TIAA Investing Review
Highlights:
- TIAA offers investment services through both managed and brokerage accounts.
- Trading software at TIAA is fairly basic.
- Banking-style features are available at TIAA, although some come with added costs.
TIAA offers a wide selection of financial-planning, cash-management, and investing services. At the same time, there are several drawbacks, so it makes sense to look closely before opening an account.
TIAA Trading and Investing
Through its brokerage and advisory divisions, TIAA gives investors access to a range of asset classes that includes:
- Mutual funds
- Exchange-traded funds
- Closed-end funds
- Stocks above $1 in market price
- Bonds and other fixed-income investments, such as CDs
- Options
- Annuities
A brokerage account can be opened online in just a few minutes. A managed account, by contrast, requires working with an advisor, although that does not necessarily mean an in-person branch visit because TIAA also offers phone and virtual consultations. Managed accounts come with financial planning and investment guidance, which can be valuable for investors who want extra help.
An account in either the brokerage or advisory program can be opened under many different registrations and tax treatments. Choices include custodial, estate, joint, individual, trust, retirement, and more. TIAA’s current brokerage FAQs also list Minor IRA, Inherited IRA, SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA, and most types of trusts and estates among the available registrations.
Banking
TIAA used to operate TIAA Bank. That business now operates as EverBank, and TIAA says it still maintains an ongoing business relationship with EverBank after the sale.
Investment accounts still use sweep arrangements for uninvested cash. Current TIAA materials show that EverBank remains part of the sweep setup, and managed-account disclosures also describe overflow arrangements through insured deposit programs when balances exceed certain limits.
A TIAA brokerage account with at least $10,000 can add checkwriting and, at higher tiers, a debit card through the Cash Solutions Account program. The account must also be open and funded for at least 30 days.
Custodial accounts aren’t eligible for the debit card. IRAs can apply for Resource Checking, which adds checkwriting privileges to the account.
Fees and Minimums
TIAA does charge fees and impose minimums on some of its services, and some of them are on the high side. For example, adding checks and a debit card to a brokerage account through the Gold Cash Solutions tier costs $95 per year, while the Platinum level costs $145. There is also a lower Silver tier at $25 per year for checks only.
Advisory accounts come with management fees that can range from 1.15% down to 0.60% under TIAA’s Portfolio Advisor blended fee schedule. The minimum investment for the program is currently $25,000, although higher minimums can apply in some specialized arrangements.
Brokerage accounts have no minimum opening deposit, and commissions are zero in many situations. Stocks, options, and ETFs can be traded online with no commission. Placing a trade over the phone costs $55, plus $2.50 per contract for options.
Treasuries at auction cost $50, which is steep. On the secondary market, the charge is $1 per $1,000 of face value with a $50 minimum. Some mutual funds cost $50 per trade as well, although this falls to $35 for clients who receive a financial planning solution from a wealth management advisor.
Mobile App
The first software platform TIAA offers is its mobile app. Compatible with both Android and Apple phones and tablets, the app uses a simple layout without many advanced tools.
Watchlists are included, and it’s easy to tap on an item to open its profile. Unfortunately, stock profiles still don’t have a great deal of information. We found basic trading details, such as 52-week low and P/E ratio. Charts don’t have tools, and there is no horizontal view.
Tapping the blue trade button opens the order ticket, which offers four order types: market, limit, stop, and stop limit. There are also four duration choices: day, 90 days, fill or kill, and immediate or cancel.
The app does include a document-upload feature, which could be useful later. To find it, tap the Profile tab in the bottom menu and then use the folder icon in the upper-right corner.
Website
On the website, the experience is noticeably better. Charts do include tools, and we found technical indicators, company events, and comparisons. There are five plot styles, and it’s easy to move among them.
This time, an alert can be created for a security by using the Set Alert button near the top of the profile. Several triggers are available. Although the site offers multiple watchlists, they still do not sync with the mobile app.
To look for investments, TIAA’s website has a variety of search tools. A stock screener can search for upside and downside potential using many data points, including:
- Return on investment (TTM)
- Current ratio
- Net income growth (5 yr)
- % below 52-week high
- Institutional shares held
- Price change (1 month)
The order ticket on the website is the same one found on the app, but the research resources are stronger. For example, the Financials tab on a stock profile contains a lot of balance-sheet, income-statement, and cash-flow data, and some of it is displayed in bar-chart form.
TIAA also provides analyst recommendations and downloadable stock reports, plus earnings-growth trends and peer comparisons.
Option chains are available for stocks that support them, although only calls and puts are shown; there are no built-in spread tools.
Although the site provides much more research and screening than the app, we found it somewhat slow during our review.
Other Software
TIAA has no other digital trading tools, such as a desktop program or web-browser trading platform. The firm does have Apple Watch support through its app.
Additional Features
Individual Retirement Accounts: Business and personal IRAs are available (with a $130 termination fee).
Fractional Shares: TIAA brokerage customers can now place stock and ETF orders in whole dollars (starting at $25).
Automatic Mutual Fund Purchases: On the buy side, it’s possible to establish a recurring investment schedule.
DRIP: Dividends can be set to automatically reinvest in a TIAA account.
Initial Public Offerings: There is no IPO service. Orders for a security cannot be submitted online on or before its first trading day; those orders must go through TIAA Brokerage by phone.
Extended-hours Trading: TIAA offers trading only in the regular day session. Current TIAA brokerage FAQs list stock market trading hours as 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, and orders entered while the market is closed are held pending for the next trading session.
Fully-paid Securities Lending Program: Missing in action.
Our Recommendations
Mutual Funds: A brokerage account at TIAA does come with decent mutual-fund resources. Using
the TIAA mutual-fund screener, we found a large menu of mutual funds, including many that are open to new investors.
Small Accounts: A taxable brokerage account at TIAA has neither an opening minimum nor a closeout fee.
For retirement accounts, we would look elsewhere. With fractional-share trading, TIAA offers small accounts a decent service, although some firms still have lower minimum trade amounts.
Beginning Investors: A managed account with a financial planner could work well.
ETF/Stock Trading: With only basic software and no foreign exchanges or penny stocks, we
would skip TIAA and head to Charles Schwab.
Retirement Planning & Long-Term Investing: TIAA clearly puts a lot of emphasis on retirement.
However, its IRA closeout fee pushes us toward Charles Schwab instead.
TIAA Brokerage Review Conclusion
Although TIAA offers many financial services, several of them fall short of what competitors provide, and the firm’s pricing is not always attractive, either.
Updated on 3/26/2026.
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.
|