Unless you&#x27;re trading way more frequently than you need to be, the spread is hardly a big deal.  If you are trading frequently, than the spread is an opportunity to make money.  As someone who trades a lot, I like fat spreads.<p>My advice to any retail investor though is just dollar cost average into an index fund as a function of your age and forget about it.  If you are going to try to &#x27;beat the market&#x27; (and worry bout things like transaction taxes and spreads) you will lose.<p>When people talk about retail traders in this conversation, they are either totally clueless or working in the industry and just don&#x27;t want to be taxed.<p>Anyone who says a retail trader should be trading enough to worry about spreads is not your friend.