Lately, I’ve been researching opening accounts, and I found that choosing a brokerage isn’t as simple as I thought. I used to think it was just about commission discounts, but I later realized the situation is much more complicated—haha.

I checked the rankings of Taiwan’s top ten brokerages. Yuanta, KGI, and Fubon do have the highest market share, but their discounts are actually not as aggressive as E.SUN or Cathay. E.SUN’s lowest rate is 2折, and Cathay’s is 2.8折. Compared with Yuanta and KGI at 6折, that’s definitely a lot cheaper. However, being cheap isn’t everything—you still need to consider whether the app is good, whether customer service responds quickly, and other hidden costs. Sometimes these matter more than the difference in commissions.

My friend was previously lured by a certain small brokerage’s ultra-low discounts. In the end, when he placed an order, the system kept lagging, and he was so furious he almost smashed his phone. So when choosing among Taiwan’s top ten brokerages, my strategy now is: first, look at trading volume—only with high volume can you negotiate better discounts; second, look at the margin interest rate, because sometimes you need to borrow money to buy stocks; and last, consider the app interface and customer service quality.

Oh, and if you’re planning to trade US stocks or Hong Kong stocks, using an overseas broker may be more cost-effective, since the fee structure is completely different. But that’s another story. Let’s choose the brokerage for Taiwan stocks first. How do you choose yours?