Free to Trade, Expensive to Execute: The Hidden Cost Hiding Inside Every Bid-Ask Spread
Commission-free trading eliminated one line item from your brokerage statement, but it left another entirely intact. The bid-ask spread quietly extracts real money from retail investors on every single transaction, and most traders never stop to calculate what it actually costs them over time. Understanding how market makers profit from this gap—and how to minimize your exposure—is among the most practical skills any serious investor can develop.