Broker Notes & Comparison
.......Updated 12/25/1999, 01/25/2000, 02/06/2000, 2/20/2000, 2/26/2000, 3/17/2000, 01/01/2001, 04/08/2001

(Underlined italicized text represents the latest additions to this training guide. Underlined text represents the previous additions to the training guide)

Picking a broker can be a difficult task, however as your portfolio grows it may become necessary, even wise, to have several brokers. For the Hannaian Business we feel you should have several online discount brokers if possible. Currently the online brokerage business is in a state of flux with many brokers in fierce competition to make their mark. They are constantly updating their services and on the whole doing a fine job at this early stage of industry maturity. They have collectively made a tremendous dent into the business of traditional full service brokers, to the extent that most full service brokers have now become online brokers and many investment bankers who catered solely to the traditional brokerage houses, now openly court the affections of the online brokers and their booming business. Due to the high rate of flux in the industry the following review of online brokers may as accurate as the current state of affairs at any point in time. However the review should serve as a good guide to selecting a broker. It will be updated as needed, so that it should be revisited from time to time to keep updated. Your choice of broker(s) is an important one and should be constantly monitored and updated based on your needs.

Professional day trading and market making activities require additional tools to be fully competitive. If you want to participate in market making activities and professional short term trading and you want the ultimate in access for short term trading you should get an account with a brokerage service like The Executioner combined with LiveWire Trader Software in order to maximize your participation at this level. More and more brokerages are now entering this special arena, AB Watley, Speedtrader.com and 1800daytrade.com now all offer similar services. It can be expected that there will be many more opportunities in this area in the very near future.

When possible it is essential to upgrade your brokerage accounts to Level II status. Level II accounts are now available for reduced rates and even with OTC:BB quotes. These types of accounts allow real time data on stock quotes, Market Maker trading, Time & Sales reports, size and depth of orders and more. having access to such data significantly enhances the efficacy of trading. In addition many level II type accounts allow for enhanced executions, even market maker type executions which significantly improves your trading capabilities and bottom line profits. The necessity of having level two data and execution capability is that more and more of the competition will be having it in the future and hence it will be essential to keep up with the competition at some point. Currently ABWatley offers an account called Ultimate Trader Free which allows most of the important Level II data and trade execution functions without extra costs when you open an account with $10,000. This appears to be the most cost effective approach to Level II data and executions at this time. Due to the fierce competition between brokers we can expect that other excellent Level II opportunities will develop quickly in the near future. Stay tuned to "Broker Notes and Comparisons" to watch for these developments. in Level II accounts.

Keep abreast of this "Broker Notes and Comparisons" training guide which is constantly updated with new information about online brokers. Your choice of broker will significantly affect the way and efficacy of how you trade. this can mean savings or losses of thousands of dollars and is of extreme importance. hopefully everyone will at some point be able to afford a proper Level II brokerage account, since without it the playing field is not even.

Whatever your trading needs the brokerage or trading service you use is an important tool which you should constantly keep updated on. This is a highly competitive area and your due diligence in this area will save you significant time, money, and resources by making and keeping the right choice of broker(s) and trading services for your needs and level of operations.

Establish several accounts with online discount brokers if possible. This gives you access to several sources of proprietary research and research tools and methods. You can research the various online brokers at or Stock Research Tools page.

Make sure that the brokers you select meet as much of the following criteria as possible;

a. Allow trading without extra costs on OTC:BBB stocks, International stocks, and penny stocks
b. Provide check writing privileges to access the cash in the account
c. Pay a good rate of interest on the cash balance in the account.
d. Allow phone trades at a reasonable price or at no difference to Internet placed trades.
e. Allow access to trade Initial Public Offerings (IPOs).
f. Have adequate Internet and phone access during times of heavy trading.
g. Provide real time quote access.
h. Provide margin accounts at low rates.
i. Provide the ability to trade options.
j. Provide Level II quotes.
k. Allow online trading of OTC:BB stocks. This is very important for H.I.P.S. trading.
l. Allow After Hours and Pre-Market trading.
m. Provide instant online updates of order fills and status.



RJT.COM

RJT actively supports various trading needs of QuoteTracker users by providing: Most efficient tick-by-tick streaming quotes Tick-by-tick Level II quotes A specialized server interface for QuoteTracker Integrated Trading.

RJT.COM is making tick-by-tick NASDAQ Level II quotes available to all clients for only $25 per month including all exchange fees. To make it even better, they lowered their requirements for opening an account to just $100 if you sign up for Level II quotes.

To open an account, just go to: http://www.rjt.com/qtdefault.html
Make sure to select the Level II option. RJT will then charge your account for the first two months of Level II service ($50). You can then deposit more money to trade or transfer securities into the account at your leisure. You are under no obligation to continue Level II quote service after the two month period that has already been paid for.

RJT provides unrestricted limit orders for $5 and appears to provide a solid level of performance in online transactions.



Wit Capital

Wit Capital was our number one choice for purposes of the Hannaian type business if you are interested in IPO's. However we have slowed our pursuit of IPO's at this time due to difficulty in getting signifcant amounts of shares at the initial offering price, the inflated intial offering price of many new IPO's, and our ability to achieve greater profits in our primary business of choosing good intellectual property rich companies at low prices and benefiting from their growth.

Wit Capital is probably still the number one overall choice for its range of services and innovative approach to supporting the small individual investor with services traditionally only available to institutional and other large players.

Pros: Check writing privileges, moderate costs per trade, limit orders, phone orders essentially the same price as standard trades, allows online trading on all exchanges including international sock and OTC:BB and penny stock. Offers IPOs; has innovative approach to brokering and cooperative investment banking activities.

Cons: Poor telephone service, can't get through on the telephone often, telephone numbers have been in a state of flux, but getting better with time. One poor feature of WitCapital accounts is the lack of instant updates of trade order fills online, a very important feature if you are doing quick and frequent trades in the same stock.

Account setup: Available over the net but may have to call to complete setup. $2000 minimum account setup.

A B Watley

This company offers an interesting account if you have $10,000 to deposit. their Ultimate Trader account allows for free Level II quotes without extra charge. The other services offered are comparable to the other major online brokers

This service appears to be the best deal in Level II data and executions at this time. It can be expected that other brokers will follow their lead due to competition among brokers.

For anyone with $10,000 in an account this should be your account.


E -Trade

E-trade is a strong contender for our number one choice, except not the best in the trade price.

Pros: check writing included, excellent research: Comprehensive service; Access to all markets; Real time quotes

Cons: Somewhat expensive to trade and has a difficult to understand online application process. Communication by mail weak. very difficult to get on the telephone.


Ameritrade

Pros: excellent telephone contact and trading, good research; Low prices for online trades and now provides the ever important check writing privileges. Can open a non margin account for $500, margin accounts require $2,000. One excellent feature of Ameritrade accounts is the instant update of trade order fills online, a very important feature if you are doing quick and frequent trades in the same stock.

Cons: No major IPO involvement. Can't trade OTC:BB stocks online, No stop loss orders on OTC:BB., Slow with opening accounts, transfers and other account services. Problems with getting good prices on market orders in volatile times, it appears their market makers are taking unreasonable profits in some cases.


Fidelity

Pros: excellent phone service and consulting, Includes check writing services; Good research; Real time quotes. Good online trading of all types of issues. Fidelity offers an excellent Perferred account with very little restrictions and low trade prices. The Fidelity account requires a minimum of $20,000 deposit. The Hannaian company has negotiated a special Fidelity account with these services for as little as $5,000 deposit. Hannaian Affiliates must email a request to the Hannaian company to take advantage of this service. One excellent feature of Fidelity accounts is the instant update of trade order fills online, a very important feature if you are doing quick and frequent trades in the same stock.

Cons: Expensive trades for regular accounts. Their online trading software does not allow enough deviations from the current price when placing limit orders, particular the reverse limit orders used in the H.I.P.S.I. system. This slows down online placement of orders during critical times when spped trading is needed.

Pros: Account set up is easy and quick with good follow-up. A strong choice but Very expensive on front end. Offers premier services for frequent traders. Trade execution efficiencies may mitigate the expensive cost of trades if monies loss to market makers at other brokers are taken into account. This is the best choice if you want excellent trade execution, services, advice and consultation. Fidelity also has physical offices located all over the U.S.

**Take advantage of the special Hannaian Fidelity account by emailing Hannaian with your request.

Suretrade

Pros: No limit to open an account. Inexpensive trades. Allows OTC:BB online trading. Good trade prices. A strong candidate for investors with small budgets just getting started. Also good for frequent traders due the low prices and online trading of OTC:BB stocks. A strong choice for non level II accounts.

Cons: Although it appears easy to set up account, E-mail confirmation process is confusing and it is difficult to get money into account compared to most other brokers. Does not accept company checks, and wire transfer of money difficult. No check writing.

SpeedTrader.com

A good choice for inexpensive Level II data and executions. Has it own proprietary Level II system in addition to the somewhat standard Real Tick III system. requires only a $5,000 deposit to get the Level two account. There is no monthly fee for the level II if there are more than 40 trades in a month. if not the fee is $200 a month. Most OTC:BB stocks require a phone call to trade, although the Level II data can be accessed in these stocks. This is a strong choice for an inexpensive Level II account. They also offer a good basic trading account with no minimum deposit.

1800daytrade.com

A good Level II account. Uses the Real Tick III system. Allows online OTC:BB trading. Requires $25,000 deposit to open the Level II account and a $300 a month fee if less than 50 trades are placed a month. Allow a fairly good choice it does not compare to the AB Watley or SpeedTrader Level II systems in price. 1800daytrade.com does offer an excellent basic trading accoutn for as little as $1,000 deposit.

Firstrade

Frequent Traders would like their express site where customers can enter multiple orders and enter them without having to be slowed down by confirmation or preview screens. Firstrade also offers a streamer for NASDAQ stocks and confirms. Very inexpensive trades. A good choice for basic trading. There is no minimum deposit to open an account.

National Discount Brokers (NDB)

Has Stockpulse, an impressive streaming tool that shows real-time quotes and iAnswer, a live customer service chat offering. NDB allows multiple trades of the same stock, on the same side of the market, on the same day, for one commission. Has good trade pricing. A good choice for basic trading. There is no minimum deposit to open an account.

Datek

Now an excellent service with the best prices among the leaders. Now includes the check writing privileges which are significant for the Hannaian type of business operation. A major problem is no trading in OTC:BB stocks.

Pros: Has low trades and good customer service. Quick easy account setup.

Cons: At last check did not allow trading in OTC:BB or international stocks. Before opening an account with them check to see ithe status of these type of trades. They are essential to the HIPS public acquisitions of intellectual properties.

Account setup easy and straightforward even online; Response quick and thorough.


Scottrade

Pros: Has many regional offices to serve customers personally; Inexpensive trades

Cons: Does not trade all markets; Restricted OTC:BB and international stock trading.


Charles Schwab

Pros: Good research; Comprehensive service

Cons: Expensive


The Executioner

Designed for professional day traders and market makers.

Pros: Level II NASDAQ quotes, Direct, fast real time access to the market.

Cons: Expensive trades, and expensive monthly fees for special software use.



Account Transfers

Be careful about transferring accounts between brokers. Ameritrade for example advised that account transfers may require as much as three or four weeks for full transfers and even more time for partial transfers. Even more important during this time the account would be closed and unavailable for trading. This certainly an unacceptable situation and would require moving your money out in cash in order to facilitate a faster transfer process. A conversation with a Fidelity broker advised that a procedure known as a DTC transfer should be done within two days. It is possible that you may specifically have to request from the broker this DTC type transfer in order to prevent the onerous consequences of a lengthy transfer process.

One problem which occurs more frequently than expected is this need to transfer accounts between brokers. As traders become more sophisticated and experienced this need becomes more critical since it may tie up your account and cause costly delays in trading. We have heard one story where Ameritrade did inform an account holder that a full transfer would take up to three weeks with a partial transfer taking longer. In addition during this time the account would be held inactive for trading. Such a situation would be impossible to deal with. The account holder therefore immediately moved all cash from the account and deposited it in the new account, and thereafter proceeded to judiciously sell out his positions in Ameritrade so that he could transfer the cash out of the account. This is one way to handle these kinds of transfer problems. Another way is to request the "DTC" transfer.

DTC Transfers should be capable of happening within three days. You must request the DTC transfer and relevant information and codes from the respective accounts and stay on top of both brokerages to ensure the quick transfer. Obviously the brokerage to which the account is being transferred should be more than helpful in this process.



Our current preferences for basic trading accounts are; RJT, Ameritrade, Fidelity, Suretrade, WitCapital, Firstrade, NDB, Etrade, and Datek in that order.

For level II accounts our current preferences are; RJT, ABWatley, Speedtrader, 1800DayTrade in that order.


For a comprehensive review and ranking of brokers visit the following links:

The Authoritative Guide to Online Brokers

For a review of the more than 80 brokers, or if you are looking for a particular broker, click here.

 

For Further details of the Hannaian Business network and its associated business opportunities visit the Business Opportunities Section of the Hannaian Publishing Website at
http://www.hannaian.com/distribr.htm