach at a third party provider. In general, I am quite happy with them. They have a branch office not far away from where I live. If I have to send them a check, it’s almost certain that they will receive it the next day. When I have problems with my account, I can always speak to the same person who knows my problem. And their website is by far the best I have used and for active traders, they also have a stand alone trading platform.
If you are using other brokerages, but not happy with them, Scottrade could be an option. And if you switch before December 31, 2007, you can get up to $100 (for account value $25,000 or more) back, enough to cover the account transfer out fees your brokerage firm charges you.
For more details about this offer, check out their website.
The money collected between May 15 and May 22 on this site will be sent to the 
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Jim | Oct 10, 2007 | Reply
I too have been a Scottrade customer for a number of years and while I think they are one of the best brokerages out there, the lack of dividend reinvestment REALLY irritates me. In my opinion, they are the best of the bunch, but if they could just get around to implementing dividend reinvestment, they’d be an absolute dream.
Jonathan | Oct 11, 2007 | Reply
I think Scottrade’s most unique feature is their huge branch network. While everyone else is going online-only, there you can still meet face-to-face. My old office even validated my parking in downtown if I wanted to drop off a check in person.
Unfortunately, in the end that keep their cost structure higher, and $7 a trade doesn’t sound nearly as appealing as it used to.
Yan | Oct 14, 2007 | Reply
An account transfer out fee? How usual is this?