What's a good place to open a brokerage account?

[NoItsNotLikeThat]

Title pretty much says it all. Looking for a place to invest my after-tax funds.

[Dream of Freedom]

If you are just going to put it in an index fund then go with vanguard. If you are buying individual stocks I like TD Ameritrade. It has free analyst reports and good charting software through the think or swim platform. The think or swim platform also gives you a paper trading mode to help you work on your skills without risking real money.

[NoItsNotLikeThat]

Thanks! I plan on just going with an index fund. I do have a 401(k) with Vanguard already, so it makes sense to go ahead and open an account with them.

[Lucky C]

Fidelity has been competitive lately by reducing/eliminating fees and transaction costs to compete with Vanguard. However their interface is very busy advertising lots of their other features, market news, etc. I like the relative simplicity of Vanguard's interface better. You can also buy Fidelity funds through Vanguard and vice versa, in case you see a fund you like from one that isn't offered by the other.

[OTCW]

Fidelity has a no fee total stock index I believe.

For active trading, I second the TDAmeritrade suggestion.

[Scott 2]

For an index investor, the structure of Vanguard makes them hard to beat.