TD Ameritrade, Schwab, E*Trade and Fidelity announce the end of online stock and ETF trading fees.

The beginning of October saw four major custodians eliminate their online trading fees on stocks and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). This is a big win for investors as it allows people to not have to worry about transaction costs when implementing, rebalancing, or rearranging their investment portfolio.  It also means investors can place smaller trades in order to minimize cash in their accounts.  These four custodians used to be called "discount brokerages" becaue they were less expensive than the Edward Jones' and Merrill Lynch's of the world.  So what do we call them now - free custodians?