How does Firstrade make money? (2024)

FAQs

How does Firstrade make money? ›

This broker-assisted trading fee is on the low side compared to other online brokerages. Like many (if not most) of its competitors, Firstrade receives payment for order flow. This means the company earns commissions from third-party market makers to route users' trades through their systems.

Founded in 1985, Flushing, New York-based Firstrade is a deep-discount online broker that offers $0 stock, ETF, mutual fund, and options trades. Firstrade was among the earliest U.S. brokers to launch retail cryptocurrency trading.

Firstrade is an innovator in commission-free investing. Beyond $0 commissions on trading stocks, ETFs and options, Firstrade also doesn't charge trading commissions on any mutual fund, nor does it charge a per-contract fee on options trades.

Firstrade Securities Inc. is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). SIPC provides up to $500,000 of coverage, with a limit of $250,000 for cash balances.

Firstrade Cash Management Account's checking-writing and Visa® debit card services are provided by UMB Bank, N.A. *Check writing is only available for U.S. domestic accounts. ** International accounts, not including OFAC & high-risk countries.

Your account is insured by SIPC for up to $500,000. Firstrade has been serving investors for more than 37 years and is a member of FINRA and SIPC.

Firstrade is a good fit for investors focused on trading conventional assets like stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and bonds. The Firstrade platform is also a good choice for options traders as it's one of the few brokers that does not charge a per-contract fee for options.

Basic withdrawals cost $0, but there may be exceptions

But I have good news: basic withdrawal at Firstrade is free of charge.

How do I withdraw from Firsttrade? ›

To request a wire transfer withdrawal, login to your Firstrade account. Go to Accounts > Deposit/Transfer. Under the Withdraw column, select Wire Transfer. Click Start if this is your first time requesting a wire transfer, then request and enter the verification code.

Firstrade is regulated by the SEC and FINRA, and all customers are covered by the US investor protection scheme, called SIPC. The SIPC scheme protects against the loss of cash and securities in case the broker goes bust. The limit of SIPC protection is $500,000, which includes a $250,000 limit for cash.

You may sign up for an international account if you are not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, do not have a Social Security Number or Tax-ID Number.

John Liu - Firstrade Securities, Inc.

To get started trading index funds, open your account at Firstrade today!

How Does a Brokerage Firm Make Money? Generally, brokerages make money by charging various fees and commissions on transactions they facilitate and services they provide. The online broker who offers free stock trades receives fees for other services, plus fees from the exchanges.

Firstrade Securities is a stockbrokerage firm and broker-dealer headquartered in Flushing, New York that offers an electronic trading platform to trade financial assets including stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETF), options, mutual funds, and bonds.

This statistic shows the largest Chinese trading companies as compiled by the Forbes Global 2000 ranking of 2021, by market value. The Chinese trading company Xiamen C&D and Wuchan Zhongda Group both ranked first with a market value of approximately 3.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2020.

Some 256 Chinese companies are now listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq and NYSE American exchanges worth a combined US$848 billion, according to a report Tuesday by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission.