TD Ameritrade

Before you start registration, it is better to get acquainted with the type of account that suits you. To start trading, you need to fill out an electronic form on the website by entering your personal information. The company offers 5 different types that can meet the request of any new customer. They depend on the terms of trade:

Standard Account – Individual and Joint accounts;

Retirement Accounts – the client’s money is used by professional traders, for which the investor receives a percentage of the investment. The company offers retirement savings IRAs, Roth IRAs, and Rollover IRAs;

Education Accounts – you can take advantage of different programs with public and private support. This is a good opportunity to save for college;

Specialty Accounts – is intended for legal entities;

Margin Trading – the client takes the money for the trades from the company.

Deposit and Withdrawal

Currently, there are no minimum requirements for regular registration. A minimum deposit of $2,000 is required for margin trading and options. The minimum deposit is $50.

Unfortunately, the use of credit/debit cards and e-wallets is prohibited. You can make a deposit using the following options that tdameritrade.com offers its users.

Money can be transferred from your bank. The transaction is made within 24 hours. To make a transfer, you need to contact the bank directly and fill out an application, specifying the requisites.

If you were previously serviced by another broker, you can transfer securities from there. The time of such an operation takes about a week, the limits on this transaction are not set.

For TDBank users, it’s even easier. The enrollment occurs within 5 minutes, judging by the reviews this method is used most often. There is a limit of $50 – $250,000 for this method.

It is also possible to make a deposit by check, the application is made in the mobile app, or by sending a mail to the address of the company in Omaha. Physical stock certificates can also be sent for replenishment.

As for the withdrawal of funds, then again, not everything is so convenient. Withdrawals can only be made to accounts registered in your name. In most cases, there is no fee, but if you choose to withdraw by bank or wire transfer, then this method will require the payment of a fee of $25.

Platforms and software

The company has a large selection of trading platforms. These include the TD Ameritrade website, Trade Architect, ThinkOrSwim, the TD Ameritrade mobile app and the ThinkOrSwim mobile app.

The web platform is versatile and offers many features for the average brokerage client. Nevertheless, the web version is not popular with active users. It is more for casual investors and quick order management. On the page you can check how your positions behave, compare them with the market behavior, see the economic calendar and the news feed.

Trade Architect is a more sophisticated website from Ameritrade. The analysis window includes a charting package that helps you trade directly from the chart. The platform offers CNBC live-streaming, stock and option screeners, and account summaries.

The company acquired ThinkOrSwim in 2009. Almost everything you need when trading is in the TOS. It is one of the few platforms that has its own scripting language thinkScript for creating add-ons. With this simple programming language, you can write your own strategies and indicators. TOS has a stock screener called Stock Hacker. It has an extremely high level of customizability, which makes it ideal for many traders. You will also be able to place the graphs in any order you want. The TOS has an Active Trader feature that allows you to quickly send and edit orders, control the depth of the market, and quickly manage trades with “Reverse” and “Flatten” buttons that allow you to quickly reverse your current position on the symbol chosen or simply close any open position for the current symbol and cancel all working orders.

In addition to the desktop app, tdameritrade offers the ThinkOrSwim mobile app. They managed to keep the same feel as the desktop platform, adding many of the same features. Perhaps the ThinkOrSwim app is just about everything you might need to place trades on the go.

The tdameritrade mobile app is much simpler than the Thinkorswim app and has only four tabs: quotes, research, accounts and trade. The quotes screen displays a watch list, charts, news, options and ETFs related to the stock. The Research tab is particularly impressive in terms of the use of space on the smartphone screen. The last tab displays an overview of brokerage account balances as well as positions, orders, history, and documents.

What instruments you can trade with TD Ameritrade

With tdameritrade.com you can trade a variety of investment products::

• Stocks
• Options
• EFTs
• Futures
• Forex
• Bonds and CDs
• Mutual funds
• Foreign ADRs
• IPOs

*The availability of the product may vary from country to country.

What else does the company offer to its customers?

The broker has earned a reputation for excellent customer support. It offers a 24-hour phone line, chatbots active on Twitter, Facebook Messenger, Apple Business Chat and WeChat for Asian customers. The app for mobile traders offers support via chat.

The TD Ameritrade Network program produces nine hours of video every day. They offer educational programs, including live videos, articles, recorded webinars, courses and quizzes, and content organized by skill level.

The broker has an Income Calculator on its website that calculates the income your portfolio can bring in. Prospective traders can use the comparison tool to compare stocks to their four closest peers, using various fundamental and private social data points.

If you research the regulators overseeing the company, you will be able to understand how safe it is for you to trade with a broker like TD Ameritrade. The firm is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Clients are covered by the U.S. SIPC (Securities Investor Protection Corporation) investor protection scheme.

The company offers 2:1 leverage for accounts with less than $25,000. Leverage may vary slightly depending on the amount.

With tdameritrade.com you can trade up to 24 currencies, including popular currencies such as the Euro, British Pound, Swiss Franc and Japanese Yen.