Ameritrade Review

Ameritrade Products

There is a great range of US and Canadian-listed securities to be traded through Ameritrade. You have the likes of forex and futures trading also available. However, Ameritrade does not yet support any form of cryptocurrency trading.

Ameritrade Trading Conditions

You can get varying levels of leverage with Ameritrade depending on your account type and the instruments that you are looking to trade. This will also vary from region to region. The execution speeds at Ameritrade tend to be lightning-fast, offering some of the fastest execution in the market today.

Ameritrade Account Types

There is a wide range of different Ameritrade account types to choose from. These will vary depending on your region, but one of the best aspects is that they do not carry any sort of minimum required deposit. The account options include a standard account, retirement accounts, education accounts, specialty accounts, managed portfolios.

Ameritrade Commissions & Fees

Ameritrade aims to offer a low-cost trading environment for people. This means that you do not have to pay any commission for ETF and regular stock traders. However, there is a $6.95 charge in play for people who are trading penny stocks.

For options trades, they will cost $0.65 for a contract. For forex trading, the fees will be built into the spread. The average spread cost for EUR/USD was 1.2 pips, which is quite low. Overall, Ameritrade has a low fee structure in place. There are also no withdrawal fees or account inactivity fees to deal with.

Ameritrade Platforms and Tools

Ameritrade is usually seen as being the best provider of trading platforms in the broker space. Its proprietary desktop trading platform is called thinkorswim and is favored by countless traders across the world. This caters to everything from futures trading to day trading and options trading.

There is now a web-based version of this trading platform for people to use. There is a very advanced charting system in place, with over 400 technical studies being available. There is a massive collection of trading tools that allow for all sorts of advanced analysis. While the desktop offering offers a wider range of features, a lot of them also make their way onto the web-based offering.

Is Ameritrade Mobile Friendly?

You have the choice of using the TD Ameritrade Mobile app or the thinkorswim Mobile app. These are both accessible for Android and iOS devices. The Ameritrade Mobile offering is more focused on casual traders, with thinkorswim being more for advanced traders who are looking for the widest range of features. Both apps offer plenty of customization options, watch lists, and trading tools.

Ameritrade Promotions

Ameritrade did not have any active promotions when we were writing this review.

Ameritrade Deposits & Withdrawals

There is a very limited range of deposit options for Ameritrade traders. You are only able to use ACH, checks, and wire transfers. Therefore, you cannot use the likes of e-wallets or credit cards. There will be no deposit fees charged, with the ACH transfer taking a single day to process the funds, while a wire transfer can take a few business days.

The minimum deposit for the wire transfer is $50. The same options will be available when you are making a withdrawal. You will need to pay a $25 fee to make a bank transfer and this process can take a few business days before the funds reach your bank account.

Ameritrade Customer Support

Ameritrade has a very good customer support department. There are numerous languages catered for no matter if you are ringing by phone, using the live chat, or sending an email. The response times were always good for us and all questions were answered to a high standard. There is also a useful FAQ section that means you can avoid directly contacting anyone if you wish to do so.

Ameritrade Research and Education

Ameritrade has a top-tier research offering both directly through its thinkorswim trading platform and through the website itself. The TD Ameritrade Network is a live streaming financial network that is broadcast on a daily basis and covers everything from trader education to market analysis.

It is one of the very few brokers to have such a bespoke TV network. There are also daily market analysts and commentary covering a wide range of fields. Social sentiment data is easily accessible thanks to a feed feature, while there are also the likes of chat rooms and other community features.

Ameritrade is also the go-to when it comes to trader education. It has more than 200 training videos available, walking people through all steps of the trading process. There are also regular educational sessions and webinars on offer. Ameritrade has a ton of YouTube videos, as well as podcasts and other types of resources that cater to all levels of experience.

Noteworthy Points to Mention for Ameritrade

Ameritrade is one of the best-regulated brokers in the US and has a stellar reputation in the region. It does not really offer non-US assets, which will be a downside for some, but it does deliver a low-cost structure and a great range of research, analysis, and education tools.

Conclusion for Ameritrade

Ameritrade is one of the best US-based brokers around today. With its low-cost structure and great proprietary trading platform, it is a good fit for most types of traders. it has built up a stellar reputation over the years and puts a lot of time and effort into looking after its customers. Its research and education offerings are also some of the best around. The only downside is the lack of coverage for non-US markets and the limited transaction options.