Should i open a td ameritrade account

TD Ameritrade does not have an account minimum. There is no commission on stock trading at TD Ameritrade. However, the broker doesn't charge for partial transfers, nor are there annual or inactivity fees. TD Ameritrade also excels at offering low-cost and low-minimum funds, with over mutual funds on its platform with expense ratios of 0.

It's an ideal broker for beginner mutual fund investors. TD Ameritrade aces the investment selection category by offering the full range of investments, including futures, forex and bitcoin futures trading for approved clients. TD Ameritrade doesn't offer direct access to cryptocurrencies; however, crypto-based products, such as Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, are available through TD Ameritrade on the over-the-counter market.

TD Ameritrade offers two main trading platforms, each with a corresponding mobile version. Baked into the free platform are:. The broker's GainsKeeper tool, to track capital gains and losses for tax season. Separately, the company has a desktop trading platform called thinkorswim that's aimed at serious stock, ETF, options, futures and forex traders. It has all the features active traders need, including advanced trading capabilities, a robust lineup of technical analysis tools and studies, customizable screeners and charting, backtesting capabilities, real-time news, quotes, market heat maps and more.

Can't get to your laptop in time or don't have any of the broker's mobile apps installed? You can also place any code-red, emergency trades through third-party platforms via Twitter Direct Messages, Facebook Messenger and Apple Business Chat. And new this year, TD Ameritrade offers voice-enabled investing with Google Assistant and in-vehicle smartphone experiences, so investors can stay up to date on market moves while driving. The company also offers a virtual trading simulator.

Surprisingly, few online brokers offer mock trading accounts on their platforms, so this is fairly unique. TD Ameritrade's paperMoney virtual simulator is a desktop-based platform geared toward advanced and frequent traders. It's available for free through the broker's two platforms and its Mobile Trader app, although non-customers can register for a free day trial — a good way to test a new platform before committing to setting up a real-money account.

The choice of platforms extends to the broker's mobile products. The TD Ameritrade thinkorswim app is aimed at the advanced trading crowd and is a companion app to the desktop platform of the same name. The company also has TD Ameritrade Mobile Web, the browser-based platform optimized for mobile devices. TD Ameritrade Mobile has much of the trading functionality of the web-based platform and also provides Level II quotes not available on the web platform.

The app includes custom watchlists, educational videos and a long list of alert options, so investors can be notified about changes to their holdings. The thinkorswim app includes futures and forex trading, complex option ordering capabilities three or four legs and chat support from TD's trading desk.

TD Ameritrade is a rare broker that covers all of the bases and does it very well. For a broker with no commission on stock, ETF and options trades, clients get an impressive list of services including portfolio-building guidance, hands-on investing courses, high-quality research, trading tools and a wide selection of no-transaction-fee mutual funds.

Our aim is to provide an independent assessment of providers to help arm you with information to make sound, informed judgements on which ones will best meet your needs. We collect data directly from providers, and conduct first-hand testing and observation through provider demonstrations.

Our process starts by sending detailed questionnaires to providers to complete. The questionnaires are structured to equally elicit both favorable and unfavorable responses from providers. They are not designed or prepared to produce any predetermined results. The final output produces star ratings from poor one star to excellent five stars. Ratings are rounded to the nearest half-star. Evaluations vary by provider type, but in each case are based upon the weighted averages of factors that include but are not limited to: advisory and account fees, account minimums and types, investment selection, investment expense ratios, trading costs, access to human financial advisors, educational resources and tools, rebalancing and tax minimization options, and customer support including branch access, user-facing technology and mobile platforms.

Each factor can involve evaluating various sub-factors. The factors considered, and how those factors are weighted, change depending upon the category of providers reviewed.

Writers and editors conduct our broker reviews on an annual basis but continually make updates throughout the year. We maintain frequent contact with providers and highlight any changes in offerings.

The review team comprises seasoned writers, researchers and editors who cover stocks, bonds, mutual funds, index funds, exchange-traded funds, alternative investments, socially responsible investing, financial advisors, retirement and investment strategy on a daily basis. Finance and other national and regional media outlets. The combined expertise of our Investing team is infused into our review process to ensure thoughtful evaluations of provider products and services from the customer perspective.

In the past, this has resulted in some customers not getting the best price for their investments, like if a brokerage opts for the market maker that compensates them the most versus the one that has the best price for their customer.

From basic to specialty accounts, TD Ameritrade customers will find everything they need, including:. TD Ameritrade offers a simple web-based trading interface with a corresponding mobile app as well as the highly regarded thinkorswim trading platform, available in desktop, web-based and mobile app iterations.

The web platform allows users to trade stocks, bonds, ETFs, mutual funds and options. The thinkorswim trading platform was designed for investment professionals, and it shows. This is where TD Ameritrade customers get access to more advanced asset classes, such as futures trading, forex and futures options, in addition to all of the asset classes available on the web platform. Customizable features include:.

The platform offers thinkScript, a simple programming language that lets users build their own analysis tools tailored to their specifications. This straightforward scripting language lets you take market data and build studies, special watch lists and charts as well as share them with other users.

The only real drawback we could find with thinkorswim is the lack of a short locator. This could be a problem for investors who are intent on short trading stocks. Charting tools include:. TD Ameritrade provides any type of order that an investor might need. In addition to basic orders, advanced traders will appreciate the conditional and durations orders.

Order types include:. With advanced order routing technology, most market orders are filled at a better price than the current quote. As noted above, TD Ameritrade receives payment for order flow—direct routing of trades is not available.

Investors seeking managed accounts have several options to choose from. Larger balances get more sophisticated features—and higher fees—with Selective Portfolios and Personalized Portfolios. Investors tethered to their phones will appreciate the slate of TD Ameritrade mobile apps. The TD Ameritrade Mobile and thinkorswim apps are on a par with the desktop platform and received a near perfect ranking on our survey.

The thinkorswim app is ideal for serious traders who need to keep on top of their options and futures trading or day trades. Advanced investors will appreciate the conditional orders and multi-leg options trades. Most charting and analytical features are available on the mobile app. Investors can chat with a live trading specialist, stream video from the TD Ameritrade Network and enter into chat rooms with other traders.

Fixed income investors will find bond specialists and screeners to help populate this asset category. The platform is widely recognized as a sound choice for options trading , with this trading type available on both the web platform and thinkorswim as well as the mobile apps. Options specialists provide guidance when crafting strategies. Futures and forex investors can trade 23 hours a day, six days a week.

The cash management and banking features are a useful supplement to the investment assets. The only asset classes lacking are fractional shares and cryptocurrency—with the notable exception of Bitcoin futures. Forbes Advisor chose TD Ameritrade as our best online broker for beginners and best day trading platform for education in large part due to its unbeatable research and education resources.

TD Ameritrade offers a broad suite of investment research tools, including third-party analyst reports and a variety of screeners. Tests yielded short phone wait times, correct responses to our questions and fast email responses. The majority of phone calls were answered within one minute, with 10 minutes being the longest wait time. Texts were responded to immediately.

Emails were typically answered within an hour, with three hours as the longest response time. Every question was answered accurately, and the customer service representatives were credentialed and well trained.

TD Ameritrade offers industry standard security features. These include:. Some competitors offer voice recognition as an additional layer of security when users contact customer service, a useful feature that TD Ameritrade lacks. Account insurance is more than adequate for most investors.

Customers should always be aware that no brokerage provides insurance that protects financial assets from losses due to investment choices or market declines. It pioneered online trading in the s, and it was among the first firms to begin offering discounted commissions. The companies plan to complete the integration of their online brokerage services by Call us: This is not an offer or solicitation in any jurisdiction where we are not authorized to do business or where such offer or solicitation would be contrary to the local laws and regulations of that jurisdiction, including, but not limited to persons residing in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, UK, and the countries of the European Union.

TD Ameritrade, Inc. All rights reserved. Log in Open New Account. Home Account Types. Managed Portfolios. FAQs: Opening. Get in touch Call or visit a branch. Go City, State, Zip.