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Why ? Somewhat serious question - what will a real brokerage offer me on my tiny (< 1000) investment - we're just testing waters (at a bad time no less) Blanke

Why ? Somewhat serious question - what will a real brokerage offer me on my tiny (< 1000) investment - we're just testing waters (at a bad time no less) Blanket statement like that without reason would equal please switch to self hosting git instead of using github.com cause it went down last week or so - both have their purpose / skill level / cost associated with them. So a 3rd party app went down for a bit. Happens often (as most of us know)

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
zbruhnke 7y ago
The simplest answer to “why?” Is simply FIFO. The fact that they’re trying to get people to increase trade volumes while being stuck to one very limiting tax strategy is bad. If you’re buying stocks you want options and only having FIFO is not a good option
- paulgb 7y ago
  To a retail investor who just wants to buy some ETFs and shares of AAPL to get their feet wet, none of these things matter, so this doesn't really answer the question.
- cloakandswagger 7y ago
  I highly doubt anyone with a portfolio worth $1000 or less knows or cares about things like loss harvesting.
lsavage 7y ago
Because other brokers also offer commission free investments now.
dna_polymerase 7y ago
First off, we shouldn't settle for shitty software, ever. Second, now your investment might be small, if it grows, and represents a portion of your savings you might not be as delighted as today, to see them being offline during such a busy day.
crystaldev 7y ago
Trading with < $1000 is an utter waste of your time. Interactive Brokers has a $10k lower account limit for your own good.
- paulgb 7y ago
  Investing under $1000, especially with commission-free trades, is a good way to learn the basics mechanics of stock trading.
  - JumpCrisscross 7y ago
    > Investing under $1000, especially with commission-free trades, is a good way to learn the basics mechanics of stock trading Individual investors are at a huge disadvantage when it comes to intraday trading. For everything other than a child's hobby account, intended to teach emotional stability through gains and losses, a <$1,000 stock-trading account is value destroying.
    - ISL 7y ago
      That education, for a child or an adult, is primarily what one gains from a <$1k trading account. That, alone, is worth more than $1k. Also, one need not trade a small account intraday. I make small trades, but they are always with a multi-year perspective. Give me limit orders and small commissions, and I am happy. (N.B. I use a different broker/don't have a first-hand perspective on Robinhood.)
      - crystaldev 7y ago
        Unrelated but usually you should place a market order usually, not limit. Limit orders take longer to fill, your idea of limits is probably wrong and will lose money compared to a fair market match, it's not worth taking the risk that your order won't be filled, etc.
        ISL 7y ago
        If an order isn't filled at a price at which I find reasonable, that is okay with me. A market order will fill at any price. I learned that lesson the day that a market order of mine filled at a price I deemed unreasonable. The key to avoiding faffing around with limit orders not filling when you want immediate execution is to place a reasonable limit that accounts for the day's volatility. At other times, I'll place a limit order and let it stand for weeks. When it fills, the counterparty and I are both happy.
SirLJ 7y ago
Mature publicly traded company founded by a real pioneer, with ironclad API - it just works: https://www.interactivebrokers.com/ https://www.interactivebrokers.com/
johnbrodie 7y ago
I have no experience with it directly, but Robinhood is also widely regarded (in at least some circles) as having very poor execution. Meaning you're potentially not getting orders filled, or getting them filled at a sub-optimal price. They're also known for having "tech startup" level tech support if there _are_ issues, unlike more established brokers that allow you to talk to a real person almost instantly, allow you to trade over the phone if needed, etc. They're also known for mispricing essentially _every_ morning, showing nonsensical pricing and account values for the first 30 minutes of trading. Overall, their software is clearly lagging behind something like Think or Swim from TDA. Robinhood kind of made sense for low-value accounts that wanted to avoid commission. They've changed the game a bit in that most brokers offer low to no commission now. I'll echo the parent comment, I just don't see the point in using them given that most of the alternatives are better.
matwood 7y ago
As someone else alluded to, so you don't have to move later as you grow. Moving isn't the end of the world (although from what I understand RH charges $75), but it's just one more thing that's annoying to do. If you want to use one of the better tools, see TDA with ToS. Schwab has great service and is a great bank for a one stop shop kind of experience. IB is one of the least expensive ways to trade if you meet their minimums. RH OTOH has shown time and again they play a bit too fast and loose for comfort when money is involved. They have had to pull their entry into banking a couple of times now. The app seems to have issues at the worst times. From what I have read, support is abysmal. Not someone I want to deal with when it comes to my money.
cookiesboxcar 7y ago
If you are investing in ETF/indexes then RH being down is not really an issue... and if you are looking to trade at those dollar amounts, then its a great deal. I fall into this category and RH being down has affected me in no way. If you are trading much more frequently/short term, or WSB style options, then yea, I think that a proper brokerage (IB) is likely better for you. Also perusing twitter --- lots of people were planning on executing that _perfect trade_ if only RH was up... lol

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

zbruhnke 7y ago

The simplest answer to “why?” Is simply FIFO. The fact that they’re trying to get people to increase trade volumes while being stuck to one very limiting tax strategy is bad. If you’re buying stocks you want options and only having FIFO is not a good option

paulgb 7y ago
To a retail investor who just wants to buy some ETFs and shares of AAPL to get their feet wet, none of these things matter, so this doesn't really answer the question.
cloakandswagger 7y ago
I highly doubt anyone with a portfolio worth $1000 or less knows or cares about things like loss harvesting.

lsavage 7y ago

Because other brokers also offer commission free investments now.

dna_polymerase 7y ago

First off, we shouldn't settle for shitty software, ever. Second, now your investment might be small, if it grows, and represents a portion of your savings you might not be as delighted as today, to see them being offline during such a busy day.

crystaldev 7y ago

Trading with < $1000 is an utter waste of your time. Interactive Brokers has a $10k lower account limit for your own good.

paulgb 7y ago
Investing under $1000, especially with commission-free trades, is a good way to learn the basics mechanics of stock trading.
- JumpCrisscross 7y ago
  > Investing under $1000, especially with commission-free trades, is a good way to learn the basics mechanics of stock trading Individual investors are at a huge disadvantage when it comes to intraday trading. For everything other than a child's hobby account, intended to teach emotional stability through gains and losses, a <$1,000 stock-trading account is value destroying.
  - ISL 7y ago
    That education, for a child or an adult, is primarily what one gains from a <$1k trading account. That, alone, is worth more than $1k. Also, one need not trade a small account intraday. I make small trades, but they are always with a multi-year perspective. Give me limit orders and small commissions, and I am happy. (N.B. I use a different broker/don't have a first-hand perspective on Robinhood.)
    - crystaldev 7y ago
      Unrelated but usually you should place a market order usually, not limit. Limit orders take longer to fill, your idea of limits is probably wrong and will lose money compared to a fair market match, it's not worth taking the risk that your order won't be filled, etc.
      - ISL 7y ago
        If an order isn't filled at a price at which I find reasonable, that is okay with me. A market order will fill at any price. I learned that lesson the day that a market order of mine filled at a price I deemed unreasonable. The key to avoiding faffing around with limit orders not filling when you want immediate execution is to place a reasonable limit that accounts for the day's volatility. At other times, I'll place a limit order and let it stand for weeks. When it fills, the counterparty and I are both happy.

SirLJ 7y ago

Mature publicly traded company founded by a real pioneer, with ironclad API - it just works: https://www.interactivebrokers.com/ https://www.interactivebrokers.com/

johnbrodie 7y ago

I have no experience with it directly, but Robinhood is also widely regarded (in at least some circles) as having very poor execution. Meaning you're potentially not getting orders filled, or getting them filled at a sub-optimal price. They're also known for having "tech startup" level tech support if there _are_ issues, unlike more established brokers that allow you to talk to a real person almost instantly, allow you to trade over the phone if needed, etc. They're also known for mispricing essentially _every_ morning, showing nonsensical pricing and account values for the first 30 minutes of trading. Overall, their software is clearly lagging behind something like Think or Swim from TDA. Robinhood kind of made sense for low-value accounts that wanted to avoid commission. They've changed the game a bit in that most brokers offer low to no commission now. I'll echo the parent comment, I just don't see the point in using them given that most of the alternatives are better.

matwood 7y ago

As someone else alluded to, so you don't have to move later as you grow. Moving isn't the end of the world (although from what I understand RH charges $75), but it's just one more thing that's annoying to do. If you want to use one of the better tools, see TDA with ToS. Schwab has great service and is a great bank for a one stop shop kind of experience. IB is one of the least expensive ways to trade if you meet their minimums. RH OTOH has shown time and again they play a bit too fast and loose for comfort when money is involved. They have had to pull their entry into banking a couple of times now. The app seems to have issues at the worst times. From what I have read, support is abysmal. Not someone I want to deal with when it comes to my money.

cookiesboxcar 7y ago

If you are investing in ETF/indexes then RH being down is not really an issue... and if you are looking to trade at those dollar amounts, then its a great deal. I fall into this category and RH being down has affected me in no way. If you are trading much more frequently/short term, or WSB style options, then yea, I think that a proper brokerage (IB) is likely better for you. Also perusing twitter --- lots of people were planning on executing that _perfect trade_ if only RH was up... lol