ETrade has a tiered pricing schedule that will work in your favor if you have $50,000 in investment assets or make more than 1,500 trades per quarter. Unlike many of the other online brokers, they charge a $40.00 quarter maintenance fee if you have less than $10,000 in assets.

If you don’t have a large account or don’t trade a lot, this probably isn’t the service for you, since the best deals are for those that trade often or have large account balances.

ETrade has the following tiered commissions schedule: If you make more that 150 trades a quarter you pay $7.99 per trade, if you do less than 150 trades a quarter you pay $9.99 per trade. The same pricing goes for options trades as well. They also charge commissions for global trading and broker assisted trading.

Additionally there is a $40.00 maintenance fee for accounts with less than $10,000.

ETrade makes it easy to find the right investments you need to diversify you portfolio. They offer all of the basic investments like stocks, bonds, mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. They also offer an array of fixed income investments.

The website has step-by-step tutorials that explain the purpose of different types of orders and how to request the orders from the desktop. These are very useful and informative for the new trader and will help the seasoned trader freshen up on some terms and discover new orders.

With a fully customizable trading interface, ETrade gives you maximum control over you trades. They offer a number of automated trading features including trailing stops, hidden stops, contingents and bracketed trades.

You’ll also find valuable educational resources and tools including articles, calculators, retirement planning and a tax center. They now have an app for Blackberry’s called Mobile Pro, that can be used to view real time quotes and watch lists, for stock and options trading and cash transfers. The app works especially well with the technology of the Blackberry Bold.

ETrade has 20 brick and mortar centers around the nation and you can contact customer support by phone or e-mail, but they don’t have live chat. I like that their securities phone line is available 24 hours a day.

In summary, ETrade was founded in 1982. With over 20 years of experience, this broker knows online stock trading. The only downside is the steeper fees.

And for good reason. Some of the world’s best stock pickers are, at times, penny stock investors. Pete Lynch, for example, has and still does enjoy the stock market’s super-cheap seats. The Royce Low –Priced Stock (RYLPX) fund crushes the market by betting on stocks trading for less than $10.00 a share.

So why not invest in penny stocks? I suppose the SEC has warned us about them. But what if we take the agency’s definition literally, and limit our choices to stocks trading for less than $5.00 a share?

And what if we further limit our choices to four and five star stocks whose market cap doesn’t exceed $2 billion?

There has to be some winners out there. Let’s have a look at our pick of hot penny stock of the week.

Webzen (OTC: WZENY.PK) is a stock that I ran across the other day. They are a Korean developer of online games. Its game Soul of the Ultimate Nation (SUN) is a three-dimensional MMORPG provided in Korea, Taiwan, China, Japan and the U.S. It also offers MU, another MMORPG provided in Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, and the U.S.

Some notables I found doing my research of the company is that management is tenured and owns 12% of the outstanding shares and Wall Street does not closely follow the stock. Also, its shares, trading for less than nine times projected 2009 earnings, are cheap compared to regional industry peers NetEase (Nasdaq: NETS) and Sohu.com (Nasdaq:SOHU).

Webzen currently has 56 million registered users and is in an industry bigger than the movie industry. If you look at how much money Activision got a couple years ago with hooking up with Vivendi’s video games.

I think this is a great stock to buy, as many companies will be interested in their online gaming technology, and to tap into all of their registered users. Webzen is currently trading a $2.00.

I chose Scottrade as first on my list of many online penny stock brokers to review.

Scottrade also offers some of the best trade fees online, only $7 for trades over $1. This is a great service for small time traders since they only require $500 to open an account, however, they are also perfect for day traders or active traders since their fees are reasonable and straightforward. Scottrade’s margin rates are also pretty low at a negative .25 for balances under 10K.

Though Scottrade doesn’t offer as many investment options as some of the other online brokers, they do have enough that you can diversify you portfolio. This online stock trading service has all of the standard investments including penny stocks, options, mutual funds and exchange traded funds.

They offer over 1,000 no transaction fee mutual funds and 10,000 load and no-load funds. Additionally, they have some fixed income investments like U.S. Treasury and Agency Issues, bonds, no fee IRAs and CDs.

The ease of use of the site is good if you are new to trading. The website and trading platforms are easy to navigate and there are online tutorials to teach you about the different tools. Scottrade Elite, their high-end trading desktop, allows you to add the windows and tools that provide the information that you need. When you look up a stock, all of the windows automatically update.

The Scottrade trader interface provides access to research as well as a knowledge center. Their knowledge center has a variety of calculators, access to news and research as well as information on their educational summits and seminars, which are free to all customers.

They offer three different trading platforms, Scottrade, Scottrader and Scottrade Elite. Scottrade is designed for the average online user, is easy to use and provides basic stats and good account monitoring tools. Scottrader is stepped up a bit, it has live streaming stock quotes, personal stock lists and quotes, free Dow Jones up-to-the-minute news an is fully customizable. Scottrade Elite is considered their advanced platform; it has Dow Jones and Comtex news, top performer scanners, charting ability and access to Level II quotes.

I think that Scottrade does a good job at providing trading tools for beginner investors as well as advanced traders and they offer a fairly comprehensive knowledge center with many informative webcasts. I would like to see them offer a cell phone-trading platform soon.

In summary, I think Scottrade is a excellent choice for new traders or straight traders; they offer all kinds of educational information for new investors and low-priced trades for those that like to trade stock frequently. I like the flat-fee structure that Scottrade offers that is perfect for low balance investors as well as active traders. They also offer a low margin rate and they have many offices for those that like to get see someone from time to time.

Beside, Scottrade has been known for excellent customer service. You can contact their friendly, knowledgeable team by e-mail, phone or visit one of their 403 offices nationwide. They are the only online broker that I know of that has an office you can visit. I thought that was a service that puts them above most online penny stock brokers.

These applications connect, protect and deliver information in a secure manner, enabling the use of the Internet for applications requiring a high level of security in the healthcare, financial services, insurance, and government sectors. It operates two reporting segments, Email Encryption and e-Prescribing.

The Company’s Email Encryption Service provides a user the ability to deliver encrypted email to any Email user at any Email address by using the ZixCorp Best Method of Delivery protocol that automatically determines the most direct and appropriate means of delivery, based on the sender’s and recipient’s communications environment and preferences.

The service supports a number of encrypted email delivery mechanisms, including S/MIME, TLS, OpenPGP push delivery and secure portal delivery. These last two mechanisms enable users to send messages instantly and securely to anyone with an email address, including those who do not have an encryption tool.

The Company’s e-Prescribing delivers many benefits, including improved patient safety through alerts to potential adverse drug or allergy interactions, reduced calls from the pharmacy to the physician, reduced costs for patients and their insurers through increased prescribing within drug formulary guidelines, increased delivery of prescribed drugs via mail order and reduced prescribing errors. This second unit of the company though has not been running well enough and the company has made a decision to wind down it operations by the end of the year.

Even with the decision to shut down the e-Prescribing operation within the company, year-to-date, ZIXI stock has jumped 85%. The rally is part of a larger trend, in which the stock is up 98% over the past five years. With earnings growth in the past year accelerating moderately compared to earnings growth in the past three years, most recent quarterly earnings much higher than analysts’ forecast, and the previous day’s closing price is significantly above its 50 day moving average are all very positive indications on how well this stock is currently performing.

Trading at $3.34, ZIXI is an inexpensive stock worth buying, based on its short-term and long-term performance.

Pink Sheets is an electronic quotation system for a number of over the counter (OTC) securities. The name is derived from the color of the paper on which the quotes were originally printed.

While penny stocks are securities that carry a value of less than $5, Pink Sheet Penny Stocks is a term for small shares or micro stocks that trade for under $1 a share. The companies that typically list in the Pink Sheets are the ones that are unable to meet the requirements of larger exchanges such as the Nasdaq and NYSE. In most cases, some companies use the Pink Sheets as a stepping stone to becoming listed on the regular exchanges and the Pink Sheets serve as an opportunity to raise capital.

The Pink Sheets do not have any listing requirements, allowing any company, even a company with no financial history, to be listed, although companies issuing stock on the Pink Sheets are at least bound by both State and Federal security laws.

The low cost of entry is the biggest advantage of trading pink sheets. Investors who wish to get in on a new company at the onset can pick up stock for literally pennies. If a company does well and grows that initial investment can grow from pennies to much large dividends.

A lack of liquidity is another risk to investors of Pink Sheet listings. The volume is usually very low and it can be very difficult to find a buyer for the stock. The seller may have to settle for a price that is much lower than initially anticipated just to be able to unload his or her shares.

Moreover, because there is no requirement for financial data, a company may simply vanish, leaving worthless stock issues in its wake.

Therefore, due to the nature of the Pink Sheets, being an unregulated exchange, there is generally more of a risk to investors than regular stocks that are on the larger exchanges.

Because of this risk, Pink Sheets Penny Stocks should only represent a small percentage of your investment portfolio. As in any kind of investment, play the game only if you are in a position to lose your entire investment.

Of all of the stocks and bonds that are traded online on a daily basis, the most popular are the penny stocks. They are highly risky investments, but none the less are most definitely worth trading simply for their increased profit potential.

One type of penny that is growing in popularity is those which are related to the fuel and oil industry. Investing in oil penny stocks in this economy is a very sound decision. As we watch the prices of oil consistently fall, yet the companies selling it continue to make record breaking profits, it’s no wonder why these types of pennies are so in demand.

Everyone wants to make it big someday and have all of the money that they would ever need. Purchasing oil penny stocks for a company who is a rising star in the industry is the way to go. Buy them now while the prices are dirt cheap and get your hands on as many as possible so that in a year or less from now, you might be able to walk away with a very substantial income.

Just make sure that before any purchase of any stock, whether it is a blue chip or a penny, that you do the necessary research to ensure that you are making a wise decision regarding your purchase. Never invest more money then you are willing to lose; especially when buying penny stocks online because they can lose just as big as they can win.

In the end, if you take the time to do all of the needed research and you always learn more and more about investing in the stock market, you will develop the needed experience that will help you to be truly profitable in the world of stocks and bonds. Many people want to become that experienced investor, but it takes time, money and dedication to becoming the best you can be in making trades.

If you are just in it for a quick buck, you will find yourself loosing more then anything else because you allow your emotions to get in between you and the true profit potential of investing in oil penny stocks.

As with any other form of investment, the greater the risk associated with the investment, the more profitable it can be. At the same time it can also lead to higher losses. It is important to remember that as with any investment, you have got to be willing to loose your investment. If you are not able to afford the loss then you should not be playing with your money. Furthermore, you also have to keep in mind that you can only lose as much as you are willing to invest in the first place.

Before you make a purchase though, it is very important that you do your own research before hand. Do not simply rely on someone else’s personal insight as to what shares to trade and what not to. You are ultimately responsible for selecting which penny stocks to purchase. Remember that the information regarding these stocks may be hard to come by or inaccurate due to a lack of regulation. However, many of them have been well-maintained and are usually a lot safer then those which very limited information is available.

Take your time in making your selection so that you are able to make a well-informed decision. Once you develop more experience in penny stock investing, you will find that making the right picks will become a whole lot easier. In the end, if it is a fast turn-around for profit that you are wanting, then penny stocks are definitely the way to go; if you are willing to accept the risk.

It is interesting to not that in most cases, penny stocks are not sold through the major indices. These shares of stocks are worth less then five dollars per share and because of their lower value, the corporations which offer them are unable to meet the requirements to join the major exchanges. This results in these stocks being traded over the counter and through various brokerages directly.

Most online brokers are capable of offering penny stocks to you so if you are interested in trading them then you will need to set up an account. If you already have an account online, start by checking with your current broker on what are the best penny stocks to buy. However, if your current brokerage does not offer you pennies, you might want to make a switch to another one.

You have to remember though, that these stocks are a very risky investment and just as you are able to make a substantial amount of profit through trading them, you can also make a substantial loss. Take the time to research for yourself, each and every single time you plan on making a purchase. Even if someone else tells you that a particular share is a sure-fire winner, you have to put forth the necessary effort to ensure that they are telling you the truth and not just trying to find someone to purchase their shares that they cannot seem to unload.

In the end, it is your responsibility to make sure that every single purchase is a well-informed one. When you finally make the decision to invest in pennies, make sure that the broker you choose to go through is able to offer them to you. Just remember, that the lack of regulation regarding the information associated with these shares of stocks may be inaccurate or even tampered with. In the end, you will only be able to loose as much as you are willing to invest, and if you do not have the money to invest large sums of capital, then you might want to stick to a more stable stock instead.

There are just so many options out there and so much potential for profits that you will find the most profitable avenue for you as long as you take the time to gain the experience needed to make great money in the stock markets.

According to the definition by the Federal Trade Commission, a penny stock is any common stock offered by a corporation whose value is lower then five dollars per share.

Because of their lower value, this means that one can purchase more shares at a time; even with limited funds. The more shares you are able to purchase and the greater the increase in value, the greater the profit. In most cases though, information regarding penny stocks is quite usually scarce. This allows the information to be easily manipulated which results in a much higher risk being associated with these stocks.

Penny stocks for the most part are not sold on the NYSE due to the exchange’s requirements to join, often exceed the corporation’s capabilities of meeting. This results in the shares being sold through various over the counter trading markets; especially directly within brokerage firms.

Unfortunately, the concept of what a penny stock is will vary from exchange to exchange. In the UK markets, they are generally referred to as penny shares and refer to small cap companies who have a market capitalization far less then 100 million Pounds. Unlike the US markets, these stocks are much safer and more tightly regulated; but they are none the less a high-risk investment.

Penny stocks can be appealing for the fact that they do allow one to make substantial profits with very little capital. Likewise though, just as there is definitely great profit potential associated with trading these types of stocks, there is also a substantial risk for loss. The lack of regulation on the requirements for what a company has to disclose often leads to the manipulation of the data in order to be more profitable for the company.

None the less though, if one is willing to accept the risks associated with trading in penny stocks, then he or she can make a fairly decent income assuming they take the time to properly research the stock for themselves before they ever make a purchase; do not simply rely on others’ recommendation alone. You are the only one responsible for making the decisions as to which stock shares you are willing to purchase.

But the only problem is that there are so many stocks to choose from; most of which are just too expensive to purchase. As a result, penny stock investing has been rapidly growing in popularity.

Many people who have been on the internet recently keep hearing about these types of stocks and how profitable they can be; but the real question people are wondering is how to buy penny stocks, what penny stocks to watch, and how to choose the best penny stock brokers.

Buying these kinds of small cap stocks is not done directly through the major exchanges like other forms of common stocks. They instead are sold over the table and directly through various brokers. Many online brokers have access to these penny stocks and allow you to trade them online through their service.

Buying penny stock online is the easy part. The hard part is making the decision as to what stocks to purchase. This can be a difficult task for anyone who is new to the stock trading game. But it is important that no matter what you do, you take the time to research prior to making a purchase. There are many people online who will tell you that a particular stock is going up so the time to buy is now, but you have to take this advice with a grain of salt and make sure that you do your own research before making a purchase.

Of course this can be a difficult task. Since penny stocks – (the pink sheets) are not readily available through the major exchanges, their records are not well regulated and there is plenty of room for manipulating what little bit of information is there. Investing in these penny stocks can definitely be a profitable venture, but a risky one at that.

Any investment which offers higher potentials for profits will also offer equally higher potentials for losses. You have to be willing to accept these risks prior to making your first trade. If you truly want to invest in penny stocks online, then all you really need is to find that the right broker who will offer these kinds of stocks to you.

Start out with a small amount that you could afford to lose. This way if you lose the money you will not suffer. And if you do find a real winner, your investment will grow quiet significantly.