Investing Information

Finding a Broker


"Hey Joe! I need help finding a broker. I notice that discount commission rates are pretty much the same. So how do I choose?"

Commission is definitely not the most important factor in choosing a broker. Most important in choosing a brokerage firm is the per trade slippage, the difference between the stop order price and execution price.

Based on a study I saw some years back, ten orders were placed with five commission houses. All orders were priced in the same market at the same price, before the market opened. The difference in slippage from worst to best was over $800. Slippage one year for Rosenthal-Collins trading one and two contracts of the S&P, was over $20,000 per account. The floor broker for the majority of those trades was Mario De Bartolo. All the fills were supposedly legal. One order for 15 contracts was to sell at 45. The market took over two minutes to fall in one-tick increments to even money, at 00, before an up tick. All 15 contracts were unbelievably filled at 00. Slippage on the order was $3,375. A week later another order was slipped over $2,000, then all accounts were closed. Coffee once had the daily high and low in the opening range. I was filled on my buy stop and sell stop at the high and low of the day, 360 points times three. Legalized theft. The broker could have taken both sides of the orders. New York markets are notorious for their slippage, as is the Chicago pork belly market.

Any broker who allows this kind of slippage to occur on his customer's orders is not worth having as a broker. There are brokerage firms that carefully monitor the kinds of fills their customers are getting from the floor. If the fills are bad, they will dump the bad floor broker and use another. Bad floor brokers can be penalized that way. They lose the business. A good broker will do battle for his/her customers. That's why we use the broker we are currently using. If you want a referral, let me know. I'll be happy to give it.

Joe Ross
Trading Educators Inc

About Joe Ross:
Joe Ross has been trading for more than 47 years, and is a well known Master Trader. He has survived all the up and downs of the markets because of his adaptable trading style, using a low-risk approach that produces consistent profits.

Joe is the creator of the Ross hook, and has set new standards for low-risk trading with his concept of "The Law of Charts?." Joe was a private trader for most of his life. In the mid 80's he shift his focus and decided to share his knowledge. After his recovery, he founded Trading Educators in 1988 to teach aspiring traders how to make profits using his trading approach. He has written 12 major books on trading. All of them have become classics and have been translated into many different languages.

Joe holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of California at Los Angeles. He did his Masters work in Computer Sciences at the George Washington University extension in Norfolk, VA. Joe still tutors, teaches, writes, and trades regularly. Joe is still an active and integral part of Trading Educators.


MORE RESOURCES:

Canada.com

Investing for a bigger world is still Microsoft's primary vista
Financial Times, UK - 22 hours ago
Mr Ballmer's comments, which included his starkest warning yet that Microsoft would remain in "investment mode" indefinitely, or at least until it made a ...
UPDATE: Microsoft Must Keep Investing In Online Operating - CEO CNNMoney.com
Any deal between Microsoft and Yahoo is probably off - so then what? BetaNews
Analysts served up tidbits, spy "doughnuts" at Microsoft meeting Seattle Times
MarketWatch - AFP
all 1,017 news articles


Saving, investing are not equal
TMCnet - 15 hours ago
Saving would be having money that is readily accessible and in low-risk investment vehicles such as bank accounts, certificates of deposit and money market ...


Washington Post

Risk of investing in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac controllable
China Daily, China - Jul 24, 2008
The risks from Bank of China (BOC) investing in the two mortgage companies are viewed as under control, said bank president Li Lihui yesterday, ...
Video: House Bails Out Lenders CBS
Fannie and Freddie Rescued at Last Seeking Alpha
Securities 'Achilles heel of US lenders' Irish Independent
RisMedia.com (press release)
all 4,170 news articles


@MobileBeat: VC Panel: Where Venture Capital Is Investing?
Washington Post, United States - Jul 24, 2008
Is it focused on billing, location, what are you investing in? Young said AT&T is investing in devices and network capabilities, and for good reason, ...


CORRECTING and REPLACING Market Vectors Launches Gulf States Index ETF
MarketWatch - 9 hours ago
Founded in 1955, Van Eck Global was among the first US money managers helping investors achieve greater diversification through global investing. ...
Middle East, North Africa ETFs: More Possibilities for MENA Investing Seeking Alpha
Market Vectors Family of Municipal Bond ETFs Announces Distributions MarketWatch
all 17 news articles


Keep the Fed from disrupting your cash
MSNBC - 5 hours ago
By Jean Chatzky For years, I've been pushing a "boring is better" approach to investing. This strategy centers around the belief that many of us make the ...


Biotech-Stock Mailbag: Genentech
TheStreet.com - 6 hours ago
10, at 8 am ("Biotech Investing for Individuals: How to Turn Geeky Science Into Fat Profits"). Let's open this week's Biotech Mailbag with something a bit ...
Roche's Big Hurdle with Genentech BusinessWeek
MOST READ: What Now, Genentech Investors? TheStreet.com
all 7 news articles


News Flash: You Can Lose Money
Motley Fool - 9 hours ago
By Selena Maranjian July 25, 2008 Comments (0) I've told you about many of my investing blunders over the years, including the tale of how I lost $200000 of ...


Where McCain and Obama Stand on Economic Issues
U.S. News & World Report, DC - 2 hours ago
Obama proposes investing $150 billion over 10 years in green technologies. He would also create a clean-energy venture capital fund. ...


Value Investing Has Failed
Motley Fool - Jul 24, 2008
In that 36-year period, the worst year for value investing was in 1974, with a -21.8% return. But that year, growth did even worse, with a -32.4% return. ...

Investing - Google News

home | site map
© 2006