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, and Ally Invest.
So how does it compare to its biggest rivals? Let's take a look.
No-cost Mutual Funds and ETFs
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 ETFs 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 ETFs could be traded with $0 commission.
Schwab and Competitors Costs
Ally Invest is the best priced brokerage firm among Schwab competitors.
Schwab and Competitors Services
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. Chart comparisons can be made to stocks,
ETF's, and commodities, which is rare. Graph styles include OHLC bars, mountain, 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 Cantonese, Spanish, or Mandarin. The brokerage has more
than 450 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 is considered the best in the market.
Ally's website is very easy to use and a pleasure to work with. Ally Invest LIVE is an easy-to-use
browser-based trading platform that is free for all customers. There is a handy 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 Android, iPhone, iPad, and mobile web. The interface is user friendly and
intuitive. Users can transfer funds between Schwab and
non-Schwab accounts, place trades, make a mobile check deposit, and contact customer representative.
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 Ally Bank mobile app, which also has investment functions. It can
be used to make trades for stocks, ETFs, 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, Charles 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.
Ally Invest:
Up to $3,000 cash bonus + $0 commission trades.
Open Ally Invest Account
TD Ameritrade: $0 commissions + transfer fee reimbursement.
Open TD Ameritrade Account
Charles Schwab: Get commission-free online stock trades.
Open Schwab Account
Fidelity: Get $0 stock commissions.
Open Fidelity Account
Updated on 5/2/2022.
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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