…but also rates those recommendations based on how well that analyst or company performed in the past.

Advice From Other Investors

A few online brokers have taken the traditional model of investment expert providing stock selection advice and turned it completely around.

TradeKing, for example, is cultivating a vibrant online community where investors can not only trade ideas and ask questions of each other, but also follow each other’s investing styles.

The company has a Leaderboard feature where clients can choose to make their investment trades and returns public (it is not automatic). The top performers are listed, as well as what they bought, what they sold and why.

In the TradeKing Trading Activity community, investors can see what other TradeKing clients are buying and selling, as well as notes on why, plus links to blog items written about that particular security.

TradeKing also has a vibrant community of clients who blog about their trading activity. Because this area was so popular, TradeKing decided to hire some expert analysts to write blogs of their own, commenting on clients’ blog ideas, questions and investing strategies.

Zecco has similar community tools, including blogs, forums and top-performing clients over the past three months.

With so many tools and resources available to investors online, it’s easier than ever to make and execute your own financial decisions without the help of a full-service broker. (Not sure if you need a full-service broker? Learn more here.)

And that’s good news for investors who trade often and want to save money.

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