Brokers for Buy & Hold

Hi All,

I am looking to open a demat & equity trading account, for trading with both NSE & BSE. I'm new to the stock markets, and I plan to get into a few select stock and ETF scrips with a "buy and hold" mindset (I will not be doing any day trading).

Most of the posts for brokers are concentrating on daytrading, and hence I do not find them very useful. I'd like to receive any feedback (Positive and Negative) on the brokerage fees, security, facilities, performances, customer care etc. The factors that are important to me are :

1. Security (Can I trust them with my stocks/money)
   I have heard about people whose stocks/money were traded without permission on Religare, ShareKhan, and ICICI
2. Annual Demat account fees
3. Brokerage charges

Any experiences you want to share about them are welcome. In order of preference, they are

1. IDBI Paisabuilder
2. HDFC Securities
3. Indiabulls
4. IL&FS Investsmart
5. ICICI Direct

It would be a bonus if these brokers also allow me to buy/sell mutual funds and IPOs.

I'm not considering ShareKhan because I found they had a lot of negative reviews in mouthshut.com, and SBI Online seems to have a very limited presence.

If it matters, I'm in Bangalore

Dear Friend,

I suggest you Indiabulls.
You'll pay 700 [of which 500 can be used to buy shares] while opening the Account. No Annual Charges

You'll be charged 18 Rs per month as NSDL Charges.

Delivery charges can vary between 0.6% to low as 0.25% [You need to negotiate].

You may call up any Relationship Manager including one Mr. Samar Roy on 9886603898.