Your Investments: A Comparison of Top Discount Brokerages

Everyone should be putting away some money here and there for retirement. Social Security probably won't be around when many of us get to retirement, so we're left to fend for ourselves. In order to get started investing, you're going to need a brokerage account, preferably inside an IRA or Roth IRA if the money is for retirement, but which brokerage house do you go with? There are literally dozens if not hundreds of brokerages to go with, but there are a few here and there that seem to consistently reach the top of the pack in terms of customer service, investment fees, and the overall quality of experience that you have with the companies. Here are some of the top brokerages for you to consider.

Fidelty - Fidelity is an extremely large financial house, so you know they're going to be around tomorrow. They have a very wide range of financial services available and offer great customer service. You're going to end up paying about $25.00 per trade, which is a bit higher than some of the other discount brokerages, but if you only make one trade a year for your retirement, it probably won't matter all that much. If you're doing multiple trades a day, chances are you'll want to put your money somewhere else.

Muriel Siebert - You don't hear a lot about this company because they don't do a ton of advertising compared to the other financial houses, however the company offers some extremely competitive fees and great customer service. You should expect to pay about $14.95 per trade with Muriel Sierbert

Charles Schwab - This company has a very comprehensive list of products, however like fidelity, they're also a bit higher in commissions and fees compared to some of the other discount brokerages. Their price per trade is typically $32.95

TD Ameritrade - TD Ameritrade, formerly called TD Waterhouse, has always ranked very high in customer satisfaction in magazine surveys such as Forbes and Kiplinger's. The typical commission used to be $12.00, but they have recently increased the price to $17.95.

With any of the companies listed about, you'll be able to buy and sell mutual funds without ever paying a commission. If you live in an urban area, there's a good possibility that one of these companies has a local branch near your home. This might be a good enough reason to open an account with any of them. If you have a problem, you would be able to just go down to the local branch and take care of the issue. You'll be well served to sign up with any of the above companies for your brokerage account. There are certainly some other good ones, but these companies have been consistently received top ratings from Forbes, Kiplinger's, and Money Magazine.