SogoTrade Review: All the Information You Need to Know

SogoTrade is aimed at young investors who want a cheap trading method with a few extra features. Now that more brokers offer commission-free or low-cost trading, SogoTrade’s pricing structure is less competitive. Traders who prefer to trade and communicate in Chinese may also find SogoTrade a good option. Traders can translate the SogoTrade platform into simplified or traditional Chinese with a button, and customer service is available in multiple Chinese dialects. This article will comprehensively review SogoTrade’s features, fees, and customer service.

Overview: SogoTrade

Account Minimum: $0

Fees: $0 for limit orders, $2.88 for market orders, and $0.50 per contract for options.

SogoTrade is an online brokerage firm that provides its clients with a wide range of investment services. The company was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in New York City. SogoTrade lets you invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and opportunities.

The transition to commission-free trading has diminished SogoTrade’s price advantage. The company launched GP2T (Get Paid to Trade) in 2020, which pays equity traders $1 for every 1,000 shares traded on limit orders that qualify. In 2021, the company added one ETF to its GP2T program, the ETFMG Treatments, Testing, and Advancements ETF (GERM), paying $3 per 1,000 shares traded. A significant trade volume is required to receive meaningful rebates from the program.

SogoTrade still has some things that make it stand out, like its customer service and use of Chinese trading technology, but its pricing advantage makes its flaws more prominent. We will evaluate SogoTrade and assist you in determining if it is suitable for your portfolio.

Customer Service

• Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, telephone help is accessible (excluding stock exchange holidays). For Chinese-speaking consumers, there is a dedicated phone line.
• Live chat is offered on the website for both present and potential customers.
• Live brokers are accessible throughout market hours.
• Customers from non-restricted nations may open accounts.

Products

SogoTrade lets you buy and sell stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrency (through the clearing firm Apex Crypto). Furthermore, it supports sophisticated choices. It would help if you had a broker to buy and sell fixed income, and you can’t trade fractional shares, commodities, futures, futures options, or foreign exchange.

• Longs and shorts on stocks
• OTCBB (penny stocks)
• Mutual funds (broker-assisted only)
• Bonds (broker-assisted only)
• Simple and branched alternatives
• Robo-advisory via SogoTrade Asset Management
• Apex Crypto’s cryptocurrencies (over 25 coins, including BTC, BCH, ETH, LTC, DOGE, SHIB, ETC, and more)

Pricing

Numerous brokers now provide commission-free stock and ETF trading. SogoTrade possesses, to some extent. It costs $2.88 for market and odd lot orders, but limit orders are complimentary. Options trades are free of commissions and cost $0.50 per contract, no matter how many legs are traded. The margin fees are significantly more significant than the industry norm.

Commission Fees

SogoTrade charges a flat commission fee of $4.88 per trade for stocks and ETFs. Options trades are $4.88 per trade plus $0.50 per contract. SogoTrade also offers commission-free trades on certain ETFs and mutual funds.

Account Fees

SogoTrade does not charge any annual, inactivity, or maintenance fees. However, there is a $25 fee for outgoing account transfers.

Order Types

Customers of SogoTrade can place market, stop, stop limit, trailing stop, and trailing stop limit orders. On none of its platforms, the broker supports advanced order types (i.e., conditional orders such as order-sends-order (OSO) and one-cancels-other (OCO) orders). When closing a position, you cannot pick a tax lot to calculate your cost basis; all transactions default to average cost.

Usability

SogoTrade possesses four web-based trading platforms, a mobile browser, and Android and iOS applications. Each of these platforms provides unique functionality and access to special items. SogoTrade, for example, lets you trade stocks, while SogoOnline enables you to trade stocks and basic options. To exchange cryptocurrencies, a separate Apex Crypto account is required.

While it is simple to register and finance an online account, it is difficult to determine which platform to utilize and where to discover the various features once logged in. You may have to navigate through many tabs to locate what you’re searching for, and doing so may log you out accidentally. On any platform, you may instantly check your balance and open jobs. While all systems provide real-time data, the functionality and customization choices are limited compared to what many other brokers offer.

You may use your password, face recognition, or fingerprint to log into the mobile app. The first screen, Quotes, contains pricing information and a rudimentary chart for each stock on your watchlist. Watchlists are identical across all platforms, so creating one on SogoTrade will also display on the mobile app. Although SogoTrade does not offer any advanced order types, the same order types are available on all platforms.

Trade Experience

It is challenging to assess SogoTrade’s trade experience. Some tools assist you in going from research to trading, but the different platforms make it challenging to discover what you need. In addition, there are limited modification choices for platform layout, colors, trade settings, and the like, so you may only be somewhat happy with the process.

Still, all platforms have real-time data, and real-time quotes can be seen simultaneously on different platforms, which not all brokers offer. However, you must discover chart trading, price ladders, and other essential tools that most brokers now provide. Entering an order is easy, but it can take a while, especially for limited orders where the price must be entered by hand (making it easier to make a mistake).

While all platforms provide trailing stops, SogoTrade does not let you stage orders for later entry or enter several orders simultaneously.

Mobile Trade Experience

The mobile app for SogoTrade is simple yet delightfully straightforward. Quotes, positions, orders, price alerts, and account displays are easy to get to by tapping the right option at the bottom of any page. To place an order, select a symbol from your watchlist and then click the Trade icon at the top of the page.

Account and Research Amenities

The research tools provided by SogoTrade include screeners, calculators, a newsletter, and a stock valuation and forecasting service.

Security and Reliability

• Two-factor authentication is not currently supported.
• Biometric (facial or fingerprint) authentication is available for app users.
• SogoTrade provides no security assurance.
• Customers can generate a PIN inputted using an encrypted on-screen keypad to prevent keyloggers.
• Apex Clearing, SogoTrade’s clearing business, offers excess Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) coverage of up to $150 million, subject to restrictions of $37.5 million per customer’s securities and $900,000 per customer’s cash.
• SogoTrade has not had any major platform failures or data leaks in the last four years.

Transparency

While SogoTrade’s pricing system is somewhat complex, the specifics are easily accessible on its pricing, margin, and fees page (click “Commission and Fees” from the footer menu). The page contains price information for stocks/ETFs, options, mutual funds, fixed-income trades, and other service fees. You’ll also discover data on margin rates, terminology, and margin call descriptions.

Available Account Types

SogoTrade offers all the standard account types, including:

• Individual and joint taxable
• Corporate accounts
• LLC accounts
• Traditional individual retirement accounts (IRA)
• Roth IRA
• Simplified employee pension (SEP) IRA
• Custodial accounts (UTMA/UGMA)
• Coverdell education saving accounts
• Trust accounts
• Estate accounts

Education

Compared to its larger competitors, SogoTrade’s instructional material needs improvement. The company’s education site contains concise articles on the fundamentals of investing in stocks, ETFs, and options and a glossary. SogoTrade does not offer webinars or live events. However, it does release instructional videos on YouTube. The SogoPlay platform provides sufficient knowledge about options strategies such as how to implement and assess them. SogoTrade does not offer demo accounts or any other sort of paper trading.

Pros & Cons

Pros Explained

• The GP2T (Get Paid to Trade) program of SogoTrade offers minor rebates: Traders can earn $1 for every 1,000 shares of equities traded on limit orders that qualify. The refund is $3.00 for every 1,000 shares of the GERM ETF that are exchanged.
• SogoTrade provides a variety of free research tools. Customers get free access to ValuEngine, which has over 5,300 U.S. stock rating and projection reports (including ADRs), 140 industry studies, and 16 sector reports that use complex quantitative methods and analysis. In addition, there is free access to SogoPlay, a trading tool for options, and the Morning Call newsletter, which provides institutional-grade equity analysis on eight featured companies and ETFs.
• SogoTrade’s support and technology are available in Chinese. Traders may convert the SogoTrade platform into traditional or simplified Chinese at the press of a button. Customer service is accessible in several Chinese dialects.
• SogoTrade provides several solutions for call centers and customer service. In addition to English, they also offer Chinese support. With so many possibilities, assistance should be more readily available and timely.

Cons Explained

• SogoTrade’s virtual platforms might be enough for casual investors, but they need more features than traders expect, like chart trading, conditional orders, and advanced charting. SogoOptions is an exception because it gives options traders enough different tools.
• SogoTrade provides a restricted selection of trading goods. Apex Crypto allows customers to trade equities, ETFs, options, and over 25 cryptocurrencies. SogoTrade does not support trading in FX, futures, futures options, or commodities.
• On SogoTrade, market orders incur a commission. Qualifying limit orders (minimum 100 shares) are commission-free, but market orders for stocks, ETFs, penny stocks, and non-qualified odd lot orders cost $2.88. Penny stocks may be subject to extra costs.
• Five trading platforms are available on SogoTrade, making it tough to identify what you need and trade what you desire. There is no smooth transition between platforms, and it is easy to get logged out when switching.

Is SogoTrade A Worth Broker to Get?

Customers may have overlooked SogoTrade’s shortcomings due to the company’s low costs. This may change as the company has no pricing advantage. The company created the Get Paid to Trade Program to attract customers, but the tiny reimbursements (unless you’re an active trader) may not sway traders and investors.

For enhancement, SogoTrade must simplify and fortify its platforms. Chart trading, price ladders, data-based chart intervals, advanced order types, and technical analysis tools are part of multiple systems. SogoTrade doesn’t have biometric sign-ins for mobile apps or two-factor authentication for updated browsers.

SogoTrade facilitates commerce and interaction between Chinese-speaking merchants and investors. SogoOptions and SogoPlay may also meet the requirements of some options traders. Investors and traders may find better pricing, functionality, and structure elsewhere.

Conclusion

SogoTrade is a trustworthy online brokerage firm that gives its clients many ways to invest. The company provides a user-friendly trading platform, excellent customer service, and low commission fees. While SogoTrade may offer fewer investment options than other online brokers, it is perfect for beginners and casual investors.

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Source: Investopedia