Recommended for stock trading and basic options trading
Company Background:
First Flushing Securities was founded by John C. Liu in 1985 in Flushing, New York. The company launched its online trading website in 1997. A year later, the company changed its name to Firstrade and moved its online trading website to Firstrade.com.
Firstrade is privately held and headquartered in Flushing, New York. Its founder, John C. Liu, is the CEO. Its clearing firm is Penson Financial Services, Inc.
Platforms:
- Website: www.firstrade.com
- Advanced Trading Platform: No
- Mobile Website: m.firstrade.com
- iPhone App: Yes
- Android / BlackBerry Apps: No
Review Summary:
Firstrade starts off on the wrong foot with a paper heavy registration process and limited account funding options. Following a redesign of the entire platform in early 2011, the overall user experience is much improved. Stock trading in particular is now very good and so we recommend it for all investors. The options trading platform is improved as well but has an excessive exercise / assignment fee and is still missing a few advanced features. Therefore, we recommend Firstrade only for those who utilize simple options trading strategies. In other areas, the research tools are extensive, the charts are merely average and the commissions and fees are mostly respectable. The iPhone App has improved from its initial release and now offers a quality mobile trading experience. Firstrade offers commission free ETF trading on 10 popular funds.
Detailed Reviews by Category:
- Registration: D
- Stock Trading: B
- Options Trading: C
- Charts: C
- Research Tools: A
- iPhone App: C
- Commissions and Fees: Fails for excessive option exercise / assignment fee
- Margin Rates
- Dividend Reinvestment Plans (DRIPs): Yes
- Extended Hours Trading: Yes
- Commission Free ETFs
- Tax Reporting
- Mint.com Compatibility: Yes
- Wikinvest Compatibility: No
- Clearing Firms
See our broker overall recommendation list to compare Firstrade with other brokers