Description

Trading Block is a relatively new discount online brokerage firm that began providing its services in September of 2010. The company offers about average in the industry commissions: stocks and ETFs are $0.001 per share with $7.50 minimum per trade, and mutual funds are $30 per transaction. The firm does not have surcharges on penny stock, large-size, or extended hours orders (whereas the majority of online brokers have at least one of these additional fees). There is, however, a $30 per year inactivity fee if the user did not trade at least one time in that year. Cash and a margin accounts opening minimums are about average for discount online brokers at $2,000.

Trading Block charges a $45 annual custodian IRA fee, though there is no IRA setup fee. Because of this fee, the firm is not a good option for a free brokerage individual retirement account.

Every trading day TradingBlock sends to its clients four strategy ideas on top stocks and ETFs based on targets from guest market analysts. Also, the company offers weekly email update on upcoming education webcasts and events, latest site enhancements, new investor and trade services, and special offers.

To help investors protect gains in their equity portfolio against market volatility, TradingBlock offers Portfolio Hedger, a query-based tool that lets investors quickly create and rank protection strategies for nearly any stock or ETF in their portfolio. Clients choose one or more stocks or ETFs in their portfolio or watch list, and specify what type of protection they want based on two basic criteria: 1) how much downside risk they are willing to accept; and 2) how long they wish to maintain the protection.

Another helpful tool - TradeBuilder - quickly produces up to 40 stock and option strategies ranked by their probability of breakeven (or better) or their maximum profit opportunity. Additionally, TradingBlock offers Trade Analyzer system that can graph your position’s potential profit and loss to help you understand risk before you trade. You can change dates, prices and volatility to see how the trade may react under dynamic market conditions.

Trading Block has been ranked second from the bottom of the list in Barron's magazine annual broker survey in 2016 (it was fourth from the bottom in prior year). It got very poor results in most categories, with truly horrible scores in Trading and Technology, Research Amenities, Portfolio Analysis and Reports, Customer Service and Education, and Costs categories.

Trading Block Pros

• No surcharges on penny stocks, large orders, or extended hours trades
• 11,000 mutual funds are available

Trading Block Cons

• High commissions on stocks and ETFs if trading 800+ shares per order
• $30 per year inactive account fee (if no trades in 12 months)
• $45 annual IRA custodian fee
• High margin interest rates
• Not available on mobile devices
• Few research amenities
• Poor trading tools

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