2017 RANKING & REVIEWS
TOP RANKING BEST PENNY STOCK BROKERS & PENNY TRADING PLATFORMS
Tim Sykes is often regarded as the best penny stock broker and, by a few, as the Warren Buffet of this small niche. He experienced a lot of fame in the first season of Wall Street Warriors when his penny stock trading platform was on the rise.
Handling millions of dollars’ worth of investor capital as a penny stock online broker in his bathrobe from the convenience of his Manhattan apartment was a sight to see! Since then, many have aspired to live this kind of deceivingly “relaxed” lifestyle.
In this article, the top penny stock trading sites and penny stock trading platforms will be discussed in great detail, providing guidance for anyone interested in penny trading and the best penny stock brokers.
Award Emblem: Top 5 Best Penny Stock Brokers & Penny Trading Platforms
AdvisoryHQ’s List of Top 5 Best Penny Stock Brokers & Trading Platforms
List is sorted alphabetically (click any of the penny trading websites below to go directly to the detailed review section for that penny trader)
Click here for 2016’s ranking of the Top 6 Best Penny Stock Brokers & Penny Trading Platforms
Top 5 Best Penny Stock Brokers | Brief Comparison & Ranking
Best Penny Stock Brokers | Highlighted Features |
| Interactive Brokers | Versatile trading platform |
| Just2Trade | Ability to open multiple accounts |
| Lightspeed Trading | After-market hours customer support |
| TradeKing | Specialized educational resources |
| TradeStation | Trading-specific community forum |
Table: Top 5 Best Penny Stock Brokers | Above list is sorted alphabetically
What Are the Advantages of Penny Stock Trading?
If you have heard about penny stock trading, chances are that you can’t wait to begin learning about the best penny stock brokers out there.
Before we dive into the best penny stock brokers, we’ll take a quick look at the benefits of penny stocks, and exactly why penny stock trading software is becoming so popular.
No matter which of the top penny stock brokers you choose, there are a few common benefits that all penny stock trading sites will offer, making penny stocks a great investment option.
Low Barrier of Entry
If you want to get started with investing your money in a penny stock trading site right this very minute, you can do so with ease.
Due to the cheap value of the stocks, you will not need a lot of money to buy shares and trade them. They are easily accessible to the public, and anybody can get started.
Did we also mention that you can use the best penny stock trading sites from the convenience of your laptop or phone? You literally need nothing more than one of these devices, a minimal amount of money, and an Internet connection to get started.
With access to information from the top penny stock brokers at your fingertips, you will be able to learn as you go along.
Working Hours Are Regular Hours
All of the trading that happens with penny stocks occurs during the hours in which the market is open. If you are living in the US, this time period is from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm in Eastern Time.
This means that you can only buy, sell, and short stocks within this time period.
For people who want to gradually transition into full-time investing as a penny stock online broker, this opportunity is incredibly inviting. The days of working ludicrous 80-hour weeks will be but a thing of the past.
However, it is strongly recommended to keep working a full-time job until you can consistently reap benefits from trading penny stocks. The best penny stock trading sites will give you the same advice as well!
High Earning Potential
You wouldn’t want to become the best penny stock online broker if it didn’t provide generous financial returns, right?
Penny stock online brokers go into this niche for that very reason, and those who manage to make it through have reaped the rewards of what they sowed.
Thanks to the untapped potential of the companies providing these penny stocks, there is a lot of room for a company to rise in value.
If a company exceeds expectations, this means a huge return potential that exceeds stocks from larger and more established companies. Not every company will be able to experience this kind of growth, but, inevitably, some will.
See Also: Best Online Stock Trading Sites for Investors – Top Rankings
What Should I Look Out for with Penny Stock Trading?
In spite of the advantages that penny stock trading sites promise to newcomers, there are definitely risks that exist for penny stock online brokers.
This is not any better or worse than the types of risks that you will see with any kind of investment.
These points are listed not to deter you from trading penny stocks, but rather to make you aware of what can happen if trades are not done wisely.
Image Source: Penny Stock Trading
High Levels of Risk
Due to the low capital required to invest in penny stocks and their high earning potential, their high volatility allows your money to be lost just as quickly. There are extreme fluctuations that a penny stock broker must deal with on a daily basis.
Things such as bankruptcy, times of distress, and lack of public establishment will all contribute to the volatility of a company’s penny stock.
Penny stock brokers must constantly research the companies they are investing in while developing a sharp eye for companies that will succeed or fail. Shorting or selling stocks can be fatal decisions if your timing is not carefully chosen.
Lower Regulation
If the volatility of penny stocks was not enough, then the lower regulation requirements might give new investors second thoughts before using a penny stock trading platform.
Compared to regular stocks, companies selling penny stocks do not have any mandatory requirements for providing investors with useful financial information.
This means that decision-making in shorting or selling a stock will be more difficult in nature. The best penny stock brokers know that several rapid-fire decisions must be made in the day with little to no information about the company itself.
All they will have is their own research, news bits from other individuals, and past performance of the stock. With more than 20-30 penny stocks being held and analyzed at a time, a penny stock broker cannot afford to be left behind.
Greater Levels of Stress
Although this warning is not strictly related to financial investing, it is equally important to discuss. The best broker for penny stocks will be upfront and tell you that this type of investing is not for everybody.
With every day carrying several extreme risks and unforeseen changes in the direction of multiple stocks, a faint-at-heart investor will burn out before a single week of trading has ended.
The top penny stock brokers will strongly recommend that new and inexperienced investors avoid penny stock trading sites until they have gained the experience and maturity to handle this kind of trading.
The only time newcomers should consider using penny stock trading platforms would be to invest in penny stocks under a veteran broker with at least a decade of consistent success in this niche.
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AdvisoryHQ’s Selection Methodology
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Please click here “AdvisoryHQ’s Ranking Methodologies” for a detailed review of AdvisoryHQ’s selection methodologies for ranking top-rated credit cards, financial accounts, firms, products, and services.
Detailed Review – Top Ranking Best Penny Stock Trading Sites
Below, please find the detailed review of each firm on our list of top penny stock brokers. We have highlighted some of the factors that allowed these penny stock trading platforms to score so high in our selection ranking.
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Interactive Brokers Review
Interactive Brokers is certainly not a newcomer to the penny stock industry. With 4 decades’ worth of experience under its belt and over $5 billion in equity capital management, it has established itself internationally as a top performer.
Founded by Chairman and CEO Thomas Peterffy, Interactive Brokers hires nobody but the best penny stock brokers to manage the investments of its clients.
Its prestigious reputation has only lasted this long due to the impressive return on investment that its customers have seen.
Key Factors That Enabled This Broker to Rank as a Top Penny Stock Broker
Below are some of the most significant reasons we selected Interactive Brokers as one of this year’s top penny stock trading sites.
An Extremely Versatile Trading Platform
One of the most important things to have in this day and age of penny stock investing is a penny stock trading platform that you can take with you wherever you go.
Whether on a laptop, tablet or smartphone, Interactive Brokers understands that you need to be on top of your game at all times.
That’s why it has made its Trader WorkStation platform available on all operating systems in both smartphone and desktop devices. Everything syncs instantly, so you will never have to worry about your data appearing differently on your phone or your computer.
Educational Initiatives
The best penny stock broker will tell you that the relationship he/she has with his/her client blooms when the client knows exactly what is going on.
Rather than leave its traders and investors in the dark, Interactive Brokers takes a proactive approach in educating people on basic financial concepts related to penny stocks.
Qualified penny stock brokers give interactive webinars, provide definitions for commonly used terms with the Traders’ Glossary, and educational courses are provided within Traders’ University.
Transparency About Ratings and Regulatory Status
Although there are legitimate penny stock trading sites out there, there are just as many illegitimate ones. Investors that do not choose their penny stock trading platforms carefully can find themselves with all of their money gone without a clue as to where it could have gone.
That’s why Interactive Brokers makes its S&P ratings and quarterly regulatory reports publicly available on its website to anybody who wishes to view them.
Within a few seconds, you will have access to financial statements and where the firm is projected to land at the end of the calendar year. It’s very hard to beat that level of transparency when searching for the best broker for penny stocks!
Related: Acorns App Review and Fees. Is It Safe? Pros and Cons of Using Acorns
Just2Trade Review
While it may not provide the same level of personalized penny stock broker service that the other featured platforms do, Just2Trade more than makes up for this in the exceptional penny stock trading software that it provides for clients.
Although this platform was only founded in 2010, it has exploded in prestige and name recognition.
Even if you choose one of the other brokers featured in this article, you may still opt to use this penny stock trading platform to manage all of your investments.
The defining feature of this penny stock trading software is that it provides straightforward trading with no hidden fees or costs.
As an additional benefit, joining this penny stock trading platform itself is free, providing high levels of value for both new and experienced penny trading.
Key Factors That Enabled This Trading Platform to Rank as a Top Penny Stock Trading Site
Below we’ve compiled a list of some of our most compelling reasons Just2Trade has made our list of this year’s top rated penny stock trading platforms.
Prestigious Awards & Recognition
The best penny stock trading platform would normally have an abundant number of awards and public recognition for its excellence and use.
Just2Trade delivers on this promise and publicly displays every single award, press release, and news coverage that its platform is involved with.
It has won several #1 placements in magazines, such as SmartMoney and Barron’s, for its low cost of entry, easy penny stock trading software learning curve, and popularity among traders.
Just2Trade has also been featured in famous financial publications, like the Wall Street Journal, for its excellent penny stock trading software and valuable advice that it provides to traders.
Ability to Open Multiple Accounts
One of the worst features of any piece of financial software is its lack of flexibility and inability to customize its settings towards an individual’s preferences.
A successful penny stock broker needs to be able to open and manage multiple accounts at a moment’s notice.
This is how he/she is able to get a big-picture overview of the stocks’ performance and make crucial decisions that set the tone for the rest of the day.
Just2Trade recognizes this and allows its clients to open up many different types of accounts at once. Here’s a sampling of the accounts that people can expect to open:
- Joint account
- Custodial account
- Retirement account
- Educational savings account
- Corporation account
- Limited liability company (LLC) account
- Partnership account
- Sole proprietorship account
- Trust account
Low-Cost Trading Fees
A common complaint among those using penny stock brokers to manage their investments is the high management fees that are charged per trade.
Even though seemingly smaller prices are advertised, clients may be surprised to see that when they do the math, add up the money they obtained from selling a stock, and subtract the fees away, they are left with very little to no net profit.
Their only option out of this is to invest large sums of money into penny stocks, and that comes with a significantly greater risk.
At Just2Trade, its penny stock trading platform only asks for $2.50 for every trade that is made. This is a fixed price that will not deviate as much as a single penny higher or lower.
This reassures clients that they will make a meaningful amount of money from their investments and, at the same time, paying Just2Trade for the service that they are providing. Given its straightforward honesty about this cost, investors are more than happy to pay this fee.
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Lightspeed Trading Review
Since 1994, Lightspeed Trading has established itself as one of the high-performing penny stock brokers in the United States among thousands of national competitors.
Since it is established as an agency-only company, all orders given by clients are executed without question or influence from outside parties.
A quick read of its Active Trading Blog will show you that this company is run by chairmen and executives that are up to speed on their knowledge of the current market.
Anything from service updates to the latest trends are featured, and they frequently interact with fans across multiple online social networks to stay engaged with their client base.
Key Factors that Enabled This Broker to Rank as a Top Penny Stock Broker
Below are some of the elements we found compelling enough about Lightspeed Trading to name it as one of this year’s best penny stock brokers.
Complete Confidentiality
Security is extremely important when it comes to trading. Clients prefer absolute privacy when it comes to their investments and do not want anybody’s eyes except their own on their trading accounts.
Penny stock brokers need to promise and maintain absolute confidentiality and protection of the clients’ investments when clients sign up for their broker services.
Lightspeed Trading knows this and provides each and every client with top-level security. It provides a 2-step authentication with each login to prevent malicious hackers and outside parties from accessing private accounts.
Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) coverage is provided for each client for up to $25 million, so you can rest assured that any stolen money will come right back to you.
Regular & Extended Hours Customer Support
It’s one thing to have support while the market is open, but how about assistance during the after-market hours?
Every penny stock broker knows that the time outside of the market is spent on valuable research and preparation in order to set up for the next day when the market opens up again.
In doing so, one can ensure that he/she is safe-guarded against any risks or mishaps that happen with his/her stocks.
For this reason alone, Lightspeed Trading provides experienced licensed professionals as its support staff. No matter the time of day, you will receive a response promptly and assistance until your problems and concerns are completely addressed.
You will be able to get a full night of comfortable sleep knowing that Lightspeed Trading is there to help you at any time of the day.
Minimum Initial Investments Are Required
We did mention that penny stock trading platforms are well known for the low amount of capital that is required to get started in trading penny stocks. However, you can only do so much with a small investment.
This is where Lightspeed Trading jumps in and solves the problem. It requires the following minimum funding requirements depending on the account you open:
- $25,000 for all account types
- $10,000 as a minimum balance to retain all trading privileges
- $25,000 as a minimum balance to retain trading privileges for a Pattern Day Trade Account
While this seems pricey at first, having this amount of money in investment gives brokers and clients the freedom to make adjustments in their stocks that will benefit them in the long term.
Lightspeed Trading is interested in maintaining relationships with clients that will last several decades.
Although this may be off-putting to initial clients, it does attract those who are serious about studying and benefitting from penny stock trading.
Read More: SureTrader Review – All You Should Know Before Using SureTrader.com
TradeKing Review
TradeKing was founded in 2005 and later merged with Zecco in August 2012 to create TradeKing Group Incorporated.
Its top three focuses are on providing low-cost pricing for all trading options, world-class service for its clients, and free tools to enhance the trading experience.
Unlike many other penny stock trading platforms that seek to make things complex, TradeKing steps away and focuses on providing very simple services to its clients.
This allows investors to skip complex administrative and sign-up processes and, in doing so, can spend more time on making important decisions.
Key Factors That Enabled This Broker to Rank as a Top Penny Stock Trading Site
Below are some of the critical reasons we were able to name TradeKing as one of this year’s top penny stock brokers.
Extra-Hours Trading
While other platforms and brokers are strictly limited in terms of placing orders within the market hours, TradeKing faces no such limitations.
It allows its clients to place orders up to 90 minutes ahead of the market’s opening time, which automatically activate when the clock hits 9:30 am.
Need to make some changes when the market closes? Not a problem! TradeKing also allows for post-market corrections to be made for another hour after the market shuts down at 4:00 pm.
Rather than worry about what will happen the next day, you can relax and make any additional changes that you want before you retire for the day.
Transparent Disclosure of Company Investors
Many clients tend to have a negative image of company investors. They choose to view them as evil and greedy corporate executives that want to drive the agenda of the company they are investing in for their sole benefit.
Even with a great company, people will stop using its services once they figure out that a certain investor is backing it.
TradeKing is one of the few penny stock trading sites that manages to avoid this problem entirely by not only hiring trusted names in the financial and technology industries but publicly disclosing who it is on its website.
Clients can sign up with these penny stock brokers and know that their investors are not out to get them.
Specialized Educational Resources
Going the extra mile to educate your clients is a business step in the right direction. The best penny stock brokers know this and will invest valuable time and money into educating their clients on basic trading concepts.
However, TradeKing manages to take this one step further and blow its competition out of the water. It has its educational materials separated into three categories that reflect the interests and experience levels of its individual clients:
Security Type
- Stocks
- Options
- Bonds
- Mutual funds
- ETFs
- Forex
Experience Level
- Rookies
- Veterans
- All-stars
Market Outlook
- Bullish
- Bearish
- Neutral
- Volatile
Related: Firstrade Review | Get the Key Facts Before Trading with Firstrade
TradeStation Review
TradeStation’s beginnings can be traced all the way back to 1982, where it was originally named Omega Research Incorporated. It currently manages billions of dollars of clients’ assets and continues to see this number grow over time.
What differentiates TradeStation from the other platforms listed in this article is that it strictly focuses on being the top penny stock trading platform in existence.
In other words, its chief aim is to provide the best technology for penny stock brokers and investors of all levels.
Key Factors That Enabled This Trading Platform to Rank as a Top Penny Stock Trading Platform
Below are some key features we used to rate TradeStation as one of this year’s best penny stock trading sites.
Extremely Accessible Website
As a technology-oriented platform, it is vital that everything on its website is in working order. When you open up TradeStation’s website, you can expect to see the above image.
Every single resource and feature offered by this platform is immediately available in front of your eyes, making penny trading much more convenient.
All of this is achieved while keeping the layout very simple and professional in design. The platform that it uses on a desktop, the web, and mobile is no exception to this rule.
Multiple features are available to clients in an easy-to-read format that will make trading seem like a fun hobby instead of a chore!
Complete Access to Current and Past Business Metrics
It’s good to see how a penny stock trading platform is doing in the current year, but what about how it fared in previous years?
For serious investors that want to predict how the platform will fare in the future, having access to this information will be crucial in making the decision to become a client for any penny stock broker.
TradeStation has published its business metrics on its website for the past 10 years and keeps them constantly updated. Results are divided by year, quarter, and month to give a complete breakdown of where TradeStation was at a given point in time.
This data also allows you to compare TradeStation to other penny stock trading platforms and see which one will be best for you.
A Community Wiki Made Available to Clients
Imagine if your penny stock trading platform had a Wikipedia-like section where employees and users could contribute useful articles and information that everybody else could have access to.
This would be an incredibly useful tool that the penny stock broker’s community could benefit from and update in real-time.
TradeStation Wiki is available to anybody that is registered to use this penny stock trading software, and it does a great job of answering any frequently asked questions.
Instead of having to see the same question thousands of times in the community forum, newcomers can be redirected to a relevant Wiki entry, making penny stock trading education both effective and convenient.
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Conclusion – Top 6 Penny Stock Brokers
What is the best penny stock broker for you? What is the best penny stock trading platform that you can use to manage all of your investments? What is the best penny stock trading site to get your educational resources from?
All of these are great questions for any newcomer who wants to get started in penny stocks. Unfortunately, we cannot provide a straightforward answer for you.
To find the best penny stock trading site for you, consider our list of best penny stock brokers, contact the individual penny stock brokers, and see which option fits your circumstances.
The best penny stock brokers are always accessible and will be able to answer any questions that you have.
At the end of the day, the best broker for penny stocks is the one that can best serve your needs. It is your money, and it is up to you to decide where it is going to go. This is a question that not even the top penny stock trading sites will be able to answer for you.
As long as you know what you are doing and have a way out in case things go wrong, utilizing the best penny stock trading site for penny stock investing can be something that adds financial freedom to your life!
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Reasonable efforts have been made by AdvisoryHQ to present accurate information, however all info is presented without warranty. Review AdvisoryHQ’s Terms for details. Also review each firm’s site for the most updated data, rates and info.
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