What to look for in an online trading platform

Trying to choose an online trading platform for your personal or company investments?Choosing the right investments can be a fantastic way to increase your company's assets, or your own personal assets.However, even though you have decided that you want to take the step of investing your company's funds in the stock market, it is important that you choose the right investment company that can adequately assess your business' or your personal needs and interests and find the right funds and stocks for you to invest in.
There are two different types of brokers that you can choose: discount brokers and full service brokers.Here are the differences between the two:
Discount brokers
a discount broker will probably charge a smaller commission.This smaller commission is due to the fact that discount brokers' employees are paid salaries, instead of being paid by commission.
a discount broker will not recommend specific investments to you or specific investment strategies for you to take.This means that you need to make the decisions on what to invest in by yourself. This is the type of decision that you will be making with an online trading platform.
Full service brokers

full service brokers most often charge commissions that are based on the number of transactions that you make and the size of those transactions
full service brokers will commonly talk to you about specific stocks that they recommend, the size of transaction that you should make, and particular investment strategies
online investment platforms will not provide full service brokerage.
How to find a good online trading platform to help you make investments
Choosing an online investment platform is a very personal and important decision.A very good place to start your search is by asking friends and business associates for recommendations.However, it is important to remember that the quality of a particular online platform, investment firm and investment professional depends on how well that platform, firm, or advisor works with your own personal goals and aims when it comes to investing in your business.
So come up with a list of 2 or 3 online investment platform that seem to be geared towards the type of investments that you are interested in.Now it's time to make a list.You need the following information for each online investment platform:
Information that details the investment options offered by the investment company
Information that details the services that the investment company offers
A list of the investment recommendations offered by the investment company over the previous year
Information detailing commission rates
Online investment platforms offer similar types of choices as one-on-one personal brokerage firms; you should look for similar options and areas when you are choosing your online investment platform.
Make sure that you choose a platform that will not take too much of a cut from your investment.Also, check on how many fees are being charged.Is the investment platform making its money off of nickel-and-diming you to death?How flexible are your investment options?Will you receive regular updates?Is an online ticker available?How helpful and comprehensible are the charts and tracking tools provided by the platform?Make sure that you choose an online investment platform that allows you to choose the way information is presented, that you can understand and navigate easily, and that offers investment advice and live help from customer service.