Online Investing :: Scottrade vs. TD Ameritrade
73Online Investing: Scottrade vs. Ameritrade
There are countless online brokerage services available over the net and choosing the one best suited to your needs is not an easy task. There are certain things that you need to keep in mind however; whether you know exactly what you need or whether you need to consult experts at every point, whether you need access to pink sheet stocks, how much you are willing to pay for a stock trade and of course, the minimum amount you intend to invest.
Scottrade is a privately owned discount brokerage firm with its headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri. The company is well-known for its online trading features and low commissions. It has been ranked as the ‘Highest in Investor Satisfaction with Online Trading Services' for six years consecutively.
Scottrade is suited more for investors who tend to use a ‘buy and hold' strategy; who buy equities or mutual funds only occasionally. The fee charged by Scottrade for real time equity trading is $7. Limit orders cost $12. You can easily start an account with the company with as little as $500. The trading platform of the company-ScottradeELITE makes trading easy and hassle-free. Since the company has several branch offices, contacting an employee is always possible. Scottrade does not charge inactivity or account maintenance fees either.
One of the downsides of investing in Scottrade is that the $7 commission which is charged per trade is not so low compared to that of many others. Many of the mutual funds are not free either. The fund transfer is also slow and can take up to three business days. Scottrade does not offer dividend reinvestment for stocks or ETFs. Investors cannot buy fractional shares. Investors also frequently complain that the company's website does not function properly.
Ameritrade charges only $5 per trade. You can avail of free trades for a period of 45 days is you fund your account with $2000. If your account is funded with $25,000, you get $100 free. Ameritrade helps you isolate your investment intentions accurately as well.
The Ameritrade iZone credits ACH deposits promptly. However, it puts a 5 day business hold on these deposits. Until the holds are cleared, you are not allowed to use your deposits to buy pink sheet stocks or non-marginable securities.
However, in order to open an Ameritrade account, you need to invest at least $5,000. The company pays only 2.75% on idle funds. You cannot buy bonds, currencies etc. with an Ameritrade account either.
Asha Prakash
Hi-Tech Editorial Division
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As a 19 year old I knew very little about online stock trading. I joined Scottrade and got the hang of buying and selling with the help of FREE customer messaging support that popped up in my window as I created a new account. I also entered this referall code for my first trades free!!
GVSZ7290
Scottrade hands down for this. Use referall code XRCV8900 to get 3 free trades. 3 free trades is the max so don't be fooled with people saying they can get you more. Honesty is the best policy.
when signing up it asks you how you heard of Scottrade, select refered by a friend and enter XRCV8900 to get credited with 3 free trades.
"Ameritrade charges only $5 per trade."
Where do you get this information?
Because your source certainly isn't Ameritrade....
http://www.tdameritrade.com/pricing.html
COMPARISON FAIL
The 7 free trades offer has expired. You can check Scottrade website. The current offer is for three online trades ($21 value). Open an Account on the Scottrade homepage. Fill in your information on the Get Started page and when asked how you heard about Scottrade, select "Referred by a friend, relative, etc." Enter the following Referall code: NBNX0491 to get 3 free online trades. It works!!
Scottrade is great. They have some good tools and among the cheapest around. What sold me was they had a local office close to me. When signing up it asks you how you heard of Scottrade, select referred by a friend and enter RVNH7932 to get credited with 3 free trades(that is the max you can get free) . I also get three free and I am new to scottrade and need all the help I can get..Thanks
I have Scottrade and so far so good.Just an update I have had Scottrade now for three weeks. I really like it!!!. Just a tip check to see which online trader has the closest branch to you this helps a lot.. Here is my referral# RVNH7932 use it for three free trades (you get three and I get three and scottrade gets a new account). A win,win,win...
You are right about $7 trades on Scottrade but I'm not sure about the $12 dollar limit shares. But my main complaint is that you tell people that it's $5 trades on Ameritrade. That is not true. It's $9.99.
I've been a Scottrade customer for about 2 or 3 days, and it has been great! You can even get live feed on stock price. It's simple to trade and sell. I'm 11 and I can do it! So sighn up for Scottrade!
I have used both TDAmeritrade and Scottrade, and IMO the interface for TDAmeritrade works much much better than Scottrade. It is much easier to use, and you can find everything much faster. There is a trade ticket at the bottom of the TD page that allows you to do make trades no matter what page your on - as for Scottrade you are limited to certain pages to make trades. T
The good thing about Scottrade is that the commission fees are less (if your trades are simple) - it still is more than $7 if you make complicated trades. However you can minimize your costs with this referral code for 3 free trades - EUQT2154
You should have a couple brokerages open anyhow, so it is a good idea to open both - doesnt cost you anything anyhow. So use TD for your bigger trades, Scottrade for your spec plays and risky trades - that way you dont feel like your also losing out on the fees!
GOOD LUCK!
I have Scottrade and so far so good.Just an update I have had Scottrade now for three weeks. I really like it!!!. Just a tip check to see which online trader has the closest branch to you this helps a lot. They have great customer service. Here is my referral# RVNH7932 use it for three free trades (you get three and I get three and scottrade gets a new account). A win,win,win...To everyone that has opened an account and did not use the three free trades, if it was just opened recently you still might can get it just call tham and ask..
Don't let anybody fool you. Scottrade gives you a max of 3 trades for a referal. Lets just be honest guys. Honesty is always the best policy. I am a novice trader and scottrade is easy to use and they don't penalize you for inactivity. So far i am very happy with it. If you sign up use the referal VNEU8533 and we both get 3 free trades! Good luck trading!
I have had Scottrade for a month. Just an update . I really like it!!!. Just a tip check to see which online trader has the closest branch to you this helps a lot.. Here is my referral# RVNH7932 use it for three free trades (you get three and I get three and scottrade gets a new account). A win,win,win...I wish they had an iphone app. I also hate how they make you place orders on phone with a lot of the penney stocks. I like how they let you buy immediately with unsettled funds that helps . My refferal number agian is RVNH7932
3 FREE Online Trades ($21 value) - Go to the Scottrade homepage - Click "open an account" (you may need to turn off your pop up blocker) - on the 2nd screen under "How did you hear about us? Click "Referred by a friend
Scottrade is pure trash IMO, i trade OTCBB/Pink and Scottrade constantly puts no purchases online but call broker to trade on multiple positions at their discretion, Ameritrade on the other hand rarely pulls these antics.
Scottrade also charges $7.00 plus .005% on OTCBB/PINK trade, while Ameritrade is a flat $9.99, I just swapped to Ameritrade and couldn't be happier in my opinion.
I have had Scottrade for two months. Just an update . I really like it!!!. Just a tip check to see which online trader has the closest branch to you this helps a lot.. Here is my referral# RVNH7932 use it for three free trades (you get three and I get three and scottrade gets a new account). A win,win,win...I wish they had an iphone app. I do like how they let you buy immediately with unsettled funds that helps . Just read ALL the rules.. If u use my refferal number a big thanks ... My refferal number agian is RVNH7932
I love scottrade so far, simple, cheap and does everything you want plus they they have offices everywhere
Referred by: MATIAS J BARBERO
ReferALL code: EMHZ0188
use this and we both get 3 free trades!
GOOD NEWS UNTIL APRIL 2010,
GET 3 FREE TRADES with Scottrade:
REFERRED BY: ROMAN
REFERENCE CODE: KZHG8035
Everyone wins!!!
Trading Lady says:
14 months ago
Use this referral code to get 7 free trades when you open a Scottrade account. This will help both you and I. Happy trading! XYRM9330