Things have been quiet on the brokerage commissions war front for some time now but that may be coming to an end soon enough.

e-Monitor tracked firm Charles Schwab announced it will lower online stock and ETF trade rates from $12.95 to $8.95 for all investors, on January 19, 2010. Previously, the discounted $8.95 rate was only available to active traders, clients who maintained $1 million in household assets or executed 120+ trades per year. Charles Schwab lowed its commissions for active traders in early 2008, but has not lowered the commission for all client segments since back in 2006, when the commission dropped from $19.95 to $12.95.

Only three other e-Monitor firms currently offer lower online stock and ETF commissions for all client segments – Scottrade ($7), TradeKing ($4.95) and Zecco ($4.50).
If you liked this blog post you may also be interested in this e-Monitor Report, ETF Centers.

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