By: Kelly | Last updated April 21, 2019 
Firstrade is an online stock trading service. It is known to be commission free for trading and only costs 19.95$ for broker-related trades which makes it friendly for new users. In addition to stock trading, it also offers bonds, option trading, mutual fund, and exchange-traded funds.
What gives Firstrade an edge is the fact that it gives you the option to be able have additional trading hours. This allows you to be able to place trades even before or after the traditional market hours. This allows you to be able to respond more quickly to news, allowing you to be able to protect your stocks at the first instant.
History
Firstrade was founded in 1985 and it is known to accommodate the local community of Queens. It still has support for the Chinese and English language. They are known as a good choice for traders that look for active stock and for advanced options.
Trading
With Firstrade, the interface is very basic and intuitive. Margin being a trade is allowed to be constructed. You will need to manually enter spread legs but will be helped by integrated chain sheet to ease the whole process. This allows you to be able to control trading with more freedom. However, this may be too repetitive and slow for those who are very active in trading.
You are allowed to put your trades from 8:05 am up to 9:25 during the morning and 4:05 pm to 5:25 pm which are times before and after the market opens. This is on Eastern time. With this, you are allowed to react to news faster. This may save you a lot of money because of how fast you can react to dropping or rising stocks.
Firstrade uses the Firstrade Navigator, a technology of their own, that allows you to be able to use a layout with modules for navigating through relevant data. From here, you can see real-time data and quotes. You can monitor it through iPad, Android, and desktop. This adds a lot of convenience for trades, especially those that are always busy.
Common users complaints usually point out Firstrade’s limitation as a platform. You have limited options for customizing watchlists. The company cannot be searched either. It also doesn’t offer data on price improvement and spray-routing. They also route their orders to Apex and Credit Suisse which might make it hard for brokers to be able to get best prices and to optimize income.
Education tools
Aside from serving as a platform for trading, it also allows you to be able to learn about investing. It gives you information on taxing, loans, and investment strategies. This allows you to learn more about trading and its parts.
Overall impression
Firstrade is a reliable service that takes pride in its 0 commission trading. Its additional education service makes it a good service for those starting out in the trade. It is focused on utilizing the lowest possible costs for trading which makes it friendly for those looking only for ETF’s, options, funds, and stocks.
