Not for the daytrader.
Written: Jan 20 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great research tools; streaming quotes; detailed account summary.
Cons: Listed orders can sometimes take long to route.
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| iboost's Full Review: DLJ Direct |
As a young trader with not much experience, I discovered DLJdirect when I became serious about my financial situation. I've known too many people my age (college students) who have gone through their younger years and have not saved up for their retirement or those "rainy days." A lot of the people I knew in college were always talking about daytrading and the wealth they've made from it. Was it really as profitable as they swore it was? Sounded like a lot of work to me. But curiosity got the better part of me, and I decided to try my hand at online trading.
I joined DLJdirect because they were one of the few brokers at the time who offered (and still offer) streaming real-time quotes (for a fee of course). On top of that, they already had what I considered an established reputation of being a respectable firm for the serious investor. Was I serious investor at the time? I thought I was... I began by investing a few thousand dollars and tried to reap some of the rewards that I was hearing about from my colleagues -- the daytraders.
Needless to say, it wasn't very glamorous sitting in front of my PC watching every single tick go by on the screen with CNBC blazing in the background hearing Maria Bartoromo (Hi Maria!) going over the "word on the street."
After taking losses, I thought "This isn't for me." I paused for a bit, and realized that I was going about it all wrong. I went through the DLJ research areas, and tried to become a little more literate as far as what ratios are, how the market is affected by interest rates, monitoring briefing.com (free to DLJ investors) and watching how the markets react to news, world events, etc.
After a few weeks of serious dedication (i.e. Doing a LOT of reading), I thought I'd give it another shot. My experience with DLJ this time was exactley what I envisioned. The trade executions were quick, and I always received confirmation by standard mail within 3 business days of placing my order -- email confirmations were immediate. I always got executions on my market orders within a minute or less (although some NYSE/Listed securities do take longer at times.)
The moment I realized that there was money to be made by really "doing my homework" on these companies was the same moment I began seeing profit by using DLJdirect's tools. It's not to say that other brokers lack what DLJ has to offer, but with them I became a little more seasoned and knowledgable. Other brokers offer what DLJdirect does, except at a heftier price. Remember: I'm a college student on a budget, so I cannot afford to pay inflated commisions on every trade.
Would I recommend DLJdirect to someone who just started out and wants to daytrade? No. I would, however, recommend it to individuals who have some knowledge of how the financial market work, and might have some money in a jar somewhere in their apartment that they'd like to get working for them. Hell, I'm not saying that DLJdirect will make anyone a savvy investor, but I can safely say they've helped me out a great deal.
Just recently DLJdirect has implemented after-hours trading (which I have not tried out.. yet). If you do plan on using this service or any other of DLJdirect's services, please do yourself the favor of downloading MarketSpeed - DLJdirect's "user-friendly" interface for viewing your account and conducting trades. It really makes managing your finances more of a treat that watching some boring HTML page. Oh yeah, and just like DLJdirect's site, it's secure too.
That about wraps it up for me, and I hope this information has proven informative. Thanks for your time.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
iboost
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Location: Miami, Fl
Reviews written: 5
Trusted by: 5 members
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