Not to mention if you are a futures trader and want to have access to both stocks and futures and options. Typically, it is difficult to find a broker who can do all those products and do them well. At a reasonable cost.

So the idea here is to focus on a small group of online stock brokers who either specialize for the active trader or even better, offer a multiple of trading products.

Our first online stock broker to discuss is Interactive Brokers. Interactive Brokers simply does about everything an active trader could want: Stock investing, options trading, S&P E-Mini day trading, commodities trading. Also, several international markets. This is about the most comprehensive group of markets to trade at one location. With your universal account at Interactive Brokers you'll be able to trade whichever markets you want and qualify for. All from one account.

Commissions are always a major factor. Simply put, this broker is about as low priced as you are going to find. We wouldn't want to quote the commissions here because they are subject to change and typically end up going down. Just check their website for the latest but you'll be quite pleased.

Keep in mind this broker is primarily an electronic brokerage -- which means they are set-up to handle orders for active online investors. If you are someone who likes to call your broker then this is not the place for you.

Order types is also important. Contingent Orders. Placing of profit targets and stops at the same time. Basket orders. Contingent orders based on other symbols. And the list really goes on. You'll find a fairly incredible array of order possibilities and this certainly will help the online investor who wants to automate a considerable part of the process.

TradeStation Brokerage - TradeStation originally started as a provider of software for investors of all types. Day traders, swing traders, stock and commodities traders. Over the last couple of years they have become online stock brokers and a futures brokerage.

Not to mention several major upgrades of their award winning software. In one place you'll have access to some of the best charting software and testing software along with full integration into their brokerage. You'll be able to customize strategies and literally have the computer automate those strategies down to placing the orders for you and monitoring the markets.

Commissions are very competitive and certainly among the better offers out there. With the right size account and trading frequency you'll get their software which used to cost several thousand dollars at no charge. There are exchange fees to consider depending upon the markets you are interested in but overall this is an excellent value considering what it once cost just a few years ago to get this institution level trading software right on your desktop.

The possibilities for testing your various system ideas and the number of third party resources available make this a very compelling possibility especially if you are a system trader.

In addition, there are a number of potential advanced order entry capabilities as you would expect from an advanced trading software package. Certainly one to consider.

Cybertrader Online Stock Brokers - Cybertrader, which is now part of the Charles Schwab Company used to be known best by the name Cybercorp. This is one of the original online stock brokers for the active daytrader. They have a variety of different trading platforms available to you depending upon the features you need. From a basic, easy to learn set-up to a more advanced trading application not to mention wireless trading.

Order execution is quite fast and they feature intelligent order routing which can assist you in executing your orders quickly and at best price available. They currently have direct links to over 450 market makers, 9 ECNs and 6 listed exchanges.

An important consideration always is the risk management tools available. Cybertrader makes available several sophisticated tools including trailing stop-loss orders, a multitude of set-ups for entry and exit and various alerts that can be set. Add to this real-time order status and portfolio management and you can see its a comprehensive package for active investors.

Commissions are reasonable, though not the lowest out there they do tend towards the lower end especially considering the number of features, execution capabilities and the excellent reputation of this firm which is now backed up by Charles Schwab who acquired the company though still runs it independently.

Are there other choices then these three? Absolutely. There are quite a few resources available that commonly review other brokers. You can check this website:

Barron's Financial SmartMoney Magazine Forbes Magazine Weiss Ratings, Inc.

There are many online stock brokers to choose from and this should help lead you to a decision. We'll be covering some brokers that special in options trading in a future feature along with other futures brokers and charting and quote providers as well.