Best Broker for Swing Trading

[jethoma]

I'm looking to get into swing trading, and am starting off small ($10,000). Currently I use Fidelity but there are a couple issues which make me think there may be better solutions:

1) The fee is 7.95 per trade ($15.90 round trip). This eats significantly into my expected profit per trade (especially considering I'm starting out small).

2) When you sell a stock there is a 3 day waiting period for the trade to settle before you can use that cash. This basically means the trading opportunities are reduced by 1/3. Having to wait for 3 days doesn't seem very good.

I assume people Swing and even Day Trade with Fidelity, how do you get around this waiting period? Do you just have to deal with it, or are there other brokers that don't have this?

Any ideas and thoughts would be greatly appreciated

 

[jacknapier]

If you get a margin account you can avoid the three day wait period. The draw back is the pattern day trader rule.

 

[thirstytrader]

Unless you go with a broker like suretrader you dont have much option to get over the pattern day trading rule, its a SEC policy of $25k minimum. With suretrader there is no minimum since they're not based in the US but there are other obstacles. I dont use suretrader so its not a recommendation but an example.

I use IB (interactive brokers) for their good commissions, fast executions and excellent borrows on shorts, but you'll need 25k to get over the day trading rule, on the other hand their commissions are much better ($1/200shares) than what you pay today so they're still a step up for you even with $10k

 

[yellowfloyd]

I'm looking to get into swing trading, and am starting off small ($10,000). Currently I use Fidelity but there are a couple issues which make me think there may be better solutions:

1) The fee is 7.95 per trade ($15.90 round trip). This eats significantly into my expected profit per trade (especially considering I'm starting out small).

2) When you sell a stock there is a 3 day waiting period for the trade to settle before you can use that cash. This basically means the trading opportunities are reduced by 1/3. Having to wait for 3 days doesn't seem very good.

I assume people Swing and even Day Trade with Fidelity, how do you get around this waiting period? Do you just have to deal with it, or are there other brokers that don't have this?

Any ideas and thoughts would be greatly appreciated

I’m not sure where you’re based, but CFDs or spread bets (CFDs if you’re taking things seriously) could be good for you. No settlement period, good for short term trading. You can also use unrealised profits as margin for further trades.

If you’re in the US, I don’t think you’ll have access to these.