TD Ameritrade IRA Overview
In addition to research tools and commission-free stocks, ETFs, and funds, TD Ameritrade also provides good services for Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). Throw in advanced trading technology at no cost, and this broker is a good choice for retirement savers.
TD Ameritrade IRA Account Types
TD Ameritrade offers several varieties of IRA’s. Investors can open a Traditional, ROTH, Rollover,
Minor, Minor ROTH, SEP, or SIMPLE IRA. A Traditional IRA was created for savers who will be in a
lower tax bracket in retirement, whereas the ROTH is designed for investors who are in a lower tax
bracket while working.
The Rollover IRA is a retirement account that has been transferred from a previous employer's plan. The Minor IRA was created so that parents could create a retirement account for their children. Talk about starting early for retirement! The SEP IRA was created for sole proprietorships, partnerships, non-profits, self-employed persons, and corporate employers. A SIMPLE account is designed for small businesses with less than 100 workers.
TD Ameritrade has retirement consultants who are able to help clients transfer, rollover, or open a new IRA.
TD Ameritrade IRA Fees
There are no account fees at TD Ameritrade ROTH IRA. This includes inactivity, maintenance, setup and termination.
TD Ameritrade Trading Tools
TD Ameritrade now owns Thinkorswim (TOS) trading platform (read Thinkorswim review).
TOS was a relatively small player in the field but had a dedicated following of futures and stocks
traders that had discovered a trading platform that was almost without equal.
Even Interactive Brokers, a very popular broker for professional traders, does not offer the kind of trading software that TOS had created, and so in a bold move TD Ameritrade acquired the company and its technology to compliment its offerings.
The IRA investor has full access to the TOS trading platform which downloads as an application on to one’s computer and can be open and running 24 hours a day. TOS is the closest most investors will get to the experience of trading directly on an exchange, and it was indeed developed to accommodate the fast paced world of electronic futures trading.
There is no way to detail all the capacities of this smooth functioning and feature rich software program, and its ability to visually capture second by second price movements across stock and futures exchanges. Suffice to say that it can satisfy any trader’s technology needs, and is continually updated and improved each month. There are system requirements to download the software, and those with older operating systems may need an upgrade to run the powerful platform.
The only downside to TOS is that the display is so full of data sets and various trading signals that it is addictive and hard to walk away from during trading hours. Many full time traders use it, but its intuitive functions are easy to learn for anyone. As a word of caution, there is a tendency to overtrade using the platform, as it resembles an unreal investing video game, easily generating trading commissions for TD, and potentially depleting the IRA account. It is also available as a mobile application for popular handheld devices.
For those who are not interested in the Ferrari of trading platforms, TD offers a web-based Ford version that works perfectly well. Recent enhancements improved some glitches around awkward scrolling and slow response time, so that for the casual investor it makes for a fine substitute. There are charting displays, account profit and loss calculators and the ability to initiate trades by moving one’s mouse over a symbol on the customized watch list. Most IRA investors would find that it is adequate for occasional trading and monitoring prices and account value, with a real time data stream during normal market hours.
Open TD Ameritrade IRA
Open TD Ameritrade Account
TD Ameritrade IRAs
TD Ameritrade is one of the five most recognizable and largest discount online brokers in the United States.
For the serious investor that requires a brokerage account with sophisticated customer support and technology-based trading tools, the TD Ameritrade IRA is
an excellent selection. The array of trading tools and educational formats make a TD IRA worth
the money.
Most stocks and ETFs can be bought and sold for a flat fee of $0 for an unlimited number of shares per
trade. The pricing does not change according to account
balance or trading frequency. The price for broker-assisted trades is $25 per trade for those who would like help selecting the right instrument at the
optimal price.
TD Ameritrade offers over 4,200 no-transaction fee (NTF, free to buy and sell) mutual funds. Unlike
many other brokerage firms, TD Ameritrade does not levy surcharges on large orders, penny stocks, or
extended-hours trading. It also does not charge for its cutting-edge trading platforms, top
independent third-party investment research, or market data. IRA account can be opened with no
initial deposit - $0 down.
If one is more independent there are no lack of research or educational tools available on the website, for all kinds of strategies using stocks, bonds,
and mutual funds. With their affiliated Investools site they offer online courses and live webinars on almost any topic imaginable related to investing,
as well as one-on-one coaching and trading chat rooms for exchange of information. All of these features make TD attractive to both beginning and advanced
investors, but where this broker really shines are the online platforms available for the active trader.
TD Ameritrade IRAs don't have account setup, annual, maintenance, or inactivity fees. The firm doesn't even charge IRA termination fee that
majority of online brokers charge. In fact, you'll never be charged IRA account fees.
Awards
TD Ameritrade IRA Summary
Investors saving for retirement have a lot of resources at TD Ameritrade. Add in 24/7 customer
service, more than 450 local branches, and great selection of products, and this broker is
hard to beat for retirement planning.
Open TD Ameritrade IRA
Open TD Ameritrade Account
Arthur Chachuna is professional personal finance blogger, and the owner of Brokerage-Review.com.
He has been an avid investor for 23 years, and has background in both applied math and programming.
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