Overview/ background
TD Ameritrade was established 40 years ago, as a financial epicentre for helping clients to realize their financial objectives. All client representatives are fully licensed, and experienced professionals. They provide expert insights into the Forex markets, on a wide range of major pairs, minor pairs, and exotic currency pairs. The company prides itself in direct communication with clientele, by way of in-person support, one-on-one telephone support, live chat functionality, and email. All quotes on the trading platforms are connected to CNBC real-time data, so you’re always trading Forex with the most up-to-date information.
The educational tools and resources provided by TD Ameritrade are second to none, thanks to innovative audio-visual content from professional traders. The research insights into Forex trading activity are provided courtesy of TheStreet, CFRA, MorningStar® and others. This ensures credible, reliable, and trusted information against which you can formulate your own trading decisions. TD Ameritrade now sports an impressive 360+ branches across the United States – a testament to the company’s success and growth potential.
Account Types
There are several account types that traders have access to at TD Ameritrade. These include a Standard Account, a Retirement Account, Education Accounts, Specialty Accounts, Managed Portfolios, and Margin Trading Accounts. Within each of these account category types are many different accounts designed for your trading preferences.
For example, the following flexible options are available with standard accounts:
- Individual accounts, joint tenants with rights of survivorship, tenants in common, community property, tenants by the entireties, guardianship or conservatorship
Retirement accounts also offer tremendous flexibility, including the following options:
- Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, rollover IRAs, SEP IRAs, solo 401(k) for small businesses, simple IRA, pension or profit plan
Education accounts are designed to help clients seeking an education, and benefiting from tax savings:
- There are 529 plans, Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, and Custodial Uniform Gift to Minors Act/Uniform Transfer to Minors Act
Specialty accounts are geared towards investment clubs and small businesses, trusts and limited partnerships. The following account types are available:
- Small business plans, and unincorporated accounts, corporate accounts, limited liability accounts, sole proprietorships, partnerships, investment clubs, trusts, and limited partnerships.
Forex traders will enjoy margin trading accounts with huge ROI potential on the initial investment. These include a wide range of options for Forex traders.
Trading Platform/ software
Several trading platforms are currently available at TD Ameritrade, including the following: Web Platform, Think or Swim, and Mobile. The Web Platform is geared towards experienced fundamental investors, and includes a fully personalized workspace, alerts, trading tools and resources. The Think or Swim trading platform is regarded as the most sophisticated trading platform currently available at TD Ameritrade.
There are a high number of research and analysis tools, including strategy execution, sophisticated resources geared towards uncovering profitable opportunities and more. The mobile trading platform can be accessed through all compatible mobile devices, and features streaming market insights. It is designed for traders on the go and mobile investors. It is an ideal way to navigate the Forex markets.
The Think or Swim trading platform has the widest range of features including alerts, personalized workspace, screeners, and streaming market commentary. The Web Platform offers all benefits sans streaming market commentary, and the Mobile Platform offers all benefits except for screeners. In terms of advanced features, Think or Swim is the most sophisticated trading platform available at TD Ameritrade.
It includes back testing, conditional orders, level 2 quotes, streaming CNBC, streaming Dow Jones news, visual position profit/loss analysis, Strategy Roller™ and paper trading. The Think or Swim platform is also the premier idea generation platform with heat maps for markets and options, third-party research, and community trading. The mobile platform is ideal for browser-based or web-based trading and desktop installation is required. Think or Swim requires desktop installation, and the Web Platform is a web or browser-based platform only.
Deposit options
Forex traders will be able to deposit money into their accounts after they have completed the registration form, entered their Social Security number or individual taxpayer identification number. A foreign tax ID, visa number for non-residents, or a passport is needed. The 5-step application process requires providing details of the specific account types you would like to open, and agreeing to the privacy statement and information contained therein. Once you have completed all the necessary steps, you can proceed to the deposit section to transfer money into your trading account.
The following banking options are available: Electronic bank deposits with a minimum contribution of $50 and a maximum contribution of $250,000. The standard completion time ranges from 30 minutes – 3 business days. Other options include wire transfers with no limits on contributions and completion times within 1 business day. Checks also have no contribution limits and can be completed within 1 – 3 business days. It is also possible for clients to use external securities transfers which take approximately one week to complete. Physical stock certificates can also be deposited into your TD Ameritrade account and there are no contribution limits. These need to be mailed in and contact 1 business day.
Markets
The range of investment products spans the full spectrum including: dividend and reinvestment, IPOs, annuities, bonds & fixed income, cash management, managed portfolios, futures, mutual funds, ETFs, stocks, options, and Forex. The Forex trading options allow clients to access the currency markets from anywhere in the world. The premier trading platform for Forex markets is Think or Swim. This trading platform provides access to real-time news from CNBC international, worldwide FX charting packages, as well as FX trading maps.
Among the many reasons why TD Ameritrade is favoured by Forex traders include the trading platform, mobile trading options, and no subscription fees or platform fees. However, financing and commission charges do apply. Currency pairs include the following: AUD/CAD, AUD/NZD, AUD/SGD, CAD/JPY, CAD/PLN, GBP/AUD, EUR/TRY, EUR/SGD, EUR/PLN, NZD/CHF, HKD/JPY, USD/TRY, ZAR/JPY, USD/ZAR and dozens of others. There are 23 currency keys and dozens of currency pairings to choose from.
Bonuses
The current bonus offer available to clients at TD Ameritrade is trade free for 60 days + get up to $600. This bonus is dependent upon the amount you deposit. For example, there are 60 days commission free trades when you make a deposit of $3,000 +. There are 60 days of commission free trades + $100 bonus if you deposit $25,000 +. A $300 bonus is available when you deposit $100,000 +, and a $600 bonus is available on deposits of $250,000 +.
Customer Support
There are several ways to contact customer support, including telephone for existing clients, retirement consultants, Spanish, international support, hearing-impaired etc. The primary telephone number is 1-800-669-3900. An email address, fax number (866-468-6268) and physical location tracker is also available to clients at TD Ameritrade. Simply enter the state or ZIP Code and you’ll be able to access any of the 360+ nationwide branches of TD Ameritrade. Facebook messenger is available, including text messaging via TXTTDA (898832).
Safety
Account protection is that the top of the agenda for this brokerage. Any loss of securities or funds from an account due to unauthorized activity is fully reimbursable. This added layer of protection adds peace of mind to client accounts. There is an asset protection guarantee in place up to $500,000, courtesy of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation membership. Thanks to London insurers, there is an additional $149.5 million worth of securities protection and $2 million worth of cash protection at TD Ameritrade. These protection tools and resources are available through point #10 on the FAQ page.
Ease of Use
TD Ameritrade is easy to use. Everything is clearly laid out for Forex traders to follow. Simply open an account, provide the requisite ID and verification checks, and you can trade Forex currency pairs at your leisure.
Final Thoughts
TD Ameritrade is one of the most trusted names in trading and investing. There are some 360+ branches around the US, and international clients are accepted. Everything is safe and secure, and the highest safety standards are in place at all times. TD Ameritrade now automatically accepts all Scotttrade clients, after the companies joined forces. This is one of the premier Forex brokerages, where clients can enjoy ease of access, variety and security at all times.
