Online broking works. Millions of people use online brokers. So who is the best online broker for you?

Brokers, advisers, and their firms have to be licensed or registered, as well as making certain important information available to the public. Because individual investors needs vary so much, there are quite a few online brokers out there and that in turns means doing your homework to find the one, or perhaps several, that are right for you. Here are some general suggestions to help you get started.

Two important considerations are:
* the range and quality of customer service
* the fees you will pay to trade

One of the most important aspects of customer service is how easy it is to reach a real fellow human when you need help. Are the company’s fees low because it runs on a skeleton staff that won’t be able to return your call for a week? We hope not!

Though online investing is supposed to make it easier to interact with the brokerage and make trades, unusually high volume on the site (often caused by unusually high volume in the overall market) can mean delays online. So while being forced to make a voice might make you feel like all those internet advances are for naught, it’s good to know that there are real live human brokers who will actually take your call when needed.

Good service also includes the provision of search tools and other tools and data to assist your decision-making. You’ll find some tools and research data work well for you while others don’t - just keep exploring various sites and use whatever keeps working for you.

While many of the bigger sites offer similar services, there can be significant variations in cost. Consider the average size of your trading parcels and how often you plan to trade, then do the simple arithmetic to determine if the differences in trading costs are significant enough to warrant changing brokers.

We recommend calling the site before opening an account to ask a number of questions, including:

* What kinds of fees does the firm charge?
* Do the fees change depending on the type of account the customer has?
* Do you need to meet an account minimum to open an account? (these can vary)
* Do you need to maintain an account minimum?
* What happens if you don’t make any trades for a while?

There can be a lot of hidden fees, and just by calling to ask these questions you should be able to get a feel for how customer service friendly they are.

Do be sure to check the final costs before you commit to an online broker. Ultimately however it will come down to you finding a site and service that works your way and that you feel comfortable and secure with. A little bit of the right homework can make all the difference.