Firstrade is an online discount brokerage. They shifted their business to the internet in 1997 and have won numerous accolades since then such as the “Top Clean-Hands Firm” in the online brokerage industry from Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine in 2006 and the “Best Deal” among online discount brokerages from SmartMoney in 2005.

For consumer reviews of Firstrade check out www.epinions.com. There is also a good comparison of  online brokerages at http://www.thesunsfinancialdiary.com/investing/discount-broker-reviews-scottrade-zecco-tradeking-firstrade-sharebuilder-qqqdirect/. Firstrade reviews seems to have a clear split switching from mostly negative reviews in their early years until about 2001 to a more balanced picture after 2006. Firstrade complaints appear to focus on the lack of speed of transfers and trade executions. These complaints have stuck with the company over the years so while it is possible that they have improved in this area, they don’t seem to have caught up to their competitors.

Firstrade features several promotions. There is no Firstrade promotional code but there are specific conditions attached to each promotion. Many of their promotions require paperwork to be filed in order to receive the promotional rebate and all require that the account remain funded for a certain amount of time, usually 9 months after opening a new account. One of their promotions is free trades for a month. If you read the fine print, you will notice that for a regular account, you actually have to pay the fees when trading and then they are refunded the fees after two months. If you were planning to do some heavy day trading this can really cut into your investment funds.

Their commission for stock trades is a flat fee of $6.95 for stocks with a per share price over $1 and a quantity order of less than 5000 shares. Firstrade securities include most stocks listed on the U.S. Markets or exchanges. The feature I like is the free dividend reinvestment program available. This allows you to reinvest cash dividends paid by companies whose stock you own back into those companies without having to pay a commission. Firstrade is not the only online brokerage offering this feature but it is nice to have if you own dividend paying stocks.

Overall, Firstrade’s brokerage services are competitive with other discount brokerages. My biggest problem with them is the lack of banking services. I prefer to limit the number of companies I have to deal with. For you that may be a benefit if you are the type of person that needs to force themselves to save. It certainly isn’t easy to just dip into your stock funds to pay for that vacation that looks so enticing right now. Having your online brokerage account and your spending account completely separate will definitely help you limit your binge spending, at least from available funds. It won’t help you control any credit card purchases you make.

Their website, www.firstrade.com, says they have no hidden fees. That may be true but you do need to read the fine print. The website also states that they have $6.95 flat rate unlimited shares stock trades but when you read the fine print, you discover that unlimited shares apparently ends at 5000 shares. This kind of advertising does not make me trust them. Unlimited should mean unlimited. So while this company does seem to offer a good product, they do have hidden fine print and paperwork you have to complete in order to benefit from all the deals they offer.

Know what you are signing up for. This company could save you money if you deal with them with open eyes. Find out all the rules for whatever business you plan to conduct with them and be sure to follow them so you can benefit from the deals they do offer.