Charles Schwab Competitors Overview
Charles Schwab is a leading discount broker, offering its clients a variety of financial products and trading
tools. But Charles Schwab has strong competitors in TD Ameritrade, Fidelity, Charles Schwab and Ally Invest.
So how does it compare to its biggest rivals? Let's take a look.
No-cost Mutual Funds and ETF's
Schwab offers its clients access to more than 3,500 OneSource mutual funds, which carry no loads and no
transaction fees. Furthermore, customers have access to all ETF’s commission-free.
In comparison, TD Ameritrade has access to more than 13,000 mutual funds, of which over 4,200 carry no
transaction fee and no load. This broker also offers all ETF's commission-free.
Fidelity offers over 10,000 mutual funds, 3,375 of which have no transaction fee, and many of those have no
load. Furthermore, traders have access to all ETF’s commission-free.
The Ally Invest mutual fund screener returns 12,000+ securities that are open to new investors. From this group,
there are 2,672 funds that have no load. All ETF's could be traded with $0 commission.
Schwab and Competitors Costs
Ally Invest is clearly the best priced brokerage firm in this comparison.
Research
Schwab offers in-depth research for stocks, ETF’s, and mutual funds. Customers have access to free stock reports from Morningstar, S&P Capital IQ, Thomson Reuters, Credit
Suisse, and others. Fidelity also has a plethora of research tools with good-quality reports from independent providers.
TD Ameritrade has the best selection of independent, third-party investment research from 13 firms (Standard & Poor's, Morningstar, Jaywalk, TheStreet, etc.)
Ally Invest website boasts some pretty good charting. Upper and lower technical indicators can be added to a chart, along with company events, such as splits, earnings,
and dividends. Comparisons can be made to stocks, indexes, and commodities, a rare feature. Graph styles include mountain, OHLC bars, and candlesticks.
Customer Service
Schwab customer service can be contacted via an on-line chat system, phone, fax, or e-mail. The phone service is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and the reps
have a history of being trained and actually knowing what they’re talking about.
Ally offers customer service 7am-10pm ET, 7 days a week over the phone. Broker also has associates who can be reached through an on-line chat function.
TD Ameritrade has phone service staffed 24/7. Representatives are available certain hours of the day who speak Spanish, Cantonese, or Mandarin. The brokerage has more
than 600 brick-and-mortar branches located across the United States for old school investors who want more personal investment assistance.
Fidelity can be contacted via an on-line chat system or phone. The phone service is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The chat
service is on-line from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm EST.
Trading Tools
Schwab's website is easy to navigate. A basic trade bar is able to display a chart, although it can't place a trade. The broker also provides a sophisticated desktop
platform. It only requires a $1,000 account balance. There is an app for Apple Watch, and the broker has a mobile app that streams CNBC news at no charge.
TD Ameritrade offers several different platforms, all with free Level II quotes. First is the standard web site, which is user friendly. Next is
Trade Architect, a Java-based platform launched from the web site. Finally, there is
Thinkorswim. This platform is a stand-alone program. It offers stock analysis, market
news, account info, and order entry. All platforms are free to use with no frequent trader requirement.
Ally's website is very easy to use and a pleasure to work with. Ally Invest LIVE is a simple browser-based trading system that is free for all clients. There is a trade
ticket at the bottom of broker’s investment site.
Fidelity's website is also easy to navigate. The site has a trade ticket for quick order entry. Frequent traders can use an advanced platform. Fidelity recently
announced an app for Apple TV.
Mobile Trading
Schwab has applications for iPhone, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire, and mobile web. The interface is intuitive and user friendly. Users can transfer funds between Schwab and
non-Schwab accounts, make a mobile check deposit, place trades, pay bills, and contact customer service.
Charles Schwab's competitors also offer mobile trading platforms. Fidelity has an app for Windows 8, certainly an advantage for some customers. TD Ameritrade offers mix of
three different mobile apps for investors with every experience level: beginners, advanced investors,
and day traders.
Ally Invest customers can use the regular Ally mobile app, which now has investment functions. It can be used to place trades for equities and options. Limited market
news is available. A charting feature can show price histories of stocks along with technical studies and comparisons. Option chains are on the app as well.
Schwab's Pros and Cons
Compared to competitors, Schwab has the second best (after TD Ameritrade) offering of mutual funds with no
load and no transaction fees. Its mobile platform is very good compared to its rivals. Its selection of physical branches is
attractive for customers who want some extra financial guidance, though there are fewer of them than at TD Ameritrade. StreetSmart
Edge is the second best (after TD Ameritrade's thinkorswim) trading platform of the four brokers surveyed.
Schwab faired less well on pricing, being undercut by Ally Invest. It's mid-range trading platform, StreetSmart.com, also
performed less well than its competitors.
Beginner Investors: we recommend TD Ameritrade, Ally Invest and Schwab.
IRA accounts: all four brokers.
Stocks/ETFs Traders: TD Ameritrade and Ally Invest.
Options Traders: Ally Invest.
Long Term, Inactive Investors: all four brokers.
Mutual Funds Investors: all four brokers.
TD Ameritrade: Trade stocks and ETFs for free + get up to $600 bonus.
Open TD Ameritrade Account
Ally Invest:
Up to $3,500 cash bonus + $0 commission trades.
Open Ally Invest Account
Charles Schwab: Make $100,000 deposit and get 500 commission-free online equity and options trades.
Open Schwab Account
Fidelity Investments: Get 500 free trades with $100,000+ deposit.
Open Fidelity Account
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