Ameritrade - No Bull Website
Written: Aug 21 '03 (Updated Aug 25 '03)
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Pros: Site is extremely dependable, Extended hours trading available, $10.99 transaction fees
Cons: $15 quarterly minimum balance fee for accounts under $2000
The Bottom Line: As a member at both Scottrade.com and Ameritrade.com this is without a doubt the better of the two. No site downtime during trading hours. Extended hours trading available.
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| michiman1's Full Review: Ameritrade |
My original signup was with Datek.com in October of 2000. My relationship with Ameritrade initially began when the two merged earlier this year. I cannot imagine ever needing the services of a broker again but should he need arise, one is a simple phone call away once your membership has been opened.
Ameritrade Advantages
•Free Ameritrade Streamer™ - Ameritrade's Streamer® gives you continuous, real-time stock and option quotes. This feature is easy to use and customizable. Members are able to get last sale information, most active stock lists, customizable alerts, a streaming trade trend and real-time, unrealized gains/losses on your positions and Stock lists which easily link to pre-populated trade tickets, charts, or your daily activity.
•Ameritrade Value - all internet equity trades are just $10.99 for unlimited shares, including stop and limit orders. This may not be the case for many of the competitors. At first glance, my Scottrade account seems the better way to trade with $7.00 commissions. Unfortunately, most of my trades are limit orders which are charged a $12.00 fee at Scottrade.
•Free Unlimited Real-time Quotes - Customers may gain access to unlimited, free real-time quotes via the quotes page on the website. Quotes are also available on the Interactive Voice Response(IVR) telephone system, or by contacting an Ameritrade broker.
•Interactive Charts - Users are able to create charts ranging from one day to complete "all data" histories varying frequencies from one minute to yearly time periods. The interactive charts are clear and concise with a wide range of customizable features.
•Ameritrade Investment Tools - In addition to the free real-time quotes and customizable interactive charts, users will find available up-to-the-minute market summaries for the Nasdaq®, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and S&P 500™, as well as an assortment of additional research tools. Use Business Wire™, PR Newswire® and CBS MarketWatch to easily research company profiles and earnings estimates.
•Island ECN® Viewer access - enables users to display limit orders for stocks and other securities that have been routed to Island ECN®. Island ECN® which is a matching service to over 800 broker-dealers and institutional trading customers account for nearly one out of every seven Nasdaq trades. Most, if not every, Nasdaq trade I have personally made were routed to Island ECN® for execution. The Island ECN® Viewer offers a real-time look at your open orders. Using the viewer in tandem with Ameritrade Streamer™, users can easily track trade execution.
•Site Dependability and Extended Hour Trading - Using a time sensitive site such as this, one of the first things a new trader should consider is site speed and page load times. I generally use a 56K dialup connection to access my account. Page loads are consistently as quick as any site I have used on the web. In nearly three years of daily access to the site, I have never had site difficulties block execution of any trade. The same cannot be said for Scottrade where site problems blocked execution on several instances. Rare occasions of site downtime have occurred but in each case this was done during weekend hours with ample notice.
I also am comfortable knowing extended hours trading is available should the need arise. I have traded during the extended hours time period, this is no longer available on the Scottrade website.
No Complaints?
The only frustration I have ever experienced with Ameritrade stems from the approximate two minute wait to load the Ameritrade Streamer™. This slow load is only noticed upon opening your streamer page the first time during each session. Once the Ameritrade Streamer™ is loaded, quotes and information continue on a real time basis without the least problem. This is a non-issue if you are accessing via a network connection.
My only other disappointment arose when Ameritrade instituted the $15 quarterly maintenance fee described below. There are sites available that have no minimum fees such as Scottrade.com(which I also own an account) but be aware that trade-offs do exist.
Basic Fees - Equities, Options, Bonds
Account Minimum Balance Fee
Ameritrade does charge a quarterly account maintenance fee for accounts open for more than six months, with a total liquidation value below $2,000. Customers with account balances fall below this amount will be charged $15. All IRA and Beneficiary accounts as well as those with at least four executed trades in the previous six months will be excluded from this fee.
Stocks
Trade Unlimited Shares Price
•Internet $10.99
•Interactive Voice Response(IVR) Phone System $14.99
•Broker-assisted $24.99 (Market orders)
•Broker-assisted $29.99 (Limit orders)
Mutual Funds
•No Load - $17.99 Buy $17.99 Sell $17.99 Exchange
•Load - No Fee Buy $17.99 Sell $17.99 Exchange
Options*
•Internet $10.99 + $1.50 per contract
•Interactive Voice Response(IVR) Telephone System $14.99 + $1.50 per contract
•Broker-assisted $24.99 + $1.50 per contract (Market orders)
•Broker-assisted $29.99 + $1.50 per contract (Limit orders)
Option exercises and assignments - $29.99 commission.
Bonds
1 - 50 Bonds $5 per Bond**
50+ Bonds $2.50 per Bond**
•Treasuries at Auction $25 Flat Fee
**Minimum commission is $40
See the website for a full disclosure of additional fees traders may encounter.
Final Thoughts and Recommendations
As a regular user of this site since October of 2000, I have to recommend this site for a number of reasons. Honest and fair commission prices, site dependability, knowledgeable support personnel, Ameritrade Streamer™, abundance of research tools and information, clear and easy to use interactive charts and available extended hours trading are all reasons for considering using this service. While any number of these features are reason enough, the fact they are all included at no cost makes Ameritrade a smart choice.
Recommended:
Yes
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