VIRGINIA BEACH, VA, March 5, 2007 -- Barron's 12th annual survey of Best Online Brokers 2007 is complete and TD Ameritrade emerged as the best web-based online broker in the business.

In the 2006 Barron's survey, TD Ameritrade also received a four-star rating and finished in second place.

"I'm not surprised to see that TD Ameritrade was selected number one this year, even with the onslaught of new technology, and the flood of banks and companies moving into the industry," says Jim Flinchum, managing principal for Bay Capital Advisors headquartered here.

"As a Registered Investment Advisor, I rely on an independent third party to maintain physical custody of client assets and act as a teammate with Bay Capital Advisors," Flinchum says. "TD Ameritrade consistently meets those needs while providing the highest level of service and products."

Flinchum highly recommends that investors separate their assets from their investment advisor because it provides an important safeguard for the clients. At the outset of founding his company, Flinchum carefully reviewed which custodian was best for Bay Capital Advisors' clients and retained TD Ameritrade.

Theresa W. Carey's recent article about the survey in Barron's Online titled "Tools of the Trade" reported that "by the thinnest of margins, a new winner emerged in the Web-based broker category. TD Ameritrade (www.tdameritrade.com) nudged aside longtime champ optionsXpress (www.optionsXpress.com). Both won four stars, but TD Ameritrade had slightly higher points behind those stars."

What makes TD Ameritrade so good? Carey says publicly-held TD Ameritrade (ticker: AMTD) has used a different business model than most online brokers. "The firm is the result of a merger between Ameritrade and TD Waterhouse," she says. "A frequent acquirer since the Internet bust decimated the electronic-trading business, Ameritrade wisely adopted the best parts of its purchased platforms. Its newest hybrid utilizes the terrific research capabilities of TD Waterhouse and improves upon Ameritrade's previous platform."

Carey says the online brokers were rated in eight categories which included the types of investments that can be traded online, the quality of screeners provided to help sort through stocks, options or funds, the consumer-friendliness of trading screens, overall ease-of-use and ability to be customized. Barron's also compared the rates brokers pay for customers' idle cash—an important consideration, now that short-term rates have risen.

Ameritrade's Web-Browser
Carey says one of the unique designs to Ameritrade's web-browser is that "its proprietary order-routing technology can discern whether you're entering a Buy or Sell, the size, and whether it's a limit or market order, among other things—and compares the order to the prevailing market price. If the order is marketable, it goes through a host of market centers to fine-tune how the trade will be executed. This super-smart router tries to get the best available price in the market. A few bucks on 1,000 shares might not sound like much, but the savings add up quickly if you trade frequently."

About Jim Flinchum
Flinchum is the managing principal of the financial planning and investment company Bay Capital Advisors in Virginia Beach. His deep understanding of the financial world, national and global economics, and investing make him an outstanding Expert Resource for your articles. For more than 35 years he worked in senior-level positions for some of America's premier banking institutions, taught economics for the American Institute of Banking and the University of Texas, and served as a gubernatorial appointee to the State Depository Board.

Jim Flinchum contact
jim@baycapitaladvice.com, (757) 641-3378