| Apart from the lowest trade commissions and other | | | | customer support system. |
| brokerage charges, the two other most important | | | | As an intelligent and sophisticated stock trader you |
| services that you should expect from your stock | | | | should ensure that your stock broker provides you |
| broker are the technological support and customer | | | | with a friendly and customized service. It should be |
| care services. | | | | his highest priority to provide a dedicated support |
| The most important part of the technological support | | | | team to assist the customers in placing their orders, |
| involves providing fast execution of trading orders | | | | processing their funds transfers and navigating |
| and research data to the stock traders. | | | | through their website. |
| If you do an intensive and enlightened research on | | | | Their telephone menus have to be brief and simple |
| the internet, you may come across brokerage firms | | | | to handle. The customer support staff should be alert |
| that provide the latest customizable state-of-the- art | | | | enough to pick the telephone calls within seconds and |
| technological support services to all kinds of | | | | should not keep the customers waiting since their |
| customers, whether beginners, frequent traders, day | | | | time is very precious. They should respond to your |
| traders, institutional traders or automated traders. | | | | telephone and email messages within as soon as |
| The investor service oriented brokerage firms use | | | | possible. The customer support service should be |
| latest technological services and trading platforms | | | | knowledgeable, prompt and courteous. The |
| that facilitate very fast transmission of orders and | | | | customers should be clearly notified the timings when |
| messages. The procedure is so programmed that the | | | | they can contact the support services |
| orders are executed directly without going through | | | | representatives. |
| the extra servers. An expeditious execution of | | | | An online chat facility is another essential customer |
| orders spares the customers all the hassles that are | | | | support feature of a good brokerage firm. You |
| generated by the slow speed servers. | | | | should ensure that you get prompt response from |
| Quite often the traders have to suffer losses due to | | | | your broker through an online live chat system. |
| change in prices occurring because of the slow | | | | You entrust a huge amount of money and vital |
| execution of the orders. At times the orders are not | | | | financial information to your broker. You give them |
| executed as desired by the traders. Those | | | | your bank account details and you send them |
| customers who have high frequency trading benefit | | | | important financial messages regarding the deposit |
| most from such advanced technology. | | | | and transfer of funds. With the proliferation of the |
| Although these brokerage firms offer fast order | | | | incidents of hacking and phasing, fraud and forgery, |
| execution technology, they charge very low | | | | you always remain vulnerable to unscrupulous |
| commission rates. Their services provide tremendous | | | | elements. You should, therefore, ensure that your |
| benefits to the active day traders. They offer as low | | | | broker provides a secure means of transmitting your |
| cost commission fees as $3 -$1 per trade and bridge | | | | account messages. Any leakage of important |
| the gap between the Wall Street traders and the | | | | information may jeopardize your financial security. |
| Main Street consumers. Their advanced and powerful | | | | The customer support services also include |
| technology offers the average customer the same | | | | investment advice to the investors both on short |
| ease of use, speed of execution at affordable rates | | | | term and long-term basis. They should pay sufficient |
| that are usually offered to the advanced professional | | | | attention to the problems faced by the beginners in |
| and institutional investors. | | | | stock trading. In fact they should anticipate the |
| Some brokerage firms have direct point-to-point | | | | frequently asked questions from the new investors |
| fiber-optic connections with all the major exchanges | | | | and provide for their comprehensive answers. They |
| and state-of-the-art servers. Therefore they can | | | | should brief them about various investment plans |
| handle the highest volumes of quotation and order | | | | such as scheduled investments, dollar based |
| data and transact millions of shares each day. | | | | investments, fractional shares investments and |
| They offer automatic daily investments, dollar cost | | | | dividend reinvestment plans. There are numerous |
| averaging and real-time trading at the same low price. | | | | long-term investment accounts such as Individual |
| Imagine a situation, where you place a buy or sell | | | | Retirement Account and Education Saving Account |
| order and start waiting for its execution. The order | | | | with their benefits, limitations along with their income |
| page refuses to change, while you keep on pounding | | | | tax implications. |
| upon your computer keys in desperation. In the | | | | Credit: Text and matter based on information from |
| meantime, the price of your stock has either risen or | | | | Sogotrade and its parent company Genesis Securities |
| fallen to your utter disadvantage. | | | | LLC. |
| The second part of the services consists of the | | | | |