Online brokerage firms rated

Firstrade Securities got the top overall score in the latest survey of online brokerage firms conducted by Consumer Reports. Following the Flushing, New York-based company, which received 92 points overall, were E*Trade Financial of New York with 87 points, TradeKing of Boca Raton, Fla., with 86 points, and Charles Schwab of San Francisco, Calif., with 85 points. In its ratings of online brokers, the Consumer Reports Money Lab graded firms valued by typical small investors - those who make two or three trades a month. The firms were given an overall rating based on grades for trading cost and scope, minimum trade fee, mutual fund programs, the amount of available no-transaction-fee funds, banking and asset management services, the availability of free research and education tools, and customer support. The Consumer Reports Money Lab, based in Yonkers, New York, surveyed and evaluated 19 Web-based financial firms. The report focused on brokers whose services are available over standard Web browsers like Microsoft's Internet Explorer or Mozilla's Foxfire.