Author Topic: TDameritrade or some other broker  (Read 3335 times)

swisswise

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TDameritrade or some other broker
« on: February 07, 2018, 02:05:09 PM »
Hello Everyone,

I am new to this forum.
Recently started following MMM blogs.
I am trying to find broker firm where I can open my IRA accounts.
For me I want to stay out of stocks and invest mostly in ETFs/ Funds etc, preferably 85eq/15%bo split

As TDA no longer offers vanguard funds, can you please suggest if I should open my investment account @ TDA or consider other brokers?
If TDA is fine, then any suggestions on equivalent commision free funds that I can use to build my 85/15 portfolio.

Thank you.

Rob_bob

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Re: TDameritrade or some other broker
« Reply #1 on: February 07, 2018, 03:51:56 PM »
I have been with TD for many years.  It is a shame they dropped Vanguard ETF's from their commission free list but you can still buy any Vanguard ETF  there.  When I started with them they didn't offer any NTF funds that I am aware of and their commissions were higher too.  So many of the funds I own were never on their NTF list.  I don't trade often enough for the commissions to bother me.  Since when buying ETF's you can't buy fractional shares there is always a little cash left over, I just count that as my commission money.

I would imagine that all Vanguard ETF's trade commission free at Vanguard so maybe you should open an account there?

Seradoc

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Re: TDameritrade or some other broker
« Reply #2 on: February 07, 2018, 05:55:37 PM »
Is there a probelm with just opening an account with Vanguard itself?

I am stuck with a TD Ameritrade account through my HSA and my opinion is that the interface is targeting day-traders.  It is super busy and difficult to pare down.  It doesn't make the information I care about as easy to find as Vanguard and it makes things I shouldn't care about way too prominent.

Mighty-Dollar

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Re: TDameritrade or some other broker
« Reply #3 on: February 07, 2018, 09:00:34 PM »
AmeriTrade or E Trade. Both are good. I like E Trade because they give you this password token that changes every 3 minutes or so. You add the 6 digits to your existing password. No hackers are getting into my account.

swisswise

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Re: TDameritrade or some other broker
« Reply #4 on: February 08, 2018, 08:36:56 AM »
Do you think its wise to open Traditional and Roth IRA with vanguard and TDA separetly.
and keep contributions to 60-40 split between traditional and roth

reeshau

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Re: TDameritrade or some other broker
« Reply #5 on: February 08, 2018, 11:59:22 AM »
Do you think its wise to open Traditional and Roth IRA with vanguard and TDA separetly.
and keep contributions to 60-40 split between traditional and roth

That certainly is a strategy to spread fiduciary risk.  (or cybercrime; while you should be covered by insurance / SIPC guarantees if it happens, that doesn't mean you will not be without your money for some time, while they process claims)

One other consideration:  one thing I like about TD is the relatively low value to qualify for VIP status, which they call Apex.  There are a lot of fees waived when you reach Apex status, e.g. the $20 fee for a corporate buyout.  The level is $100k.  While the letter of the law is that this is on an account basis, I was hovering around this level with the sum total of a Roth and taxable account, and on my 2nd try to plead my case, they granted it on a total value basis.  Whether it's TD or not, you might want to see at what level you rise above the unwashed masses, and if your target is somewhere above that then you might want to keep your "saving power"  (like "spending power" in a shopping / bargaining sense) with one company.

Of course, you could also plot to do that sometime in the future, switching one of your accounts to the same broker and gathering up a transfer / referral bonus along the way.  But that $100's of dollars or xx free trades is meant to deal with the trading costs of establishing your new account, really.

Car Jack

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Re: TDameritrade or some other broker
« Reply #6 on: February 08, 2018, 01:26:42 PM »
Figure out what you MUST have for ETFs.  Does it have to be VTI or is it ok to be SCHB or SPTM?  Figure out where you can trade whatever it is for free.  Remember that if it's not in the home of the ETF, it could come off the free list or even come off all lists entirely.  I've got VTI at TDAmeritrade because I bought it when I opened the account and it was free to trade.  I won't add anything to it now.  I also have Schwab and invest in SCHB which to me is close enough.  I know the diggers will find differences to VTI....fine.  I also have no problem buying SPY or SCHX instead. 

Logically, if you want VTI, Vanguard should be the best place to buy it.  But with all of the rampant incompetence running around there, I wouldn't do anything that involved periodic buying there.  I do have a Vanguard account but I did exactly one big transfer and have not done a thing since.  I'd be too scared, thinking they'll screw it up or lose my account or something.

Seradoc

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Re: TDameritrade or some other broker
« Reply #7 on: February 08, 2018, 06:04:57 PM »
Figure out what you MUST have for ETFs.  Does it have to be VTI or is it ok to be SCHB or SPTM?  Figure out where you can trade whatever it is for free.  Remember that if it's not in the home of the ETF, it could come off the free list or even come off all lists entirely.  I've got VTI at TDAmeritrade because I bought it when I opened the account and it was free to trade.  I won't add anything to it now.  I also have Schwab and invest in SCHB which to me is close enough.  I know the diggers will find differences to VTI....fine.  I also have no problem buying SPY or SCHX instead. 

Logically, if you want VTI, Vanguard should be the best place to buy it.  But with all of the rampant incompetence running around there, I wouldn't do anything that involved periodic buying there.  I do have a Vanguard account but I did exactly one big transfer and have not done a thing since.  I'd be too scared, thinking they'll screw it up or lose my account or something.

Can you point me towards the rampant incompetence?  I am unaware of it and would like to assess the risk to my holdings.

ChpBstrd

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Re: TDameritrade or some other broker
« Reply #8 on: February 08, 2018, 07:59:12 PM »
I'm actually taking a look at tastyworks.com and interactivebrokers.com. Both have commissions a fraction of TD Ameritrade's, and both offer advanced analytic tools.

https://tastyworks.com/commissions-and-fees.html
https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/index.php

There's no need to limit yourself to Vanguard funds. TD Ameritrade offers SPTM commission-free. SPTM is a total market ETF similar to VTI. Except its expense ratio is 0.03% compared to VTI's 0.04% and VTSAX's 0.04%. The only downsides are less liquidity and no options market. In other words, you can accumulate this total market fund commission-free and pay 25% lower fees than the benchmark VTSAX. With free commissions, you could buy one share at a time every minute you get some spare cash, instead of holding cash until you have enough to make commissions worthwhile. Plus the price per share is low (currently $32) so there's be no excuse for leaving money on the table.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!