Independent rating of Forex broker ChoiceTrade

About company

ChoiceTrade is a US broker that specializes in trading stocks and options. The company has been operating since 2000. However, its name is little known among market participants. ChoiceTrade is part of LetsGoTrade Inc. registered in Delaware, US, in 2000. In 2017, the broker changed its place of registration to Puerto Rico. Since January 13, 2017, LetsGoTrade Inc. has been headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The shares of LetsGoTrade Inc. belong to ChoiceTrade Holdings, Inc.

The company’s official website does not feature any legal documentation. It only states that ChoiceTrade is a member of FINRA and SIPC. FINRA is a non-governmental regulator, while SIPC is the Securities Investor Protection Corporation. This means that ChoiceTrade is regulated by private organizations. Therefore, no state regulator guarantees transparency and security of clients’ funds.

Trading conditions

ChoiceTrade offers its clients only one account type and charges a monthly fee for it. The minimum deposit starts from $100. However, clients need to deposit at least $25,000 to carry out intraday trading. There is no information on the website on what services the company offers for $100. Notably, when getting access to trading platforms, customers can start trading with no less than $25,000 in their accounts.

The broker charges a $5 commission on stocks and ETF trades and a $7 commission per trade on other instruments. Other charges include $25 per trade for foreign stocks trading in the US (these are five letter symbols ending with an F) and from $5 to $10 for trading options.

We could not find anything about the leverage on the official website.

ChoiceTrade offers its clients five trading platforms:

1. ChoiceTrade is a free trading platform available in a demo version. It features a useful function called Power Basket that allows traders to place orders for several stocks and open deals for different stocks at the same time. The platform is rather simple and lacks many other functions. Besides, its mobile version has no charts and no check deposit.
2. The QuoteStream trading platform is available in standard and professional versions. The professional one has real-time notifications and a mobile application. Just like ChoiceTrade, the platform features market news, stream quotes from major exchanges, and advanced charts. Access to over-the-counter quotes and the data from the CME is not included in the platform and should be paid for.
3. Direct Pro provides direct access to the market. This platform comes with Level 2 real-time quotes ($20 per month), ECN books, news articles, and online notifications. Besides, the platform supports option strategies. To trade stocks via Direct Pro, users will need to pay 0.25 cents per share.
4. ChoiceTrade Elite is offered with a 14-day free trial period. The platform does not have real-time notifications, regional exchanges, and Level 2 quotes. However, it features Dow Jones indexes, Level 1 quotes, ready-made strategies, and fresh news.

With Choice Trade, you can deposit funds only via a bank transfer.

Support service

The support service team is available from Monday to Friday between 09:00 and 17:00. On the website, you can find phone numbers and email. Clients can also use a callback form.

Traders’ reviews

There are plenty of negative reviews about ChoiceTrade online. Customers complain about problems with money withdrawal. The support service does not respond to queries. Moreover, disappointed clients say that none of the contacts provided on the website is actually available.

Advantages:

• The main advantage of the broker is that it provides access to trading both stocks and options.

Disadvantages:

• no educational materials and market analysis
• high initial deposit
• high fees for using trading platforms and accounts
• negative feedback
• no legal documentation on the website
• regulated by non-governmental companies