Firstrade Review 2023

The company is also particularly popular with mutual fund investors, as well as options traders. The trading platform offers investors access to stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, fixed-income securities, options trades, and cryptos.

Investors of all levels are well served as Firstrade offers investors a wide range of financial products and services on its trading platform.

A brokerage account is available either as an Individual or Joint account. This type of account is best suited to those looking to generate wealth as it provides access to a wide selection of different asset types and financial products.

Advanced traders are well catered for with stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, options contracts and cryptocurrencies; a robust selection that will be more than enough for most investors. However, you won’t find forex or futures here.

Firstrade retirement accounts are available as either a Traditional, Roth, or Rollover Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA). Each of the IRA accounts comes with its own unique set of tax perks and advantages. If you are unsure which account is best suited to you then take the time to familiarize yourself as they all offer a tax incentivized way of saving for your pension.

Regardless of what account suits your trading needs, you will be able to take advantage of low and no trading fees, as well as being able to invest in a comprehensive range of financial products.

I believe that if you are looking for a low-cost provider, and if fees are your bottom line, then you will find that Firstrade charges some of the lowest rates in the US.

During my Firstrade review, I was impressed by the fact that they offer a range of commission-free services, including broker retirement accounts. This is on top of their already impressive list of zero fees, such as commission-free options trading, as well as the usual commission-free suspects of stocks, ETFs, and even a range of mutual funds. That’s right, there are no-fee mutual funds available on Firstrade. Admittedly, this is for a select range of funds, but with over 12,400 commission-free mutual funds, the choice should be more than enough for those looking to invest in mutual funds.

Also, Firstrade does not charge a per-contract fee for options trading. Most other brokers are only too keen to charge account holders per-contract fees and the fact that Firstrade doesn’t really stands out.

So overall, Firstrade really is a discount broker and is among the lowest, if not the lowest, brokers in the US. That said, there are a few things you should be aware of. First of all, account transactions, such as outgoing wire transfers, are subject to a $25 fee. Also, Automated Customer Account Transfer Service transfers (ACATs) are subject to a $75 fee, and partial ACATs are billed at $55.

Lastly, I should warn you that mutual funds are subject to a Short Term Redemption Fee of $19.95, if mutual fund shares are held for a period of less than 90 days. For most individuals engaged in mutual fund trading, I do not believe this is a major issue.

In my Firstrade review, I will now take a closer look at the traditional desktop platform and check out the mobile app experience for you.

Before I go into details, both Firstrade platforms provide you with the basic tools needed to safely trade online, as well as review your positions, gains and losses, and even account history.

Desktop platform

The classic desktop experience provides a fairly decent trading platform that gives you access to all the trading tools needed. The platform had a complete redesign recently and it shows, with efficient HTML 5.0, ensuring a clean, intuitive and well-designed experience. Trading stocks should be a breeze on this platform, even for beginners.

Mobile App

The Firstrade mobile app is available for both Android & IOS users and has been designed to provide quick access to your Firstrade account, wherever you go. Firstrade’s mobile app offers a streamlined and easy-to-use experience. I feel that the mobile experience is decent and great for more active traders, especially as accessing data and executing trades is extremely simple.

Quick Bar

The Quick bar is a rather neat feature that is located at the bottom of the account dashboard, no matter which of the trading platforms you are on. This handy order entry panel stays on the bottom of your screen no matter where you go on the site and makes executing trade orders fast and easy, wherever you go.

Firstrade Navigator

Firstrade offers the Firstrade Navigator platform free to users who have an account balance over $10,000. This clever piece of software is an essential tool for larger accounts as it allows you to view your positions and balances, and trade in your accounts in one screen. Best of all, it is fully customizable with drag-and-drop information, charts and tracking.

Options Wizard

Finally, there is the Options Wizard, which is designed to make advanced trading strategies as easy as possible. With the ability to search options trades via expiration date or strike price at just the click of a mouse, this tool really shines.

For those wanting to play around with more advanced trading strategies, there is a strategy constructor where you can create a custom strategy based on outlook (ie. a bull, normal, or bear position). I found this tool to be a real asset as it gives you the tools needed to try out complex trading ideas or calculate margin rates, and really sets Firstrade apart from other brokers.

To open an account simply go to their website and click on the Open An Account tab. You can also download the Firstrade app on Chrome or iOS, but the process will be the same regardless. Once you start the application you will be asked to provide your personal data; select the account type and currency you want, and then complete a trading survey.

These surveys are fairly standard with most brokerage platforms and are used to assess your risk tolerance as well as your trading knowledge.

After completing the forms, you will be asked to confirm your identity and provide a proof of address. You can do so either by emailing the relevant documents, or if you still live in the 1990s, you can fax them over.

Once all the documents have been provided, Firstrade will be able to verify your account, which should take no more than three days, and afterwards, you will be able to deposit money into your account and start trading.

Deposit & Withdrawal process at Firstrade

In order to make deposits or withdrawals funds with your account, you will first need to ensure you have a verified bank account and link it to your Firstrade account.

Deposit

To deposit funds into your account you simply need to log-in to your account and click the Deposit tab. Before confirming the transaction, you will be asked to preview the information and then confirm your decision.

You can only deposit funds by means of an electronic transfer, but the good news is that there is no account minimum.

Withdraw

To withdraw money from you account you will need to log-in to your account and click the Withdraw tab. Once selected, you will again have the chance to preview the information and will be asked to confirm your decision.

You can withdraw funds from your account either by means of electronic transfer, check, or wire. Though, only US residents are able to submit a withdrawal request by check.

That said, their phone line is poorly-rated, with many complaining of the service being slow and not very useful. The email service is slightly better, but again it will take a fair bit of time to get a response.

Lastly, customers can avail of the Help Center, which is a database of various resources, though this will be of no use in helping you resolve any specific issues you may be experiencing.

Firstrade Research

I have to say that I was quite impressed with the solid research tools available with Firstrade. A lot of other low-cost brokers and brokerage platforms treat this as an afterthought but in my opinion, Firstrade are not cutting any corners with their selection of research resources.

Firstrade offers a comprehensive array of online stock research tools for both desktop and mobile app to help customers build robust investment portfolios and execute trading ideas. Tools, such as the already mentioned Options Wizard, are genuine assets and other tools, such as the Sectors & Industries Stock Research Tool, help to eliminate a lot of the guesswork from trading.

Education Firstrade

I hope my Firstrade review has helped highlight the strengths of this broker, which does a lot of things really well, including providing a comprehensive range of education material and resources.

The Firstrade Education Center covers almost every trading topic I could think of. Whether it’s complex subjects, such as margin rates, ETF trades, or just stock and options trades in general that you want to learn about, you will find clear and comprehensible resources.

Clicking on the topic in question, for example options trades, opens up the relevant page where the benefits, risks, strategies, tutorials, and even glossaries pertaining to the topic are listed.

Firstrade Safety

Firstrade is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Furthermore, clients are covered by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which offers investor protection to the amount of $500,000, which includes $250,000 for cash.

But be advised that not all investments are covered by SIPC. Generally speakingSIPC only covers notes, stocks, bonds, mutual funds and other investment company shares, and other registered securities.

In addition, Firstrade’s clearing firm, Apex Clearing Corporation, has an additional insurance policy through a group of London Underwriters to supplement SIPC protection. The additional insurance policy provided by Apex Clearing Corporation, is known as “excess SIPC,” and is used in the event of the SIPC limits being exhausted.

As with other brokers, FIrstrade uses the highest standards of data encryption to ensure that your personal data is safe from hackers. Personal and account data is stored on secure services which use industrial strength firewalls and encryption technology to protect personal information.

The mobile app is designed to make commission-free trading fast, easy and, most importantly of all, safe. As such, customers have the option to also enable two-factor authentication on their accounts to provide a further layer of security.