TD Ameritrade is owned by a Canadian bank - Toronto Dominion. I love TD but I typically dislike all brokerages that are part of large popular banks. Why? Because their commissions/fees are high but they offer similar if not worse services/platforms than independently owned brokers.
However, I am very impressed with TD Ameritrade's platform which is why I have included it in this site for review. I think they offer one of the best platforms in the industry and its use is FREE!
...which is offset by their relatively high commissions...(they have to make money somehow)
Nevertheless, they offer the tools and help you need to get started if you are a beginner, but also have very advanced capabilities for those traders that are much more seasoned.
Overall I found that their competitive advantage is options. Compared to other brokers, they offer fantastic features for analyzing option trades.
Let's dive into the details...
Asset Classes All
Commissions 1 / 5
Account Minimum None
Option/Margin Privileges: $2,000
Customer Service 4 / 5
|
Stocks Options* Futures ** Forex*** Bonds† ETFs‡ Mutual Funds |
$9.99/trade $9.99 + $0.75/contract $2.25/contract + exch./reg. fees Varies Net yield basis Free/$9.99 Free / No-load: $49.99 |
* Option exercises and assignments cost $19.99
** From my experience exchange/regulatory fees were roughly $3 round trip for popular contracts such as the ES (a.k.a S&P 500 emini)
*** Some pairs there are no fees (i.e. the charge would be hidden in the bid/ask spread) other pairs there are commissions charged. For ones with commission they charge based on counter currency. Two examples: a 1,000 lot EUR/USD trade is $0.10 per 1000 units or minimum of $1; USD/JPY trade of 5,000 units would be ¥90 JPY.
† Will add a markup for buys and a markdown for sells which will be captured in the price and yield quoted to you. Treasuries cost $25 flat fee.
‡ There are a little over 100 ETFs that are commission free - check the list here. You have to hold the ETF for at least 30 days, otherwise the trading fee will apply. Also for ETFs not on that list, if you execute multiple trade orders in one day you will only be charged a single commission. If one order is partially executed over multiple days, then you will be charged separately for each trading day.
Like most brokerages that are part of a big bank, there is no charge for data feeds. They make it up by charging higher commissions.
For example TD Ameritrade charges $9.99 per trade, while Interactive Brokers ("IB") only charges $1.
So yes, the data is free but keep this in mind: typically at these other brokers like IB, you only need to spend about $20/month on data. This is not that expensive. If you make just TWO trades with TD Ameritrade that is the equivalent of a whole month of real time data at Interactive Brokers. Something to think about...
One rare thing that they offer is Level 2 data for NASDAQ stocks for free. Pretty much if you want level 2 data at any other broker it costs about $15-20/month. Not bad!
Trader Tip: Wondering what Level II is? Check out the glossary for details. Essentially it shows market depth for stocks. It's only really useful if you plan to day trade - i.e. are executing trades within seconds/minutes and maybe max hold positions a few days. If you have long term views and plan on holding the stock for several weeks/months then I wouldn't be hung up on this feature. Not worth it.
Trader Tip: Because of the high commissions yet superb platform, some traders actually open an account just for the platform. The charting and analysis is great so they use that on the side but for all executions they use a low cost broker such as Interactive Brokers.
Think about it - if you actively trade, let's say you just make 10 trades a day. That's $10 at Interactive Brokers but $100 at TD Ameritrade. You could be giving away thousands of dollars in a year, so platform is not really "FREE." I'm sure they make up all the money and more with people that don't realize this.
If you want to experience a day trading platform without paying anything for it this is a great place to start. They have Level II, Time and Sales, option analytic tools, etc. The platform TD Ameritrade offers (Think or Swim) is awesome with some of the best charting and analytics in the industry.
HOWEVER, if you are planning to use the platform for day trading...I advise against it as it will just soak up so much money in commissions. There are a lot of other brokers at there that charge a fraction of the price in commissions.
Like I mentioned maybe use them just for the platform, but execute trades at a cheaper broker. If anything you might want to execute long term trades that you plan on holding for a while with TD Ameritrade so you don't spend much money on transaction costs.