Here is a good table on the various fees and platforms comparison for the top 16 US brokerage. For Malaysians that are interested do inquire which brokerage allows international account holders. I did notice that some brokerage don't allow non-US resident account holders.
The table also states how much initial capital is required to open an account. And lastly one more important item is to remember to fill up the W-8BEN form. You can search about in my blog.
Sorry for the small pic as my blog theme will go whack if enlarge it too much. Just click on the images for a BIGGER zoom..
Useful table Kris!
IB and LS looks cost effective, but seems to cater to cash-rich investors.
How about the trading platforms' rating for each brokerage? Any comparison in this?
If you look at ratings, mostly likely from Barron's, most brokerage get quite good ratings, that it is quite hard to differentiate good/bad based on the ratings.
On platform, some are quiet sophisticated and hence may lag when market gets hot or even if your streamyx is problematic.
So its up to most users to try and find which is the best platform to suit your own style/preference.