patrick.net

I've had accounts at Schwab, Fidelity, and ETrade, and think Schwab's the best of that bunch.

Well I'd have said ThinkorSwim, but since they got bought out by AmeriTrade....no.

ETrade is fine.

I have only used Vanguard, but I have been really happy with it. They seem to have a good variety of low fee mutual funds. I think I pay $7 per trade (stocks and non-Vanguard ETFs, Vanguard funds are zero cost to buy/sell). The $7/trade is a discounted price (20 trades per calendar year?). It'm sure there are cheaper options out there, but I'm not a very frequent trader, so it works for me. Again, I don't have any experience with other services, so I can't really compare...(Other than our 401k account with OneAmerica, which pretty much sucks)

Vanguard's customer service (phone) has been excellent.

Vanguard is an outstanding company with ultra low expenses. They also have free Certified Financial Planners that are very good and individual stocks and non-vanguard ETF's are only $2.00 per trade if you have enough invested with them to be put into a Voyager Select or Flagship account.

I've used Tradeking. Their commissions are by far the lowest in the brokerage industry that I know of. $4.95 per trade for stocks and $4.95 for options +$0.65 per contract (up to 8) and $0.15 (for more than 8).

They're decent, if all you want to trade is NYSE and AMEX.

If you're looking for OTC/Pink sheet stocks - they're not good, you're better off with bigger players like Etrade.

You know stocks are in a long term downtrend that will continue for at least another 3 years right(look at the charts). Gold and Silver(physical) are in the midst of a correction making this a good time to buy, as they have a ways to go before they top out.

But I prefer investments that are less susceptible to manipulation, and complete destruction of value by banks and governments. And given recent activity, who would trust an investment dependent on sound government decisions, and banks planning in the best interest of the public?

Since I own some Vanguard accounts my trades are $2 and for their ETFs the trade is free.
However, if I were to buy an individual stock I would consider it only after owning *significant mutual fund assets*
I would recommend a stock mutual fund to a new investor.
Well over 95% of my financial assets are in mutual funds. Vanguard, T.Rowe Price, and a much smaller amount in Fidelity. I can't bring myself to sell Fidelity Contrafund, although the expenses are higher than my normal funds.
My favorite *single fund* which I own is T. Rowe Price Small Cap Value. But, if I had to start with only one fund, I would maybe pick a more conservative one so as not to experience a stomach ache if/when there is a dip here and there.
Vanguard Dividend Growth, Fidelity Contrafund, T.Rowe Price Capital Appreciation are not going to be too scary.
I presently own just Apple stock besides my mutual funds. I can't sell it because I think it's still going to be going up and also I like owning it somehow. I would recommend Apple but it's gotten expensive lately.
I have used T. Rowe Prices stock trading also besides Vanguard, but they cost $9 per trade so Vanguard for me was much cheaper.