There are few information resources as rich as our vast discussion board community, featuring hundreds of boards dedicated to all kinds of financial and non-financial topics and tens of thousands of board denizens.
The typical board features a bunch of people discussing a topic, asking questions, answering questions, offering advice, and relating experiences. Consider an example -- our Discount Brokers board. Among other things there, you'll find many posts from people asking for and receiving feedback on brokerages such as Schwab
Just to give you a taste of what you'll find there, here's a little food for thought culled from our board:
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MagicSpoonS noted that
, "I traded over 40 [times] last year. Didn't make much money. I think [my brokerage] made more money than I did." This is a great point. Even if you've got a brokerage offering low commission costs (let's say $10 per trade, though you can find even lower rates), 40 trades will generate $400 for the brokerage. Will you earn more than $400? You very possibly might, but then you might not, too -- especially if you're trading in and out of stocks frequently as I used to do (please learn from my mistakes), not giving them a chance to perform.
- A newcomer named Doris asked for advice, as she recently received a relatively hefty inheritance and was wondering whether she should hang on to Prudential
(NYSE:PRU) stock and buy CheckFree(NASDAQ:CKFR) stock. A long discussion ensued, featuring differing points of view. KahunaCFA chimed in at one point, saying, "I strongly disagree with the statement made by joelxwil: 'If you want to make money in the market you have to learn how to trade.' I have made enough money in the market through investing to retire from my portfolio management position when I was 51. I have been retired for nearly nine years now; I do not trade stocks more than four to six times a year. Many of my holdings I have owned for decades." Buy-to-hold investing has some detractors, but there are also a lot of people who have gotten rich practicing it.
You can learn a lot about how to compare brokerages in our Broker Center, which offers gobs of guidance as well as special offers from some brokerages that support the Fool. Also, visit our Discount Brokers board to get additional insights and tips from fellow Fools -- there's a free trial available.
Longtime Fool contributor Selena Maranjian does not own shares of any companies mentioned in this article, but she does have accounts with TD Waterhouse and Ameritrade.
