TD Ameritrade Review 2022: What are the Pros and Cons?

TD Ameritrade offers both beginner and professional traders quality trading platforms, no commissions on online stock or ETF trades, as well as a large selection mutual funds.

TD Ameritrade Review 2022: What are the Pros and Cons?

TD Ameritrade offers both beginner and professional traders quality trading platforms, no commissions on online stock or ETF trades, as well as a large selection mutual funds.

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Commission-free ETF and stock trading
  • Free research.
  • High-quality trading platforms
  • No minimum account.
  • Good customer support.
  • Large investment selection

Cons

  • No fractional shares

TD Ameritrade shines

Free research: TD Ameritrade Broker gives away a large range of third-party data from highly reputable sources such as the Federal Reserve Economic Database and Center for Financial Research and Analysis.

High-quality trading tools: In addition to TD Ameritrade's web and mobile platforms the highly rated thinkorswim platform provides professional-level trading on both desktop and mobile.

TDAmeritrade's customer services are unbeatable. You can reach them via text, email, fax or live chat 24/7.

Large investment selection: TD Ameritrade is home to a range of low-cost mutual and advanced funds as well as products such forex trading and futures.

TD Ameritrade has its flaws

Fractional stocks: Fractional stock was once a niche offer, but major players like Fidelity & Schwab now offer fractional trades. TD Ameritrade may not be offering fractional trading. However, investors with limited capital might want to consider alternatives. Fractional Shares allow you to place an investment by the dollar amount instead of the share. This lets you build a portfolio with stocks that might be too costly otherwise.

TD Ameritrade has the best for:

  • Investors who are just starting out.
  • Advanced traders
  • Investor education/advice
  • Fund investors

TD Ameritrade's Ratings

Minimum Account: 5 stars

TD Ameritrade does NOT have a minimum account.

Stock trading costs: 5 of 5 stars

TD Ameritrade doesn't charge a commission when stock trading. A $6.95 fee will apply if you want to trade over the counter securities (those that aren’t listed on major exchanges like NYSE).

Account fees: 4.5 of 5 stars

The only fee at TD Ameritrade to mention is its full account fee. To transfer all of your assets into another brokerage, you will need to pay a $75 charge. This fee is quite high for this type of charge. However, there aren't any fees for partial transfers and no annual or inactivity charges.

Number of mutual funds with no-transaction fees: 4 stars

Although the 3,700 no-transaction fees mutual funds aren't as numerous as other brokers', there's still plenty to choose from.

TD Ameritrade excels at providing low-cost mutual funds. The platform has more than 500 mutual funds that have expense ratios of 0.50%. Over 1,000 of these funds require investment minimums of $100. This broker is ideal to help beginners invest in mutual funds.

Tradable securities: 5 of 5 stars

TD Ameritrade leads the way in investment selection by offering a complete range of investments to clients, including futures trading and forex futures trading.

Crypto availability: 2 of 5 stars

TD Ameritrade has no direct access to cryptocurrencies. However crypto-based products, like Grayscale Bitcoin Trust are available on the over–the-counter market through TD Ameritrade. Qualified TD Ameritrade client can trade Bitcoin futures via the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

5 out Of 5 Stars - Trading platform

TD Ameritrade offers two trading platforms. Each has a mobile counterpart.

TDAmeritrade.com offers everything an average investor would need to research, screen, trade and identify stocks, bonds, funds and CDs. You will find the following features in the free platform

  • Screeners.
  • A customizable landing page.
  • GainsKeeper, the broker's tool to track capital gains and loss for tax season.

A separate trading platform, called thinkorswim, is offered by the company. It's designed for serious forex, ETF, futures, stock and futures traders. It provides all the tools that active traders need: customizable screeners and charts, backtesting capabilities as well as real-time news and quotes.

Not able to access your broker's mobile apps or can't get there in time? You can also place emergency code-red trades using third-party platforms such as Twitter Direct Messages (Facebook Messenger), Apple Business Chat and Twitter Messenger. TD Ameritrade also offers voice-enabled trading with Google Assistant and in vehicle smartphone experiences. Investors can monitor market movements while driving, thanks to this new feature.

A virtual trading simulation is available from the company. Mock trading accounts are not available on most online brokers' platforms. This is quite unusual. TD Ameritrade paperMoney virtual sim is a desktop platform geared towards frequent and advanced traders. It includes $100,000 in practice "money" and access to a Margin account. It's free to use the two broker platforms and its Mobile Trader application. Non-customers can also register for a free 60-day trial. This allows them to experience a new platform before they commit to opening a real money account.

Read another review about the Revolut.

Mobile app 4 out 5 stars

The selection of platforms is not limited to broker's mobile products. TD Ameritrade Mobile, Android and iOS, is a companion for the desktop platform. The TD Ameritrade thoughtorswim application is designed for advanced traders and is a companion to the desktop platform. TD Ameritrade Mobile Web, a browser-based platform that is optimized for mobile devices, is also offered by the company.

TD Ameritrade Mobile features much of what the web-based platform offers and provides Level II quotes which are not offered on the web platform. Investors have the option to create custom watchlists or view educational videos. There are also many alert options that will notify them about changes in their holdings.

The thinkorswim app offers forex and futures trading, advanced option ordering capabilities (three- or four legs), as well as chat support from TD’s trade desk.

Research and data: 5/5 stars

TD Ameritrade's extensive research selection stands out among other brokerages. There are 15 providers that offer research, commentary, news, and analysis including FRED, FRED, CFRA and Vickers.

Customer Support options: 4.5/5 stars

TD Ameritrade is known for its exceptional customer support. There are more branches than ever in the US that offer customer support, including texting and social media.

Additional TD Ameritrade details to be aware

Charles Schwab's acquisition of TD Ameritrade was completed in October 2020. However integration of the two companies will take place over the 18-to 36 months.

Is TD Ameritrade right to you?

TD Ameritrade has a unique broker that does all the right things and is very good at it. The brokerage does not charge any commission for stock or ETF trades. Clients receive a huge range of services such as portfolio-building advice, hands-on investment courses, trading tools, and a variety of non-transaction-fee mutual fund options.

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