Top Dog Brokers

Once you know exactly how and when you are going to buy and sell your stocks, it is then necessary to keep costs low. Basically, one should consider a deep discount broker. Why pay for a full service broker if you already know which stocks you are going to buy? The following table lists the best online brokers for the Dogs of the Dow investor. From this exclusive list you can easily investigate further and determine which broker best meets your needs.

If you have any insight into any one of the Top Dog Brokers, feel free to fill out our Top Dog Brokers Comment Form. To see what your fellow Dogs of the Dow investors are saying about our exclusive list of best online brokers, check out our Top Dog Brokers Feedback page.

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Brokerage¹	Commission²	Login	Commissions³	Fees³	Reviews	Notes
Interactive Brokers	$1.00 and up	Interactive Brokers Login	Interactive Brokers Commission Schedule	Interactive Brokers Additional Fees	Interative Brokers Reviews	Two pricing structures: flat rate ($0.005/share with a $1/trade min.) or cost plus (based on volume). Typically $10k min. required to open an account. IRA min. is 5k -- investors younger than 21 have 3k min.
TradeKing	$4.95	Trade Login	TradeKing Commission Schedule	TradeKing Additional Fees	TradeKing Reviews	No minimum deposit required although a $50 annual inactivity fee is charged for household accounts with less than $2500 and no trades over the past 12 months.
Zecco	$4.95	Zecco Login	Zecco Commission Schedule	NA	Zecco Reviews	No minimum deposit required. $30 annual IRA fee. Zecco has merged with TradeKing and the new combined firm will take the TradeKing name.
Scottrade	$7.00	Scottrade Login	Scottrade Commission Schedule	Scottrade Additional Fees	Scottrade Reviews	High customer satisfaction⁴ $500 minimum initial deposit. Majority of trades needs to be done on the internet to qualify for internet rate. No account maintenance or inactivity fees.
Fidelity	$7.95	Fidelity Login	Fidelity Commission Schedule	Fidelity Additional Fees	Fidelity Reviews	$2,500 minimum initial deposit required. No annual account fee.
Charles Schwab	$8.95	Charles Schwab Login	Charles Schwab Commission Schedule	Charles Schwab Additional Fees	Charles Schwab Reviews	$100-1,000 min. initial deposit depending on account type. Min. waived if monthly transfer is set up. No account maintenance fees except for personal defined benefit plans. (see fees link for more)
USAA Brokerage	$8.95	USAA Brokerage Login	USAA Brokerage Commission Schedule	USAA Brokerage Additional Fees	USAA Brokerage Reviews	Lower commission of $5.95 is available based on number of trades or assets of account holder (>25 trades/90 days or assets >$50,000).
OptionsXpress	$8.95	Options Xpress Login	OptionsXpress Commission Schedule	Options Xpress Additional Fees	OptionsXpress Reviews	Fees are highly customizable and differ based on the type of products traded (options, stocks, mutual funds, bonds, futures, currency) as well as trading style. Broker assistance is free. No minimal balance.
E*Trade	$9.99	E*Trade Login	E*Trade Commission Schedule	E*Trade Additional Fees	E*Trade Reviews	Fees vary based on number of trades per quarter and account balance. A quarterly account service fee and other maintenance fee may be applied (see fees link & dig through details of fee schedule to find out more)
Thinkorswim	$9.99	Thinkorswim Login	Thinkorswim Commission Schedule	Thinkorswim Additional Fees	Thinkorswim Reviews	Fees are highly customizable and differ based on the type of products traded (e.g. options, stocks, mutual funds, etc.) as well as trading style. Thinkorswim is part of TD Ameritrade.
TD Ameritrade	$9.99	TD Ameritrade Login	TD Ameritrade Commission Schedule	TD Ameritrade Additional Fees	TD Ameritrade Reviews	$1,000-2,000 minimum initial deposit, depending on account type and any applicable special promotional offers. No account maintenance fees.
Vanguard	$20.00	Vanguard Login	Vanguard Commission Schedule	Vanguard Additional Fees	Vanguard Reviews	Lower fee of $7 for the first 25 trades. $20 annual account service fee. $7 commissions if $50k+ in Vanguard products (e.g. Vanguard funds, Vanguard ETFs, etc.) and $2 if $500k+ in Vanguard products.

1 - To be a Top Dog Broker, the brokerage in question must be relatively well known (e.g. significant market share), reputable, charge $20 or less per trade, and offer a relatively straight forward commission schedule.
2 - Commission rates are for internet based orders on listed securities with less than 1000 shares per trade.
3 - Always review the commission and fee schedules before applying since they are subject to change.
4 - Customer satisfaction based on the latest results from the Dogs of the Dow Broker Survey. If you would like to receive the latest results, sign up to receive our popular Dogs of the Dow Newsletter.

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