Computershare vs TD Ameritrade & Co: Compare Fees
Computershare vs Vanguard & Co: Compare Services
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
Computershare vs Schwab and Other Competitors
Computershare is a stock transfer agent, which means that it holds corporate shareholder records. Publicly held companies usually designate one such
company to transfer stock for them. Unlike a traditional or online broker, there are no fees associated with making trades. However, shareholders are
charged when withdrawing funds. Computershare is not a brokerage and does not have a set fee for the purchase or sale of stock. Purchase and sales fees
are determined by each company individually. Since most online brokers now charge $0 for stock and ETF trades, they are now much cheaper than a transfer agent. See Differences between brokerage and transfer agent
article for more info.
While customers could only invest in stocks with Computershare, with most brokerage firms they could also buy and sell mutual funds, exchange traded funds, options, bonds and other investments.
All Computershare competitors in this review — TD Ameritrade, Etrade, Merrill Edge, and Vanguard — are the household names, the largest discount brokerage houses in the U.S.
These companies are very popular among all investors — from beginners to institutions.
Customer Service
Merrill Edge, E*Trade, and TD Ameritrade all have customer service associates available over the phone 24/7. The Merrill Edge and E*Trade websites also have on-line chat.
Merrill Edge has representatives who speak Chinese, while TD Ameritrade has agents who speak Chinese and Spanish. E*Trade has 30 branch locations for clients who want
in-person service. TD Ameritrade has the most local offices: more than 450.
Vanguard is the lone firm not to offer customer service around the clock. The Vanguard website doesn't have on-line chat. The broker also doesn't offer any service on
Saturday and Sunday, nor does it have a network of branch locations.
Mutual and Exchange-traded Funds
Merrill Edge provides clients with 800 no-transaction-fee funds. It has a total of just under 5,000 mutual funds. Transaction fee funds
cost $19.95 per trade. $39.95 will be charged if NTF fund is sold in less than 90 days after purchase.
The E*Trade website has more total mutual funds (7,500), although the broker offers fewer with no load and no transaction fee (around 4,200). Investors pay $19.99 for any transaction of a fund outside the NTF category.
Vanguard clients can trade more than 16,000 mutual funds. Of these, about 2,400 carry no load and no transaction fee. The broker's customers pay $35 for funds with a transaction fee, although large accounts receive lower rates. The fee is charged to all transactions.
The TD Ameritrade mutual fund screener displays 13,000+ products. Roughly 4,200 carry no transaction fee and no load. The broker's charge for transaction-fee funds is
$49.99.
ETF's are available at firms, except Computershare, without commission.
Cash Management Features
TD Ameritrade clients can get checks and a debit card at no cost. ATM fees incurred while using the card are refunded by the broker. FDIC insurance is available on cash balances. In fact, TD Ameritrade customers receive double the standard $250,000 protection because two FDIC-insured banks are used for the cash sweep option.
FDIC insurance is also available with a checking or savings account with Merrill Edge. However, only the normal amount of protection is available.
Vanguard also offers checks and a debit card for its brokerage clients. However, investors must have at least half a million dollars in securities to apply for banking features. Even worse, use of the checks and debit card come with fees for accounts with less than a million dollars in assets.
Investors at E*Trade have two different checking account options. One of them has no minimum balance requirement, while the other has a $5,000 requirement. The second account receives free ATM rebates.
Trading Tools
Merrill Edge clients have access to a nicely-designed website. Trades can be made within the browser that also has a useful trade ticket
at the bottom called TradeBar. The broker also offers an advanced platform called MarketPro®. However, it requires 15 trades every 3 months
or assets of at least $50,000 across all Merrill Edge and Bank of America accounts.
A much better trade bar is on TD Ameritrade's website. It can show a small chart, and orders can be submitted on it. Two desktop platforms are available with no active
trader requirement. One of them has very advanced charting tools. There is a TD Ameritrade app for Apple Watch, along with three different mobile apps, two of which
stream CNBC free of charge.
The E*Trade website is also easy to navigate. However, it doesn't have a trade bar. Frequent traders receive access to the firm's desktop trading software, which includes free streaming of CNBC. The broker has a platform for Apple Watch. Live streaming of CNBC can be viewed by active traders on the E*Trade mobile app.
Of the four brokers in our survey, Vanguard has the hardest website to navigate. There is no trade bar, and the firm does not have an app for any smartphone. Vanguard also does not offer a desktop platform. It does offer a mobile app, but it's not as advanced as the other three.
Beginner Investors: TD Ameritrade and Etrade.
IRA accounts: all brokers, except Computershare.
Stocks/ETFs Traders: TD Ameritrade.
Options Traders: TD Ameritrade.
Long Term, Inactive Investors: all brokers, except Computershare.
Mutual Funds Investors: TD Ameritrade and Vanguard.
TD Ameritrade: $0 commissions + transfer fee reimbursement.
Open TD Ameritrade Account
Etrade:
Get zero commission on stock and ETF trades.
Open Etrade Account
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