TRADESTATION REVIEW
In a world of online brokerages, there are only few who heavily focus on working with and for active traders rather than the newcomers of the trading world. Brokerages like TradeStation offer a different style of service with high-powered trading platforms and $0 commissions on a wide range of securities, equities, options, futures, and future options for traders. TradeStation is considered to be the leader in trade tech, offering one of the most robust platforms to date. From mobile trading, options trading to futures trading, no one beats TradeStation.
TradeStation Difference
Founded in 1982, TradeStation is one of the old dogs in the online trading industry. This broker is headquartered in Plantation, Florida, with offices in 4 countries and several states across the United States. From the beginning, TradeStation has been known for focusing on providing industry-leading trading technology with one of the best customer service and commissions structures.
Since TradeStation focuses mainly on active traders and their demands, they offer one of the best selection of tools and futures such as direct market access, robust charting software and scanning tools, and hotkey abilities. TradeStation is the leader of the pack thanks to their offering of all asset classes. Whether you want to trade in stocks, futures, fixed income products, options, or mutual funds, TradeStation has you covered.
TradeStation Features
You do not become the benchmark for your industry without offering an extensive array of services, features, tools and investment options. In all of these categories TradeStation delivers.
- Base Currencies: TradeStation offers 9 base currencies: USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, HKD, AUD, JPY, SGD, and CHF.
- Account Types: TradeStation has the most extensive types of accounts in the market. Opening and approval of an account takes 1-2 business days,
- Accounts by products:
- Equities Account: for stocks, ETFs, bonds, funds, and options.
- Futures Account: for futures trading.
- Futures Options Account: for trading futures options.
- Crypto Account: for trading cryptocurrencies.
- Accounts by ownership and taxation:
- Individual: sole ownership.
- Joint: multi-customer ownership.
- Entity: business entity ownership.
- IRA: individual retirement account (US only).
- Custodial: for minors with an adult managing the account.
- Accounts by leverage:
- Cash Account: non-leveraged with a $5,000 deposit minimum.
- Margin Account: leveraged with a $2,000 deposit minimum.
- Accounts by products:
- Trading Platforms: TradeStation has one of the most polished mobile trading apps in the market to go along with their two main trading platforms:
- TradeStation Desktop:
- TradeStation Web
- Banking Options: This is one category where international traders might find a fault in the stars of TradeStation. Like most US based brokers, TradeStation only accepts Bank Wire Transfers for both deposits and withdrawals. US customers can deposit and withdraw their funds in about 1 day, while international customers might need to wait up to 14 days for the deposits and withdrawals to process.
- Spreads and Commissions: TradeStation has a variety of fees:
- Trading Fees:
- US Stock: $0.01 per share
- Mutual Fund: $14.95 per transaction
- Trade Costs: Fixed price of $5 per trade
- US resident equity and ETF trades: free
- Government Bond Trade: $20 per $10,000 commission
- Options: $10 per 10 contracts
- Crypto Fees:
- $0-$100,000 – 1%
- $100,000-$1,000,000 – 0.50%
- $1,000,000 – 0.25%
- Non-Trading Fees:
- Account Fee: Free
- Inactivity Fee:
- $50 per year (per trade fee structure)
- $100 per month (per-share fee structure)
- Trading Fees:
- Regulations: based in Florida, TradeStation is subject to top-tier regulators in USA:
- Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
- Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)
Another factor that makes TradeStation so secure is the fact that it is listed in the stock market.