Browse the library
Topic
Costs
7 guides in Finabase Learn
- Basis point One hundredth of a percentage point (0.01%), the standard unit for quoting changes in interest rates, yields and fees.
- Bid-ask spread The gap between the best bid and the best ask, an implicit cost paid by anyone who trades immediately at market.
- Commission A fee a broker charges for executing a trade; most US online brokers now charge zero commission on stock trades.
- Common trading mistakes and the math behind them Overtrading, averaging down, trading without stops, oversizing, revenge trading and ignoring costs: what each mistake costs, worked through with numbers.
- Day trading vs swing trading vs position trading compared How day, swing and position trading differ in holding period, time, costs, taxes and US rules, with what the research says about day-trader results.
- Expense ratio The annual fee a fund charges as a percentage of assets, deducted from the fund's returns; 0.03% costs $3 a year per $10,000.
- Slippage The difference between the price you expected when you placed an order and the price you actually got, caused by spreads, thin liquidity and fast markets.
Educational content, not investment advice. Finabase Learn explains how markets and tools work. It does not recommend any security or strategy, and examples are for illustration only. Investing involves risk, including the loss of principal. Rules and figures are for the United States unless stated and can change — check the cited source before you act.