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thinkorswim (TOS) Review

thinkorswim from Charles Schwab is a sophisticated trading platform that provides a strong trading experience for both newer investors and experienced active traders.

thinkorswim is available in three formats: a desktop program, a mobile app, and a web-browser platform. The desktop version is the most powerful of the three and has the widest selection of tools, while the browser-based version is the easiest to use and has the most streamlined feature set.

Pricing

All three thinkorswim platforms are available to Schwab clients for no platform charge. There is no minimum funding amount required to open a Schwab account and use thinkorswim, although specific products, such as options, futures, and forex, have their own approval requirements. Market data available through thinkorswim, such as Level II quotes and time & sales data, may require market-data agreements, and some data subscriptions or fees may apply.

Tradable Assets

thinkorswim in any version can be used to trade stocks, ETFs, closed-end funds, futures, forex, and option contracts. Although Schwab does offer trading in mutual funds and bonds, these products must be traded on the website or regular (not thinkorswim) mobile app.

Platform Features

thinkorswim includes many advanced tools and features. Examples include:

• Alerts
• Search tools
• Customizable workspaces
• Advanced trade tickets
• Live financial news in video format
• Highly advanced charting
• Account documents
• Transaction history
• Calculator
• Money movement
• Third-party research
• Chat support
• Scratch pad
• Hot keys
• Live audio
• Currency map
• Video games (Mine Sweeper and Tetris)
• Backtesting
• Economic calendar

Some features are available only on certain versions of the platform (mobile, web, or desktop), so it can be helpful to test all three.

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Learning thinkorswim

This is clearly a very advanced trading system. Even so, traders can learn to use it well with enough practice and training.

Every thinkorswim platform includes paperMoney. This demo mode allows users to practice trading with virtual buying power. On the mobile app and desktop program, paperMoney must be chosen before logging in. On the browser platform, a toggle switch can be used to move between live trading and simulated trading. Because thinkorswim may take time to learn, practice trading is strongly recommended.

In addition to simulated trading, another effective way to learn thinkorswim is by using Schwab’s thinkorswim Learning Center and the Help and Tools resources on the desktop platform. These areas provide a large collection of learning materials that can help both beginners and experienced traders.

Customization

A layout, known at Schwab as a workspace, can be saved and modified on the desktop platform. Users can create multiple layouts from the Setup menu, which is shown as a gear icon in the upper-right corner. thinkorswim in all three formats includes two main color themes (light and dark). On the desktop system, there are multiple versions of each theme. For example, dark is available as Chinese dark and old-school thinkorswim. These preferences and many other settings can be found under the Setup menu. Other items that can be adjusted from this menu include:

• Platform language (English or Chinese)
• Hot key settings
• Order-ticket defaults
• Font spacing
• Quote speed

Charting

As expected, the most advanced charting tools are found on the desktop platform. In this version, the Chart tab in the top menu provides access to many charting features. One sub-tab opens a multi-chart window. Another sub-tab displays product depth, which can show items such as implied volatility and Greek values in graphical form.

A standard chart can be detached so that it fills the entire computer screen. This creates the best viewing setup. A chart also has a right-click menu with several useful links, including order-entry choices, drawing tools, and technical indicators.





During our review, we found more than 400 indicators. This large selection includes:

• SVE Pivots
• Breakaway
• Stochastic Full
• RSI Crossover

The platform also offers many drawing tools. These include several Fibonacci tools and price-level features. We also like the broad range of plot styles, including more unusual choices such as monkey bars.

A vertical bar appears on the far right side of a chart. From this area, users can turn many add-ons on or off, including a quick-entry order bar at the top. The right-click menu also includes buy and sell links.

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Order Entry

Choosing a buy or sell link from either the drop-down menu or the order bar at the top will populate a trade ticket. Selecting an advanced trade link from the right-click menu will open a ticket at the bottom of the screen. Other trade choices will open a pop-up trade ticket.

thinkorswim’s order tickets include many advanced features. For example, an order can be saved and used as a template later. An order can also be copied into a blank ticket. A camera icon allows users to capture a screenshot of the order ticket at the bottom of the screen, and orders can also be printed.





The available order types are quite advanced. Examples include:

• 1st triggers all
• Limit
• Pair
• Blast all
• Trailing stop limit
• Market on close

The pop-up trade ticket has a drop-down menu that lets users choose a specific account for a trade. There is also another menu for placing a trade across multiple accounts. For example, a 100-share order can be split into 50 shares for each of 2 accounts.

The vertical bar on the right side of the screen includes 2 additional trade tickets. One is an Active Trader ticket. This ticket uses a price ladder with prices shown in descending order. Clicking on a bid or ask number creates a stop or limit order at that price.

The other order form is the Big Button ticket. This ticket can be customized with many trade settings. By default, the buttons are buy market and sell market for 100 shares.

Security Research

Although most asset-research tools are found on Schwab’s website, thinkorswim, especially the desktop version, also has several useful research features. For example, the Scan tab in the top menu includes multiple search tools for stocks and options. There are many search filters, including:

• Volume
• Net change
• Put/call ratio
• Yield
• Implied volatility
• Days to expiration
• Probability ITM
• And more...

Maximum and minimum values can be entered, and for a more user-friendly experience, there is a graphical interface that can be adjusted to set the upper and lower limits.

The Analyze tab has its own collection of tools, and these can be useful in many trading situations. For example, there is a probability-analysis tool that displays a ticker symbol’s historical volatility along with a chart showing the likelihood of future gains and losses.

News

For general market news, thinkorswim provides articles on individual ticker symbols from several sources, including Dow Jones and Benzinga. Video news is available from Schwab’s own in-house media service, Schwab Network. CNBC is also available in U.S., European, and Asian versions. These important news feeds can be added to the left-hand column by clicking the plus sign in the lower-left area and selecting the desired feed.

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Continue Reading

• thinkorswim Demo Account
• thinkorswim Extended Hours Trading
• thinkorswim Level 2 Quotes
• Schwab Debit Card
• Schwab Futures Margin Requrements