Pioneered the online financial self-serve business model. Great if you invest mainly in mutual funds, since choices are wide. Other discount brokerages have lower prices for trading stocks, however.

Charles Schwab charges too much and their minamums

This brokerage firm provides many of the services that a full service brokerage firm but at a cheaper price.

I've been using Schwab for the past three years and have definitely been very pleased with their service. Their site almost never goes down even during high trading volume. I think their prices for trades $30 for 1,000 shares or less is a little steep compared to other brokers who will let you trade up to 5,000 shares or more for only about $10 but I've heard from others that those sites aren't as reliable.