Trading had to be cheap, or not just cheap, antd had to be free. Trading isn't free either because there is a cost. But you have to think that it's free, which means that you can trade many, many times and not really worry about chewing upthe e of your account. That's something that was pioneered by a company called robin hood. They attracted lots of young people with not very much money, and not much sophistication either. It's perfect for generation that grew up with smart phones. Everybody else threw in the tal swab infidelity and amara trade, e b,. All these much bigger firms said we're going to stop charging commissions too