Brokerage Comparison - Schwab vs Scottrade

I have accounts with both Schwab and Scottrade. They both have features that I like. I use each brokerage differently to take advantage of these features.

Schwab

Better research

Better calculation of gains up to the minute

Better service

Dividend reinvestment can be done on both stocks and mutual funds for free
Better planning tools like Retirement planning
Trades are $12.95 and up
Has Banking services like credit cards, checking accounts, loans, etc.

Scottrade
Cheaper trades $7

Calculation of gains is a day late in their Gainskeeper application

Online market and stock data with minute by minute price and trading info
Scottrade has a graph on the front page that shows your overall account value.

So this is how I use these different brokerages. I buy stocks that I plan to trade more often with Scottrade. The trading is cheaper and I can monitor the stocks for quicker turn arounds with their live data feed. Scottrade also has this simple graph that shows the value of my account by day over the last week, month, 6 months, etc. I like this because it gives me instant feedback on how my decisions have played out over time. This is such a simple, basic thing but I can't find a comparable feature on Schwab. I buy dividend paying stocks at Schwab and reinvest the dividends. I also do all my retirement planning on Schwab to use their very useful tools. I do the majority of my research at Schwab since they have the most different suppliers of analysis including their own, S&P, Argus and others. I also tend to buy all my mutual funds from Schwab since they have a very wide selection of free, no-load funds.

Reinvest Your Stock Dividends - Schwab vs Scottrade

I have quite a few stocks that pay dividends. The best way to grow that stock is to reinvest your dividends. Other financial advice sites suggest doing it with your mutual funds. I am suggesting doing it with your stocks too. By reinvesting your dividends your are increasing your stock holdings for free. Assuming the stock you own is worth keeping, what better way to increase your holdings for free. I have accounts at both Schwab and Scottrade. Scottrade doesn't allow dividend reinvestment on individual stocks and Schwab does. Therefore, I keep all my dividend paying stocks in Schwab and reinvest those dividends. Schwab does this for free.

I did this for two main reasons. One, with my Scottrade account I found that the money I received from dividends just went into a money market account. Most of the time the stocks I owned paid a higher yield than the money market so I felt I was leaving money on the table. The second reason I do it is that I can then see the true growth of that stock since the dividends, which are part of the overall return, are reinvested. I get a more accurate picture of the true return of that stock.