Online Broker Review – Just2Trade
Just2Trade may not be as much of a household name as some more widely-advertised online brokerage firms, but its combination of terms and services was good enough to place it in the top five of a 2017 MoneyRates ranking of nineteen online brokers.
As with all the brokers surveyed though, Just2Trade has its particular strengths and weaknesses. Understanding those strengths and weaknesses is a key to recognizing which type of investor might be the best fit for Just2Trade.
Overall Just2Trade Review
Pros
- Low-cost trading platform for investors
- Flat-rate commission of $2.50
Cons
- Inactivity fee charged per quarter
- More suited toward frequent, involved investors than small or beginner investors
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Who Is a Good Fit for Just2Trade?
Just2Trade is an affiliate of A.H. Haynes & Company, which has been a registered broker-dealer since 1981 and has an almost-spotless regulatory disclosure record since then. What will stand out most to the typical investor though is that Just2Trade represents a very low-cost trading platform.
Just2trade fees
Flat-rate commission
On ordinary online stock trades, Just2Trade offers a flat-rate commission of just $2.50. Only two of the nineteen brokers MoneyRates surveyed offered lower commission rates, and $2.50 represents of a substantial discount from the average online broker flat-rate commission of $6.05. It is just slightly over half of the $4.95 price point that several online brokerage firms have gravitated towards lately.
Since smaller portfolios are especially sensitive to flat-rate commission levels, Just2Trade’s low rate would seem to make them an attractive choice for less-wealthy investors, but there some important details to consider. Unlike most of the online brokers surveyed, Just2Trade does have a minimum account size requirement, though its minimum of $2,500 should not be much of a hurdle to the vast majority of investors.
Inactivity fee
More significantly though, Just2Trade charges an inactivity fee of $15 per quarter during any quarter in which less than five trades have been placed. This requirement is waived if you maintain a balance of at least $50,000 in the account. Therefore, this inactivity fee could be a factor for smaller investors who trade sporadically.
Besides offering competitive commissions, Just2Trade offered one of the lowest margin rates MoneyRates found in its survey. Margin rates are subject to change and vary according to the margin balance, but indications are that Just2Trade could be a cost-effective option for investors who plan to make regular use of margin.
Other Considerations
Their commission and margin rates make Just2Trade a competitive choice to consider for frequent, heavily-involved investors rather than for smaller customers looking to place an occasional trade. Another dimension to add to this profile of who is a good fit for Just2Trade is the type of investment research resources they provide.
Just2Trade’s resources seem to lean more towards basic market data and quantitative trading tools than towards detailed, qualitative research. Therefore, the resources Just2Trade offers might be better suited to customers pursuing their own trading strategies than for those looking for ideas from fundamental reports on individual companies.
Overall then, Just2Trade might not be the best fit for a small investor who is just getting started. However, given their highly-competitive commission and margin costs, Just2Trade might offer larger, more sophisticated investors who formulate their own trading strategies a way to implement those strategies very cost-efficiently.
