TD Waterhouse was formerly known as TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage and it changed its name to TD Direct or TD Direct Invest. This brokerage firm is a bank owned online brokerage firm. It is owned and controlled by the Toronto Dominion Bank, one of the leading commercial banks in Canada.
They offer competitive prices for their products and services and they have been on the forefront of ensuring that all its clients enjoy a unique and exquisite experience. TD Waterhouse UK has several tradable instruments on offer to be traded; they range from stocks to options, ETFs, and lastly the options.
They also offer spot foreign exchange services for their clients. As a client of TD Waterhouse you will be able to manage multiple accounts using your online access, you can also manage your personal banking services through their web based platforms.
TD Waterhouse Review of their Costs
TD Waterhouse UK is one of the best brokers within banking industry, they strive to ensure their clients have the best prices and their costs do not eat into their profits. They have lowered their prices greatly from their original offer, so that the traders may be encouraged to trade a lot more consistently.
The average cost for every trade taken is $9.99 for any trades taken trading equities, that cost covers the commission. Traders who are more active get to enjoy better and more subsidized commission charges; this is a sign of appreciation from TD Waterhouse.
They are charged $7 for every contract traded, this is if you have placed at least 150 trades per quarter. The charges differ from equities to options this cost is simply added to the cost charged for the equities, they add $1.25 to the normal charge and that of the active trader.
This is a small addition compared to other online brokers offering the same service. It is important to know that TD Waterhouse UK does not offer any commission free ETFs, this is a blow to the ETF enthusiasts.
They also have requirements for small accounts; any account that is below $15000 is charged a quarterly fee of $25 but this fee can be waived under some stipulated conditions.
The charge can be waived if you as the trader place at least two trades during a six month period. This is very manageable even for the not so avid investors. The next condition that can cause the waiver is if you have a registered TD Direct Investing account, and specifically a registered account.
Also if you have been enrolled into a pre-contribution plan of at least $100 or more you will be lucky and the $25 dollar inactivity and maintenance fee will be waived. These waivers may save you $100 dollars annually and those funds can be directed into paying commissions on trades that would be far more profitable.
As a trader you should know about these loopholes that may save you a whole lot more in the long run. Since they do not have a US dollar account, they have decided to create a service called the United States Dollar Money Market Sweep and Redemption Service.
This service is meant for traders who transact using the U.S dollar on various services offered by the broker; this service covers the conversion process to cover the client from paying the conversion fees which can at times be the difference of breaking even and making a loss.
Account Types
TD Waterhouse or TD Direct have two types of accounts that their clients can select from. They have a registered and an unregistered account. The registered accounts include the; RDSPs, RESPs, RRSPs, and finally the TFSAs. More information on those accounts can be found in their web page accessible through the internet.
The RRSP registered account is further broken down into two types; there is the self-directed and the basic RSP. The self-directed is meant for clients who have more knowledge and understanding of handling their own investments and making investment decisions.
With the self-directed account you can manage options, equities, and mortgages whereas the basic account cannot hold any of those instruments.
TD Waterhouse UK: Review of their Trading Platforms
TD Direct Invest or as they were known TD Waterhouse offers one of the best platforms in the business. The firm has decided to make partnerships with third party firms that specialize in creating innovative and efficient trading platforms to further ensure that their clients are well catered for.
They have two web based trading platforms that are meant for traders who prefer trading from the online platforms. These two are Web broker and Advanced Dashboard, both platforms offer a unique experience to the user but if you want more tools to analyze your trades with, the Advanced Dashboard is your best choice.
The Active Trader and ThinkorSwim desktop platforms are some of the best platforms one can use, a wide array of analytical tools, customizable features, fast execution, and a myriad of chart choices makes these desktop platforms the perfect choice. The desktop platforms are built with the active trader in mind.
The ThinkorSwim platform and the Web broker online platform have their corresponding mobile platforms. These mobile platforms are available as applications on iOS, Android, and Blackberry stores.
The mobile platforms will enable the busy trader who does not have time to sit in front of his or her computer catch up with the market moves wherever they are.
Verdict
As per the noted features above, the brokerage firm has come a long way and it has improved its services consistently. Although all this is good they also have a lot more to improve on.
Many clients have complained about their customer service being inconsistent and their web platforms are at times overwhelmed by the traffic. TD Waterhouse should focus on these issues keenly and use them as a channel to further improve their services.
This does not change how TD Waterhouse has transformed the online brokerage scene especially for the banking counterparts and that is more than enough to know that they are revolutionary.
