please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages a major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject . it may require cleanup to comply with wikipedia s content policies particularly neutral point of view . please discuss further on the talk page . may 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message this article may rely excessively on sources too closely associated with the subject potentially preventing the article from being verifiable and neutral . please help improve it by replacing them with more appropriate citations to reliable independent third party sources . may 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message firstrade securities inc. type private industry discount brokerage founded flushing new york 1985 headquarters flushing new york united states key people john c. liu ceo products stock broker online investing total assets us 2.3 billion 2015 website www.firstrade.com firstrade securities is an online discount brokerage firm headquartered in flushing new york offering a full line of investment products stocks etfs options mutual funds and bonds . its site is accessible via mobile phone and trades can be made by phone as well . firstrade offers special services such as chinese simplified and traditional online trading sites and chinese mandarin and cantonese toll free phone help . 1 contents 1 history 2 reception 3 competitors 4 see also 5 references 6 external links history edit founded in 1985 by john c. liu as first flushing securities . first flushing securities served the investment needs of the local community . in 1997 the company was renamed to firstrade securities inc. and the company launched firstrade.com . since its inception the online discount brokerage website has undergone five revamps of the site with the latest in early 2011 . 2 in april 2010 taifook securities company limited a wholly owned subsidiary of tsg signed an agreement with firstrade securities an us online broker for cross border securities trading business . 3 as of 2011 most development of firstrade s site is taken place in house . 4 reception edit since firstrade s website redesign in 2011 the reviews have been generally favorable . online broker review states firstrade starts off on the wrong foot with a paper heavy registration process and limited account funding options . following a redesign of the entire platform in early 2011 the overall user experience is much improved . stock trading in particular is now very good and so we recommend it for all investors . the options trading platform is improved as well but has an excessive exercise assignment fee and is still missing a few advanced features . therefore we recommend firstrade only for those who utilize simple options trading strategies . in other areas the research tools are extensive the charts are merely average and the commissions and fees are mostly respectable . the iphone app has improved from its initial release and now offers a quality mobile trading experience . 5 options trader review s online broker review 2011 states the general consensus seems to be that firstrade is a solid broker and it will get the job done for you . this broker is a great choice if your first language is mandarin or cantonese . the prices are good the margin rates are low tools are handy and the customer service is great . in the coming years we d like to see better options trading tools and beefed up education resources . 6 in barron s 2011 online broker review how the brokers stack up barron s comments firstrade is recommended to moderately active to active investors and attracts casual and novice investors . 7 barron also notes firstrade pros and cons enjoying firstrade s watchlists set up on website can also be used on iphone app . options chain view on website slides in and out of view in a way that saves screen space . however disliking to set up a covered call or protective put you would have to use the conditional orders feature . 2 legged options trade online ; more complex spreads must be placed with a live broker . 4 competitors edit firstrade securities has numerous competitors including 8 robinhood markets charles schwab e trade fidelity investments merrill edge place trade scottrade td ameritrade tradeking see also edit comparison of online brokerages references edit firstrade securities inc. online trading support from firstrade firstrade securities inc . firstrade.com . retrieved 2016 05 19 . firstrade securities inc. about firstrade s online trading system firstrade securities inc . firstrade.com . retrieved 2016 05 19 . 1 dead link a b carey theresa 2011 03 12 . making the right connection . barrons.com . retrieved 2013 05 28 . archived copy . retrieved april 5 2011 . dead link the brokerage review discount broker reviews & promotions . optionstradereview.com . retrieved 2016 05 19 . barron s 2011 online broker review how the brokers stack up barron s . online.barrons.com . 2011 03 12 . retrieved 2016 05 19 . finra member firms list of members financial industry regulatory authority inc. may 11 2013 . accessed may 11 2013 . external links edit official website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title firstrade securities & oldid 738296056 categories investment management companies of the united statescompanies based in new york cityonline brokerageshidden categories all articles with dead external linksarticles with dead external links from may 2016articles with dead external links from september 2016wikipedia articles with possible conflicts of interest from may 2016articles lacking reliable references from may 2016all articles lacking reliable references navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages edit links this page was last modified on 8 september 2016 at 02 36 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; 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