The question I get the most from new traders is, "Who is the best broker?"  I've written about this before and the answer is still the same -- there is no way to tell who the best broker is.  The question traders should be asking is, "Who is the best broker for me?"  Everyone has a different trading style.  They trade different types of accounts for different amounts of money at different times of the day for different kinds of reasons and with different kinds of goals.  It makes more sense to try to find a broker that matches your trading style and requirements rather than getting someone's opinion on who they think the best broker is.  What does that question mean anyway, "Who is the best broker?"

We've developed a methodology that evaluates brokers and graphically places them in categories that identifies their characteristics.  The DataInsight broker evaluation methodology assesses each broker for the “Range of Services” they provide and the “Level of Maturity” they have achieved.  Range of Services measures a broker’s product and service offerings while  Level of Maturity measures their financial viability, customer loyalty, trustworthiness, and reputation.  Each broker is surveyed and their responses are recorded and quantified.




Based on the total value of the “Range of Services” and “Level of Maturity” scores they receive, each broker falls into a predefined market sector which, at a glance, highlights the type of company profile they fit and their relative position within that sector.  The data we collect to accomplish this covers sixty-two areas, including their products & services, trading operations, financial viability,  customer support, regulation, and customer profile.

I'll be talking about this in more detail over the next few days and, after I'm done, I hope it will become obvious that ranking brokers from 1 to 10 doesn't supply a satisfactory answer to the "who is the best broker" question.

Tomorrow, Niche Players.