TD Ameritrade

Sarah Pritzker
December 2, 2020

TD Ameritrade is a large and well-known online broker with a wide variety of features, educational resources, and trading tools for investors and traders at any level of activity or expertise. The thinkorswim platform puts real-time investment news, market data, and tools to facilitate research and trading. Find opportunities and act on them with the click of a button with TD Ameritrade.

TD Ameritrade is an excellent choice for novice investors who want to begin investing smaller amounts online without the hassle of opening an account. With an array of products and account types, customers will have multiple avenues for attaining their financial goals. The variety of investment options also makes this stockbroker ideal for more savvy investors interested in diversifying their portfolio.

Trading Platform

Web Platform

TD Ameritrade’s underlying web-based trading platform offers a range of tools and resources bundled together, allowing users to manage their portfolios and execute trades quickly and efficiently. A variety of educational resources, portfolio planning tools, financial news streams, and third-party market research are available on the platform’s customizable, user-friendly interface.

The web platform is also available in-app format. With the same functionality on-the-go, the companion app for iOS or Android lets users manage their accounts efficiently and from anywhere.

Some of the features offered on TD Ameritrade’s Web Platform include:

• The SnapTicket trade tab delivers quotes and facilitates quick trade placement
• Calendars and watchlists to keep you on top of your investment strategy
• GainsKeeper, capital gains tracker gets users ready for tax season
• Planning tools such as Portfolio Planner and Retirement Planner let users strategize individual investment goals

Thinkorswim Trading Platform

TD Ameritrade really shines in the online stock brokerage industry because of its advanced trading platform, thinkorswim. Available for desktop, web, or mobile, thinkorswim is one of the most robust trading platforms available for online brokerage. Some of the platform’s features include:

• Advanced charting via thinkorswim delivers dozens of charts streaming real-time data. With 400+ customizable technical studies for each chart, users can seamlessly track investment opportunities with the click of a button.
• Trading tools available on thinkorswim include virtual trading, projected earnings analysis, backtesting, and market replay. Traders can create and share scans and charts, run advanced analyses, and access near-endless amounts of data.
• thinkorswim for mobile delivers many of the same features as the desktop version for active traders and investors.

Research Tools

TD Ameritrade users benefit from a wide range of research tools for educated investment decision making.

Screeners

TD Ameritrade boasts customizable, web-based screeners with a range of functionalities. Screeners are available for:

• ETFs according to 35 criteria
• Stocks with 85 customizable, web-based screeners
• Options with simple and more sophisticated strategies, linking to analysis and trading tools
• Mutual funds linking to TD Ameritrade’s comparison tool
• Fixed income Bond Wizard lets users research bonds and CDS

Calculators

Calculators are also useful research tools for investors at any level. The Income Estimator shows the potential income of a proposed portfolio, and the Peer Comparison tool compares a range of competing stocks according to specific conditions. Comparison calculators also compare companies and the Social Signals tool that gauges social sentiment.

News

TD Ameritrade offers a variety of news sources with real-time updates from most popular newsgroups, including Benzinga, Midnight Trader, and MarketWatch. Third-party research from prominent sources such as MarketEdge, CFRA, Thomson Reuters, and Dow Jones is also available.

Education resources

TD Ameritrade Network

The TD Ameritrade Network live streams financial broadcasting daily, offering market analysis and educational programming. For written market analysis and commentary, TD Ameritrade hosts The Ticker Tape website delivering a variety of finance-related articles covering savings, markets, retirement, and other topics.

Additional resources

In addition to news and commentary, TD Ameritrade hosts a vast number of resources on its website. These include:

• Immersive courses
• Webcasts
• Blogs and articles
• FAQs
• Video
• Talking Green podcast

With this expansive assortment of educational resources, TD Ameritrade gives users everything they need to expand their knowledge and their portfolios.

Advantages of TD Ameritrade

Physical locations: After acquiring online broker Scottrade, TD Ameritrade gained 280 brick and mortar locations that offer in-person services and educational opportunities.

Stellar customer service: Customers will appreciate 24/7 access to customer care representatives via live chat, email, phone, and social media. Some other brokers only offer support during regular business hours, but with TD Ameritrade, you never need to wait for an answer to your question.

Range of products: Traders and investors will appreciate an outstanding selection of assets, including:

• Stocks
• Options
• Mutual funds
• Exchange-traded funds (ETFs)
• Futures
• Forex
• Bonds
• Certificates of deposit (CDs)

Excellent trading platform: The thinkorswim platform gives users access to advanced trading and research tools both in mobile and desktop formats. The entire trading experience is customizable and designed to facilitate user education, growth, and improved strategy.

Security: Following an unfortunate security breach in 2007, TD Ameritrade implemented security measures to ensure this wouldn’t happen again. With biometric authentication for mobile, insurance protection on cash and securities, and two types of two-factor authentication, customers can rest assured that their money and their personal information is safe.

Disadvantages of TD Ameritrade

High broker-assisted trade fee: While TD Ameritrade’s trades are free apart from penny stock trades, accessing a broker will cost users $44.99.

Array of choice: This is a benefit for more advanced investors and active traders, but for people new to the market, the seemingly infinite number of options may be overwhelming. The good news is that with the availability of educational resources, even if you’re new to trading, you will be able to learn a lot quickly.

Is TD Ameritrade Right For You?

TD Ameritrade makes research and trading straightforward for investors and traders of most types. With multiple educational resources for newer investors and advanced trading and research tools for savvier users, this online stock broker is an excellent choice for a range of customers. The platform also delivers a vast array of assets, making TD Ameritrade a good place for investors seeking to diversify their portfolios.