ChoiceTrade Review

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ChoiceTrade is an online stock and options broker that gives you market access with relatively low fees. You can choose to trade through a variety of professional paid trading platforms with advanced capabilities and tools to meet the needs of even the most demanding of traders. I feel like they cater more towards the full-time trader, with services that should provide both retail and institutional traders with everything they require to ensure an enjoyable trading experience. Despite the numerous positives, they do not offer markets such as forex or crypto and you will find that funding is limited to wire transfer. I think they excel in some areas but there is room for improvement in a few others when compared to what some of the best brokers have to offer you. That being said, in this review I will try to cover all of the pros and cons I could find to help you decide if they are a suitable option for your trading or investing needs.

Summary

ChoiceTrade is an online stock trading broker and flat fee options provider. They have been operating as an advanced-technology securities brokerage firm since 2000. They primarily cater to active and self-directed traders, providing a range of trading platforms and tools so suit each individual style and experience level.

They have low, fair and simple pricing for all account sizes. I like that everyone can get access to the same conditions regardless of your investment size or prior experience. The commission fees for options are just $5 plus 0.15 per contract or $10 plus 0.00 per contract. Stock trading commissions start from just $0 with a small $5 monthly fee. These are very competitive costs when compared to what I have seen from other brokers during my years in the industry.

I really appreciate that they are constantly looking to innovate their trading services and have a range of exclusive products you can get access to that you won’t find anywhere else. This includes WatchPlus, Power Basket and their Options Strategy Identifier. The high-capacity systems incorporated help to ensure that all of your trades are executed quickly, securely and accurately.

The broker has continued to rank high in surveys conducted by the respected investment publication Barron’s. They have been mentioned for their trade experience, trade technology and usability. The low trading fees and support offered from staff are frequently praised clients.

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AvaTrade is an award-winning and multi-regulated broker offering a great selection of trading instruments including Forex, Cryptos, Stocks and Commodities. You can trade on all of your devices via user-friendly platforms with excellent trading conditions and no commission fees.

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Regulation

ChoiceTrade is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the United States. The SEC is an independent federal government agency responsible for protecting investors, maintaining fair and orderly functioning of the securities markets, and facilitating capital formation. This strict regulation from a top-tier authority gives me confidence that they are a broker who can be trusted.

Funds

They are also a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). The SIPC is a federally mandated, non-profit, member-funded, United States corporation created under the Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970 that mandates membership of most US-registered broker-dealers. This means that eligible accounts are protected by SIPC for up to $500,000 ($250,000 cash maximum).

Countries

Although they are predominantly a USA broker, they do accept clients from all over the world. However, there are some countries which are excluded such as Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates and Russia. If you find that you are located in a country which they do not serve, feel free to look at our broker ratings for an alternative option.

Platforms

ChoiceTrade supply an excellent variety of premium paid online trading platforms that allow you to trade how you want and from anywhere in the world with an internet connection. You can access your trading account via desktop, web browser, as well as easy to use and convenient mobile apps. I am personally a big fan of trading apps as they let me quickly and easily check my trades and follow the markets from anywhere and at any time.

There are the basic web trading platforms that offer simplicity, ease of use and low costs. Or, there is the ChoiceTrade Direct Pro platform that enhances the overall trading experience complete with the necessary tools for analysing the markets in detail and making informed decisions. The brokers website has plenty of resources and tutorials to learn how to use each of the platforms.

You can test drive the stock trading platform with a free practice account that comes funded with $100,000 in virtual money. This is a good way to see if the platform and trading conditions are suitable for your needs.

QuoteStream Trader

Quotestream is the online streaming stock quote platform that you can launch directly from the brokers website for Sock and Options trading. The reliable Quotestream platform gives freedom for you to trade how you want. It delivers free real-time market quotes with advanced market data/research and technical stock trading analysis capabilities.

Quotestream Platform

QuoteStream Trader Features:

• Broad market coverage
• Fully customisable interface
• Low latency tick-by-tick real time streaming data
• Advanced integrated charting for conducting detailed analysis
• Range of built-in technical analysis tools including heat maps
• News & research data
• No downloads or installations required

ChoiceTrade Elite Trader

ChoiceTrade Elite is the latest premium web platform that has been designed for simple trading yet has a wide range of trading tools to give clients robust trading capability and analytics. There are proprietary rankings, advanced charts and screeners, institutional, valuation, and fundamentals that can help you with your trading decisions.

ChoiceTrade Elite Trader

ChoiceTrade Direct ProTrader

ChoiceTrade Direct ProTrader is a Level II direct access stock trading platform that offers more advanced trading tools and includes real-time streaming quotes, streaming data, dynamic charts, analytics and more, in your browser or desktop. It has been designed for the more active Stock and Options traders.

Direct ProTrader Level 2 Pricing

ChoiceTrade Direct ProTrader Features:

• Real-time Level 2 trading
• Intraday charting
• Real-time market news
• Dynamically updating time & sales windows
• ECN books
• Top list window

Tools

The advanced and powerful trading tools offered by ChoiceTrade can be found built into the premium paid trading platforms. Each platform has an excellent variety of different tools for analysing the markets and conducting your trade activity. There are however no separate tools such as trade calculators that some other brokers offer. Whilst I would usually prefer it if a broker gave us some additional tools, I feel like the platforms available are more than satisfactory for conducting in-depth market analysis and performing day to day trade operations.

Education

The broker is primarily focused on offering powerful platforms and tools to traders and thus do not provide much educational materials. There are however some tutorials and articles covering the trading platforms amongst other topics. If you are considering using this brokerage firm, chances are that you already have some experience so you probably won’t really be too concerned about a lack of educational content. I think professional are more the type of clientele that they are focused towards serving. If you are new to trading, you might want to take a look at our best brokers for beginners.

Markets

ChoiceTrade is a stock and options trading broker. Therefore, they do not offer forex, futures, commodities, cryptocurrencies, bonds, CFDs, or mutual funds (except for closed-ended funds traded on the open market). However, OTC and Pink Sheet stocks are supported. If you just want to trade stocks and options, then they should be sufficient enough to meet your needs. However, if you would like to diversify into forex, cryptos or commodities, then you might want to look at IG as an alternative broker. They also have powerful platforms and tools but a greater range of over 17,000 financial instruments which you can trade.

Accounts

There is a decent variety of accounts which you can choose from including individual, joint, custodial and speciality accounts. There is a $100 minimum to get started which is more or less the industry standard. If you apply for a margin account, there is a $2,000 minimum. If this is too much for you, then Trade Nation have a $1 deposit requirement and you can trade with leverage should you wish. Demo Accounts can be set up with $100,000 in virtual funds so that you can test the broker and practice your trading strategies before making a financial commitment.

General Fees

The monthly account maintenance fee is $5. There is a one off individual foreign account setup fee of $25 or $100 for a foreign entity account. There are inactivity fees and other fees that can be found on the brokers website.

To be honest, I think there are quite a lot of unnecessary fees. We need to consider the platform fees on top of everything else. That being said, they are a drop in the ocean considering the top-class products that you get access to. If you are a professional trader, then you will probably expect these fees and they won’t be a deal breaker. On the other hand, if you want to save as much as possible, you might consider taking a look at our best discount brokerages.

Option Trades Fees

The default pricing plan is $5.00 per trade plus 0.15 cents per contract. Regulatory fees, exchange fees and index option surcharges are extra. $10.00 per trade with no contract fee plan is not available to accounts with naked option writing permission. You may switch between pricing plans no more than once a month.

Stock Trades Fees

$0 per trade applies to online Day orders, Market or Limit, in Nasdaq and NYSE stocks and ETFs executed at $1 or more per share. Other orders in listed stocks are $5. Day+Ext (pre and post market) add $0.005 per share. OTC stock trades are $7 plus applicable surcharges. $0 commission pricing model carries a $5 monthly fee. You may switch between pricing plans no more than once a month.

Account Signup

There is an online form that you must complete to apply for an account. You can choose the account type, fill in personal information and investment profile, read agreement, review and submit. You may also request a new account packet by mail or download the forms you need from the website. This take much longer but if you are old school, then they are one of a few brokers who still support an offline application.

They are required by US law to ask for photo identification such as a passport or driver’s license. You will also need to upload a bank statement with a name and address that matches the name and address on your account application. This will be the bank account that you will be using to fund your trading account. Once your documents have been verified, you can fund your account and begin trading.

Support

ChoiceTrade provide you with real-time, personalised customer support from a team of experts who have the know-how and expertise to answer any general or technical questions that you may have. Support is available via telephone and email, Mon – Fri 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM (EST). If you are not located in the USA then you will need to take into consideration the time difference. It would perhaps be more convenient for some users if they were to offer customer support via online chat. I often find this is the quickest way to get answers to my questions and my preferred method of support due to its convenience.

Funding

The funding options are very limited with only bank transfer currently offered. It would be more convenient if they offered a variety of different deposit and withdrawal methods that included online payment processors such as Skrill, Neteller and PayPal. I personally do not want to wait around days for a bank transfer to clear. If there is some market news that I would like to try and take advantage of then I would like quicker access to funds in my account. For more payment options, FXChoice are worth a look as they have a great selection.

On a positive note, they do not charge a deposit fee. The domestic outgoing wire fee is $35 and foreign outgoing wire fee $60. Fees are charged for failed transfers. There may also be other fees involved so check with the broker and your bank before proceeding.

Bank transfers can take a few business days to clear. As with most regulated brokers, they do not accept third-party payments. All funds deposited into your trading account must be under the same name as your trading account.

I am disappointed that accounts can be opened only in USD but this is completely understandable as they are a US broker. However, this does mean that a currency conversion fee may apply if you are funding the account in another currency. It would be great if they could support other currencies such as the EUR, GBP and JPY.

Conclusion

Putting it all together, ChoiceTrade is an online stock and options broker that has competitive commission fees. I think they really impress when it comes to the variety of powerful and flexible paid trading platforms to choose from. If you want to trade stocks and options, then they should have more than enough for you to get your teeth stuck into. However, I found there to be some unnecessary fees and you would need to look elsewhere if you want access to other markets. Beginners will probably find the educational materials lacking and the user-friendly MetaTrader platforms aren’t available. Furthermore, I found the funding options to be quite limited. If you are a professional day trader then I certainly think that they are worth consideration.

$100

ChoiceTrade is an online stock and options broker with low fees and a variety of advanced paid trading platforms to choose from. However, they do not offer other markets and funding options are limited.

Trading complex instruments can come with a high risk.

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