Scottrade Account

SlowLane

Scottrade will be assimilated by TD Ameritrade sometime after 9/1/2017. I chose to move my account now from Scottrade to TD Ameritrade and receive a bonus for doing it. It pays to look at all of the bonus offers since the offers vary for opening the same size account. One offer provides a $1K bonus for opening a $250K account, while another offer provides a $600 bonus for opening the same size account.

http://www.hustlermoneyblog.com/best-brokerage-bonuses/

For opening an account of $1M, a bonus of $2.5K is available:
http://www.moneysmylife.com/stock-broker-promotions/

VintageFreak

I don't have that much money in Scottrade. So I'm going to suffer the move to TDA painfully and slowly. About all I'm doing is trying to make sure the funds I hold at Scottrade are NTF at Ameritrade. Any I don't I'm selling and considering buying somewhere else.

I had considered simply closing my Scottrade Account. However after already being disgusted with TDA and ETrade in the past, and having heard on the board TDA has changed their ways, I've decided to let my account move to TDA. It could have been worse - ETrade might have bought Scottrade. I will take the lesser evil for now. It's not like I'm going to miss $7 stock trades since I don't invest in individual stocks.

JoJo26

TDA is by far the best.

Edmond

VF, I am a former Scottrade client. S/T's BIG selling point for me was their wonderful OEF supermarket. -- Especially low-minimum access to institutional-class PIMCO funds. -- Even though they were T/Fs, the T/F was de minimus ($7). Other aspects of their operation did not suit me, so I left.

I will say, that for DIY investors who prefer using OEFs, Fidelity does a really great job. A large selection of NTF funds (many are load-funds which Fidelity offers on a no-load/NTF basis). Recently, they added the F1-class of American funds. The one downside, IMO is the STIFF T/Fs on T/F OEFs. -- But I believe Fidelity, Schwab & TDA are all comparably stiff.

Fidelity's customer service is stellar. By way of example only, I've twice contacted them over the years, requesting they add an OEF to their lineup (usually a newly-opened OEF). Within 2 weeks of my request, the funds became available. Last time I tried calling them on a holiday/Sunday, they were answering the phones. Their website is extraordinarily robust too, allowing investors to adroitly take care of all manner of ancillary/admin type issues, including account transfers from other custodians, beneficiary changes, changing divd elections, etc. etc. For those interested in trading individual bonds, their rates are superb. Just a very slick, seamless website. (A light-years change from Scottrade's)

If you ever decide to try a "Plan B" (i.e. something besides TDA) Fidelity is worth a look.

learningcurve

I had also used Scottrade over the years for their OEFs with access to the institutional class for low minimums and $17 to both buy and sell. However I have seen fewer choices in their network. I have also switched more to Fidelity. Though now TF funds are $49.95 for buys only.

@Edmond - how were you able to get mutual funds added at Fidelity in reasonable turn around time? I have not had any luck with them as I have to still purchase a couple funds at Scottrade as not available at Fidelity.

msf

I concur w/Edmond's assessment. Note also that there are ways to get around Fidelity's TFs. The most well known "secret" is their AIP (automatic investment program), where you can add to (most) existing TF positions for a $5 fee.

Others include opening an account directly with the fund company and doing an ACAT (in-kind) transfer to Fidelity to prime the pump (for use with AIP), and executing a no-fee tax-free conversion from NTF shares to lower cost TF shares once you reach the min required for the TF shares.

Regarding Fidelity's bond offerings, again I agree that their rates are some of the best. I also use a full service broker (legacy account) for bonds, and I get similar pricings and offerings (which beat Schwab and others I've spot checked). They also do a very good job on keeping track of accretion and amortization.

I'm not sure why JoJo claims that "TDA is by far the best". If "TDA" means a vanilla TDA retail account, that doesn't even match TDA's special accounts. I have an HSA brokerage account with TDA, and the retail account terms don't measure up to my account terms.

For example:
- NTF short term trading fee for 180 (vs. 90 for the TDA HSA account)
- TF of $50 (vs. $25)
- Broker-assisted trades $50 (vs. $25)

Of course Fidelity also meets or beats these figures. With a few exceptions, Fidelity's TF funds cost $50 to buy, but nothing to sell. $8 equity commissions vs. $10 for TDA, $33 for broker assistanace vs. $50 for TDA. 60 day short term fee for NTF funds vs. 180 for TDA.

One area where TDA seems very good is NTF ETFs. TDA offers a significant number from a wide variety of families.

TheShadow

I am in the process of transferring my account from Scottrade to Wells Fargo Advisors (my family has their accounts there). I have been notified in the past by TDA that they were not going to let me trade some of my holdings; thus, I had to transfer those mutual funds to FIDO or somewhere else in order to avoid the hold or potential liquidation by TDA. One comes to mind is Thornburg's "I" share class funds which I transferred to FIDO.

If we have until 9/1 to trade; hopefully, I can still purchase some funds in my Scottrade account such as PIMCO "I" shares once all my mutual funds are transferred out.

rforno

TD also is an OEF supermarket, but I've noticed that some of the stuff I used to buy into (but sold) now have much much higher minimums.

For my personal, more actively-managed account, I've been with ThinkorSwim/TDAmeritrade for 10 years and for the most part am quite pleased.

VintageFreak

Thanks guys. I already have Fidelity. Based on responses above I'm ready to give TDA another look. Which is also what I already said. I'll wait for my account to transfer to TDA.

PS - E*Trade on the other hand is like a WFC event for me. They have screwed me over TWICE. No freakin' way I'm going back.

[Deleted User]

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Edmond

L/C: I just called them, and they got the process rolling. If memory serves, in both instances, the OEFs I requested were associated with fund-families with which Fidelity already had on their platform, but as the OEFs I was looking for were newly-opened, Fidelity had not gotten 'round to adding them. As Fido already had an agreement in place with those fund families, it was probably relatively easy to do. Also the fund families generally only offered ONE share class. It might be more complicated if (for example) DIY investor asked Fido to add I-class PIMCO shares. -- that probably won't happen.

Learningcurme - @Edmond - how were you able to get mutual funds added at Fidelity in reasonable turn around time? I have not had any luck with them as I have to still purchase a couple funds at Scottrade as not available at Fidelity.

Dennis Baran

Scottrade holds most of my fund assets, and I have been pleased with the support I've received from them in the last 14 years. (I have some stocks at Fido, one fund at Schwab plus cash, and cash at TD after opening an account there last week.)

In looking at my OEFs held at Scottrade, I would be in a less favorable position 70% of time when buying additional shares after bringing them to TD because of their nefarious $49.99 TF. I can work around that by establishing a systematic purchase plan, which I would consider, but it's far less attractive than doing additional random purchases at Scottrade. Random purchases at TD = $49.99 for any fund you own that levels that fee.

Also, it's unclear that TD will allow any grandfathered benefits to Scottrade customers, for example, charging lower purchase fees than the $49.99 or less than $9.95 for stock trades rather than the $7 at Scottrade.

Finally, it also pays to ask TD about minimum requirements for fund purchases because their website does not always reflect correct information because it has not been updated -- as was pointed out to me in a conversation this morning with a person working in their mutual fund "back office," as he referred to it, by his seeing additional information not reflected on the site. (He admitted that "it needs to be updated sometime.") Well, good on 'im.

Here's what I mean.

I own an AA fund at Scottrade that requires 100K minimum in an IRA. The TD website shows 1M for this fund in an IRA plus the $49.99. But in fact the fund company has had an agreement with TD that no minimum for initial or subsequent purchases has been required for this fund since January 2015.

Now I don't know how many of these types of situations exist, and I do know what applies to those I own, but at the same time it pays to ask. Then again, for this fund w/o a systematic purchase agreement, the TF $49.99 applies.

A few weeks ago, I asked Mr. Hockey, TD CEO, via TWTR when he was posting there on various subjects about any special benefits for Scottrade clients being acquired, and he responded that it would be a "good deal" for everyone, that is, current clients and Scottrade clents, adding "more soon." Positive but inconclusive.

So I'm not going to spring for a cash bonus by bringing over any other assets right now other than those that I have already until I learn more about grandfathering from TD if any. At the same time, I have to be "flexible."

Last, I agree with those here who sing the praises of Fido. They're excellent -- as has been this developing thread!

VintageFreak

I have 3 accounts at Scottrade. I really hope I'm not going to regret the TDA move.