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Is TD Ameritrade a Scam?
Most people probably know TD Ameritrade. It is one of the most
popular brokers in the U.S. In this article, we will look at whether TD Ameritrade is safe and
a real company and give a short review of them.
TD Ameritrade Company Overview
TD Ameritrade has been around for over 40 years and is one of the biggest brokers in the U.S.
today. TD Ameritrade was also a public company for many years.
According to its website, TD Ameritrade has over
11 million client accounts and over $1 trillion in assets managed. They provide holding services for over 6,000 investment advisors. On average, their clients make over 500,000 trades each day. According to Charles Schwab’s 10-K annual report from last year, TD Ameritrade made over $7 billion in revenue in 2021.
Is TD Ameritrade Legitimate?
As a company in the financial industry and specifically as a broker/dealer, TD Ameritrade is a very highly regulated company. Many regulators oversee TD Ameritrade’s business. The main regulators include the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and state securities regulators.
With so many regulators watching every move TD Ameritrade makes and with how long TD Ameritrade has been in business, it is almost impossible for TD Ameritrade not to run a real operation and be a scam. Besides all its regulators, TD Ameritrade is also registered with the Better Business Bureau.
TD Ameritrade Reviews & Complaints
Any company that has been around for over 40 years and is as large as TD Ameritrade will have some negative reviews and complaints. The good news is that there are several public resources anyone can use to read customer reviews and complaints about them.
TD Ameritrade has been listed with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) since 1980 and
they have an
A rating. They have 427 complaints against them that have been closed in the last three years
(a very small number considering 11 million customers) and
the details of all the complaints are available to the public. They have a 1.14 out of
5-star customer review score, but that is from only 36 customer reviews. Most customers who leave a review are likely the unhappy ones.
Like all brokers, TD Ameritrade has a public profile with FINRA. Their CRD# with FINRA is 7870
and anyone can use this number to view their profile. They have a total of 201 disclosures on
their FINRA profile.
TD Ameritrade Awards & Accolades
TD Ameritrade has won many respected awards in the brokerage industry.
Most recently in 2025, TD Ameritrade was named by Investopedia as
best broker for customer
service, best broker for beginners, and best mobile app. TD Ameritrade was also named by
a major financial magazine as number one in 2025 in six categories including Platforms & Tools,
Desktop Platform, Active Trading, Options Trading, Customer Service, and Phone Support. Additionally,
TD Ameritrade won the 2025 Best Online Broker for Stock Trading
Platform and Research award.
TD Ameritrade has not only won many awards this year in 2025, but they have also been
winning awards for many years before. It would be hard for any fake or scam company to
keep winning awards year after year. TD Ameritrade’s thinkorswim platform has
been the top Desktop Platform for 10 years in a row.
Is TD Ameritrade a Safe Place to Keep Your Money & Investments?
If you have your money with TD Ameritrade or are thinking about moving your money there, you will be glad to know that TD Ameritrade has several layers of insurance and protection to keep your money safe. TD Ameritrade offers Securities Investor Protection Corporation Insurance (SIPC insurance), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Insurance (FDIC insurance), Supplemental Insurance, and an Asset Protection Guarantee.
All investors automatically get TD Ameritrade’s Asset Protection Guarantee. This
guarantee covers any lost cash or securities due to unauthorized actions on your account. As long
as the unauthorized actions were not your fault, TD Ameritrade will pay you back
for your lost money. This guarantee is something not many brokers offer, showing
that TD Ameritrade cares about its clients.
Investors’ money is not insured against market losses, but with SIPC and FDIC insurance,
your money is protected if TD Ameritrade were to go bankrupt or close. The SIPC
insurance protects your cash and securities in a brokerage account up to a total of $500,000, including up to $250,000 in cash. For FDIC insurance, TD Ameritrade offers a special cash account that automatically moves your cash into multiple FDIC-insured bank accounts so you get more coverage than the standard FDIC coverage of $250,000.
If the SIPC and/or FDIC coverage isn’t enough, TD Ameritrade gives each
client extra insurance through London insurers. The extra
insurance covers amounts of cash and securities over the $500,000 SIPC coverage up to a
certain limit for each client and for the company overall.
Is TD Ameritrade a Scam or Legitimate? The Conclusion.
Based on all the information in this article, the final decision is that TD Ameritrade
is definitely not a scam, and they are completely real. If
TD Ameritrade was a scam or not real, it would likely be quickly closed
by one of the many regulators watching them.
TD Ameritrade Complaints
While the broker's advanced desktop platform, thinkorswim,
has received praise for some of its strong points, many customers have complained that it can be more buggy than
other software programs. In a test, it took one minute and 28 seconds to load thinkorswim on Windows 10, while
Schwab's platform took just 43 seconds.
Traders have complained that TD Ameritrade's three separate mobile apps are a bit hard to use, compared to having just one. A thinkorswim app is made for charting and trading. A Mobile Trader version is very similar. A basic app lets you transfer funds, see account statements, and deposit checks from your phone. It would be easier to have all three apps in one. Also, thinkorswim and Mobile Trader offer live streaming of CNBC, but only in standard quality. The Fidelity app, on the other hand, has live streaming of Bloomberg in high definition.
Even though TD Ameritrade is known for its technical tools, it does not have an app for Apple TV. Fidelity traders do have access to this feature.
You can add checking account features to a securities account at TD Ameritrade. However, the broker does not
offer savings accounts. It also does not provide mortgage loans. Merrill Edge brokerage customers have access to both.
The website's charting at TD Ameritrade only has 33 technical studies. By comparison, Ally Invest's web-based graphing software has about 90. Trendlines are available, but the commonly used Fibonacci retracements are not.
While TD Ameritrade does offer margin accounts, its loan rates tend to be high. Currently, a margin
debit of $10,000 or less costs 13.25%.
Robinhood charges just
5.75%.
While broker-assisted trades are available at TD Ameritrade, the firm does charge a high price for them —
$25.
Trading a non-NTF mutual fund at TD Ameritrade costs $49.99 for both selling and buying. By comparison,
WellsTrade customers pay $35 for non-NTF
funds, Firstrade charges $0.
And the last TD Ameritrade complaint: while the broker offers customer service over the phone, it does not have an online chat
service. This is a drawback since several other firms, including Ally Invest and Firstrade, do offer
online customer service.
TD Ameritrade Bullish Signs
Even though TD Ameritrade clients have some complaints, the company offers a lot. For
example:
$0 commission stock and ETF trades. It doesn't get any better!
Customer service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week over the phone. Vanguard does not have 24/7 service, on the other hand. TD Ameritrade clients
can also meet an associate at one of the company's local branches. Currently, there are more than 380 locations throughout the United States.
TD Ameritrade offers one of the best technology selections of any online discount broker. They have
the highest-rated trading platform in the industry - thinkorswim. It has very advanced charting tools and 400
technical studies. thinkorswim, in both desktop and mobile versions, has paper trading capability. Most other
brokers, including Fidelity and Schwab, don't offer this useful feature.
There is no minimum deposit needed to open a brokerage account with TD Ameritrade. This policy lets traders open an account without money and try out the broker's technology. Even better, there are no fees for maintaining or closing an account.
Over 13,000 mutual funds are available to new investors. By comparison,
E*Trade, Schwab, and Merrill Edge offer fewer.
4,200 mutual funds at TD Ameritrade can be traded without paying a commission. This is more than at almost all
other brokers.
Futures and forex are both available at TD Ameritrade. Most other securities brokers don't offer these products.
TD Ameritrade Complaints Summary
Investors at TD Ameritrade mostly complain about the broker's mutual funds fees. But they get a lot of
valuable services in return which other brokers either don't offer or charge extra fees for. TD Ameritrade is a top choice in
the investing world and the price on mutual funds shows the quality.
Updated on 1/16/2025.
Chad Morris is a financial writer with more than 20 years experience
as both an English teacher and an avid trader. When he isn’t writing
expert content for Brokerage-Review.com, Chad can usually be found
managing his portfolio or building a new home computer.
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