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SureTrader Broker Review – Avoid the PDT Rule

By Dave

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SureTraderReview

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SureTrader Broker Review

  • Commissions & Fees
  • Trading Platforms
  • Mobile Platform
  • Leverage
  • Customer Service
  • Borrows and Locates
3.9

Summary

SureTrader is a brokerage based in The Bahamas. It offers U.S. residents the opportunity to circumvent the SEC’s pattern day trader regulation. So is it worth it? Find out in our in-depth review.

About SureTrader

SureTrader is a brokerage based in The Bahamas, offering U.S. residents the opportunity to circumvent the SEC’s pattern day trader regulation. The brokerage is mostly targeted at day traders trying to circumvent their country’s PDT regulations.

Broker History

As a division of Swiss Americas Securities, Ltd., SureTrader is overseen by CEO Guy Gentile, who in 2016 was charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission with penny stock manipulation schemes. The charges were dismissed in 2017. Gentile also founded brokerage Speedtrader. SureTrader began operations in 2011 and quickly broke ground, averaging 30,000 transactions by May 2012.

Type of Broker

SureTrader is a unique broker solution. While it offers direct market access because of their day trader customer demographic, it is not marketed as such. It is marketed more as a solution for traders to evade their country’s trading regulations. This broker is best compared to TradeZero and CMEG, two firms that help traders circumvent the PDT rule.

Account Minimums

SureTrader requires a minimum account deposit of $500, allowing you to day trade as soon as the transaction clears.

Commissions & Fees

Commission Prices

SureTrader has a progressive, per-share trade rate, meaning that the more volume you produce, the cheaper your commissions become.

At the entry-level rate of 0-250,000 shares traded per month, you are charged $0.01 per share with a minimum ticket price of $4.95, and a maximum of $50.00. Below is a table outlining SureTrader’s progressive commission structure.

Volume Per Month

Per Share Rate

Per Trade Minimum

Per Trade Maximum

Product

0 – 250,000

$0.01

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$4.95

$50.00

U.S. Stocks

250,001 – 500,000

$0.008

$3.95

$50.00

U.S. Stocks

500,000 – 750,000

$0.006

$2.95

$50.00

U.S. Stocks

750,001 – 1,000,000

$0.004

🏆 Top Rated Services 🏆

Our team has reviewed over 300 services. These are our favorites:
📈  Best Day Trading Service
Investors Underground
🎯  Best Stock Scanner
Trade Ideas
📉 Best Stock Charts
TradingView
💰  Best Stock Picking Service
Motley Fool
📱  Best Mobile Broker
Webull
📊   Best for Stock Research
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$1.95

$50.00

U.S. Stocks

Options Pricing

Trade

Rate

Product

0 – 100

$4.95 + $0.50 per contract

U.S. Options

Over 100

$2.95 + $0.40 per contract

U.S. Options

Software Fees

SureTrader charges hefty software and data fees, most of which are free to clients of the top brokerage firms like E*TRADE and TD Ameritrade. They have a few different trading platforms of varying cost. The costs are laid out in the table below

Trading Platform

Non-Pro fees (monthly)

Professional fees (monthly)

Web Based Trading (ActiveWeb)

Free

Free

SureTrader Pro + Mobile App

$49

$49

Mobile App

$35

$35

Data Fees:

Level-1 Exchange Data

Non-pro fees (monthly)

Professional fees (monthly)

NASDAQ (Level 1)

Included

$40

NYSE, AMEX (Level 1)

Included

$65

Pink Sheet (Level 1)

$15

$30

OPRA Options (Level 1)

$15

$25

E-Mini Futures (Level 1)

$15

$0

Market Depth Data ($40 Access Fee)

Non-pro fees (monthly)

Professional fees (monthly)

Regional Quotes (Basic Level 2)

$15

$60

NASDAQ Total View (Book Depth)

$20

$100

Pink Sheet (Level 2)

$50

$75

OPRA Options (Level 2)

$50

$75

News

$25

$25

NYSE ARCA Book

$15

$60

CME Futures

$50

$0

While SureTrader offers a lot of the features advanced traders need (as we’ll discuss later), the fees can add up quickly. Unlike many other discount brokers, you will be required to pay for data, platform access, and more. In this sense, SureTrader is for a very unique type of client – a day trader with advanced brokerage needs and minimal funds. No doubt, SureTrader has a competitive offering, but the main differentiator is still the ability to bypass the PDT rule.

Miscellaneous Account Fees

In addition to the various software and commission fees, SureTrader charges clients for account activities.

  • Outgoing Funds: $40.00
  • Inactive Fee (Quarterly – under 15 trades): $50.00
  • Margin or Equity Call Fee: $25.00 per day

Margin Fees

SureTrader claims they offer “discount margin interest rates,” but do not disclose their rates. Instead, they encourage clients to contact them for their rates. Here is the information they lay out on their website:

SureTrader offers discount margin interest rates, more competitive than other loan options. Clients with higher balances pay lower rates. While your portfolio’s value changes, the amount of your margin loan does not. Once you understand the rules and risks regarding margin trading, contact SureTrader regarding your discount margin interest rate offer.”

Platforms & Tools

SureTrader offers three unique trading platforms:

  • ActiveWeb
  • SureTrader Pro
  • SureTrader Mobile App

SureTrader ActiveWeb

ActiveWeb is SureTrader’s free web trading platform. It is similar to most basic web trading platforms offered by other brokerages. You can access most of the tools you need from an online trading platform, however more serious traders will prefer the Pro platform.

ActiveWeb offers:

suretrader platform

SureTrader Pro

SureTrader Pro is SureTrader’s premium trading platform, costing $49 per month. It is the DAS Trader platform with SureTrader’s branding throughout (similar to SpeedTrader Pro). The platform is similar to most advanced day trading platforms offering hot keys, level 2 quotes, advanced charting, etc. SureTrader Pro is actually one of the nicer trading platforms available. They provide quality charts, level 2, and other beneficial features.

The following is a layout of its features:

  • Level 2 market depth
  • Hot key order execution
  • Advanced charting
  • Realtime news
  • Window linking

suretrader pro platformsuretrader charts

SureTrader Mobile

SureTrader offers free mobile web trading to all of their clients. This app is very basic but allows for trading on the go.

suretrader mobile

iDASTrader Mobile App

This is SureTrader’s more advanced mobile trading app, which costs $35 per month, or it comes free with a SureTrader Pro subscription. If has features like:

Leverage

One of SureTrader’s main selling points is their increased leverage offering beyond standard United States brokerages. SureTrader offers 6-to-1 intraday leverage and 2-to-1 overnight leverage. This is in contrast to the standard leverage offered by a US broker like TD Ameritrade, which is 2-to-1 leverage.

Customer Service

SureTrader has a terrible customer service reputation. Personally, I’ve contacted their customer support on multiple occasions only to find myself waiting on hold for over 30 minutes. When I would finally get on the line with a customer service, the representative would have little to no knowledge on the topic I need help troubleshooting. My experience is not unique, either.

Borrows and Locates

One of SureTrader’s most widely praised features is their wider-than-average availability of stocks to borrow for short selling. While they won’t offer every hot penny stock, many day traders have a SureTrader account specifically to borrow the hot penny stock of the day when it is tanking.

It is simple to figure out if a stock is available to short inside of the SureTrader Pro platform. In the “Trade” window, you can simply click on “Short List” and type your ticker.

If you need to locate a stock to borrow, you can contact their live chat support but, this has varying rates of success.

Type of Trader SureTrader is Best For

SureTrader is best used by the United States (or abroad) trader who is burdened by regulations such as the Pattern Day Trader rule, which prohibits trading accounts with less than $25,000 from executing more than three day trades in a five day period. Additionally, it offers more leverage than its United States counterparts, so it works on multiple levels for under-capitalized US day traders.

While the ability to bypass the PDT rule can be enticing to newer traders, it’s important to remember that the PDT rule is there to protect you (whether you agree or not). Leveraging a small account and trading actively can be dangerous, and ultimately lead to account depletion. Traders with smaller accounts may consider commission-free brokerage, Robinhood, or other discount brokers like ETRADE, Scottrade, and TD Ameritrade.

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Circumvent the pattern day trader rule as a small trader
  • Increased leverage (6:1)
  • Wider availability of borrows
  • Can attain direct market access

Cons

  • Per share fees add up when trading cheap stocks
  • Tendency to “nickel and dime,” they charge many fees that other brokers do not, such as fees for outgoing funds ($40.00).
  • Its main selling point is for undercapitalized traders trying to escape regulations yet, all of the high fees will eat up a small account balance.
Day Trade Review

Dave

Dave has been a part-time day trader and swing trader since 2011 when he first became obsessed with the markets. He focuses primarily on technical setups and will hold positions anywhere from a few minutes to a few days. Over his trading career, Dave has tried numerous day trading products, brokers, services, and courses. He continues to test and review new day trading services to this day.

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