Overview of tastyworks and Charles Schwab
Which broker-dealer should you choose, tastyworks or Schwab? tastyworks promotes its crypto, options and
futures trading, while Schwab offers banking products and investment advice.
Cost
| Broker Fees |
Stock/ETF
Commission |
Mutual Fund
Commission |
Options
Commission |
Maintenance
Fee |
Annual IRA
Fee |
|
Charles Schwab
|
$0
|
$49.95
|
$0.65 per contract
|
$0
|
$0
|
|
Tastyworks
|
$0
|
na
|
$0.50 per contract
|
$0
|
$0
|
Services
Promotions
Charles Schwab: Get commission-free online stock trades.
tastyworks:
$0 commissions on stocks/ETFs + $75 for each friend referred.
Schwab Pros and Cons
Schwab boasts these advantages:
- Excellent software
- Full-service firm with many products
- 24/7 customer service
- Access to foreign markets
Disadvantages include the following:
- Web-based trade bar has no trading functionality
- Robo service has a conflict of interest
tastyworks Pros and Cons
tastyworks customers get the following pros:
- Multiple software platforms with graphical trading modes
- Good commission schedule on multi-contract option trades
But tastyworks has these cons:
- Many widgets are missing on the broker’s platforms
- Limited selection of retirement accounts
- No international trading
First Category: Tradable Assets
tastyworks provides trading in these investment vehicles:
- Equities
- Futures
- Option contracts
- Options on futures
- Closed-end and exchange-traded funds
- Crypto-currencies
tastyworks clients can’t trade over-the-counter assets or foreign stocks. But at Schwab, both of
these are available. Moreover, the brokerage firm offers mutual funds and bonds, both of which are
missing in action at tastyworks. All of the assets on tasty’s list are available at Schwab as well...
except one — crypto-currencies.
Winner: Schwab
Second Category: Computer Platforms
tastyworks has a website login, a browser platform, and a desktop program. Only the latter two provide actual trading capability. The website is used for account management, and the number of features is small.
The browser system is launched from the website; it offers a trading ticket with four order types and three time-in-force choices. Charting is pretty horrendous with no full-screen mode and only 52 weeks of price history.
Charting improves somewhat on tastyworks’ desktop platform. Now we have technical indicators (about 100 of them), four graph styles, and several drawing tools. A chart cannot quite be extended the full width of the monitor. A similar order ticket appears on the desktop platform as well.
Moving to Schwab, we get the same three platforms: website, browser, and desktop. However, it’s possible to trade on the broker’s website. There is a trade bar; but strangely, orders cannot be submitted on it.
Schwab’s browser platform delivers very good charting with full-screen graphs and more than 10 display choices. Multiple charts can be displayed in multiple windows, a great feature not available on tasty’s software. Another great feature is advanced orders like contingent orders, also missing at tasty.
Finally, we get Schwab’s desktop platform StreetSmart Edge. It offers more great charting and an advanced order ticket.
Winner: Schwab
Third Category: Mobile Apps
Mobile apps are available at both firms for customers who are on the go. Schwab actually has two of them. tastyworks has just one, and charting is terrible.
Schwab’s apps by far have better charting tools. Plus, users can access free stock reports in pdf format. To top it off, Schwab’s app has mobile check deposit, free bill pay, and mutual fund trading.
Winner: Schwab
Fourth Category: Options and Futures Trading
Both broker-dealers in this survey offer trading in options, futures, and options on futures. On StreetSmart Edge, Schwab offers 24 pre-installed strategies plus a create-your-own option. Beneath the multi-leg order is a very good profit-loss diagram that makes seeing in graphical form a trade’s potential quite easy.
Futures can be traded on the browser system, and there are some research tools there, too.
tastyworks clients can trade options and futures on all three of the company’s platforms. We counted 10 pre-installed option strategies. A unique feature tasty offers is graphical-mode trading. Instead of looking over bid and ask prices in a table format, you can look at a bell curve with standard deviation marks showing probabilities of loss and gain.
Winner: Draw
Fifth Category: Day Trading and Swing Trading
Shorting. On tasty’s desktop platform, a stock or ETF that is hard to borrow will have this noted on its profile. But there is no short locate tool in the software. The same is true for Schwab.
Extended Hours. Both tastyworks and Schwab offer pre-market and extended-hours trading. In both cases, Schwab has lengthier sessions.
Level II Quotes. Only Schwab offers these.
Direct-Access Routing. Schwab’s desktop software offers two routes (ARCA and Nasdaq). tastyworks offers none.
Routing Fees and Rebates. Not available at either firm.
Margin. Trading with borrowed funds is available at both Schwab and tastyworks; the latter
firm has lower rates: 8% vs 8.325%
Winner: Schwab
Sixth Category: Miscellaneous Services
Dividend Reinvestment Program: Both Schwab and tastyworks offer dividend reinvesting services.
IRAs: Both brokers offer Individual Retirement Accounts.
Automatic Mutual Fund Investing: Schwab, but not tasty, offers recurring investments into mutual funds.
Winner: Schwab
Finally, Our Recommendations
Stock/ETF Trading: Schwab gets our endorsement. It has much better ETF research materials. Plus, its trading platforms are better.
Beginners: Schwab’s round-the-clock customer service and branch locations make it a prime choice for new traders. Furthermore, its educational materials, including very good educational magazine On Investing, give it the edge over tastyworks and tastytrade.
Long-Term Investors and Retirement Savers: Schwab has more IRA types than tasty; plus, it has a solo 401k plan. Moreover, only Schwab offers financial planning services. Easy pick.
Small Accounts: tastyworks and Schwab both have zero account fees and zero minimums.
Promotions
Charles Schwab: Get commission-free online stock trades.
tastyworks:
$0 commissions on stocks/ETFs + $75 for each friend referred.
Charles Schwab vs tastyworks Verdict
tastyworks has a unique style of broking services, but they just don’t measure up to the
heavyweight Schwab. However, anyone who wants to easily see what
professional traders are currently buying and selling and, perhaps, follow them, will find
tastyworks very valuable. Crypto and options traders should also check out tasty.
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