The New York based
Just2Trade
is a brokerage firm that was under FINRA investigation for fraud. The information on the case is located on FINRA's website. After the scandal, in 2015 the company was acquired by Whotrades, Inc and is now under new management.
Just2Trade charges very low commission on stocks and ETFs - just $2.50 per trade. This is the lowest flat rate commission among online stock brokers. Only some of the pay per share brokers could beat Just2Trade in this area and only on trades with 500 shares or less. Just2Trade has a surcharge of $0.003 per share on extended hours trades (trades executed from 7:00-9:30 AM EST and 4:00-8:00 PM EST), on penny stocks and OTC stocks.
At Just2Trade retirement account holders will have to pay $50 annual IRA fee, which is waived only for accounts with over $10,000 in assets that had at least 40 trades that year.
Just2Trade is not friendly to small balance investors: there is a $2,500 minimum account balance requirement. If client's balance falls below $2,500, the trading commission goes from $2.50 to $4.00 per trade. The firm will also liquidate customer's positions if account balance goes under $500 and might even charge a liquidation fee, which almost no other broker does.
Just2Trade, while having some nice elements, has a lot of extra spacing and missing spaces all over their website. Some pages even have incomplete or missing information.
Just2Trade New Account Setup
Completing new account application online takes about 15 minutes and approving an account at Just2Trade takes 1-2 business days if online (non-paper) application is used. All accounts at Just2trade, including margin accounts, must maintain at least $2,500 equity, which includes cash and positions. Day trading accounts must maintain a minimum $25,000, which includes cash and positions.
The minimum amount to keep a Just2Trade account open is $100. The minimum amount needed to trade is $500 or greater, otherwise the account is locked and positions are liquidated.
The types of accounts offered are Individual, Joint with Rights of Survivorship, Joint Tenants in Common, Custodial Account, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Rollover IRA, SEP IRA, Educational Savings Account (Coverdell), Corporate, LLC, Trust, Sole Proprietorship, and Partnership.
Just2Trade.com Website/Trading Platform/Tools
Trading Platforms
The firm offers both web based trading platform as well as a downloadable, advanced trading software. With the platforms investors can trade U.S. equities and options.
Mobile Trading
The company now offers mobile trading for iOS and Android devices. The apps allow users to trade stocks and options as well as track their portfolio performance. In Google Play the app is currently rated at about 3.5 stars.
Just2Trade Pros
Just2Trade Cons
| Status | |
| Foundation Year | 1994 |
| License | CM13032/16 |
| Trading Platforms | MMA MetaTrader 5, TradeX, MMA-Mobile |
| Reliability Rate | B |
| Authorised Capital | |
| Brocker Fee | 2.50 |
| Exchange Fee | |
| Withdrawal Fee | |
| Minimum Deposit | 2500 |
| Mobile Trading | |
| Forex |
| Phone: | +357 25 344 563 |
| Address: | 10 Chrysanthou Mylona, MAGNUM HOUSE, 3030 Limassol, Cyprus |
| Website: | https://just2trade.online/ |
It appeals to me that the company is totally upfront about the commission rates, and especially that there are no hidden taxes or fees.
  James   2016/10/11 15:48    
I’ve been watching Just2Trade for quite a long time but have not yet opened an account due to bad reviews. I finally decided to go ahead and open up an account as not a single broker charges such low transaction fees. Everything turned out much better than I thought. Regrettably, the company’s help desk is not up and running 24/7, but, as a rule, I can reach the help desk after one or two calls, and email requests are answered within 24 hours. I don’t know whether the company has hired new staff, but the account managers are good, competent, and definitely not those who are spoken of below.
  EvaStone   2016/10/11 15:48    
after j2t was acquired by Whotrades, they quickly moved from an old and unreliable online trading platform to a different one, which is for my needs (beginner, value investor) completely fine. After contacting more than 10 online brokers in the USA, this is the only one accepting customers from Europe (that was in autoumn 2015, I don't know how is it know)
  Rogerg   2016/10/11 15:48    
RUN AWAY from this brokerage. And I use that term loosely. Just search for lowtrades.com and fraud, just2trades took them over as they were all the same company under success trades. FINRA kicked out lowtrades due to fraud and a ponzi scheme. Too many other good brokerages, this is easily the bottom of the barrel. And as others say, their website is extremely buggy, account balances seem to fluctuate.
  Steve   2016/10/11 15:48    
Yes, I have experienced similar issues in the past couple of months-I've been with J2T for more than 4 years and no issues until around last December. I experienced the same issue with customer rep, very rude! Just today as I tried to log in I was prompted that WhoTrades has acquired LowTrades and Just2Trade and will service all accounts with no change in fees or any other conditions, so I'll stick for a few months to see how that goes.
  Jim   2016/10/11 15:48    
I was a customer at Just2Trade for 4 years. I never had cause to complain until the past couple of months. In December, there was a whole day in which no option trades could be placed at all. On submission of an option order, the website would hang and then time out after 30 seconds. No explanation or status update was posted on their website. I later found out that the problem was due to a new data feed that they had changed to. Then in mid-January, there was an outage where no positions could be opened for 2 whole days. Attempts to open a position resulted in the error "[] Account is restricted - cannot open position (-55)". Calls to customer service were unfruitful. The reps didn't know what the problem was and when it might be resolved. At least, this time there was a post about the outage on their website. No compensation was ever offered to me. From the website, clients can also chat with customer service, but the person manning the chat line now only responds to the first question and then simply ignores any followup questions. He doesn't say good-bye or disconnect or anything. I have never seen any customer service rep behave that way before. One more quibble, albeit minor. For people with IRAs, there is a $35 annual fee that is reimbursed for accounts with over $25k in assets. The fee is assessed by their clearing company on November each year, but the reimbursement doesn't come through until February. I have now transferred all my accounts out to other brokerages. My advice is to stay away from these jokers.
  Ken   2016/10/11 15:48    
My experience was not very good. I found it very difficult to deposit and extremely difficult to withdraw funds from them. They never seems to give a straight answer and getting your own money from them was like pulling teeth. Making a trade was also difficult. They made me very skeptical and I would be weary about putting funds with this company. When I tried to cancel my account and get my money out they cancelled my withdrawal from them to my bank. They also refused to do a wire transfer saying they can not do wire transfers. To date I still have not received me ACH withdrawal. It just seem to always be held up. Think twice
  dzineit   2016/10/11 15:48    
Also i´d like to know if anyone that already have an account with them for some time already attempted to do a withdrawal and if it had any issues with it... thanks.
  @RBE77   2016/10/11 15:48    
I am an extremely unhappy (former) customer of Just2Trade. I learned that the CEO, Fuad Ahmed, is accused by the regulatory agency FINRA of defrauding former NFL and NBA players. FINRA states that the issued bond rates are up to 26%, and the account at the parent company, Success Trade Securities, only had $25k in it and was losing cash at a rapid rate. I had hoped the company would fire its CEO, Fuad, however, it turns out the company is privately held and thus Fuad is not likely to fire himself. I promptly closed my account with this broker. If this is how they treat stars then I hope you can guess how they will treat ordinary investors. Please keep in mind that during fraud proceedings the State often seizes assets involved in fraud, and even if you have SIPC protection it often takes years and much paperwork to get back assets. I strongly urge you to not use any brokerage associated with Fuad Ahmed and to close any accounts you may currently have.
  Anonymous   2016/10/11 15:48    
you seem to be quite informed of brokers and stuff i do NOT have client support issues with just2trade, i only have a fear of their continuity / business continuity after the FINRA case what would you suggest ? thanks in advance for your replies regards subu
  Subu   2016/10/11 15:48    
Hi, to the customers that have an account with Just2Trade, just was wondering if the FINRA situation was already settled or not.... are they in risk of being closed or not? I´m considering them because it´s just one of the few with low commisions that accept international clients. I only need them to open a ETF trade per month. Thanks.
  @RBE77   2016/10/11 16:09    
Just2Trade is under FRAUD investigation by the government. Read more on FINRA website: http://www.finra.org/Newsroom/NewsReleases/2013/P... How could you trust your money with this firm?
  Art   2016/10/11 16:09    
They are very slow with email responses, you have to call their 1-877 phone number and hit the #3 and a Rep is usually quick to help. They added "Live Person software" to aid their issues with Client Support and they are getting better. Cons, their platform is not the most dazzling but your only paying $2.5 for a stock ticket with a auto-ex of 500 to 3000 shares that is filled faster than Etrade and Ameritrade ever filled my orders. Their new Market Maker "Matrix" has been a problem of late, stock orders are having problems getting a cancellation report quick as Maxxim holds the order and this needs to be fixed quick. I keep hearing they are about to add a new Platform on their J-Trader, it's not the worst platform, but as I say again, you are not paying for any data fees and your commission for all stocks is only $2.50, I saw some of the above brokers charge you $25.00 for Pre-Market and After-Hours trading up to 5000 shares. So if you trade 200 shares after hours with some of these huckster brokers you are going to pay $25.00 per trade. I trade after-hours is $2.50 and using INCA it's .0027 per share, your trade end's up costing you 200 shares at $2.50 to $0.54 or $3.04 instead of $25 to $35 bucks other brokers are screwing Traders for! I had no problem opening up five accounts with J2Trade, I learned to use the phone number instead of emailing them and my second choice after calling is using the "Live Person" Client Support. This Broker is a no-brainer, it's easy to use and you get what you pay for. If you are a heavy trader and generate tons of trades, your savings allow you to buy the best trading data services, newsletters, Briefing.com's and Esignal's high quality Market Data and massive 'back-testing" and Stock Radars allow you to trade like a King. If you have other comments on J2Trade, I have run into almost every problem with them and they were great to resolve them. There is alway's Etrade and Ameritrade who will charge you $0.005 ECN fees plus your $6.99 to $9.99 Equity Trade vs $2.50 plus $0.0027 using INCA ECN. ARCA and Nasdaq are $0.003 per share, I have no problem using INCA!
  JasonMiles   2016/10/11 16:09    
Penson had issues with it's CEO using the money to buy a Race Track. Nite Trade Mark almost went BK if not for the money BlackRock's unit added to buy up most of NIte's shares. I checked with the SIPC and my securities are backed by $25,000,000 in protection. Gerald Celente (Trend's Watch Finance Guru) was hammered with M.F. Global and could not get his money out for a while. I remember the CME had to make good on Refco's blow-up! You have legitimate concerns, I have faith in the SIPC and the USA Government's SEC unit to conduct business and check out any issues. I have had no problems with Just2Trade other than "Maxxim" and "UBS Bank" issue of not cancelling my order fast enough. The World is full of uncertainty, you being a stock investor know nothing is certain in life. The SIPC and SEC are not stupid, they are not going to allow him to walk away with our money knowing full well, the SIPC will end up footing the bill. Thank you for your advice and concern, who are you trading with right now?
  TraderTJF   2016/10/11 16:09    
I ask for a Demo acct, and their staff enabled a demo acct that last ONE day, 24hrs for me with NO balances whatsoever. I tried using the watchlist to add symbols and realised that I cant add DJIA even though this is valid symbol. I tried a lookup and obviously the platform is 200% impossible to do a search. I used CMC demo acct and they let me used FOREVER without expiration. CMC also had text search that allows u to search by text and add a symbol easily into your own watchlist. Sure the charges are low, but the service is just as bad. I told them they can expire my DEMO. Its pointless to try to learn to trade when u cant even have the correct tools to enable u to even try to trade! 1: MUST know the symbol name and MUST be exact, no text searches available 2: NO education video or how to video of using the various features in the platform 3: My demo did not come with the master watchlist features so I cant create watchlist 4: NO user guide and NOT user friendly platform 5: DEMO acct is ZERO balances and last ONE day ONLY They can take back their own demo platform. If I cant even manipulate the demo, I think I will try others. Even if I had to pay more, its would be very much less irriating and far less frustrating for me as a trading customer!
  ElizabethLeong   2016/10/11 16:09    
/////////just was wondering if the FINRA situation was already settled or not.... are they in risk of being closed or not? ////////// I have the same questions ... I am an existing customer with an account over last three years. i have NOT faced any problem with telephone support or order fill ... e mail replies are in approx 24 to 36 hours so I call over phone if something more urgent is needed my main question is about the broker and the main broker - legent trading / cor securities thanks in advance for your replies
  Subu   2016/10/11 16:09    
The process of opening an account with Just2Trade was very straight forward. No problem at all. I have not funded my account yet, but I am disappointed to hear that they charge $30 for incoming international wires. I will have to check this with the online support tomorrow. The online support by the way has been excellent for me. They have answered all of my somewhat difficult questions!
  Terry   2016/10/11 16:09    
I've had an account with these guys for about 2 years and I haven't had any problems. I do trade quite often and I don't have the need for all the bells and whistles, their execution is fast and really good which is all I need and at $2.50 I'm happy.
  ElOrtega   2016/10/11 16:09    
Just to mention other fees: incoming international wire: $30 outgoing international wire: $40 not very welcoming to us foreigners.
  Ondrej   2016/10/11 16:09    
Opened an account with an Australian address, in the name of a family trust. Our local brokers here charge $40USD per trade on US equities!!! Not a lot of brokers allow foreign accounts, let alone australian (due to tax arrangements) and a family trust on top of that! I did have the experience of it taking 10days to open the account, that was a bit brutal. But hey, they've so far been ok. i'm more worried that they will bugger off with my cash and securities!
  nathank   2016/10/11 16:09    
I've opened an account with Just2trade and I'm living outside USA and don't have USA nationality. They opened my account within 4 days. I didn't face any issue with my account balance. I do like their simple interface for stock trading. I 'm strongly recommend Just2trade for serious investors.
  Ghassan   2016/10/11 16:09    
- Lots of things in their trading platform are completely broken. I asked them to fix the problems 2 years ago. Nothing happened until now. I asked again today. The reply was : "we are working on it, but it's not a quick fix". I wonder how many years does a company need to make the plain profit/loss page work? The page looks messy. All these mistakes go into the daily balances, and finally you need to make calculations for a couple of minutes just to figure out the daily % change of the portfolio. - I requested an assets transfer from another broker to J2T. It took some 34 days to complete it!!! I had to contact them several times during this period, and spent about 2 hours trying to make them complete this transfer. It's unbelievable, you have to beg them to take your assets!!! I will never transfer any additional assets to J2T and I regret that I opened an account with them.
  Angry_customer   2016/10/11 16:09    
I opened a brokerage account at Just2Trade Online in 2015. Everything was fine. I was slowly investing into stocks and received dividends. Just2Trade Online held 15% from dividends of U.S. companies , which in principle was fine. But since October 2016 the broker has introduced an additional commission of 3% on the amount of dividend payments, but not less than 3 dollars. I think it is not good. I do not want to have an account here.
  Mike   2017/1/13 14:56