TD Ameritrade Pricing
| Product | Price |
|---|
| Stocks and ETFs | $6.95 |
| Stocks and ETFs broker assisted | $49.99 |
| Stocks and ETFs interactive voice response (IVR) telephone system | $34.99 |
| Options | $6.95 + $0.75 per contract |
| No-load mutual funds | $49.99 |
| Treasuries at auction | $25 |
| All other bonds and CMOs, CDs | on a net yield basis |
| Futures | $2.25 fee per contract (plus exchange & regulatory fees) |
| Forex |
Non-commission currency pairs trade in increments of 10,000 units (and do not contain a "#" symbol suffix).
There are no additional fees or charges.
|
| Promotion | Trade free for 60 days + get up to $600.
|
TD Ameritrade Advantages
Investors looking for a discount brokerage firm with good customer service, advanced trading technology, a large selection of mutual funds, and excellent
research and educational tools should take a look at TD Ameritrade. The firm is known for its high quality services. For example, the company has
the largest among discount brokers network of branch locations spanning most U.S. states. Currently, there are more than 450 locations. The broker also has customer service
representatives on the phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. TD Ameritrade clients can also get checks and a Visa debit card at no cost. ATM fees
incurred with the card are reimbursed nationwide.
TD Ameritrade is one of the best mutual fund brokers. There are over 14,000 mutual funds at the firm. Nearly 2,000 come with no load and no transaction
fee (which means they are free to buy or sell). 296 exchange-traded funds are also available to trade commission-free. Many of these have low expense ratios, which will appeal to
cost-conscious traders. Buying and selling these products is a breeze using the firm's trading platforms. The website has SnapTicket, an easy-to-use
trading ticket at the bottom of the browser. There is also Trade Architect, a user friendly platform that operates in its own browser window. And
Thinkorswim is an advanced desktop trading system, which is completely free to use. The firm has a total of three mobile apps that can be used on a
variety of devices, including fingerprint-enabled phones. Even better, there is an app for Apple Watch for the most tech savvy of traders.
Investors will benefit from the excellent research and educational tools available on the TD Ameritrade website. There are effective screeners for
all securities the broker offers. An educational section offers many learning materials, including articles and videos. Information on forex,
futures, and retirement accounts can also be found on the TD Ameritrade website as these products are available with the firm. Beginners especially
will benefit from these educational resources.
TD Ameritrade Review
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Current TD Ameritrade Promotion Offer
Trade free for 60 days + get up to $600.
Open TD Ameritrade Account
Ally Invest Pricing
| Product | Price |
|---|
| Stocks and ETFs | $4.95 or $3.95* |
| Options | $4.95 + $0.65 per contract or $3.95 + $0.50* |
| Mutual funds | $9.95 |
| Bonds | $1 per bond with $10 minimum, $250 maximum |
| Treasuries | commission-free |
| Certificates of Deposit (CDs) | $24.95 |
* - $3.95 per equity trade and 50 cents per options contract for users who make 30 or more trades in the prior calendar quarter and/or
maintain an average daily balance of more than $100,000 in the prior calendar quarter.
Ally Invest Advantages
Ally Invest has managed to
offer $4.95 commissions while still offering good trading technology and a selection of educational tools. The broker's advanced platform,
Ally Invest LIVE, if free for all customers. It is browser based. Clicking on the LIVE icon after logging in generates a separate window for the
platform. It has funds transfer, charting, real-time quotes, option tools, account data, and more. Limited equity research is also available,
which includes news stories from Benzinga. The broker has another platform called Quotestream, which is available for active traders. It comes
with multiple watch lists, streaming ticker symbols, and detailed stock information.
Ally provides over 12,000 mutual funds, including load and no-load funds from most leading fund families. The broker has the lowest commissions
on mutual funds trades - only $9.95 to buy or sell!
Ally Invest's Mutual Fund Center helps investors find top performing mutual funds, screen them, see in-depth breakdowns of fund characteristics.
The broker's selection of mutual funds includes, but is not limited to funds American Funds, Fidelity, Charles Schwab, Chase Investments, Citi
Fund Management Inc, Deutsche Bank AG (London), Dodge & Cox, Global X, Goldman Sachs & Co/GSAM, Guggenheim Investments, USAA, Vanguard, WisdomTree,
and Wells Fargo.
Besides general securities trading in stocks, options, and mutual funds, the brokerage firm is also one of the few in the industry to also offer forex
trading. In fact, the broker has its own forex platform that is free to use. The minimum deposit amount to trade forex with the broker is
only $500 for some currency pairs. There are also forex specialists at Ally Invest who can assist clients who need any help with this product.
Beyond currency trading, the firm also has a good selection of debt offerings for fixed-income traders. The debt screener is effective at
narrowing down a list of thousands of bonds based on criteria such as coupon rate, maturity, bond rating, and call status.
One great feature that Ally Invest has that other stock brokerage firms lack nowadays is a customer forum on the website. There are blogs, groups, and a
discussion forum where traders can discuss financial news and investments ideas. In many of these chats, a Ally Invest representative can answer
any account-related questions. There are places for option traders, beginners, fundamental analysis, and value investors. There is also a trading
feed that displays how many Ally Invest customers hold a particular security. It's a great place to hang out and communicate with other traders.
Ally Invest Review
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Ally Invest Review
Current Ally Invest Promotion Offer
Up to $3,500 cash bonus + commission free trades for new accounts.
Open Ally Invest Account
About Mutual Funds
The goal of a mutual fund is to make its investors money through capital gains and income through an underlying securities -
stocks, bonds, money markets and other assets. The underlying securities help easily diversify investors' portfolios
by investing in a single mutual fund.
With regard to investing in mutual funds, well-known big discount brokers such as Charles Schwab ($76),
Fidelity ($49.99) are often considered as the best firms for mutual funds investing.
They are also reputable investing companies that have gained the trust of many customers. They all provide a large number of mutual funds,
including their own selections of commission-free NTF funds. The number of funds available as well as the investing cost varies from
broker to broker. The latter often is very steep for big-name brokerage companies.
Very often, less-known online brokerage firms offer lower commissions on mutual funds (below $20) and like their big competitors,
also provide a great number of mutual funds with a selection of commission-free NTF funds. This selection of mutual funds can
also include funds from well-known fund families like Fidelity, Schwab, T.Rowe Price, Vanguard, American Funds, USAA and others.
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