Which broker gives a good trading experience?

<p id="isPasted">The biggest problem today is who can you trust. I get hundreds of emails a month from private investors asking me which brokers they can trust. The reason is technology has meant a proliferation of brokers and brokers realized that instead of matching buyers and sellers (like estate agents) there was more money to be made by being the house. It is then that they realized there is more money to be made by:</p><ul><li>Widening the spread between the bid and offer i.e. buy and sell price.</li><li>By moving the price so you could not exit at the ‘market’ price but only the brokers price.</li><li>Liquidating your positions by changing margin rules.</li><li>Spiking prices to knock out your stop losses (usually late at night!).</li><li>And a growing number decided to just steal your money - they will call you up and say they will manage it, and then if they get lucky, they will not return it, and if they ‘lose’ then you have nothing anyway and the broker wins.</li></ul><p>So the answer to your question is in my view, the same as finding a plumber! Go by the views of someone reputable and trusted in the industry i.e. word of mouth from someone who uses a specific broker.</p>