April 22, 2008

Seems like brokerages are barraging us for business at every turn - whether through reduced service fees, free trades, or wildly inflated claims to having the best data and most satisfied customers around.

But just how satisfied are their customers for real?

A recent ChangeWave survey asked more than 2,000 investors to rate their satisfaction with the online brokerages they use. And while satisfaction levels were relatively strong overall, it turns out there is definitely a standout in the industry:

It's Charles Schwab (50%) -- which led the rest of its competitors by a comfortable margin in terms of having the highest percentage of customers report they're Very Satisfied with their service.

Scottrade (45%) and Fidelity (42%) came in second and third respectively to round out the winners circle.

At the other end of the spectrum, only a quarter of the respondents who use
T. Rowe Price (26%) reported they were Very Satisfied with the service.