As a discount broker, TD Ameritrade offers a range of services to investors. In the following review, we’ll break down what makes a TD Ameritrade account unique and also give you the information a discerning investor needs to feel like you’re making the best decision about your investments.

Ameritrade stands out for its customer service. The company offers heavily researched advice as well as easy entry into the market. This is paired with highly accessible customer service and support. Thanks to no minimum account sizes and low commission prices, TD Ameritrade is highly competitive within the industry.

It’s important to research a broker carefully before investing. We’ve tried to facilitate this by offering the key pieces of information you need to know about TD Ameritrade

The Best Things about TD Ameritrade

Every broker is going to try and make themselves stand out in the market. There are slightly different lists of features and offerings, but knowing how to pick through these lists and find the companies that actually go above and beyond is important to choosing wisely. We’ve detailed below the areas where Ameritrade excels in competition.

• TD Ameritrade app – Mobile is convenient and offers real time information no matter where you are. TD Ameritrade knows this and has create a highly-rated app for iOS, Android and Windows devices. The app offers streaming data about investments as well as real-time investing in stocks and options as well as mutual funds. There are many research functions on the app as well.

• Research – Speaking of research, there are multiple screeners and research options provided by TD Ameritrade. Screeners for stocks, options and mutual funds make it easy to feel confident about your investments. With access to third party research from companies like Morning Star, S&P Global, and Moody’s you can have confidence in your investments.

• Customer Support – Everyone wants to know someone is available to help when they need it, and TD Ameritrade provides exceptional customer support. There are branch offices in most metropolitan areas which means a real person is always nearby to answer questions and offer support when you need it most.

• Fund selection – TD Ameritrade offers one of the largest selections of commission-free mutual funds and ETFs in the industry. While other discount investment houses focus primarily on one type of investor, Ameritrade has the tools and offers to appeal to both hands-off investors and those who enjoy a much more hands-on approach.

• No minimums – TD Ameritrade is appealing to beginning investors or those who are looking to open new accounts without large initial investments. There are no account minimums with Ameritrade which makes it easy to open a new account and begin growing your investments right away.

Commissions with TD Ameritrade

You can expect to pay commissions with any trading firm, but discount trading houses have significantly reduced commissions over full-service offerings. The lower rates offered by a discount brokerage house gives customers more options and makes investing more affordable. The commissions required by TD Ameritrade are broken down in the chart below.

Stocks and ETFs	Stock options	Mutual funds
$6.95	$6.95 + $0.75 per contract	$49.99 (thousands for free)

You can see that TD Ameritrade’s pricing is far below a full-service broker, but it is still slightly higher than other discount brokers. The difference between the lowest in the industry and Ameritrade’s is just $2 per trade, which is negligible if you are not overly active in your account buying and selling new stocks rapidly. It is also easy to consider that $2 difference an investment in the more robust research options available with Ameritrade.

Commission fees aren’t everything when it comes to choosing an investment firm, but they are important. The types of investments you’ll be making as well as the frequency of how often you trade will all factor in to how much you pay in commission.

Mutual Funds and ETFs

You won’t find mutual funds and ETFs with every discount broker. Ameritrade offers a large selection of mutual funds, and also provides many – thousands – without commissions. This is one of the largest collections of mutual funds in the industry without any sort of fee or commission.

Ameritrade also offers a long list of ETFs without commission as well. These ETFs have big names like State Street (SPDR), iShares, WisdomTree and Invesco. If you hold the ETF for at least thirty days, you will not pay any commission fees for buying or selling. If you do wind up selling before thirty days, you can expect a short term trading fee of $13.90.

TD Ameritrade has a wide range of offerings including:

• 303 ETFs without commission

• 12,531 mutual funds

• 1,932 funds with no load or transaction fees

Ameritrade Trading Platform

You’ll find easy access to a robust trading platform with TD Ameritrade. There is not only a desktop version of the trading platform, but a web version and a fully-featured app as well. The variety of platforms makes it streamlined to access and manage your accounts.

• The desktop platform is designed to accommodate active traders. You’ll find the features these traders like including backtesting, stock history graphics as well as potential, and also level II quotes.

• The web platform is a good fit for classical investors. On the web you’ll see streaming quotes, custom alerts and multiple screeners to find ideal fits and investments. These screeners allow technical and customized parameters for integrated searches.

• The mobile platform also offers level II quotes, conditional orders and even complex trade options – all through your mobile device. The app is built for iOS, Windows and Android devices, so it is widely accessible. Mobile devices can also access the web-based platform as well.

Fees and Rebates with TD Ameritrade

There are fees associated with any brokerage company. While a discount brokerage company like TD Ameritrade has reduced fees, there are still costs associated with accounts. Fortunately there are some rebates as well to reduce these costs.

• Paper statement fee – Brokerage firms prefer to not mail paper statements, and you will be charged a $2 fee for every paper statement that is mailed your way. Fortunately, if you hold more than $10,000 this fee is waived, but for smaller investors, you can simply access your accounts online and save a few dollars.

• Short-term trading fee – There are many commission-free ETFs, but if you trade your ETF in fewer than thirty days you will wind up paying a short-term trading fee of $13.90. If you hold the investment for thirty days, however, there is no short-term fee and no commission as well, which makes these low-cost investments.

• ATM rebates – If you use the debit card associated with your TD Ameritrade account, you can expect to be charged fees by the banks you are using. TD Ameritrade recognizes this, however, and reimburses you for the fees others banks charge with rebates. Ultimately you should have no out of pocket expense for using the debit card that may come with your account.

Margin Rates with TD Ameritrade

A margin loan can be useful in two ways. One way is to expand your investment capital. You borrow a margin loan when making an investment in order to be able to invest more and see larger gains. This is a common use of margin loans, but can be tricky if you wind up at a loss in the investment.

The second use of margin loans is to cover the time period after an initial sell. It can take two days for funds to move and settle after selling an investment. A margin loan gives you access to the funds immediately and is paid off in 48 hours when the funds have finished moving after the sale.

Access to loans is never free, of course, but TD Ameritrade charges interest on these sorts of loan on a sliding scale. Additionally, the interest is charged daily which means loans taken out for a day or two to cover a sale will have very little to pay in terms of fees. Holding a loan, however can become much more expensive.

The most current margin loan rates published by TD Ameritrade are listed in the table below.

Debit balance	Interest rate
Under $10,000	10.00%
$10,000 to $24,999	9.75%
$25,000 to $49,999	9.50%
$50,000 to $99,999	8.50%
$100,000 to $249,999	8.25%
$250,000 to $999,999	8.00%
$1,000,000 or more	7.25%

Holding a small loan for a long time can add up quickly, but if you don’t use margin loans or you use them for very short times, you won’t be affected by these rates at all or very little.

Ameritrade Research Tools

A discount broker is user-friendly and is designed to give the user access to the tools they need to buy and sell. You won’t find extensive guidance with any discount broker, but there is a wide range of tools available with Ameritrade to help investors choose wisely. These tools including calculators, proprietary and third-party research and fund and stock screeners.

These tools are rated well in the industry and appeal to careful investors. Ameritrade tools include:

• Analyst ratings – You will find stocks rated as strong buys according to multiple criteria including by First Call Consensus, CFRA, TheStreet, MarketEdge and Ford. With these screeners, you can immediately find stocks expected to fare well and to simplify your own research.

• ETF screener – This screener offers you terrific options to screen for specifics in ETFs. You can drill down through the ETF offers to find ones that match specifics like below-average expense ratios, funds without commissions and funds ranked well or identified by companies like Morningstar.

• Reports for fixed income – You can also find bond reports by Moodys’ and S&P Global on TD Ameritrade platforms. These reports offer information about individual bonds as well as multiple funds so that investors can choose wisely.

Customer Service with TD Ameritrade

A discount broker won’t offer a great deal of hand holding and full-service offerings. The discount broker is a low-frills company designed to make it easy for investors to access the markets. With that being said, TD Ameritrade does offer exceptional customer service in a variety of ways.

You can speak with a customer service representative when you feel you need to. There is 24/7 support via phone, text and email for all Ameritrade customers as well as access to actual employees. With Ameritrade offices in most metropolitan areas, you can arrange a face-to-face meeting if you feel your situation warrants one. You can even contact and arrange sales through Facebook Messenger – both online and in the app.

Buying Canadian Stocks through TD Ameritrade

American investors are keeping a closer eye on Canadian stocks thanks to the emerging marijuana industry and the increases in other Canadian markets. Americans are interested in the possibilities of investing in Canadian companies, but don’t always have a simple way to do so.

If a Canadian stock is offered in Canada and in the United States, an American investor can simply add the stock to an already existing portfolio. In many cases, however, American investors need to open a new Canadian investment account in order to access the full range of Canadian stocks.

TD Ameritrade makes this not only possible, but simple as well. If you’re looking to build investments across international lines, you can do so with ease and confidence thanks to the suite of screeners, graphics and research tools available.

Opening an Account with TD Ameritrade

No investment firm is right for every investor. You will need to determine if the key attributes of TD Ameritrade are a good fit for you and your preferred style of buying and trading. These key attributes include:

Access to customer service. If a local branch and multiple means of access are important to you, Ameritrade has you covered with one of the largest branch networks among discount brokers. You can find service when you need it.

Access to extensive research tools. Sure it’s a discount broker, buy you can still find robust research offerings including screeners, analytics, graphics and third-party reports. Trades might be a couple of dollars more, but that’s a fair balance for so much insight into what you’re buying and selling.

ETFs and mutual funds. Not every discount broker has them at all, but TD Ameritrade offers thousands without any loads of transaction fees. If you like to have a bit more balance in your portfolio without spending a great deal on fees and commissions, this is an excellent choice.

No need for margins. If you don’t need margin loans or you need them for a very short time, the higher margin rates from TD Ameritrade don’t factor into your decision. If you do use margin loans for longer terms or very frequently, take a closer look at the fees required as it can become an expensive strategy.

Finding the Right Broker

You need a brokerage house you can trust. You want to be independent and self-reliant, but also work with a discount brokerage firm that makes it possible to buy and sell with trust and with affordable options.

It’s important to know how a company works and what to expect. Reviews like this one help break down the fees and commissions while also highlighting the features that stand out about a company. Our goal is to make it easier for you to learn about TD Ameritrade and be sure the company is the right fit for you.

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