TD Ameritrade is an online brokerage firm that was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. The firm offers stocks, options, ETFs, mutual funds, fixed income, futures, forex, and more for clients. TD Ameritrade is a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq (symbol $AMTD).
TD Ameritrade Overview
Account Minimum: $0
Promotion: 60 days commission free trading and get up to a $600 cash bonus
Stock Trading Commissions: $0 per trade
Options Trading Commissions: $0.65 per contract
Account Fees: No inactivity or annual fees, $75 outbound full account transfer
Customer Support: 24/7 Phone Support, Email Support, 360+ branches nationwide, Chat (Facebook, Twitter, Text), Fax, and Mail
Mobile App: Available on Apple and Android devices
How TD Ameritrade Works
TD Ameritrade has a wide variety of investment tools and platforms, investment products, and account options. The brokerage firm offers multiple account options such as standard accounts, retirement accounts, education accounts and specialty accounts.
They have a wide selection of investment products to choose from including:
- Stocks – You have access to global markets like NYSE and NASDAQ. You can trade stocks using a variety of resources including real-time quotes, third-party analysis reports, and advanced trading platforms.
- Options – TD Ameritrade is a leader in options. They can help you make options trading strategies with trading platforms, education, support, and idea generation resources.
- ETFs – The firm features thousands of exchange traded funds to choose from.
- Mutual Funds – You have access to over 13,000 mutual funds from leading mutual fund families.
- Futures – You have access to trade energy, gold, metals, interest rates, stock indexes, grains, livestock and more.
- Forex – You can choose from over 70 different currency pairs and many non-commission currency pairs.
- Bonds and Fixed Income – They offer a wide range of fixed income including, bonds, CDs, and UITs. The firm also has dedicated fixed income specialist, tools, and education resources to help you with fixed income investments.
The firm also offers margin trading for investors competitive rates. If you want to trade with margin you must have a minimum balance of at least $2,000. For qualifying investors, you are able to buy in IPOs. TD Ameritrade offers managed portfolios matched to your personal goals starting at a minimum investment of $5,000 to $250,000. The company has three different managed portfolio options to choose from including, essential portfolios, selective portfolios, and personalized portfolios. The firm also has other investment products including, cash management, cryptocurrency trading, annuities, and dividend reinvestment.
TD Ameritrade Commissions and Fees
TD Ameritrade offers stock trading for $0 per trade and options contracts for $0.65 per contract. In October 2019, TD Ameritrade introduced $0 commission trading for stocks, ETFs, and option trades. The firm does not have inactivity or annual fees, which is great for beginning investors that are getting started. They do charge $75 outbound full account transfer fee. The trading commissions for no-load mutual funds are $49.99. The commission for Futures and Options on Futures are $2.25 per contract. Bonds and CDs range in price and are priced on a net yield basis. .
Education and Research
TD Ameritrade offers a wide range of education resources from, an immersive curriculum, articles, access to the TD Ameritrade network, videos, informative webcast, in-person events and more. The firm features free research for investors. TD Ameritrade gives you access to third-party research that includes, Morningstar, Dow Jones, Thomas Reuters, CFRA and more. You also have access to multiple research tools such as Market Edge, ETF market center, social signals, stocks overview, stock charts, stock screeners, a premier list for mutual funds, CD center, bond wizard and market java.
TD Ameritrade Tools and Platforms
TD Ameritrade has a wide selection of tools and trading platforms for clients to use. You are able to trade select securities 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. This allows you to react to more potential market opportunity with 24/5 trading. The firm has multiple trading platforms including:
- Thinkorswim – It allows you to trade equities, options, ETFs, futures, forex, options on futures and more. The platform has advanced trading tools including a wide range of charts, earnings tools, stock screeners social sentiment, economic data tools and more.
- Web Platform – The online trading platform offers tools and research to manage your portfolio including stock screeners, exclusive education, alerts, watchlists, and Gainskeeper tool.
- TD Ameritrade Mobile Trader – The app allows you to trade on the go that is similar to the thinkorswim platform. It is available for phone, tablet, or Apple watch.
- TD Ameritrade Mobile – Is the companion to the web platform and it lets you trade on the go. The platform is offered for phone, tablet, or Apple watch.
TD Ameritrade also offers a virtual trading account Paper Money. It allows you to test your strategies without putting your own money at risk. Paper Money provides you with $100,000 in virtual money with access to a virtual margin account and a virtual IRA. It is available for all clients and for non-clients they offer a free 60-day trial.
Customer Service
TD Ameritrade stands out with exceptional customer service. They offer 24/7 phone support and email. You can get in touch with the firm thru chat (Facebook Messenger, Twitter, Text), Fax, Mail, and 360+ nationwide branches.
Promotions
Get up to $600 and 60 days commission free trades
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Free In-depth research
- No account minimum or inactive fees
- Commission-free trading
- Great customer service
Cons
- High commissions compared to brokerage industry
Summary
TD Ameritrade is one of the largest online brokerage firms. They are a great broker for beginners to professionals. The firm has commisson free trading which is competitive with most brokers in the industry including Interactive Brokers and Robinhood. The firm stands out with advanced trading platforms, tools, research, and exceptional customer service with more than 360+ branches nationwide. The company offers multiple research platforms for clients and a $0 minimum balance to get started.