If i used Comsec for all of my trading, i'd be paying over $20,000 more per year than what i pay at the moment in brokerage fees. For Etrade, even more again.
It depends on how frequently you trade imo, and what you look for in a broker.
I look for a reliable platform, execution speed, good filter parameters, good service.
I trade with my own money so don't care about T+3 and don't bother reading broker research.
My trading broker, Amscot, recently reduced their fees to $14.85 up to $17,000 in value and 0.88% above $17,000.
I was placed on the new rate, instead of the flat fee i'd been paying. The new rate worked out slightly better than my flat rate, but i found myself position sizing so that i was trading in parcels under $17,000.
I've asked to go back on a flat rate so that i don't position size around brokerage fee limits.
The Comsec rate jumps up for most users (i know frequent users have had their limits raised to $20,000 from $10,000) when trading above $10,000 in value from $19.95 to $29.95. I put through 10 or 20 trades per month using Comsec, but try to trade parcels less than $10,000 in value.
Again, i found myself position sizing to suit brokerage fees, rather than the other way around. It probably cost me over the long run as i would probably have purchased larger parcels of shares had there not been a $10 jump in fees above $10,000.
