Interactive Brokers for mutual funds/ETFs?

[dc_publius]

I assume IB has a good selection of mutual funds, particluarly ETFs. Is this correct?

I am thinking of signing up with IB even though I don't plan to trade stocks much. I expect less than 5 trades/month, although I may get back into it at some point. I will get hit with $10 monthly fee, but that will be offset by IBs interst rate (4.799% on balances 10,000-99,999 whereas my cash is now at ING 4.35% and checking 3.65%) Is this a good idea or should I go with a diffrent broker?

Since I signed up with my current discount broker they were bought out twice and the fees have been going up and service down. I have not traded in a while and even though IB has been around, the discount brokerage options have changed alot since 2000-2001 when I signed up with my original (current) broker. I need to take a more active role in managing my finances and this is one of the steps I'm taking. Help me out 2+2!

[BigBiceps]

ETF is "exchange traded fund" that means all ETF's should be available for trade at interactive brokers.

When I was a customer there, you could not buy or sell mutual funds there. IB caters to the active trader, and a mutual fund only trades once per day, at market close.

If you are not an active trader, I recommend a different broker, it is not worth $120/year fee to be there. You can get a better interest rate many places too (I think 5% citibank online savings or what not).

Etrade or ScotTrade should not cost too much if you are only making a few trades per year.

[34TheTruth34]

I use sharebuilder.com and have been satisfied with them. They only charge $4 per purchase, which seems pretty reasonable. These go through on Tuesdays only, which I suppose could be a drawback. If you want a live stock purchase at any time, it's $15 each. There are no annual fees.

I don't know how these fees compare to other online brokers, but like I said, I've been satisfied so far (almost a year).

[dc_publius]

I guess I'm looking for a broker I can grow into. I used to day trade a little and swing trade back in 01-03 before I shifted focus to my new job, etc. Ideally, I would like to set up a decently diversified aggressive portfolio using mutual funds/ETFs - with good focus on international markets, and have the means to swing trade some stocks with the remainter of the cash. If I only buy and sell one stock per month, that's about $14-20 in commissions at most other brokers which would offset the $10 maitenance fee.

But like I said, I don't know if IB offers a decent list of mutual funds.

[lala]

I use IB and am quite satisfied with it. If you make at least a few trades a month I would recommend it. You can trade pretty much any ETF out there, and the fills are very fast. Also pretty low commission rates, unless you trade 2k shares or more frequently.