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T.D. Ameritrade acquired Scottrade
Mar. 13th, 2018 02:20 pmMy old brokerage Scottrade started to announce acquisition by T.D. Ameritrade over a year ago.
February 26 2018 T.D. Ameritrade, finally, moved my Scottrade accounts to https://www.tdameritrade.com
I heard about T.D. Ameritrade many times in the past, but never considered to use them as my brokerage, because of "patriotic" play in company name ("Ameri[can]"). Generally, if somebody sells you "patriotic" idea - you have to pay extra for that.
However, due to the acquisition - my only other option was to move my accounts to another brokerage. Such a move requires an effort, so I decided to stay with Ameritrade for some time.
Thanks to the acquisition, I got a chance to try T.D. Ameritrade in action.
It was a pleasant surprise. Ameritrade customer service is quite good and to the point. ThinkOrSwim trading application (that Ameritrade owns) - is quite convenient and comparable with InteractiveBrokers desktop client I used in ~2009-2010.
Options trading interface on tdameritrade.com is much better than option trading web interface on scottrade.com
The end result - I started trading options again.
For example, now, instead of buying 300 XOM shares at $74/share -- I sell (write) 3 put options contracts at $75 strike price.
Instead of selling 200 XOM shares at $80/share - I sell (write) 2 covered call options contracts at $80 strike price.
Currently I use expiration date on these options contracts -- about 3 months from now.
So if during these 3 months XOM price stays in $75 - $80/share range - then these options just expire and I enjoy the premium I collected for selling (writing) these options.
If XOM price goes above $80 - I sell my 200 XOM shares at $80/share which is profitable to me (because I bought them at $75 - $76/share).
If XOM price goes below $75 - I acquire my 200 XOM shares at $72/share ($75 strike price - $3/share for selling put option earlier). That $72/share purchase price will pay off when I sell XOM call options few months later and sell underlying XOM shares themselves after that.
Trading stocks with options like that - was possible with Scottrade too, but it was awkward (messier "option trading authorization" paperwork, messier options trading web interface).
I think Ameritrade will be able to monetize former Scottrade userbase better than Scottrade did -- by encouraging customers to trade more. I definitely started to trade more than I traded with Scottrade.
February 26 2018 T.D. Ameritrade, finally, moved my Scottrade accounts to https://www.tdameritrade.com
I heard about T.D. Ameritrade many times in the past, but never considered to use them as my brokerage, because of "patriotic" play in company name ("Ameri[can]"). Generally, if somebody sells you "patriotic" idea - you have to pay extra for that.
However, due to the acquisition - my only other option was to move my accounts to another brokerage. Such a move requires an effort, so I decided to stay with Ameritrade for some time.
Thanks to the acquisition, I got a chance to try T.D. Ameritrade in action.
It was a pleasant surprise. Ameritrade customer service is quite good and to the point. ThinkOrSwim trading application (that Ameritrade owns) - is quite convenient and comparable with InteractiveBrokers desktop client I used in ~2009-2010.
Options trading interface on tdameritrade.com is much better than option trading web interface on scottrade.com
The end result - I started trading options again.
For example, now, instead of buying 300 XOM shares at $74/share -- I sell (write) 3 put options contracts at $75 strike price.
Instead of selling 200 XOM shares at $80/share - I sell (write) 2 covered call options contracts at $80 strike price.
Currently I use expiration date on these options contracts -- about 3 months from now.
So if during these 3 months XOM price stays in $75 - $80/share range - then these options just expire and I enjoy the premium I collected for selling (writing) these options.
If XOM price goes above $80 - I sell my 200 XOM shares at $80/share which is profitable to me (because I bought them at $75 - $76/share).
If XOM price goes below $75 - I acquire my 200 XOM shares at $72/share ($75 strike price - $3/share for selling put option earlier). That $72/share purchase price will pay off when I sell XOM call options few months later and sell underlying XOM shares themselves after that.
Trading stocks with options like that - was possible with Scottrade too, but it was awkward (messier "option trading authorization" paperwork, messier options trading web interface).
I think Ameritrade will be able to monetize former Scottrade userbase better than Scottrade did -- by encouraging customers to trade more. I definitely started to trade more than I traded with Scottrade.
