CenterPoint Securities Review

Centerpoint Securities Ratings at a Glance

Special Promo for Benzinga Readers: 50% Off Commissions and Locates for 60 Days!

CenterPoint is a stock and options broker designed for sophisticated momentum traders who need access to advanced support, tools and services. While most online brokers cater primarily to investors, CenterPoint Securities is built specifically for active traders. Clients have access to advanced trading platforms, extensive short inventory, flexible order routing and responsive customer service.

The company provides access to a comprehensive list of short inventory and prides itself on offering a platform that’s efficient, powerful and reliable. CenterPoint’s advanced platform enables traders to personalize strategies and choose between custom fee structures based on trading volume. 

Let’s take a closer look at some of CenterPoint’s trading tools.

Trading Platforms 

Clients have access to three trading platforms:

• CenterPoint Pro (Most Popular)
• CenterPoint Web
• CenterPoint Mobile

Trading high volume means you need a platform that allows you to execute your strategy effectively and efficiently. Active traders generally value the following: . 

• Features - Does the platform have all of the features you need to discover, analyze, and execute trades?
• Reliability - Is the platform fast and reliable?
• Customization - Can the platform be custom-tailored to your personal trading needs?

CenterPoint’s trading platforms check all three boxes.

These platforms were built from the ground up with the needs of active traders in mind.

For the sake of our CenterPoint review, we will focus primarily on the desktop platform, CenterPoint Pro (most popular amongst CenterPoint clients).

CenterPoint Pro comes packed with all of the features you would expect from an advanced trading platform. The platform features include:

• Advanced Charting
• Level 2 + Time & Sales
• Direct Order Routing
• Advanced Order Entry
• Built-In Scanners
• Custom Alerts

With level 2 order entry, you can see the bid and ask market data, color-coded by price. It also shows the different market makers and time stamps. The level 2 order entry helps you gauge demand and supply levels and routes your orders directly from the montage window. Windows can be linked to connect your level 2 order entry to charts for real-time trade analysis.

The platform is fast and reliable and offers seamless real-time market data.

The platform is fully-customizable and can be configured to suit your needs. You can choose the layout you prefer, set the styles and adjust settings to suit your trading strategy. The platform allows multi-windows so that you can analyze the chart while scanning through the top list and checking the position of open trades.

Order Routing Tools

Getting the fastest executions is critical for advanced traders. CenterPoint allows you access to more than 30 routing options. You can choose between smart routes, market makers, dark pool access and electronic communication networks (ECNs). Besides fast executions, order routing also enables hidden orders — invisible on limit books. As well as multiple order types, market, limit, various stop orders and customizable VWAP and TWAP algo orders.

Short Locates

If you are actively trading at a traditional online brokerage, you know it can be difficult to short-sell certain stocks. If a stock is classified as “unavailable to short,” you are forced to sit on the sidelines and miss a trade.

CenterPoint aims to fix this problem, and this is one of the areas where this broker truly shines.

CenterPoint has an easy-to-borrow list with roughly 8,000 symbols. If a stock is not available on the easy-to-borrow list, clients can search for short locates.

CenterPoint has an adept in-house securities lending team that specializes in securing locates for hard-to-borrow stocks.

You can search for and short locates directly in the trading platform to view live inventory, pricing and availability. If you choose to accept a locate, it can be secured directly in the platform as well.

CenterPoint clients get $15 in free locates every day. Locate discounts are also available (15-30%, based on account equity).

Apart from the FAQ section, you can use CenterPoint’s knowledge base to get answers to queries. Under resources, you can click on platform tutorials to access videos about the platform. The videos guide you through everything from the stock locate tool to using the main toolbar. 

Otherwise, you can call CenterPoint, email or use live chat. Live chat is available 8 am - 6 pm EST.  If you send a message when chat is unavailable, it becomes an email query answered the next morning. Their Client Partner Team responds to most emails within minutes and answers phone calls live within 2 rings.

CenterPoint allows you free access to its platform for 14 days. Setting it up is simple; register with an email address and download the platform. Video guides are available to help you master the platform and educate you about all the sources that CenterPoint offers.

CenterPoint is a great example of “you get what you pay for.”

There’s no doubt that CenterPoint is more expensive than other “big box” online brokers. They do not offer free platforms or commission-free trades.

Traders who choose CenterPoint are paying for access to better tools. While casual traders may prefer commission-free trading, active traders get more value out of improved order executions and advanced trading tools.

CenterPoint rewards active trading and fees are lower for high-volume traders. 

Commission fees decrease as trading volume increases. CenterPoint offers posted per-share commissions as low as $0.001 per share. Options are available at $0.20 per contract. High-volume clients can call in for a customized commission structure beyond the posted offerings.

CenterPoint charges $120 monthly for the DAS Pro platform. But it is free if you trade more than 250,000 shares or 1,000 options contracts in a month. The web-based platform costs just $20 and is free after trading 20,000 shares or 100 options contracts per month.  Level 1 and level 2 New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq data are available at $18 per month. You can upgrade to include that package with pink sheets levels 1 and 2 for $68 per month. Individual plans are available. Nasdaq level 1 data costs $1.50 monthly, and pink sheets level 2 is $50.

Routing fees vary based on the option you choose and can offer rebates for adding liquidity to the market in some instances. Incidental fees include domestic wire $25 & foreign wires $50. 

Locate fees vary by time, ticker and availability.

Active traders will enjoy CenterPoint’s platform because it offers fee reduction for high-volume trading and provides a personalized setup. You can take advantage of the per-share commissions and low-order minimums.

The platform provides numerous order routing options; it ensures fast execution. You’ll also be eligible for potential better fill prices and ECN rebates. Because CenterPoint offers a platform for high-volume trading, you’ll notice that it’s fast and reliable.

The short inventory is comprehensive. CenterPoint has provided an extensive easy-to-borrow (ETB) list, and it has an in-house lending team for hard-to-borrow symbols.

Advanced traders will find that the platform is packed with tools to execute personalized strategies. Beginner traders may find the platform a bit intimidating but several video tutorials explaining the platform and its features are readily available.

If you’re a high-volume trader, you’ll definitely benefit from this platform. The more you trade, the cheaper it is. Experienced traders won’t have trouble navigating the platform for most features. 

CenterPoint’s site provides vast resources about the platform. Otherwise, you can practice on it for two weeks to get the hang of it before going live. Setting up the platform and verification is simple. 

Experienced customer support is a strong point. Trade desk experts available 7-5 pm est. Live chat is available until 6 pm. Most emails are answered within minutes and phone calls are answered live within 2 rings..

CenterPoint Securities vs Competitors

See how Centerpoint Securities stacks up to similar platforms. Compare and contrast features, pricing, pros, cons and more.

CenterPoint receives four stars because it makes trading for active traders convenient. Besides the discounted fees on high-volume trades, CenterPoint offers market data and advanced tools for analysis. Traders need a platform with fast execution, which is what CenterPoint provides.

The reason that CenterPoint doesn’t get a perfect rating is simply that they do not cater to all levels of traders and the platform isn’t beginner-friendly. If you don’t trade a lot, you’ll incur fees that active traders don’t. Because CenterPoint offers a platform specifically for advanced traders, beginner traders might struggle initially to find their way around it.  

CenterPoint Securities Videos and Insights

Since the DAS platform is packed with tools, even advanced traders won’t know everything about them. You’ll find this video tutorial helpful to start. Another option to find more information is the FAQ section. If that doesn’t answer your questions, check out the knowledge base.

CenterPoint’s video tutorial collection is comprehensive and helpful. It contains guidance about option chains, order entry, charting tools, filtering scanners and just about everything you need to trade.

Frequently Asked Questions

Methodology

For brokerage reviews, Benzinga created a weighted scale based on the following criteria: usability, services offered, customer service, education, research, mobile app, account minimums and fees. We aim to provide the most up-to-date, impactful and trustworthy reviews. For an in-depth look at our process, read the full methodology process.