Why TD-Ameritrade Rocks

When I began investing a few years ago, I settled on TD-Ameritrade as my broker of choice. They’re the only broker I’ve ever used, but it’s hard to imagine one that I’d be happier with. I would (and I do) recommend them to investors of all experience levels. There are a couple key reasons why:

1.) Their commissions are straightforward:

Their fee-structure is pretty easy to grasp: $9.99 per trade, no strings attached. Other brokers (ahem, E*Trade) advertise a lower cost, but only if you make a certain number of transactions per time-period (think day-trader); most of us would be charged a higher rate ($12-15) that not-surprisingly isn’t advertised in commercials.

2.) No maintenance or inactivity fees:

Some brokers not only charge you when you trade, but charge as well when you do nothing in the form of inactivity fees (I believe E*Trade is guilty again) . Apart from the fact that it royally sucks to be charged to do nothing, it promotes the active-trading behavior that is likely to get many inexperienced investors in trouble.

3.) Excellent customer service:

The first time I called their customer service center, I was pleasantly surprised to hear a fellow American on the other end of the line. When you simply want an issue addressed as quickly as possible, it’s always helpful to talk to someone who is fluent in English. I’ve called them with a range of questions regarding my account, and have always been satisfied by the timely and effective responses on their end.

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I am in no way connected to TD-Ameritrade relationship that would compromise an objective review (though if you are considering signing up I’d be happy to provide a referral code ). I’m just a satisfied customer who figured I should spread the word on a quality service. Others may have catchier commercials, but I don’t think TD-Ameritrade’s substance for the money can be topped. There’s plenty to keep in mind when it comes to investing- you know you’ve found a good broker when it isn’t among these concerns.