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TD Ameritrade vs OptionsHouse in 2012?
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TD Ameritrade vs OptionsHouse: Commissions, Fees and Investments
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- Stocks and ETFs: $9.99
- Stocks and ETFs broker assisted: $49.99
- Stocks and ETFs Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Telephone System: $34.99
- Options: $9.99 plus $0.75 per contract
- No-load mutual funds: $49.99
- Treasuries at auction: $25 flat fee
- All other bonds and CMOs, CDs: on a net yield basis
- Futures: $3.50 per contract (inclusive of exchange fees)
- Investment products: stocks, bonds, mutual funds, options, ETFs, bonds, CDs, UITs, futures and forex
- Minimum to open TD Ameritrade account: $0 for cash account, $2,000 for margin account
- All TD Ameritrade fees
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- Stocks and ETFs: $3.95
- Stocks and ETFs Broker assisted: $3.95
- Two plans for options:
1. Up to five contracts for $5; each additional
contract $1
2. $8.50 + 0.15/contract (great if trading over 10 contracts)
- Two plans for spreads:
1. Up to 10 contracts for $10; each additional
contract $1
2. $12.50 + 0.15/contract
- Mutual Funds: $9.95
- Orders for U.S. treasury bonds and listed corporate bonds are accepted by phone
- Investments: stocks, options, mutual funds, bonds, ETFs
- Minimum to open Optionshouse account: $1,000 for cash account, $2,000 for margin account
- All Optionshouse fees
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- No surcharges on penny stocks, large orders and after-hours trading
- Large and well known company with many local branches
- Very good trading platform
- Free IRA accounts
- No maintenance and inactivity fees
- Free streaming quotes
- Large selection of independent, third-party research (S&P, Morningstar Associates, and ResearchTeamTM)
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- Lowest commissions
- Free streaming quotes
- Efficient trading tools
- No account minimums. Minimum initial funding size is $1,000 for a cash account and $2,000 for a margin account
- No fee IRA accounts
- No volume requirements, maintenance and inactivity fees
- Free check-writing privileges
- Free DRIPs (complete shares only)
- No surcharges for large orders and extended hours trading
- Very low margin rates
- Free virtual trading
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- $9.99 commission for stocks/ETFs and $49 commission for mutual funds are high
- Occasional poor order execution
- The website is sometimes very slow or even down on the high volume days
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- For stocks priced $2 or less that are not options eligible, add $0.005 per share for the entire order
- Shortened extended hours trading: 8:00 am - 9:30 am and 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm EST
- International investors are not accepted
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OptionsHouse vs TD Ameritrade: Comparison Summary
TD Ameritrade (TD Ameritrade Review)
is one of the most recognizable brokerage firms in the country. And this is, probably, the only advantage it has
over Optionshouse (Optionshouse Review).
OptionsHouse offers some of the
lowest stock commissions in the industry:
$3.95 for stocks and ETFs trades versus Ameritrade's $9.95 for the same trades.
OptionsHouse provides a more stable and reliable website. TD Ameritrade's website often becomes slow and unusable on "big market
move" days when trading volume picks up. This is often the time when it's the most crucial for investors to get access to their
brokerage account and execute trades efficiently.
Both companies don't have IRA setup and annual IRA fees, and we rated OptionsHouse as one of the
Best IRA Companies in 2012.
Unlike most online brokers, these firms also don't charge additional commission on large-size and extended hours
orders.
Because of the much lower commissions, which means huge savings in investing costs over the years, and more reliable website,
OptionsHouse is by far better choice for a brokerage account than TD Ameritrade.
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