If you’re looking to trade or invest and you’re not sure where to go, then you have come to the right place. Below you will learn a lot about TD Ameritrade and its subsidiary, thinkorswim. This can get complicated in theory because Charles Schwab recently purchased TD Ameritrade, but that should have no bearing on you, at least at this time or at any point in the near future. Charles Schwab made the purchase because it recognized TD Ameritrade’s popularity with traders and investors. Therefore, no major changes are likely in the immediate future. With that out of the way, let’s take a look at the real pros/cons of day trading with TD Ameritrade. After that, we’ll have a comprehensive thinkorswim review help guide your success.
TD Ameritrade
Let’s begin with the pros. To start, this is the most professional and detailed trading site you will find. It’s easy to deposit money, you will have access to many informative articles and videos, and commissions are $0 for U.S. stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds. Options contracts are $0.65 each. The customer service is excellent and has been for a long time. However, while lower fees are good news for investors, it has the potential to negatively impact customer service because cuts will eventually be made to make up for the lost revenue. This is a potential negative. On the realized negative side, futures are $2.25 per contract + exchange and regulatory fees, and derivatives and margin are expensive.
Thinkorswim
The positives greatly outweigh the negatives here. In fact, the only big negative is that all the information provided can be overwhelming to some newbies. If this describes you, be patient with the market and you will settle in after a week or two. It’s also highly recommended that you start with their free and no-cost paper trading platform. If you already have a TD Ameritrade account, you will automatically have access to this free paper trading. If not, you can still have free access for 60 days.
When you’re a part of this community, you can use social media forums as well as myTrade to connect with other people and share strategies. You will also have access to time charts, tick charts, range charts, and seasonal charts. Furthermore, you will have the option to customize your own charts. And with thinkScript, you can create your own indicators. If you don’t want to customize anything, that’s fine too. You will also have access to 300 built-in studies and strategies.
Another nice tool is Stock Hacker, which allows you to scan for stocks using your set criteria. Whenever your criteria are hit, you will receive an alert. On thinkorswim, you can trade stocks, penny stocks, ETFs, and options risk-free. There is no substitute for experience, and this is how you can gain experience without any risk. To give you an idea on whether or not thinkorswim is a worthwhile time investment, this platform has so much information available that people who use brokerage services other than TD Ameritrade use it. If you would like to become a part of this community, you can visit their website or download the app on Apple or Android.
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