From DoughRoller:

I'm looking at online discount brokers to determine where to open an IRA account later this year. And in the process I've learned three important things about online brokerage firms.

First, there are a lot of them. You've probably heard of many discount sites that allow you to trade stocks online (e.g., Zecco, Scottrade), but I'm guessing there are a lot of online brokers you've never heard of (Sogotrade may be one example).

Second, while on the surface they can all seem similar, when you dig deep into what these brokers offer, you'll find big differences. For example, not all of them offer the same account types. With some you can't buy mutual funds, while others offer more mutual funds than most. And the stock trading tools available to you vary from one discount broker to the next.

And the third thing I've learned is that the cost of these discount firms can be tricky to understand, and in the end, maybe not the most important factor.

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