For questions on how to trade stocks online , or any other trading questions, read our FAQ below.

	What types of securities can I purchase through Firstrade? What types of orders does Firstrade accept? What should I do if I can't get online to place an order? Can I place an order via email or fax? Why wasn't my limit order executed when it traded at my limit? I only entered one order, why am I charged several commissions? Is there a fee to edit or cancel my order? What are your rules on IPO's? Why is my account restricted? My buy order was rejected for "insufficient funds." Why is that? My sell order was rejected for "insufficient holdings." The position is in my account, why did I get this error message? My Positions screen says "Other" for security type, or my stock changed its name/symbol. How do I sell this position?

What types of securities can I purchase through Firstrade?
You can purchase stocks, options, bonds, and mutual funds via Firstrade. We currently handle securities listed on the U.S. Markets/U.S. Exchanges.

What types of orders does Firstrade accept?
Firstrade accepts most common types of orders including market, limit, stop and stop-limit, along with qualifiers such as good for 90 days, all or none, and many more. For more information on how to trade stocks online and the various types of orders and qualifiers, please visit our Interactive Demo.

What should I do if I can't get online to place an order?
You can place orders through our registered brokers. Orders placed through a broker will be a charged $26.95.

Can I place an order via e-mail or fax?
No, not under any circumstances.

Why wasn't my limit order executed when it traded at my limit?
In most cases this is a function of the bid and ask. The bid is the highest price a market maker (who is buying your stock) is prepared to pay at a particular time for security; the ask is the lowest price acceptable to the market maker (who is selling you the stock) of the same security. The difference between the bid and ask is called the spread which is the market makers profit. While you may see your stock trade at your limit price, it may be at the ask if you are trying to sell or at the bid if you are trying to buy, therefore your order may not be executed. Even if the stock is trading within the spread, you are not guaranteed an execution.

I only entered one order, why am I charged several commissions?
All executions in one day for a single order are charged one commission. However, if you had an open GT90 order and received multiple executions over more than one day, you will be charged a separate commission for each day there are executions.

Is there a fee to edit or cancel my order?
No, there is no fee associated with editing or canceling an order.

What are your rules on IPO's?
Market orders to buy shares of an Initial Public Offering (IPO) during the first day of trading are generally not accepted by Firstrade. Only limit orders to buy IPO stock will generally be accepted on the day the IPO goes public. This restriction is put in place to protect our clients from receiving a price that is significantly higher than the price they expected to pay. When you consider buying a stock in the secondary market, which is going public that same day, placing a limit order will establish a buy price at the maximum you're willing to pay. Limit orders on a "hot" IPO stock reduce your risk of receiving an unexpected execution price and allow you to place an order at the price level you're most comfortable with when buying that stock. Although a limit order does not guarantee your order will be executed, placing a limit order does guarantee you will not pay a higher price than you expected. In addition to the policy referenced above, Firstrade requires that all orders to buy IPO shares during the first day of trading be accompanied by sufficient cash or cash equivalents in the brokerage account prior to placing that order. In other words, if you wish to buy a stock in the after-market, which is going public today, you must either have enough cash in your cash account or enough Available SMA (Available Funds) in your margin account to cover that particular purchase.

Why is my account restricted?
Whenever a security is purchased, the appropriate funds must be received by Firstrade prior to the sale of the respective security. If the security is sold prior to receiving the appropriate funds (the credit from the sale does not apply), the account in which the purchase and sale of the security was executed will be restricted for 90 days under Regulation T of the Federal Reserve Board. A restricted account will not be allowed to initiate a debit balance for any reason. Buy orders will only be accepted if there are cleared funds within the account. The restriction will expire 90 calendar days after the date of the sell transaction. Clients who wish to place orders in a restricted account will have to speak to a broker to place an order; the online trading system will reject all orders placed in a restricted account. These orders will not be entitled to the online pricing schedule.

My buy order was rejected for "insufficient funds." Why is that?
If you recently deposited a check or initiated an ACH transfer, please be advised that it takes an additional 2-4 business days to clear. The first $5,000.00 will be available after two business days. If your deposit was greater than $5,000.00, the remainder of the funds will be available after an additional two business days. Very large deposits may require additional time to clear.

My sell order was rejected for "insufficient holdings." The position is in my account, why did I get this error message?
The order was rejected because you were trying to sell the security out of your cash account when it resides in your margin account or vice versa. To sell the security, please be sure to check the Positions page to see which security resides in which account and make sure that you select the appropriate account type on the Trade screen when selling.

My Positions screen says "Other" for security type, or my stock changed its name/symbol. How do I sell this position?
Typically with stocks that undergo a name change, a reverse split or stocks that get delisted, we have to exchange the old shares for the new shares with the transfer agent for that security. Sometimes this exchange with the transfer agent may take a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do to expedite this process.