Broker commission question

Question

If the commission to buy/sell stock is $9.95 and I want to purchase multiple shares from multiple companies how much will it cost? Do I have to pay the commission for each separate company or do I just pay one flat fee. I am purchasing out of etrade.com.

Answer 1

Each trade with a different company will set you back the 995. If you buy at the same moment 100 sh of IBM and 100 sh of MSFT, you'll pay 2 commissions, that's 995 times two.

And when you see them, you'll pay another 995 times two.

The above is standard practice regardless of which broker you have.

Answer 2

Most discount online brokers charge flat fee rates, so you pay the specified amount regardless of how many shares you choose to buy of one company.  However, this means that each additional company purchased will be counted as an additional purchase.  In your case at ETrade, the cost of that additional purchase will be $9.95.

Yes, $9.95 adds up over time.  I think ETrade tends to be on the expensive side of online discount brokers.  I use Firstrade ( http://www.firstrade.com/ ) instead.  They're $6.95 per trade and I'm very happy with them.  You should definitely check them out.

Answer 3

In most situations you pay a commission for each order in a given security that is executed on the same day.  If you enter an order and your order is not filled that day, and the remainder is filled the following business day, the firm usually will charge you another commission

If you buy/sell in multiple companies these are seperate orders for each company, therefore you pay a commission for each.

The share amount, but the market and security are.