I also have td, I really liked their watch list screens. I guess they were reuters bridgestation. but now they are gone since the change. Does anyone know of another broker who offers those screens.
They are not a traders broker and buying an option spread will likely run you well over $20 bucks. You are new to the game isee.
TDAM is garbage. To say their platform sucks would be a compliment. They trade against you. The website goes down alot. Not direct access. Get a real direct access account if you plan to day trade.
I've had my TD Ameritrade account (not by choice) since 2000 when I intially signed on as Datek then acquired by Ameritrade then finally the merger between TD Waterhouse + Ameritrade. (Not to mention I had another account with a small broker called Bidwell which was also swallowed up by Ameritrade). So I have 2 accounts with them at Apex level, one in which I use for long term investing purposes and the other for more short term swing trading activities. I've really havent had so much problem in both these venues but there have been from time to time technical difficulties such as downtimes, streamer locking up, and on one occassion recently not even being able to log in to access my account for a few hours. They arent so much of an annoyance if you are trading on longer time scale but if you are actively trying to get in or out of the market it can become a big problem. I have to say there are good things and bad things that came from the acquisitions and mergers - no maintence fees, free tools (at Apex), and a sense of security (believing they hold true to what they advertise) replacing money lost against fraudlent account activity. I still use mainly the Streamer interface (taken from Datek) and I dont really find any other software that they offer really useful. Maybe their Advanced Analyzer from time to time to search for stocks but thats bout it. I think their other tools like Quotescope, Market Motion Detector, Strategy Desk, and their horrible attempt to "package" Streamer interface in their Command Center software are just gimmicky. It's cheap solution as far as getting market information if you arent too active I guess. How fast that information is in comparison to other brokers or services, I cant say. I simply use the datafeed from Streamer and use Medved Quotetracker (program you can download at their site quotetracker.com) as the trading interface (can you believe Ameritrade also acquired them as well?) and I stream that data into Amibroker for custom charting. (I dont like how all these free charts limit what you can do). There are a few changes to how they do things which I dont like since the merger. You can no longer route to market makers, which blows, your only choice now is Inet/Arca or simply their in house autoroute. They never really given me an adequate explanation as to why this feature suddenly disappeared after several inquiries. They seem like they are always trying to experiment with their service, their website platform, and so forth. i.e... got a letter from them saying they will be offereing TotalView with their L2 quotes to Apex customers. Well, I never saw it on the main platform - had the feature availble on Quotetracker no less (I guess it was workaround). Never had a problem with Customer service for the most part with Datek or Ameritrade but with this merger with TD, it seems they are losing it: either being more rude, ignorant or simply evading questions without giving adequate answers. I'm hoping its just all a "work-in-progress" to becoming something better. Let's hope. But in the meantime, I want to now get into more active trading - getting in and out of trades within 5-10cents spread. I'll still keep at least one of my TDAmeritrade accounts. IB looks interesting. Can any former (or current) users of Datek/Ameritrade who now use IB give me feedback about IB in comparison? Do they provide adequate data feed or do I need to get another third party subscription like E-signal? What do I get with a basic IB Universal account?
I've had an Ameritrade account since 2005. I opened an IB account a couple months ago. I'm pretty happy with the decision. I use it for position/swing trading. Some comparisons. IB- $10 monthly minimum for activity commissions ( trading plus margin interest), $10 for real time data feed if you don't do $30 in commission a month. The data feed is good, if you want level 2 or total view you have to pay more though. Also Reuters is $100 a month for streaming news and analysis. It may be better than Dow Jones, I haven't tried it. IB has compatibility with much more 3rd party software, especially for windows. IB lets you trade anything from one universal account, you can trade currency, orange juice futures and cattle if you want. They normally don't deliver the cattle on expiration. IB allows you to earn much more interest on extra cash balances than TD Ameritrade, also if you use single stock futures (long or short) you can reduce your margin costs by quite a bit. IB has more security measures (Secure Log-In with electronic device or passcode card) to ensure the safety of your money, even if they aren't going to reimburse you for loss. I think up to 1,000,000 in securities and 100,000 in cash is covered under SPIC laws though. After that there is a different type of insurance that is probably less comprehensive. There is a lot more information on their website at Interactivebrokers.com Mark
I have also used Ameritrade since when it was Datek (since Dec 1999). I am aware their execution is lousy. I know this because I have an account that I trade automatically, and my wife's account at IB which I trade using the same software. My order to Ameritrade is fired by my system a second or so before firing the order from IB. But on many occasions I find the IB order executes (limit orders) while the Ameritrade order remains untouched. They seem like middlemen looking to "work" your order. Often times I get that "Pending Review" status, which can basically leave your order hanging for minutes before it is sent to the market. In a fast market it can really cost. Having said that, I like $10 per trade when handling 20000 shares instead of $100 at IB. Either way, I have not yet been compelled enough to switch. Moreover the customer service at Ameritrade is much better than at IB.
Are you guys dense? The OP said he does not anticipate positions larger than $4k in any one stock! Regardless of swing, position, or scalping trade style, why would you recommend he pay $15-20+ for a RT of 1K (likely even smaller) size? Those one-price-fits-all mass marketed firms are fine, if you trade large size. Better pricing, tools, instruments, support, protection, etc is available elsewhere. I'll let others do the recommendations. Osorico
Beast84 TDAM is garbage. To say their platform sucks would be a compliment. They trade against you. The website goes down alot. Not direct access. Get a real direct access account if you plan to day trade. ####################################### 1. AMTD selled interess in NITE . She is not market-maker as IB 2. AMTD have direct access 3. Webside goes down ,but not more as from another companies .AMTD platform better as Cybertrader 4. Get a real direct access account if you plan to day trade. From which of company ? Thinkorswim -market -maker with spot fx ,CEO -ex-market -maker MBT - platform have not reserved html version Etrade -payed not 36000 euro for Grand prix in internacional contest for author IB -market -maker through TMWD Genesys -great fees Rush/Terranova demanded fees from start 50$ Ouestrade -good ,as trading possible against PDT rule for non USA resident ,but platform is Cybertrader worster as AMTD