When choosing between full-service and discount stock brokers, keep in mind the major differences between them, namely, cost, service, and access. Decide whether any of these features are a dealbreaker for you, and then choose accordingly.

It’s been a crappy decade if you’ve been trying to invest and make money in stocks. The tech bubble, the real estate collapse, bank bailouts- for the first time since the Great Depression, long term buy-and-hold strategy did not pay off.