Here you can review a collection of Scottrade reviews from fellow Dogs of the Dow investors regarding Scottrade. For our list of the best low commission online brokers, take a look at our exclusive list of Top Dog Brokers. And, as always, if you have experience with a deep discount broker, simply fill out our Top Dog Brokers Comment Form and let us all know what you think.
Sean says
Low cost. Average technology. Relatively easy to move money in and out of my account.
JT Potter says
Scottrade fees are fair and competitive. Customer service is stellar!
Tom says
Good pricing, great info, nice people to deal with, very fair.
Bill Adams says
Recently retired and have been in a 457 mutual fund and was looking to enhance my performance with the projection of the coming 4 yrs. Met with Tim Furlong in the Louisville market and felt very comfortable with the opening of a Scottrade account.
Edward says
Scottrade has the various products I require. Fees are very acceptable. Website is very user friendly. Trades are quick and easy. Staff is available locally when required. Very professional. I have experienced no negative interactions.
Frank says
Low commissions, hands off approach are good things. Haven’t really worked with all that they have to offer.
Bill says
Great, user friendly website. Their physical brokerage is close to home and the staff there is excellent.
Terry says
I dont use them much more than my Dog trades and then I sit tight. I do research other dividend stocks and the tools are pretty thorough.
Sandy says
What marries me to Scottrade are the streaming quotes and other features that really work with some “glitz”.
David Talbot says
Low fees, fast execution, no fee IRA.
Stockman says
Pros: Low fees, good website, and local office. Cons: There are other brokers that are cheaper.
Paul says
Excellent customer service low commissions great research and website automatic dividend reinvesting easily reachable by phone.
John says
Pros: Low cost. They leave you alone trading platform is good. Cons: They leave you too alone and their research is just fair.
Timothy says
Good response to questions about the website but not available for financial advise.
Tom Massara says
They don’t pester accountholders reasonably priced trades entry level interface is too restrictive/limited with regard to tracking info on your holdings.
W. J. Mildfelt says
Pros: low commissions, realtime quotes, great research, easy to read charts, graphs, rankings, etc. and customer service.
Tom Walton says
I know exactly what it costs me to trade and use the service. Information is plentiful.
Bill Griswold says
Pros: Low trade fees, user friendly website, very helpful. Con: No DRIP program.
Henry Zebroski says
Easy to use, inexpensive, maintain good records and keep offerings to zero.
Bob says
Pros: Very low commissions, availability of live help, convience of web site, friendly and knowledgeable customer service.
Dave says
Pros: Reasonable commissions, research, customer service. Cons: not good if trading complex options. Ok for simple options strategies like covered calls.
Walker says
Great local office always avail to answer and help, love FRIP! Pretty basic DIY overall. For basic beginners is ok but if specific guidance or advice wanted not best fit.
Charles Boyle says
Good rates. Good follow-up and help from local office. Tools and screens are dated.
Zieba Pawel says
I have a trust account and because I am a trustee it was designated as a professional account and I am not getting real time quotes any more. I think I will change.
Michael Hooper says
I like the ease of using their system. They provide excellent research and Morningstar ratings.
David Talbot says
Pros: As an intermediate experienced investor I occasionally need some personal advice. Scottrade has local reps for support.Cons: None for me and my family.
Peter Farm says
Amount of time to settle funds and make it available for more trade after a sell. A day will be more appropriate.
David White says
Usable, local office, inexpensive, reasonable web site, good customer service. Graphs can be a bitch to navigate.
Robert Vessels says
Good local support. Fast response. Low transaction fees. No IRA fees.
Dave says
Pros – low commissions, good research materials, good customer service. Cons – none.
Debra Offerdahl says
Pro-24/7 access to my account. Very helpful with handeling any account transfers and helping my children to understand their Scottrade account when I gave theirs over to them. Con- no advise onstocks
Lance Liberty says
Pros: Lower commission than most brokers, and good user-friendly web page. Cons: Lack of Windows Phone app.
MD says
Pros: Easy, no fee IRA, low commissions. Cons: Research hard to find. Office is not very helpful.
Joe says
$17 on some trades, always willing to answer questions, knowledgeable about investing, and plenty of research available on the site.
Barbara Lance says
Site can be a little too complicated sometimes. When I search for a stock to research, it always says it can’t find it, while still populating the correct stock. I’d like to pay less than $7 per trade, especially when rebalancing.
Jack says
Nice price. Nice people. Short on investment advice.
R Rickerson says
Intuitive website. Great tools & educational materials.
Terri says
Scottrade has online convenience and speed that includes a local brick & mortar office with personnel who excel in customer service.
Bob Horne says
Pros: low price, no fees, reinvestible dividends, fairly good research. Cons: research could be better.
John says
Pro – customer service. Con – lacks a traditional DRIP.
Roger Edington says
Low cost yet have a local branch office to assist if needed. Good online educational offerings.
William Conyers says
Know my fees. Scottrade Elite is very easy to work with and they have wonderful customer service.
Ian Reeve says
Scottrade does not have a true DRIP program and i find that is detrimental to dividend growth.
Ronald Buckner says
I am always able to talk to an agent with very little hold time. Customer service is great.
Talbot says
Pros: Easy to navigate, cost of trades, investment information, online access, no-cost IRA’s. Local office if necessary. Cons: None.
Frank says
Never had any problems in the last 10 years.
Anita Brown says
Cheap trades, DRIP program, brick and mortar locations near me, website with easy to understand help.
Stephen Fullerton says
Great research tools and local office access. I have zero complaints.
Ed Miller says
Low cost $7.00 per trade. Lots of very good research tools and tracking tools to watch the stocks I’m invested in or thinking of investing in.
Paul Loehr says
The web site is very clear and easy to use.
Talbot says
Pros: Low trade costs, local offices if I need one, fast executions, excellent web site accuracy. Cons: None.
Gerard says
Pro, good office service near home when I have any questions. Con, I have a hard time finding what I want on line. My fault, not theirs. I should be much more computer literate and find it easier to let a younger generation do that for me.
Pam says
Pros: (1) Trust. Example: Most important to me-places trades immediately (trading at current price not limit buys/sells)
Corey Law says
Scottrade Elite trading platform has frozen up the last two mornings for an extended time. No real info from them as to why. Their President resigned recently. This company is not firing on all it’s cylinders to say the least! I’d avoid them like the plague.
John Durham says
Great stock and exchange offerings; reasonable transaction fees; and quick order entry and processing.
Sarah says
Charge too much for trades. Not all stock dividends are allowed to be reinvested. One does not know which stock dividends are allowed to be reinvested till after stock is bought and dividends are/or are not allowed to be reinvested.
Al DiPietro says
Limited news on companies is a con. Pro is the support and knowledge.
Jim Farrell says
Easy to use, good local support are positives. Con is they do not have DRIP
option on stock purchases.
Jack Gorfien says
Pros: Decent commissions and user friendly website. Cons: They don’t have a DRIP program that allows purchase of fractional shares.
James Patterson says
Quick responses and education is great.
Anne says
Good website usability, good research available.
Mr. Koch says
Could have better screening tools.
James Talbot says
Pros = least expensive. Cons = must do your own research.
Darnell says
Very inexpensive to deal with, low commissions, few fees, no account maintenance costs, adequate research tools.
No commission-free ETFs.
Robert says
Low cost and excellent execution.
Bryan Dunn says
Pros: fees, office in my hometown, research, execution speed. Cons: none I can think of.
Mike Ellison says
Mobile app is awkward, hard to use. Should take CEO’s helicopter away until they develop a usable app. Have to sign in from the internet to get a usable version.
Tim Leclerc says
Pros – cost, convenience, and responsiveness. Cons – execution, range of offerings.
Ed Miller says
Low fees, Good online tools. Easy to read online investments and progress up or down. Still waiting to see how customer service is.
Ed Miller says
Reasonably priced broker fees. Very good tools for evaluating stocks and aexcellent client service group.
M. McGriffin says
No problems whatsoever over about 15 years & has a local office with real humans.
Robert Talley says
Pros: Flexible Dividend Reinvestment Plan. Con:s Too many fees.
John Bentley says
No professional advice on investing, the broker pricing is fair.
Bill Visotski says
Pros – cheap. Cons – cannot bid on ipo; cannot get option/put clearance; site not user friendly; research info sub par.
Erik Thompson says
Pros: well known, cheap, many brick and mortar locations. Cons: no ACH withdrawals and occasional downtime.
Dave says
Low Fees. Good Research Reports. Website dependable. Good portfolio tracking and gain/loss reports. Good customer service. Has local office.
Mike Roberts says
Cheap trades. Quick to respond when I need service. I do my own research and generally don’t trust recommendations from brokers.
Ed Dombrowski says
Difficulty in getting a distribution in a “timely” manner.
Jimmy says
They brought stocks they new went over my limit an now I have to come up with extra money to pay for trades.
Susan Mohler says
They are easy to reach by telephone in real time. There electronic feed and research info is iffy.
Lesm Prigmore says
Lots of help via videos, blogs etc. Scottrade Elite platform is free. Strategy sessions are helpful. Web site is easy to use.
Bill Padgett says
Customer service and technical support are good.
David P. Smith says
Won’t let displayed page remain on screen for more than five minutes before a fresh log-in is required. Phone help is available quickly. Commission is affordable.
Bob Weir says
Cheap, quick, very little in the way of personal service, especially for a large account.
Albert Thomas says
Great website, fast transactions and reasonable price for trades.
Joseph Nicholas says
Been with Scottrade since 2008. Worsening service on the busiest market days. Streaming quotes freezes, limit orders take up to 1.5 minutes to be acknowledged. Only screen shots prove this to office personnel. Moving my six figure account to Fidelity for reliability
Andrea Day says
No advice unless you go to their office.
Sin Mariano says
Very good web site, low fees, courteous personnel.
Paul Kelly says
No info. on stocks worth anything.
J. Merola says
Pro: Low fees. Con: Information.
Jim Davey says
Wish they offered with a fee investment advice or planing.
Douglas Klimas says
Very easy to trade stocks and securities and help line folks are always knowledgeable.
Stephen Fullerton says
I honestly don’t trade very often so do not have enough activity to feel any reason to knock them. The vast majority of my trading is for my retirement fund of which a large portion are Dogs of the Dow and have treated me well. On the Pro side I would say that there are plenty of tools for investigating stocks and investment choices.
Michael Cheverie says
Pros: instant service, easy trades, reasonable fees
Mark Kemp says
I get a terrible price with market orders nearly 100% of the time.
Nutt Zane says
I recommend Scottrade to family and friends or anyone. Customer service good. Need to get a school on what is available on their website.
Edward Ross says
Pros: cheap, accessible in person, not overly qualified but helpful.
Adrian Deering says
Can call when i want and they arn’t calling you to try to move a stock around. Provide good advise and helpful.
Norman Allen says
Low commission, decent stock screening tools.
Dave says
Pros – Good customer service. Available by phone and local offices. Low fees, good research tools (reports, screens, etc.) No cons.
Joe says
Slow to get news and it will have short delays for up to 5 seconds at times. This is not caused by the ISP and have noticed it on Comcast and Charter fast internet.
Aleksen Jvisant says
Good service. Local office excellent.
Henry Alvarez says
Pros: Low cost trades. Available in my city.
Nancy L. Goodman says
$7.00 per internet trade, easy to contact, customer service is excellent.
Dave Shamblen says
Former Branch Manager at Scottrade. Now retired. Love the company so I remain loyal.
Thomas E Clark says
Pros: fees, customer service. Cons: research.
James Patterson says
Great tools and education topics.
Jerry says
Very good website overall, including Elite Trader element. Education section is also good, but some of the examples are kind of murky. Mobile access is very good on new Android tablet (doesn’t require an app). Mutual fund screener is excellent. Cons: Transaction fees are too high for options. They are somewhat high for stocks/ETFs, and for at least some well-performing funds from Fidelity and some other sources are quite high for mutual funds ($17.50 in either direction).
David King says
Low fees. good website. Fast executions of trades.
Donald Fansler says
When I have a question, I can get the answer quickly and in language I can understand.
Nghiem van Bui says
Research, website usability, mobile, customer service.
Alan Chazin says
Easy to use. Reasonable fees.
Roy Jannenga says
Low fees, good research information, good website, local office, knowlegible staff.
Steven Collins says
Weak on research.
William Peters says
Excellent execution. Low cost.
Edward Mizelle says
Fees are low, research is good.
Dirk says
Website works well needs some improvements (not able to scroll on Scottrade elite)
Deborah Molnar says
Good customer service, pleasant and helpful staff, and low fees with trading at my fingertips!
Devon King says
Excellent customer service. Low sales fees. Online services work well but could be better. Drip program works well but could incclude more stocks to put it in.
John Sherman says
Extensive research capability, low commissions, rapid executions,and easy to use web site and trading platforms.
David King says
Great communication and efficient service. No cons to speak of.
Alan says
They always answer my questions and react quickly to me request.
Frank Zeng says
Easy, clear and quick.
Stephen Fasul says
Offer more frequent, and in depth, person to person class instruction at their local offices, so that subscribers can be shown how to understand, and use all aspects of their website. Trying to learn this on-line by trial and error takes too much time and defeats the purpose of trying to handle your own investments. The price is good, but instruction is limited so having all the options does most people no good. Scottrade needs to address this.
Bryan Niemeier says
Best prices and good selection.
Signa Schmidt says
Scottrade is available by phone or by email. I like their research, website usability and customer service.
John says
I have been with Scottrade for almost a year now. I have not been disappointed. They have an excellent online setup for research and stock trading. The only flaw which I have seen is the app on mobile devices. That needs improved.
Wyatt Thomas says
I have two accounts with Scottrade and have found no problems with GTC, Stop, Limit orders. Also, a good selection of CD’s and Bonds. The Scottrade Elite seems to be everything I need. However, I was looking around for a place that would better serve me for an LLC, Scottrade has no banking for LLCs although they did send me so checks for my brokerage account.
Danny Arrington says
Very good research materials and ease of access to account is great.
Allan says
Fees are the lowest I’ve found.
Jim Davey says
Low fees, No maintenance fees — Website is hard to learn.
Dan Briggs says
Good research and trade execution.
Robert Buckley says
Need to offer gtc orders.
Jack Schultz says
Good service. Always available.
David says
Pros: low commission, ease of trading.
James Smith says
Pros: Ease of use. Low expense. Good access to research.
Ken Edwards says
$7.00 trades are reasonable and they have offices here in Vegas.
Jim Cameron says
Good no account fees broker. Trade and wait is ok with them.
Lynette Kuykendall says
Would like to more flexible reports, especially for multiple accounts.
Doris Johnson says
Pros: Low fees and website are very user friendly. Local office and excellent customer service.
Richard Hendershott says
Good information, charts, research, inexpensive.
Robert Bartlett says
Pro: Website is very nice-has a lot of information and is easy to use. Cons: Need to permit auto-reinvestment of
dividends in account.
Robert Deiuliis says
Pros – Cost, quick fills, easy web site.
Clarence Allen says
Pro: $7 trades. Con(1 of many): wide spread between what you receive when you sell a stock and what you have to pay for that same stock!
Daniel says
I have been using Scottrade for about one year now, platform seems to have everything that is necessary for a good trading experience. After first opening the account I received a call from customer service, they were friendly and helpful and offered to schedule an appointment to visit a nearby branch to discuss how to properly use website/platform. After the visit I was surprised by how much interest they showed in helping me to become as familiar with their services as possible. Here’s a code for 3 free trades at sign up in case anyone is interested: FDUK8950 Never Expires.
Thomas Weaver says
I started w/ Schwab @ 19.95/trade then switched to Scottrade @ 7.00/trade. They are the best.
Helen Shrum says
Customer service is very good, commissions are low, range of offering also good, website is easy for a 86 year old.
Paul Taylor says
Low cost. Ease of trading.
Elizabeth Wilkinson says
They have reasonable commissions and fees. They offer many services such as banking, quotes, and research. Trading has been very easy and quick.
Garry Stone says
Good research, fair commissions, great customer service, good educational services. Options First and Scottrade need to share the same platfotm.
Varun says
They do not charge inactivity and any handling charges.
Richard Bauer says
Fast. Low cost. Accurate.
Bryan Niemeier says
If I need help, all I have to do is call the local office. The price has never changed. The website is great.
Larry Rachal says
Cheap. Easy to reach for help.
Jason Kong says
Scottrade is user friendly
David Bruce says
Pros: Low fees, website usability.
Ian Reeve says
Excellent service, reasonably low cost trades, functional website. Only con is that there are lower transaction costs available at several other discount brokerages.
Joyce Tone says
I really like Scottrade.
Michael Treman says
No automatic dividend reinvestment.
Dan Briggs says
Good trade execution, good research and charts.
Jim Ramey says
Scottrade does everything I need to buy and sell stocks and ETF’s.
Felicia says
Pros – low cost. Cons – website usability.
B. Brockman says
Stock trade commissions very good but no div. reinvestment for stocks or purchase of Treasuries direct.
Dan Jensen says
In my streaming quotes only the stocks that I am trading stop streaming. I find this very odd and suspicious. All 30 other stocks keep updating and then I refresh my account and see that my stock has moved against me. I have contacted them twice with no real answer. Also they took my short position once and multiple times will not let me short a widely traded stock. I will be leaving this broker.
Keith says
Good selection of securities, low cost trades, good trading platforms to work with.
Paul Harland says
Good screener.
Robert Ferrell says
Pros: fees, access to analyses, tax help. Cons: no office here.
E. Sharon Capobianco says
Brokers are extremely personable and helpful.
Miguel says
Not only is Scottrade’s commission commission schedule very competitive, their fees are amongst the lowest.
Phaneuf says
It is good to know that I am not the only one that has lost money do to Scottrade misinformation and problems with the trading platform. Make a trade and watch it go to sleep. Nice to get the wrong information from branch manager and surprise. You have to pay more than 6k in taxes when you are disabled. They know how to take care of you when you are going put in more money. Thanks for screwing me. Never again. Go to someone else!
Quinn says
I’ve had no problems whatsoever with Scottrade. All my orders have gone through without a hitch and my local branch has been responsive to my questions. Their stock screeners are easy to use and their research is decent, though perhaps not as comprehensive as Zack’s or Morningstar. Best of all, their commission per trade is on the low side of the spectrum. I would recommend them.
Bill Morris says
I now only use scottrade for Dow Dog investing but when I first started, I used some CANSLIM style investments with a trailing stop. I didn’t read the fine print on those terailing stops and Scottrade limits them to like 3 months. So all my investments stopped out one day and I thought, great the market had a downturn and my sell orders were place. Oh contre, all my trade were executed becuase of a Scottrade imposed limitation on my trailing stops. It’s a big deal to move everything to another broker and I probbaly will once I really research the finer points. Other than this, Scottrade is OK for my style of investing. But beware.
Heather says
Scottrade charges $10.00 a month to let you use Level 2 Quotes but it is no way unusable. I can get more accurate L2 Quotes from a free site.
Davis says
Absolute nightmare. 1. Website full of bugs, freezes, and random links. 2. Trading platform WILL freeze on Normal volume trading, leaving you helpless. 3. Customer service: Answers phones with “what up” “yo” and 3 different people used profanity on the phone. Is this a business??? They disable stoploss if a stock drops >20% automatically to protect other investors. (yeah I was shocked too) Bottom line is if you want to lose money to hidden fees, incompentence, and be treated like crap by people with no business being brokers, Scottrade is your company!
Lyn Corm says
I have been with Scottrade for a long time. I have never had any troubles at all. “None” Scottrade has a “New” referral code: IXFV9382 that will get you 3 free trades when you open any type of account in 2011 and 2012 year.
Phillip Barber says
The best brokerage experience I have had. They are responsive to my inquiries and requests. Quick to execute not only trades but account matters.
Tom Grossman says
I have been trading with Scottrade for many years. I have recently identified a pattern of trade execution that deprives me of profits, and increases my losses. Scottrade uses marketmakers who apparently are allowed to make a profit on our trades (in addition, I presume, to a regular commission based on the number of trades they make). As one of many examples, I today put up a stock for sale at a limit price of 5.75. The bid was at arount 5.50 and the ask was at about 5.80. Within .2 seconds, the following transaction took place: 100 of my shares were bought by the market maker at 5.755, and those same 100 shares were immediately sold by the market maker for 5.781. In the process, the market maker made 2.5 cents/share on my transcation. Being only 100 shares, this was only 25 cent. However, that is 25 cents that I should have made, as there was obviously a willing buyer at more than 5.78, and a willing seller(me) 5.75 or betteer. The rule as I understand it is that a market maker must execute a trade at the best possible price. The best price available to me at that moment was obviously 7.78. So, how could the market maker take away 3 cents per share of my profit for himself? That’s stealing! This goes on all the time with my transactions, and probably adds up to hundreds of thousand of dollars extra money per day for the market makers. My question is this: Scottrade is responsible for employing these market makers and knowing that we are not getting the best possible executions. And, another post on this site has informed me that Scottrade uses Knight — a separate company of which Roger Riner (owner of Scottrade) is on the Board. This sounds like a conflict of interest to me, and a failure to provide exectuions as promised, and the way they are supposed to be done. I would like to bring an action against Scottrade and the market makers they employ for my lost profits.
John McGrew says
Unreliable software and computer system = lost money. How much money do you want to lose? And of course, Scottrade is not responsible for bugs in their system, no matter how much money you’ve lost.
Franz Zemen says
Generally speaking Scottrade is getting better all around except in one area: customer service. It completely sucks. Because they have a branch model they cannot centralize and control quality. My branch is unresponsive unless you call and call again (yet they say to fax forms in…).
Paul Hertz says
While generally a good broker for my stock and mutual fund trades, the more esoteric things like selling short shares, certain thin traded securities, etc. were a problem. All to often you have to call your branch office for satisfaction and they come through for you. Unfortunately, for them, I found a better broker not on your listings.
NA says
I like to trade using the Scottrade elite platform. The only thing I have trouble with sometimes is trying to sell my positions when the market turns against me. Their whole platform freezes up for some odd reason and it ends up costing me big bucks. Other than that the platform works perfectly when I’m not holding any positions. Yes, I know…I should probably just go somewhere else where these problems can be avoided altogether.
Hugo says
my problem with Scottrade is that I noticed that if I put a limit order in to sell or buy at a certain price it will not go through, though I will see it hit that price on yahoo google finance or cnbc rt
Jacob Peterson says
After opening my account I put about $7k in right away using the electronic transfer. I then bought some stocks using most of that money after the account said I had that amount available to trade. Three days after buying the stock I get a message from Scottrade saying that the money didn’t go through and that if I don’t rectify it within the next two hours they will sell my stock. I wasn’t able to get this message in time so they sold the stock. Also, the stock happened to go down ~3% overall in those three days so now I owe Scottrade the amount it went down. Other than that the company seems alright, although I won’t be keeping my account after this experience.
Beth Decker says
They were able to circumvent my account’s being compromised when my records were breached. I didn’t even know it was happening
Walter Uncle says
I have over 20 years investment experience. Over the last 3 years I have traded with TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwab, E-trade and Scotttrade. Also, I have extensive experience with brokerage firms such as Morgan Stanley, UBS Painewebber, Solomon Smith and Barney, Brown Brothers Harriman and Citigold. I do not believe there are regulations in place to protect retirement plans, IRA’s or general savings. I believe “Wall Street” (a term used to describe the financial sector here and around the world) has become incredibly dishonest and unlawful. The SEC and FINRA are failing as such should be replaced by new agencies. My experience with online trading is the tail of two cities I have had great success with E-trade. Scotttrade also appears to perform well, however I do need more time to properly evaluate this company. As far as TD Ameritrade, you have no control over your account; I have had good trades backed out and I have not been able to execute certain trades. Their front page (Balance and Positions) is the weirdest thing I have ever used. They have a special rule that stymies the trader’s ability to navigate their investment and they refuse to fix their problems. E-trade gives you your gain and losses immediately. TD Ameritrade porn’s this data to a third party who TD disclaims they are not responsible for their data you receive. They are making incredible profits and myself and others feel their staff is ether demoralized or in denial. Schwab is worse than TD Ameritrade. This is my experience, I am not endorsing any trading house, however, please be careful with all online brokers.
C O says
These guys cost me a lot of money with poor trade executions and even totally delayed order entry. There software is slower than others — so you lose money trying to get in. Plus, no site has as many problems as this one — goes down fairly regularly wen the market heats up.. With all the good brokers out there why try this one — runnnnnn! I’ve used three or four others and rarely had a problem. Service at my local branch in the philly area was so bad, I’d avoid calling unless absolutely necessary, I was hoping calls would go to their HQ, unlike what their commercials say. They’re awful!
M T says
The level 2 quotes do not correctly reflect all bid and ask prices. I placed a limit order which at a bid price and could see the volume on the bid of the level 2 quote system was less than what I was requesting. This is a common problem. Also, for Scottrade Elite users, if you pull up a Daily chart viewing 8 months of symbol ADP, you will see that on new years day 2009 the chart will repeat itself. I’ve called this and other data errors with their service and the problem has not been corrected. It really diminishes the confidence I have with this company.
Frank Seth says
I am pulling out all my money and transferring my older IRA accounts out of Scottrade due to horrible customer service at their Washington DC branch. I recently signed up for an individual account with Scottrade and used their MoneyDirect deposit method to fund my account. The MoneyDirect application timed out as I was making my deposit so I tried again (after verifying the first deposit didn’t go through). Imagine my horror when the 1st “failed” deposit re-appeared after a couple of days and bounced with my bank. When I called Scottrade they were pretty nonchalant and said “It is your fault. You authorized it. We will attempt to withdraw again. You need to put a stop payment”. I am totally blown away by their attitude and attempt to take my money just cuz they got my bank account details! Goodbye Scottrade!
David Sands says
Last week I was holding a position overnight. I got up in the morning just before open to monitor my position. I tried to log onto to Scottrade but I couldn’t get in. I tried for about 5-10 minutes and finally I got in. Meanwhile my stock has peaked and then came back down below open. In all I lost about $400. When I called Scottrade they said that somehow everything got sent to one router and it got overwhelmed. He seemed pretty casual about it. I asked him if he could make for my losses and of course he said no. I have since requested a wire transfer of my funds to my checking account. My trades have already settled but Scottrade is just sitting on my money. They take their fees pretty quick, but you need an act of congress to get them back. By the way this was Scottrade Oakland.
Yeh says
However, every Friday’s scottradeElite weekly chart did not reflect the real time weekly open high low close prices. Will mislead investment. Called and eMail many many time, but they did not fix the problem
Todd says
Scottrade is absolutely fantastic in everything that they do. All of their 2006 and 2007 bugs have been fixed. Ignore the trash on this page about problems. That’s old news. Use my ReferALL code QGUA9639 to get three free trades when you sign up for a new account.
Nick Cheng says
Scottrade sent me alert that I was PDT (Pattern day trade) yesterday 1-20-1009. But, I had only one partial closed position in same day yesterday within five business days due to an understandable personal reason. Another two trades were repurchase only and should not be counted as day trades at all and Scottrade admitted that today 1-21-2009. Therefore, just one trade and now they still insisted on their restriction on my account and asked me to put more fund into my Scottrade account. SEC-NYSE 2001 rule 431: 1. The term “pattern day-trader” is defined as any customer who executes four or more day trades within five business days. 2. The minimum equity requirement for pattern day traders is $25,000. 3. The amendments redefine the term “day trading” to treat the sale of an existing position held from the previous day as a liquidation, and the subsequent repurchase of that position as the establishment of a new position not subject to day trading margin requirements. There were another same alert in November 2008 after I had pulled fund and left only little above $25,000 in my account, and in that time they included those trades when my account was still above $25,000 and also included my repurchase that should not be counted as day trades. Scottrade branch staff insisted that “repurchase” must be counted as day trades and I must put more fund back into my account. I didn’t check SEC-NYSE rule 431 at that time and I just added more fund into my account. Now, with only one partial trade on the same day with a particular personal reason, they put on restrictions on my account immediately even without 1 week waiting fund adding time like in November, and just asked for more fund. Now they claimed that this is due to my previous PDT alert in November, which should not exist neither if they really follow SEC-NYSE 431 rules. With these two (faked?) PDT alerts, I start to doubt that Scottrade might just try to collect more cash fund from their customers in current credit freezing financial environment. When market went unstable, I have started to pull out profit and fund from Scottrade since last October. I don’t know if this is the way they are trying to force me to put fund back into my Scottrade account, and rule 431 has just become their excuse only. But, they definitely should never do this. I will look for some other better and fair brokers. And I don’t know if SEC should look into this matter.
JM says
Scottrade realy is great! I did a review of all available brokers and chose them in the end. If you use this referral code you will get 3 free trades when you sign up too: LIRT8447
Helen Haiduck says
Scottrade has always been there when I needed a question answered and help doing any online trading. I am very pleased with their service.
Michael Knight says
Scottrade and Scottrade elite down AGAIN 830AM
J P says
A lot of the issues I read here appear non-existent for me. I opened the account in August, and I’ve never had any server issues, and I trade from open to close. If it’s anything, please consider a stronger laptop/internet connection. It will reap beautiful dividends and less headache. $7 trade not bad, but starting to consider Interactive Brokers or TradeKing lately. My only worry is the execution being worse with TradeKing than Scottrade.
Hy Joe says
I had been with Scottrade little more than a year, overall excellent except Firefox browser often freeze and hung application on Scottrade site but MS Explore never crash.
Bill says
Dump scottrade…before they get caught in legal trouble ….8/31 they invoked a untested system change that caused system wide margin calls, 99% were false..at risk scottrade liable for millions…idiots
Michael Thomas says
Jason W from CA – are you really complaining about credit interest on less than $10k? If you always have small amounts of money uninvested, than why not put it in a high yield account? Scottrade is a BROKERAGE firm…they do great for stocks, bonds, mut funds, CDs…take your tiny cash balance and put it elsewhere…you obviously don’t trade stocks with it, so why leave it at Scottrade anyways? You people make no sense sometimes.
Michael Thompson says
Scottrade has been great. Local offices, $7 trades…no problems here. To respond to the other comments…If you have enough money ($25k) to use Elite, than why can’t you afford high speed internet? It’s not Elite’s problem your computer can’t handle the tools required by a speedy internet connection. Spend the extra $10/month and get DSL at least also, Scottrade gives you 3% on uninvested money for $10k to $24,999. If you tend to leave money uninvested long enough for the interest rate to matter that much, put it in a CD. Considering you are taxed on that interest, a few bucks a year isn’t really gonna make a difference. If you want an extra percent on your money, move it to a high yield savings account.
Matthew Bowen says
Have been with Scottrade for a year with a large account. Excellent personal customer service and no concerns with trade execution.
Guy Bluesummers says
I’ve been with Scottrade for about 3 years, and I’ve had flawless service from them. If you call, a human will answer within 2 minutes every time. One on occasion, I was absolutely strapped for cash and a broker helped me liquidate my account and get a wire transfer to my bank without any fees or charges beyond trading costs. If that’s not superior service, I don’t know what is. I recommend this broker for buy/and/hold trading, since their realtime tools might not be as fast as needed for day trading. My only complaint about Scottrade would be that I’m having trouble getting my account enabled for options. Short-selling was easy, but options seem to be off limits for some reason.
Jason W says
Scottrade has just lowered the interest rates they pay you for loose cash you have hanging around. Whereas before, a balance of $2,000 would earn 2.25%, which was hardly competitive but at least gives around $5 per month. Now they’ve cut it to 0.49%. You need $25,000 in cash just to get a frigging 3% rate! I am seriously considering switching online brokers. I am a buy-and-hold, long-term investor, buying blue-chips such as GE and Disney, and up-and-comers such as Google and Apple. I usually have a few grand sitting around for 6 months, waiting for the next major dip. $50 may not seem like much, but it certainly adds up. Paying out near-zero interest is a cheap move, nickel-and-diming the very investors ScotTrade claims to target. If you have $500,000 in your account, are you really going to care about Scottrade’s advantages? But if you have $10,000 total, then $100 in lost interest results in a 1% difference in return. For me, this 1% over 30 years adds up…and getting an extra 1% return is exactly why I gave up my full-service broker for ScotTrade in the first place. I’ve used ScotTrade for over 3 years, and have had very few complaints. But now it’s just not looking like a good deal. Are there any better brokers out there??
Linda Leven says
The trading platform Scottrade Elite has recently begun failing on a dial up line. My response time for a chart, graph, or trade can be 5 minutes or longer. It was good up until a few months ago (3/07). I have had to move to Schwab. Their cyber trader is great!
Mark Criswell says
I use Scottrade for a Dogs of the Dow account (i.e. once a year, 10 trades) — so not much. But I’m pleased with them. Like others have said, their website has not infrequent problems – but they allow you to deal with their local branches by phone too. This is a nice deal for a cheap online brokerage. They’re website is not quite as nice as BrownCo (down defunct) and e-Trade, but good enough for the lowest rates of any brokerage!!
Meg Rooney says
I inherited quite a bit of stock and am receiving stock certificates in the mail. I decided to open an account at Scottrade because they have local branches I could deliver the stock to instead of sending signed certificates in the mail. I took the certificates on April 13th and signed and gave them to the person who waited on me. He told me to look at my account in about 5 business days and I’d see the stock. When the account was still not showing the stock 11 days later, I called customer service. The branch manager says the stock certificates were lost in their St. Louis office. St. Louis says they never made it there. The manager says they sent me paperwork to fill out and I should have had it last week, but they sent it US mail and not Fedex. I asked if I could come to the office and sign it and he says they don’t have the paperwork there. Meanwhile the market is peaking and I don’t want to take my new certificates to them and I want to liquidate my stock while the market is high. No one seems to care that they lost my signed stock certificates.
Sutherland says
Cost and execution is great, hate the site and tools. Shopping for a new broker.
Jim D says
Just wondering, what are you paying for mutual fund transactions at your new broker?
Cheryl says
My son is fighting with the IRA over a tax report Scottrade sent them. It appears they showed a gain when it was actually a loss of a few thousand dollars. Now the IRS is saying he owes 3,000 dollars from the Scottrade report gain tax. It appears someone marked it posItive instead of negative. What a mess. Phone call to Scottrade resulted in the person on the line for Scottrade saying if anything, he should have a refund coming. Try to get the IRS to understand that after it has been reported as a profit. Scottrade has been no help at all in this mess they created.
Kevin Martin says
I hate Scottrade with a capital H. Everything is just bad. From the incompetent brokers to the horrible executions! Trust me go to TD Ameritrade and you will thank me.
Tim says
Hey moron, they hold your check for 10 days because it’s a new account and they don’t know who you are. Certified checks can be forged too! Are you so stupid that you think it not possible for someone to counterfeit a certified check? Let me guess you were in a hurry to by SIRI because your a financial wiz. You sir are an idiot.
K. Irwin Keating says
Through my brief 5 yrs of trading – Scottrade has been exasperating in terms of keeping their servers up, running, and available. (Note, however, I am still there.) They need at least one additional hardware expert and one additional senior programmer in their central offices. My active, not rapid, trading style is mildly disrupted by the very frequent general site failures. But, these problems are, no doubt, horrendous interference for rapid or “day” trading styles. But, they do not invite, or encourage, rapid or “day” trading, and they do seem to be trying to debug their software. (“Hope springs eternal–“). Scottrade upper management must take the blame for losing their web site far too often, and for tolerating obvious flaws in their software; however, it is really unfair to blame them for many of the complaints you present. Many sound a bit like the results of unsuccessful decisions (especially “timing”!) by inexperienced, unlucky, or insufficiently schooled traders. Scottrade makes a point of not offering guidance. They should not(!) since their local offices seem to suffer an extremely rapid turnover of phone-assisting personnel – albeit led by a more permanent broker experienced in the use of their system. Their best value is not in their speed, nor in their low transaction fees (real), but rather in the access they offer to A)legitimate, otherwise very expensive, information: Dow Jones, S&P, etc.; B) very close to real time trade streams, and C) to extensive charting possibilities. One additional, very meaningful, point – because they are both readily available and inexpensive, I’ve had the not previously available opportunity to access the ‘market’, not only to exercise my understandings and efforts to increase my own resources dramatically, but also to launch and to improve the future plans and hopes of several younger persons in my family (currently ~10 accts.) That being the case, as long as they appear to be working on improvement of their support for the small investor (that’s me and, probably, lots of others), and as long as they avoid hiding costs and limits in their dealing with me (several brokerage houses go out of their way to hide alternative prices, and what triggers them!), it’s easy to tolerate their imperfections. I actually appreciate them.
J R says
It seems that management hasn’t taken the Scottrade website seriously b/c of problems I’ve seen such as broken links, inaccurate account information and general lack of functionality. I’m extremely surprised that a financial institution has failed to implement an online deposit function 9 months after they took it off (was told it would be available at the end of summer). It’s obvious that management hasn’t applied the necessary resources towards managing and maintaining the site. What does this tell you about them managing your money?
Jason says
Charlie is a moron. First off, Nite not Knight. Yes, Rodger is on the board but they do not route to nite every time. You need some education. Check out the order execution system at Scottrade .com.
Donald Thomas says
After reading all the comments from Pa residents I agree and give Scottrade the highest recommendation. Could your service depend on the office you deal with?
Mike says
Scottrade is the best online broker, period. It is very inexpensive, and I can call and talk to the same office/brokers every time I call. No automated recordings, just real people, who will do whatever it takes to help me out and answer my questions. If you haven’t given them a try, you are definitely missing out.
Coalson says
Read an article stating to use Scottrade only if do a few trades each month but if trading more often, not to use Scottrade as you would loose money. Stated Scottrade did not handle their on traces.
Lee says
Scottrade is the 2nd best decision I have made investing. The first was leaving my full service broker.
Wray Smallwood says
Using Scottrade (especially streaming data like in Elite) in a busy market is an experience in frustration. They have inadequate capacity planning for networks and servers. If you don’t have stop losses in and the market crashes, you might as well forget about your money.
Tom says
Their web site is really really messed up. Especially when you want to place a crucial trade. The web site will not respond or will be down or be slow as molasses. I will not recommend this to any one
Stock says
System was down all day and keep losing money, the broker put wrong order for my stock and never correct ’til Sunday. Scottrade trade sucks and I keep loosing money… worst customer support I have ever seen in the trading.
Calvin Gooch says
I have been using Scottrade for about 6 months. Have been happy so far, trades have been executed promptly, and they were able to answer all my questions. Unless something changes will stay with Scottrade.
R. H. says
Apple computer users beware. I built up my account and qualified for their Scottrade Elite account, but when tried to download the software for this account, suddenly I notice that their Elite account software works on PC only. Frankly, that is a little deceptive. It should be clearly stated that you need 25000 dollars in your account and a PC to qualify to use their Elite software, not discovered later. Also, their streaming quotes locks very often on my Apple computer because it is basically designed for PC and optimized for Internet Explorer. Also, going to their office to deposit money each time is lame. Their on line service of depositing money online has been taken away. All of these issues can be corrected and a good company would do it fast. Let us see if Scottrade would do that. I doubt it.
Lew Holt says
Please help me understand what you mean when you say “the prints are going off on the buy?” I use Scottrade and it is interesting, and occasionally frustrating, on the order fills. Sometimes the orders are executed excellently, other times, I see orders executed at my bid, however, my order is not executed. Usually these anomalies occur with thinly traded securities.
Jon Byrnes says
Bill, if the change in site is a problem for you what do you expect with a new broker? Do you think E-Trade will offer you the old Scottrade website? Besides you only pay $7 a trade and no fees, try finding a better deal else where and don’t go with BrownCo as they are becoming a part of E-Trade. From where I’m sitting you don’t have much to complain about so stop being a baby and move on. Things change, websites get updated, go with it or get left behind you dinosaur.
Ron says
You couldn’t be more wrong. When a brokerage firm sells you a mutual fund they are taking over the records keeping and tax reporting. That is something the fund company would normally have to do but now it’s in the brokers hands. Fund companies used to reimburse brokerage firms for this service but fewer and fewer do so now. It is a business and in order to keep afloat Scottrade must pass the cost onto the customer. What do you expect when there is no quarterly fee or annual fee and a low commission cost?
Karen Bledsoe says
I started an account with Scottrade ten years ago to invest money from my son’s college account. I’ve looked at other brokers (such as Buy & Hold back before it became a subscription service) and I’ve not had any reason to switch. Scottrade is just what I want: a no-frills, easy-to-use online broker with low fees and no inactivity fee and no one calling me up saying, “Buy this! Buy that!” Months or even a couple years may pass between our trades, and no extra fees apply. Frequent traders and people who obsess about buying now this minute as some stock or another rises may want a different service. For infrequent buy-and-hold traders who don’t want or need a broker advice, Scottrade works just fine.
Don Eylat says
They have performed flawlessly as promised; all info accurate and timely. Local branch perfectly cooperative and investor friendly. $7 flat rate commission on all market and limit/stop orders.
Bipin Noble says
Fortunately, I’ve not had any issues with my current broker. Though I wish, the spread would be a lot leaner. But they are prompt, and have provided plenty of features such as streaming quotes, IPO listing, gainskeeper, alerts, market research, etc. free of charge.
Thomas Crow says
Wonderful. Extrtemely reasonable commissions.
Dave says
I used to like Scottrade but I do more options now and they don’t do options and I have found execution is not good. I traded the same stock on both Scottrade and E-Trade and got faster trades (2 days faster on GTC orders) and better price ($.75 on a stop order) with E-Trade.
Mark Barrack says
Great support. Fast trades. Good prices. Probably not a pick for options broker though. Never a problem.
Bill DeKeyser says
Intensely unhappy with the new Scottrade trading system. The old system much better but they have also modified it so that it doesn’t perform like it used to. I’m about ready to drop Scottrade & pick up a 3rd Broker.
Philip Warbasse says
I have been pretty happy with Scottrade’s assistance and vision for the personal investor. Immediacy is very important because I am dealing with mostly short puts and can loose a lot of money in a hurry. Scottrade’s tools help me predict how long market outlook will remain neutral and when volatility outlook may begin to fall. So far, so good.
Jonas Eklund says
I’ve been using Scottrade but I’ve noticed that sometimes selling short orders take forever to get executed if at all. Anyone else experience this?
Mary Dias says
Scottrade is a no, even less than no, frills. They offer nothing and execute correctly. You want advice? Only a full service brokerage should be willing to provide full service. Fortunately you get what you pay for at Scottrade. Caveat emptor.
Charlie says
I see the comments stating that Scotttrade has cheap and fast service. If you trade occasionally, I can see how one might get this impression. My experience has been dramatically different and bad, in several areas: 1 Execution platform. Many mornings when I try to log on to the Scottrade servers they are either not working or after logging on they fail at the worst time, when the market opens. Frequently I get the message “trading not available” or “modification is off” from the system. Then when I call to have a broker execute the trade, they are either unavailable (because everyone else is calling in) or they can’t even get to their own back office. 2 I was frequently puzzled about a strange execution pattern. On limit orders of several thousand shares, 100 shares would execute immediately at my bid, then the market would back the ask away from me and my order would sit there for minutes causing me to either bump my bid by several cents to get it off or go to a market order (which would fill several cents against me). I couldn’t figure this out until I discovered several weeks ago that Scottrade doesn’t even execute their own trades! They sell 100% of their order stream to Knight, which makes a profit on “handling” the stream and then shares the profit they made on the client’s trade with Roger Riney. Roger happens to be on the board of directors of Knight. Bottom line is if a better broker that does not sell it’s order stream charges a penny a share, it is a better proposition than losing 1,2,3,5 or more pennies per share. 3 Scottrade continued to overcharge me for limit orders, after they instituted same price for market or limit orders. 4 When selling a stock short, the broker must obtain the shares to short them “if they are available” you might notice that many stocks are not available to be shorted from Scottrade. This is because they sell their order stream to Knight and do not have a direct relationship to the market makers who must make them available. I have frequently been in the middle of a short trade and either cannot short more shares or am told that my short must be closed out because the shares are no longer available. Bottom line. If you are a 401 account trader and only need to do a few buys and sells per month on a cash account and don’t mind giving away a few cents of each trade, Scottrade is the place for you. If you count on your trading to make you money regularly and want to pay a true discount fee with a broker that actually trades your shares with the exchange go somewhere else.
David Becker says
I am currently transferring most of my assets from my Scottrade account (to Fidelity) which I’ve had for about two years. My main complaint is that beginning January 2005, they started charging fees (with little if any notice) to buy and sell many mutual funds that were previously free. This included many funds that I had previously purchased. Even currently, more fund families are being dropped from their NTF system.
Rudy Franklin says
Answer to Otto Vanburen – Nevada, USA (Dec-2004) when he wrote: Spyware will make both your computer and internet access slow down more and more until both are barely functional- if at all. An ‘Apple computer’ a day keeps spyware at bay.
J V Alexander says
You are so right. They are very helpful and give very good service, but no recommendations.
Delores Sonnenberg says
I have very good experience with this company. Trades are easy, confirmations are e-mailed immediately, and I can call them any time when I don’t understand how to do something on the internet or how I will be charged. They are very upbeat and willing to help in any way possible, then I just go to the internet and do my $7 trade. When cash is in the account at the end of the month, there is a small interest paid. When I request a check from them, it is mailed the next day and I get it the next. I can’t imagine anything easier or cheaper. My brokers want to charge high fees and argue with me about what I am buying. I even have IRA accounts with Scottrade.
Matt Barry says
Scottrade killed me last week. When Google announced, initially it went to up to 320! But Scottrade doesn’t allow A/H until 4:15! I lost a fortune. They also don’t have pre-market where GOOG was at 310 the next morning before opening at 306. I’m so out. Gonna switch to Fidelity. They may be more expensive, but that one trade alone would have saved me thousands.
Yogesh Jain says
Scottrade’s option quote system is terrible and unreliable. I have matched their quotes with OptionsXpress, BrownCo and Fidelity. Scottrade’s option quotes are totally random.
P.H. says
The Scottrade Albany, NY offices have incredible service. I am so impressed with Scottrade. I never had to wait longer then 60 seconds anytime I called the main Scottrade number anytime I had a question. Scottrade’s website is very easy to navigate compared to other online brokers. I will stick with Scottrade for a long time to come.
K. G. says
I’m equally annoyed with the introduction of the $17 charges for most funds. I’m convinced that it’s the old bait and switch routine. They’re popular, have lured us all in, and now are planning on taking our money from us. After three years of contentment, I’m thinking about taking my money elsewhere.
Matt Cline says
The phrase “you get what you pay for” doesn’t apply to Scottrade. You get more for your money, just like their slogan says. Great user interface, great customer service (sent in application on a Friday, Scottrade rep called me first thing Monday then received info in mail by Wednesday, so got account up and running in a grand total of about 5 days). Haven’t executed a trade yet, but I’m sure execution will be great. Some on here have bashed Scottrade, I don’t know why; it’s great.
Greg Kuhn says
Of course they fill market orders fast, because they make money on the spread. They are not good for active day traders because they do not fill orders on the buy price. They wait until your buy becomes the ask, and the prints are going off on the buy, then they can make the spread and only then will they fill your order. They’re fine for long-term investors, but they suck for day traders.
Craig E. Pawling says
I had 2 separate trading accounts. I just switched my other account which also had my Roth IRA to Scottrade. What can I say? $7 trade trades mkt or limit. Great trading platform with instant info on all your trades, positions, balances etc. Plus a local office which is very prompt and informative. Sent my forms in to transfer my other accounts to them & a Scottrade rep gave me a call the same day they received them. I’m very impressed! If you know what you want….Why pay more? Scottrade will take care of the rest.
Bill Heenan says
I’m very impressed with the great professional service provided to me by the Albany, New York office. I recently rolled over my New York State deferred compensation account into a self-directed Scottrade IRA. The rollover was efficiently done and the trades made have been handled accurately and at lightning speed. I would recommend this brokerage to any retired New York State employees who want to put their deferred comp funds to work to make some serious money. And they won’t send you a nasty letter accusing you of being a market timer!
Mark von Germeten says
I could tell that Scottrade would do their best to hang onto your money when I signed up, but with rates that low I can’t complain much. When I get my balance up I will probably switch to a different broker. (That will be a while) An appealing part of Ameritrade is that you can take your money out within 3 business days. Perhaps you should have put it into a bank account before taking it across water. Even then you would have had to wait for the check to come in the mail. All in all Scottrade is a bit behind the times but I’ve been happy with my limited experience with them.
Thomas Crow says
Trades are done at once. Only problem: Monthly statements are generally more than a week to post on the net. They have been extremely accurate and do not bug me.
Mark H says
Overall very happy with Scottrade though, upset with getting a corrected 1099 in late February, after already having filed with the IRS
Aaron Clark says
Have met them in person and used many times and they are great. Only complaint is they do not allow a DRIP (Dividend Re-Investmant Plan). I wish they did.
John Hotchkiss says
I am a bit distressed at the beginning of the year makeover of the Mutual Fund trading program. Scottrade has added charges both in and out of a number of previously NTF funds, without notice. I was recently charged a fee to exit a fund I bought prior to the change, which, previously, was NTF.
Geoffrey Dean Bunting says
Scottrade’s web service is very bad but @ $7.00 per trade what do you expect. Fidelity is very good but if you trade a lot the fees can eat up your bankroll.
Ron says
I have experienced poor performance from local broker. Office did not withhold taxes as instructed and are dragging their feet in providing help to resolve the issue and provide a revised 1099. Not what I need at tax time.
P.E. Gross says
Not bad at first but now if you email support they send back a form answer with no help at all. If the system breaks down forget it. No help at all. I emailed the CEO and got no answer. They do not care if you stay or leave.
Charles says
I have had market orders that have taken much longer than 1 minute to fill. I have also had limit oders (for 100 shares) where the marketmakers have traded around them.
Otto Vanburen says
Scottrade has been great so far. They have the lowest price, no inactivity fees and great customer service. Reading through the posts below, I would be willing to bet my entire trading account that 99% of the computer/website related issues discussed were due to a problem with the users computer and not Scottrade’s website or or trading system. One word of advice- get Ad-aware and Spy-bot! These are spyware cleaners you can download and update for free. Spyware will make both your computer and internet access slow down more and more until both are barely functional- if at all.
Keith Oszuscik says
Very good service and a reasonable commission.
Matt Koch says
(Waterhouse has) High fees. Better service, no fees, and reasonable @ Scottrade!
Brett says
I opened a Scottrade account about 2 years ago. I have been very pleased. It’s only $500 to open an account and you can buy stocks for $7. In 2005 it will also be $7 for limit orders. I have since moved all my money I had at AG Edwards to my Scottrade account. It’s much cheaper using a discount broker. I would recommend Scottrade to anyone.
Norman says
I just bought $3000 of no-load mutual fund, when I got my trade, I multiple the price with shares, I found it only worth $2960, in other words, they ate $40. It is supposed to be $0 for a no-load fund.
Bud Sloan says
I can’t say I am particularly dissatisfied with Scottrade. When one has had as many negative experiences as I have with such brokerages as Ameritrade, Scottrade isn’t all that bad. When something does go wrong, and I have had my share, there is a local branch manager you can go look in the eye and tell him/her just how p—– you really are. Actually, Scottrade would probably get an “outstanding” from me if they didn’t defer every thing to the local office. Most times I, and I assume, most experienced investors, would prefer to deal with their brokerages on-line with a local contact to go sit down with for an hour or so when things get really f—– u-. With Scottrade, except for trades, it’s your local brokerage or nothing. Even if you know more about investing than your local representative does.
Bob Jeffers says
No problems with Ameritrade at all. Trades almost instant. Datek took stock out of my account and it took a complaint to the SEC to get it back (that company is gone now). On one order they got me a price below the ‘ask’ price – a real pleasant surprise. Scottrade is good too, but limit orders cost $1 more (market orders $4 less). These seem to be the two lowest cost brokers. (Others have fees etc.)
Crystal Thomas says
Fast real-time trades, good internet site. Lots of help via 800 number. Easy to use.
Sam Maxam says
I use both Brownco and Scottrade. Both provide good technical support. Both require that you know what you are doing in the stock market. Very satisfied with both in their execution of trades.
Jack Schiraldi says
Today I placed a market order to sell 20 S&P Futures options at the market. The bid was 1.40 and the ask 1.50. The execution came back immediately sold 6 at 1.40, 1 @ 1.05 and 13 at 1.00. The time difference between the execution is 1 second. I am currently waiting for an response from Scottrade for this discrepancy and will most likely be headed to an attorney’s office, SEC and and local newspaper in town. I will never place a market order again. It’s hard enough making money in the market without having to deal with manipulation and theft.
Mike the Stockbroker says
Market orders are filled instantly. Sometimes when it is real busy it takes the markets a while to get reported back.
Brian says
Hello? You got the price for the time you put the trade in. That’s exactly what you’re supposed to get. If they have a system problem, they take the time to go back through all of the time and sales to see what the bid and ask was at the time you entered the trade, and give you the fill that you’re do. Excellent customer service!
Rhondar Hopson says
I currently us Scottrade, however they do not reinvest dividends, how would that work if I buy Dog there? Help!
Pete says
Just reinvest you dividend when you reallocate at the end of the year.
David Talbot says
Plenty of local offices for assistance, low commissions on internet trades, and telephone assistance has been great. Web site is excellent.
Harry Sharpe says
The highest levels of the company are not responsive to serious issues and concerns. The compliance department was no help whatsoever. Additionally, the company retaliated to my SEC complaint!
Richard Esposito says
#VALUE!
James Blanton says
Market orders are filled instantly. Sometimes when it is real busy it takes the markets a while to get reported back.
Patricia Vermilus says
After 2 months of technical issues with the Elite Scottrade Platform I have closed my account today. I have lost several thousands of dollars in one day because the price of a particular stock that I shorted over and over within 2 hours was not a current price but the day before. I called the manager in Walnut Creek California, and after a long conversation of telling him what had happened he could not care any less. He knew exactly that the price was not current and tried his best to get rid of me any way he could. I have filed a fraud complaint on April 20, 2004 with the SEC and I intend to file a Class Action Law Suit against them. If you have been a victim of Scottrade and lost any money because of their system failure please emails me at: [email protected] and give a description of the problem.
JV Alexander says
They are there and fast when I need them. They actually want to help me. Not pushy at all. Earned my trust. No recommendations from them though.
Klaus Kuhn says
I have tried to move cash out of the Scottrade account to an European account. This is just unbelievable… “An international wire takes 3 weeks”, not only that – they take the money (40k+) out of the account and leave in the thin air. Every other bank or broker would do it in 3 days max. This broker will end up being more expensive than all the fees to a full-service broker for 3yrs+ due to the G7 meeting.
Felicitas Doucette says
Recently the brokerage’s website was down. No notice given on-line. My market order did not execute for 34 minutes. When execution confirmation came through, it was at the price of 34 minutes ago, although, according to the brokerage’s own personnel, all orders are automated and therefore, this order could not have been filled then. When submitting this problem in writing to the brokerage, I was given a fax number for headquarters’ compliance department that did not answer. I subsequently was given two more numbers, one of which went through. This was nearly one month ago. I have not heard back, neither to my phone call nor to my faxed letter.
Chris Villar says
Mr. 0630am is on the west coast. Not all of the US is in the same time zone. In California, trading starts at 0630.
Leonard Douglass says
Attempting to establish an account for an investment club with a 65K portfolio was an exercise in frustration. After 2 months of trying to fulfill all of Brown Co’s added requirements our club gave up and opened a Scottrade account in about 1 week. Local office was a real advantage.
Sheila says
My portfolio is hopping and as usual can’t connect with Scottrade. Once everything drops will be no problem to connect.
Sandra Schlesinger says
Customer service is very nice and helpful.
Eric Sandrow says
I have been with Scottrade since the end of October. Since being a part of this outfit I have saved about $500 in stock commissions. The website is great, and the few times that I have spoke to my broker he has been very helpful. Great job Scottrade.
Dennis Kagel says
Satisfied with their service as they offer the ability to do it all myself online, and get telephone assistance occasionally if needed.
Bob Taylor says
Online customer support is excellent. Trades are secured quickly. Overall very satisfied.
Martha Martin says
I currently use Scottrade, however they do not reinvest dividends, how would that work if I buy Dogs there?
Rollin Coleman says
I am leaving TD Waterhouse because of several reasons. First, their trades are far too expensive. Scottrade’s are only $7 each, while TDW charges me about $10 more. Second, TDW charges an IRA maintenance fee of $25, which further reduces my principal. Finally, I wrote an email complaint letter and the response addressed me as Ms. and did not answer my question. My chief reason for leaving is price. My portfolio is not large and $17.95 trades are simply too much…
Richard James says
Sarah at 6:30 on the west coast is 9:30 on the east coast there was a problem that day!
Richard James says
Scottrade’s system is great if you only want to buy stocks and sell covered calls. I use Brown to sell puts to get a lower cost basis on stocks that I think are undervalued. Scottrade needs to start allowing clients to sell naked puts.
Jim Devine says
I’ve had an account with Scottrade since Oct 2002 and have seen a steady decrease in online reliability. Emailed complaints are answered with form letter responses and after hours trading seems to be farther and farther over the horizon. The problems seem to stem from poor technology implementation and overwhelming the systems with new subscribers before adequately architecting for the heavier load.
Charles Brannon says
Excellent service and tools.
Steven Smith says
After reviewing what was available and finally settling on Scottrade I have to say I haven’t been disappointed. Trades have been executed quickly and efficiently every time. I’ve had zero problems with the site even using a dial up connection. So far, so good!
Jack Sheruda says
I’ve been using on-line brokers since they became available on the Internet and have had my fair share of various Net-Brokers. The best I’ve seen and used to date is Scottrade. Speed of execution, courtesy. Any problems I have I’m able to reach a local office in Allentown, PA and the commission fee is excellent. So far they have been a Great Company to to business with and I recommend them highly. Stay the way you are guys & gals, I’m 1 happy customer!
William Sorden says
Charts read inaccurate time and interval frame. Constant updating of their system. Many problems the past week. What a waist of time and money. Check out before you sign up.
John says
I’m very pleased with Scottrade. I opened a small starter account as a test. I’ve had no problems so now I’m moving my entire E*Trade account over to them. Scottrade doesn’t try to FEE you to death like E*Trade. Scottrade’s commission is only $7 for market orders versus E*trade’s commission of $23.
Kim says
I love Scottrade. Great commissions and customer service. What puts them over the top is the fact that they have local branches in your area. Granted they have small glitches but what brokerage out there can beat the low commissions with personal brokers in your area?
Sarah says
At 6:30am? You can’t trade until 9:30! What does it matter if they are down at 6:30? Know the market hours man.
Richard Tallini says
I transferred my account from TD Waterhouse due to poor (and rude) customer service. I now enjoy excellent and competent customer service. Trading is a breeze with the streaming display provided. Trades are almost instantaneous. Margin interest rates are considerably lower. Am totally satisfied.
Joe McCullough says
0630AM, Scottrade is down again for forty minutes. Meanwhile my stock is sinking. They also screw up simple market orders to sell in widely traded well known high volume stocks.
Richard Laudati says
I transferred some of my portfolio from Fidelity to Scottrader 5 months ago and I am very happy with their online systems. Unfortunately, like the other brokers, once you have an administrative problem, the trouble starts. Recently I transferred $20k in MM funds: Fidelity debited my account, and 5 days later Scottrader still hadn’t given me credit—they said they had a computer problem and couldn’t project when I would get credit. Last month several unsettled trades were missing from my statement and they gave me the ‘its not my department ask someone else’ bit. I’m disappointed.
Pedro A. Paulete III says
I have two brokers I currently use. Charles Schwab and Scottrade. I find Charles Schwab great for mutual fund investing and Scottrade excellent for stock investing. Both have excellent research tools. I would suggest that anyone interested in maximizing your returns that you take advantage of the many useful tools both have. The best thing of all is the ease of online use both brokers offer. High returns to you.
Chris Moors says
Scottrade’s new system is now up and running without any problems that I have seen. I use the local NJ Scottrade office and found the service outstanding and a real person picks up the phone in 2 rings, how strange now a days.
Andrew Jacobson says
I just wanted to let my fellow investors know that when I made a trade at a local Scottrade office they erred and charged me an additional $20. The local broker gave me the run around. I called the head office several times and also got the run around. Never did get my $20 back. Good luck.
John says
I would rate it a fair so far after using it 6 months. I love the streaming quotes and the executions but hate the fact that they messed up the 1099s for 2002. They sent out one 1099 in late Jan 03 as required by law and then on 25 Feb 03 they sent out two 1099s. I called and asked why and was told that the new computer system could not combine the two. I told them that I had already electronically filed my IRS 1040 taxes for 2002 and would have appreciated a note or something that they were going to send a 2nd 1099 in late February. I called and emailed the head office and got no apology so I tried my local office and still no apology. Guess I will try one of my other brokers now like AMEX or Freetrade where I can trade for free. Good Luck.
Walter says
Are you laundering money or something… why the heck would you need your $144K wired back after only a few days?
Joe Davis says
I’ve been using Scottrade for over a year now, and I have nothing but praise for them. I’ve never encountered any of the problems others on here have reported, and I’m just using a regular ol’ dial-up connection.
Duffy says
It is 3:40 p.m. on a Friday and Scottrade is down again. Can’t use after hours trading. Scottrade is more aggravation than anything else.
K. A. says
Scottrade is the best! 3 time winner of J.D. Power award for customer service. Their brokers know their stuff, and are very easy to deal with. Great service! Trust them totally.
Ron Moore says
I was satisfied with Scottrade in the beginning but since they have upgraded/modified their system they are absolutely horrible. In their current state I would tell everyone to beware of opening an account at Scottrade.
Armand says
I was lured into Scottrade by all the hype and glory reports a little over a month ago. They told me then that their new system was coming on line beginning November, 2002, and that it had been thoroughly tested etc. They glorified the low costs and fast internet trading response and their great customer service. I have lost over $2000 profit because of all the recent crisis and catastrophes of this new system. I am not happy with Scottrade. I think their customer service stinks and they lied to me about the stability of their trading system. I would not recommend Scottrade to anyone at this point.
Davis says
Scottrade system down the entire day, lost money waiting for someone to place a sell order on a stock. The branch I use of all days, only had a few people to assist their customers. So you wait and watch the stock you want to trade drop.
Jim Rohrer says
I read the rules and all things to date have been as expected. I care not to speak to anyone on a trade and the system does not falter when executed on line.
Greg Laake says
I made my first trades on August 1st and I was very pleased with their website and conversations I had on the phone with their representatives when I was setting up the account. These were my first stock trades ever and they answered all of my questions. So far, so good!
George Sickler says
Scottrade is great! They’re comprehensive, fast and easy to access. They’ve helped me make money! Which is nice!
PJ Tucker says
Limited options trading opportunities.
Jack Sheruda says
For a company like Scottrade that has a fantastic web site and real-time action with it’s Scottrader, you’d expect to pay much more then what they charge, plus no inactivity fee and only $500.00 to open. I can’t see how anyone that views their web-site, plugs in their own stocks and watch the activity develop won’t sign with this company. Just the speed of executing a trade is worth being with them. 5 stars for this one.
Bill Heald says
The website is a little sluggish when trading is heavy, but it’s easy to use, has enormous amounts of information on it, and thus far (@100 trades) has been extremely accurate and timely. Good buy for $7 per trade ($12 for BB stocks)…and chances are there’s a Scottrade office close to you if you’re in a city of any size (just in case). I like a real person I can go see when I feel the need.
Rod Stoeckel says
Very good on line broker and I tried others several years ago and went back to Scottrade after they improved their whole trading system.
Glenn Scott says
This is a great brokerage firm. Very easy to do the Dogs of the Dow online. $7.00 trades which is a steal.
Jack says
Scottrade is my 3rd online broker and in my opinion the best so far. The ‘Scottrader’, ‘Time and Sales’ site and streaming quotes used in conjunction give you a genuine feel for the market activities. From an information standpoint and speed of trade with real time quotes you can’t miss if you know what you’re looking for and want to trade at the best price, and this means options also! My dislike with Scottrade is the inability to get money into my account quickly. Prior brokers used ACH (Automated Clearing House) which would withdraw money from or take money out of my account at my credit union once I gave the go-ahead and was done in 24 hrs. or less. All said, I would give them 4 1/2 stars and a big thumbs-up. Best online broker I’ve seen yet.
Joel Phillips says
If your account is set up, there’s no problem. But try adding funds to your account. It’s been over 26 hours and my check has yet to be posted. It’s their ‘policy’ to have all checks sent to Missouri before they can be entered. The market doesn’t wait because Scottrade is so inefficient.
Russ Beckley says
Very satisfied. Local branch office readily accessible and the manager is always available for reliable information. Trading is reliable and fast.
Elizabeth says
In defense of Scottrade: Rule 407 requires shareowners to disclose their employer. It is an industry regulation in order to open a brokerage account. It mainly applies to people in the brokerage business, this customer’s concern is understandable, but the same question is asked at all firms.
Jeff Lee says
Scottrade started offering check-writing and visa check services now. Its interest rate for cash balance is much better than Brown & Company and even E*Trade.
Rick Mehlhaff says
Overall, I’ve been fairly satisfied with the company. But, until Scottrade offers a cash management account, I can’t see anyone considering them a serious brokerage firm or maintaining a credit balance with them.
William Sorden says
News stories and insider trading data not up to date. Don’t be fooled by low trade fees.
Ronald Brignole says
Do not do business with them. I deposited 144,000 dollars in an account with them. When I went to have them wire the funds back to me, I was informed I would have to wait 10 days before that could be done because it was their policy. Too bad I didn’t know this before hand!
Anthon Merva says
I have had and account at Scottrade for sometime now, I have had no problems at all, I can pickup the phone 24 hours a day call Scottrade and a live person answers the phone usually on the third ring (sometimes on the first) I agree with some comments about the speed of the site, you probably want a DSL connection to get the full benefits but they also have an option to load with minimal graphics (which I use when not on DSL) and it works great. I came from E*Trade where I had nothing but problems. When I opened my Scottrade account they sat down with me for about 1 1/2 hours showing me how to work the entire system. and I like having the local offices and local people. The manager of my local branch shops at the same grocery store that I do and every time I see him he asks if I have any problems or need anything. As far as the system going down all of the time, the free streamer has it’s problems but the one that you logon to when you open your account works fine. Scottrade gets a big thumbs up from me!
Steve Kaczmarek says
I have tried several online brokers and I have stayed with Scottrade the last two years. Having an office to visit or drop off deposits is really great. Very good service and at $7.00 a trade they can be beat.
Sherry Rodarmor says
I switched to Scottrade from TD Waterhouse – Waterhouse gave poor to no service (always on hold) and charged $12. Scottrade is always there – a person answers the phone – and they charge $7 for a trade. Online trading, of course.
Marge Dinkens says
Scottrade is pursuing new accounts but can’t handle existing ones on the web. Absolutely horrible dependability at the website, sometimes completely unavailable. Time is money and you can’t count on Scottrade. I would not recommend Scottrade for this reason.
Henry Chan says
The cheapest online broker for small investors currently.
Dan Carroll says
I have had an account with Scottrade since 1992 and have never had a problem. My trades and any questions have always been handled quickly and properly. I believe there are restrictions for people in the investment business opening accounts with brokers. This may explain why they require you to disclose you employer when opening an account. I strongly recommend Scottrade.
Richard Bishop says
Scottrade has been very responsive to any problems I have had trading. When they made a mistake, they fixed it and took the hit. If their site was down, they gave me online rates. If I ever have a problem I can and have gone in to the local office and had the problem resolved right there. I have been very satisfied with the service.
Martin Krolik says
These guys declined my account because I wouldn’t disclose my employer information on a non-margin account. They offered me no valid explanation as to the relevancy of the required information. Is there a hidden advertising agenda involved – hmmm. The branch manager I spoke with, lacked tact and customer care skills. Stay away!
April M. Hooper says
Excellent on-line trading service. To use successfully you should have the most current software. Also, if you have any problems they have offices all over to service any questions or concerns… what more could you ask for from a discount brokerage firm? Service, and quality which Scottrade has!
M.B. says
I recently set up an account with Scottrade using a certified cashiers check. Was told I would be able to trade immediately with cashier check. Account set up on a Fri morning, was told it would take two days for cashiers check to clear (go figure). Now it has been three business days and my funds are still not available to make a trade. I contacted the manager to inquire about the account, he denied telling me inaccurate information, denied even talking to me previously, told me I was mistaken. I asked to close the account and guess what, it takes 10 business days to receive a refund back, however they wouldn’t commit to the actual date that I would receive my funds back. I was given incorrect information and the local office was incompetent and rude. The manager asked me ‘what was it, that I was in a hurry to invest?’ I personally believe my investing is my business and 3 business days wait for a certified cashier’s check to clear is unsatisfactory. My closing remark is ‘What are they doing with my money for 10+ days?’
Ray Heller says
I’ve had unsatisfactory experience with two recent merger situations. I received the Scottrade mailing of the UMG shareholder options resulting from the purchase by AT&T a week after it had expired! That cost me over $20 per share, since I was then required to take the default option of T shares instead of cash. Also, Scottrade refused to pay me the cash in lieu for the 1/2 share that resulted from the .95 shares of T for each UMG share. I’ve written and called, but they just ignore me. The second was the NCE merger into XEL. Again they didn’t credit me cash for a fractional share. But since I was ‘on notice’ I called the day it happened, and was successful in getting that situation corrected. I found my local office to be very responsive, but when the problem is not current (that day), and I have to deal with the central ‘Corporate Compliance’, I’ve just wasted my time.
DD Tucker says
If you are a trader, this is probably not the broker for you. If you are an investor (like I am), looking to buy and hold, then you should check them out. I am pleased with their low commission, basic internet service, and the ability to call someone local to get questions answered.
John Kaniuk says
I just opened an account with scottrade.com, they offer the best of both worlds with an online service and over 90 offices now…. I can understand if people have experienced online problems, but you can visit a local office or call the company direct…for an order…I think they are better than Ameritrade.
James Chitko says
Just closed my accounts with them today. System keeps going down. It took 45 min. and two phone calls to get a market order to sell in for AOL, and by the time they processed it I was down 2 points instead of up 3 points on a put option. Just got a confirmation email on stocks I purchased. To bad it was not for my account, or stocks that I even trade in. Asked my local broker to sell all my holdings at market in my options account at 9:00 a.m. yesterday, at 2:45 I still had an AOL April contract in my account. From now on I’ll split my trading between two on-line brokers.
Ron Pendrick says
Many times I want to trade, I can’t connect, it takes so long I lose money because the stock has risen, I lost 500 yesterday on xmcm.
Ed Holman says
I have used Scottsdale for about 3 years with very good results. When the lines have been tied up I can always call or visit their office. You must use the latest computer software for the best results.
Jim Schwobel says
I don’t understand why Scottrade is getting any positive comments at all. For the past 3 months, and on a daily basis, I have experienced nothing but horrible service from their on-line trading system. That system is constantly going down. How can they continue in business with this level of service? They have published a brief paragraph on their web site, stating they are experiencing capacity problems, yet they continue to advertise for more customers? How can existing customers expect that service to improve with the anticipated increase in customers? I have written them to suggest that they quit advertising for more customers until they can service the ones they have.
Ed Thompson says
I have had a “Scottrade” account with Scottsdale for over a year and have had no problems at all. I cannot get over reviewing the transaction notice they send via snail-mail and see in the commission block the amount of $7! For 1,000 shares! Or more! I am presently considering opening another account with them to be exclusively Dogs or “Puppies”. Having a local walk-in office is a pleasant bonus.