TD Ameritrade Reviewer's Comments

Recently TD Waterhouse and Ameritrade merged to create one of the largest brokers in the world, TD AMERITRADE. This firm has $257 billion in client assets and executes 232,000 trades each day. This brokerage offers almost any investment you want to purchase.

The TD AMERITRADE control panel has all of the tools and information you need to plan investment strategies and buy and sell securities. The only thing that kept this broker from the top of our list is the additional fees. You’ll have to spend an extra $9.99/month for level II quotes and $29.99/month for streaming news.

Fees/Commissions:  

TD AMERITRADE charges a flat rate of $9.99 for market, limit and options trades—there is an addition $0.75 fee per options contract.

The service has a good base rate for trades; however, broker–assisted trades are more expensive at $44.99. In addition, the interactive voice response service, this allows you to trade over the phone, is $34.99.

TD AMERITRADE requires a minimum initial investment of $2,000.

Investments Offered:  

This online stock trading service excels in this category. In fact, they offer every trade we looked for. You can trade the basics like stocks, options, mutual funds and exchange traded funds. They also offer many fixed income investments including U.S. Treasury and Agency Issues, various bonds, mortgage–backed securities (GNMAs), certificates of deposit (CDs) and unit investment trusts (UITs).

This online brokerage offers different account options including IRAs and Roth IRAs for retirement, and Coverdell ESAs, custodial accounts and 529 plans for higher education.

Trading/Investment Features:  

The TD AMERTRADE “control panel” is one of the most extensive and well–organized trading platforms that we’ve seen—and it’s customizable to fit your trading style. It provides the innovative tools and information you need to spot market opportunities and develop and implement your trading strategies.

This service also provides many educational materials including articles, seminars and more. Planning tools and calculators will help you prepare for life’s stages including higher education and retirement.

TD AMERITRADE also offer level II quote and streaming news so you’ll be up to the second on important information; however, they charge extra for these services.

Security:  

At TD AMERITRADE, security is priority. They offer security preferences that you control including site timeout settings, passwords and unconfirmed trade cancellation.

This broker is a member of the SIPC and offers complete fraud protection.

Ease of Use:  

The command center screen brings all of your important information together in one place. Furthermore, you can browse the web and do other tasks while monitoring your stocks. The service is easy to browse with well–labeled tabs across the top of each page and help is always just a click away.

Support/Customer Service:  

TD AMERITRADE has over 200 offices nationwide. They have an easy–to–use search function—simply enter your zip code and it will find a nearby office.

You can also find helpful information on the web through online documentation and FAQs. For further assistance, contact customer support by phone, email or instant chat.

Summary:  

In addition to an exceptional service, TD AMERTRADE also provides another incentive to open an account. For a limited time, you get 50 free trades plus $100 for opening an account with $50,000 or more, 25 free trades and $50.00 for an account with $25,000 and 15 free trades for an account with $2000.