TD Ameritrade or Fidelity?

[livingalmostlarge]

Which brokerage/IRA account do you have and why? Do you have TD Ameritrade or Fidelity? Which do you like better if you have both? Why do you prefer one over the other? How did you pick?

 

[REWahoo]

None of the above. Vanguard. Lower cost.

 

[KiraC]

If you plan to buy mutual funds and minimally monitor, then Vanguard will probably work. Note: this board has strong opinions toward Vanguard.

If you are doing active options trading, TD Ameritrade's TOS platform is often referred to as the best in class.

I used to be with Fidelity but back then, they didn't offer the training or experience offered by the TD people in TOS (i.e. swim lessons, online classes, etc)

 

[bUU]

I'm very impressed with Fidelity's customer service especially at its investor centers. If you don't have one nearby, then I'd probably recommend Vanguard.

 

[frayne]

I have accounts with both Fido and Vanguard and happy with both.

 

[aja8888]

E-Trade is pretty good too.

 

[MRG]

I live 12 minutes from a Fidelity investment center. Training is decent, customer service excellent.

As far as costs: 7.95 for equity trades. Sixty five ETFs(iShares) with free trading, their ERs vary, but they seem in line with industry. Spartan advantage, passive funds down around .05% ER.
MRG

 

[Walt34]

None of the above. Vanguard. Lower cost.

+1

 

[LOL!]

I have brokerage accounts at TDAmeritrade, Fidelity, Vanguard, and WellsTrade.

I slightly prefer TDAmeritrade over Fidelity for the following reasons:

1. Lots of no-transaction fee Vanguard ETFs. They are even cheaper than using Vanguard.

2. Cash bonuses/rebates for depositing money.

3. Better 1099 reporting.

4. I've gotten used to the web interfaces since I've had accounts there for about 20 years.

eta: Fidelity always has given me problems with cash transfers. They would allow cash transfers to my external checking account to be submitted, but they would sometimes not go through and there would be no e-mail or notice. Fidelty was just bad at accounting for and displaying "pending" cash transactions, but their web interface changed in the past year, so maybe Fidelity has improved this aspect.

WellsTrade is still the best broker of all of them. They are outstanding at showing all accounts on a single page if desired and have the best display of pending transactions. One really knows where their money is at and what it is doing at WellsTrade. I can't say that for all the other brokers. Vanguard is the worst in terms of updating information and values. Vanguard usually figures out how to update things a day or two after my other brokers do.

I don't pay any commissions nor fees to any of the above 4 brokers.

I am not sure why folks use E*trade, Scottrade, and Sharebuilder as it seems to me all of those places will eventually charge one fees.

 

[pixelville]

I have TD, Fidelity and Vanguard.
What will be you be using the account for? My recommendation would change based on that as well as expected $ portfolio.
If primarily passive investing in low-cost, index mutual funds - go with Vanguard.
If active trading in options, stocks/etfs - TD Ameritrade (software + reporting)

It is easy to do Roth conversions in Fidelity. Full View in Fidelity is good, but there are similar competing prodcuts. Fidelity charges account closing fees. TD also charges closing fees, but waived for Apex customers.
Based on your total assets at the brokerage, you get some other benefits - lower costs, lower fees, free tax software, etc. So best to consolidate as much as possible.

 

[TallTim]

Based on your total assets at the brokerage, you get some other benefits - lower costs, lower fees, free tax software, etc. So best to consolidate as much as possible.

This ^^

I have had and/or still have E*Trade (company Stock Plan), Fidelity (Company 401(k) and other IRAs rolled over from prior plans and a couple inherited IRAs) and TD Ameritrade (taxable brokerage).

Agree with the other comments that TDA has best reporting and trading interface. I consolidated all brokerage there that I could about 3 yrs ago and got about $12k in cash bonuses -- as well as discounted commissions -- which combined paid for about 2 yrs worth of option trading for me.

When I RE, I will sell the Co stock from the E*Trade plan and deposit the cash to one of the other accounts ... and then look to consolidate into Fidelity or TDA. I would move more from Fidelity if I could b/c of their slow trade execution and commission structures, but moving the IRAs would require converting most of the holdings to cash first and I don't really want to do that any time soon (or before I have to).

 

[pixelville]

I would move more from Fidelity if I could b/c of their slow trade execution and commission structures, but moving the IRAs would require converting most of the holdings to cash first and I don't really want to do that any time soon (or before I have to).

In moving my IRAs from Fidelity to TD, I sell the Fidelity Funds and buy the equivalent free Index ETF (IWV, AGG, etc) which transfers in kind to TD. Since TD often ends up offering free trades for 60 days, I then buy what I need in TD after the transfer. Given daily market swings, it helps me stay in the market at my asset allocation and I dont have to transfer cash.

 

[CyberBob]

What do you plan on investing in? That is, do you really need the added complexity of a brokerage account, as opposed to just buying funds directly?

Bob

 

[Koogie]

As a TD Bank shareholder, I advise you to go with TD...

 

[heeyy_joe]

I am familiar with the inner workings and culture at Fidelity. I trust them so that is where i do business.

 

[chasinva69]

Which brokerage/IRA account do you have and why? Do you have TD Ameritrade or Fidelity? Which do you like better if you have both? Why do you prefer one over the other? How did you pick?

I have both and I think they are about the same.

 

[foxfirev5]

I have accounts with both Fido and Vanguard and happy with both.

+1 Sums it up for me.

 

[check6]

Active trader with Scottrade for the last 10+ years. No complaints.