Investrade Broker Review

Investrade is an online broker that focuses on providing brokerage services to self-directed traders for discounted price. Clients will have access to a full range of investment products such as Stocks, ETF’s, Mutual Funds, Fixed Income, Auto Trading and Options. Their web-based platform has all the basic tools and features with advanced order entry and basic charting tools. Their educational section was very basic with some information on option trading and different strategies you can take and a daily market report issued by Recognia that is delivered via email every business day. I wasn’t very impressed with their educational section to be honest so if you’re looking for further information on how the market works you may want to look elsewhere. Their customer service was good but not great. They don’t offer a chat service and their phone hours are limited to 8am-8pm EST on week days only. However, when I did speak with them they were friendly and knowledgeable showing that they were well trained and cared about their clients experience.

Commissions & Fees

Investrade has a commission rate that is on the cheaper side of most online discount brokers with stock and ETFs costing $6.95 per trade with options costing $6.95 plus $0.50 per contract. For broker assisted trades you will only add $10 more onto the trade. Option exercises and assignments run $9.00 while no-load mutual funds run $15.00. There are cheaper commission rates out there but over all $6.95 is still on the cheaper side of the spectrum for discount brokers.

Trading Platform & Tools

Investrade offers a basic web-based trading platform with streaming quotes, watch lists, alerts, news feed and basic charting capabilities with real time buying power. The platform doesn’t offer direct market access or hot keys but what I did like is the layout and ease of use. Adding or editing indicators on charts was simple and user friendly while placing actual orders was very straight forward with a live orders status window directly below the trade ticket window so you can see what orders are open and which have been executed. There are some customization features allowing you set up the windows how you want, making sure you have the best setup for your personal taste.

Final Thoughts

Overall, Investrade is a good broker for casual investors and traders. The platform is too basic to meet the needs of a serious, active day trader who needs direct market access and hotkeys. Their customer service offerings were average but their staff was nice to deal with it and were very helpful when I was setting up my account. They offer a solid service but with the high demands for active traders, I just couldn’t see myself making a living day in and day out with their platform. For an active trader I’d recommend checking out a broker that caters to them as brokers like Investrade are better suited for casual traders and investors.

As always, if you have any questions or comments regarding Investrade, please leave us a message below!