Comments on: Optionshouse.com (an in depth look) http://prancingbull.com/start/2008/04/07/optionshousecom-an-in-depth-look/ Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:30:35 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.1 By: Tom M. http://prancingbull.com/start/2008/04/07/optionshousecom-an-in-depth-look/#comment-75 Tom M. Wed, 21 May 2008 07:52:36 +0000 http://prancingbull.com/start/2008/04/07/optionshousecom-an-in-depth-look/#comment-75 Hi Admin, Thanks for your reply. I have to admit that I'm starting as a small investor. The downside with Zecco is that you have to pay for their Premium Tools. It's $8/month for QuoteGrid and $20/month for Quotestream (plus more for Add-Ons). That becomes quite expensive. I've also noticed that user reviews of Zecco aren't very good, and they were low on Barron's review. Barron's gave OptionsHouse a 4 star rating and had nice comments about its website. The OH Virtual Trading has been helpful to practice on. I'll let you know which I choose. Good luck to you too! -Tom Hi Admin,

Thanks for your reply. I have to admit that I’m starting as a small investor.

The downside with Zecco is that you have to pay for their Premium Tools. It’s $8/month for QuoteGrid and $20/month for Quotestream (plus more for Add-Ons). That becomes quite expensive. I’ve also noticed that user reviews of Zecco aren’t very good, and they were low on Barron’s review.

Barron’s gave OptionsHouse a 4 star rating and had nice comments about its website. The OH Virtual Trading has been helpful to practice on. I’ll let you know which I choose.

Good luck to you too!

-Tom

]]> By: admin http://prancingbull.com/start/2008/04/07/optionshousecom-an-in-depth-look/#comment-68 admin Tue, 06 May 2008 14:13:48 +0000 http://prancingbull.com/start/2008/04/07/optionshousecom-an-in-depth-look/#comment-68 Tom, Thanks for checking out my blog! To choose the right broker for you, it will really depend on what kind of trader you are. Personally, I think that OptionsHouse is a very interactive yet simple trading platform. If you trade a lot of volume in options, then the flat commission rate that they offer would make sense for you. If you are just trading a couple at a time to hedge against an actual stock position then maybe a broker that offers a low initial options commission with a higher per contract fee would be better for you. The one thing that may be a hindrance to you is that fact that OptionsHouse is such a bare bones platform. Don't expect to get any 3rd party research reports out of them like you would with a more full service broker like Fidelity. The most they offer in the way of research is a stock price chart and the 52-week high/low. With that being said, you may want to consider having two different brokerage accounts. One could be with a more full serviced online broker with which you would have access to the 3rd party research reports as well as some of the powerful stock screeners that they offer. You could then use that information to trade with a super cheap broker like OptionsHouse or Zecco. As far as Zecco goes, they are actually a bit cheaper than OptionsHouse. You would have to trade 10 options at a time to be more expensive than Optionshouse for options trading. You also can't really beat the $0 commission on your first 10 trades each month as long as you have a balance of $2,500. I never really looked into Zecco, but some reviews that I read lead me to believe that they still had a few kinks that they were working out. Signing up for my OptionsHouse account was a breeze. All in all it took me a week and a half or so to get it all set up by mail, and I don't exactly live close to Chicago. Trades times have been excellent in my experience. I also enjoy their real-time pricing. It would be worth checking out some other brokerage companies to find what suits you the best, but I would strongly recommend OptionsHouse as a solid and professional company to work with. The best of luck to you! Let me know what you end up going with. -Admin Tom,

Thanks for checking out my blog! To choose the right broker for you, it will really depend on what kind of trader you are. Personally, I think that OptionsHouse is a very interactive yet simple trading platform. If you trade a lot of volume in options, then the flat commission rate that they offer would make sense for you. If you are just trading a couple at a time to hedge against an actual stock position then maybe a broker that offers a low initial options commission with a higher per contract fee would be better for you.

The one thing that may be a hindrance to you is that fact that OptionsHouse is such a bare bones platform. Don’t expect to get any 3rd party research reports out of them like you would with a more full service broker like Fidelity. The most they offer in the way of research is a stock price chart and the 52-week high/low.

With that being said, you may want to consider having two different brokerage accounts. One could be with a more full serviced online broker with which you would have access to the 3rd party research reports as well as some of the powerful stock screeners that they offer. You could then use that information to trade with a super cheap broker like OptionsHouse or Zecco.

As far as Zecco goes, they are actually a bit cheaper than OptionsHouse. You would have to trade 10 options at a time to be more expensive than Optionshouse for options trading. You also can’t really beat the $0 commission on your first 10 trades each month as long as you have a balance of $2,500. I never really looked into Zecco, but some reviews that I read lead me to believe that they still had a few kinks that they were working out.

Signing up for my OptionsHouse account was a breeze. All in all it took me a week and a half or so to get it all set up by mail, and I don’t exactly live close to Chicago. Trades times have been excellent in my experience. I also enjoy their real-time pricing. It would be worth checking out some other brokerage companies to find what suits you the best, but I would strongly recommend OptionsHouse as a solid and professional company to work with.

The best of luck to you! Let me know what you end up going with.

-Admin

]]> By: Tom M http://prancingbull.com/start/2008/04/07/optionshousecom-an-in-depth-look/#comment-67 Tom M Mon, 05 May 2008 21:17:53 +0000 http://prancingbull.com/start/2008/04/07/optionshousecom-an-in-depth-look/#comment-67 I'm researching brokers for myself. Your review of OptionsHouse is interesting. Did you look into other discount brokers like Zecco or SogoTrade/SogoInvest? So far OptionsHouse looks better than those 2. However Zecco might have a couple of features that I like more. Do you have any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks, Tom I’m researching brokers for myself. Your review of OptionsHouse is interesting. Did you look into other discount brokers like Zecco or SogoTrade/SogoInvest? So far OptionsHouse looks better than those 2. However Zecco might have a couple of features that I like more. Do you have any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks,
Tom

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