TD Ameritrade 401(k) Account Pricing

• $9.99 per stock/etf trade
• Options: $9.99 plus $0.75 per contract
• No-load mutual funds: $49.99
• Treasuries at auction: $25 flat fee
• All other bonds and CMOs, CDs: on a net yield basis
• Futures: $3.50 per contract (inclusive of exchange fees)

TD Ameritrade 401(k) Plan Fees

• IRA setup fee: $0
• Annual IRA fee: $0
• IRA Termination Fee: $0
• Outbound Full Account Transfer: $75
• Outbound Partial Account Transfer: $0

Best 401(k) Plan Review

TD Ameritrade charges flat-rate $9.99 per trade commission for stocks and ETFs, for unlimited shares and without any volume requirements. The firm has no IRA fees, aside from outgoing account transfer charges. There are also no account inactivity and maintenance fees.

The company is pretty expensive for stocks, ETFs and, especially, for mutual fund investors. But customers get access to one of the largest selections of no-transaction-fee (NTF) mutual funds, and 100+ commission-free ETFs that allows many to invest without paying any commissions.

TD Ameritrade offers all popular IRA account types, including retirement accounts for self-employed. There is no minimum deposit requirement to open an IRA account — you could open account and keep it without depositing money.

TD Ameritrade provides its customers with great selection of free services: free DRIP (dividend reinvestment plan), free streaming quotes, exclusive TD Ameritrade video content, and access to two professional trading platforms. Rich selection third-party, independent investment research from Morningstar®, S&P Capital IQ, Jaywalk and other companies is available to clients free of charge.

TD Ameritrade was named The best brokerage firm for your IRA by Kiplinger’s magazine. Barron’s magazine rated the company #1 for Beginner Investors and #1 for Long Term Investing. and gave it top scores in Mobile Trading, Range of Offerings, Research Amenities, Customer Service and Education categories.

For anyone who is considering getting into investing or trading and needs help, TD Ameritrade offers an Investors School, where studying is done through Webcasts. When it comes to trading online the more knowledge you have, the better you’ll trade. Combine the Webcast School with the investor education part of the firm’s website and your skills will sharpen over time. Education section of the website is especially handy if one plans to trade in an area that is not familiar, such as options, bonds or futures.

TD Ameritrade also have a retirement section for anyone who wants to invest for the long term and is not looking to trade daily. Their Retirement Planning page offers a large selection of tools for all types of retirement vehicles. If you prefer a professional to do your investing for retirement, the site will refer you to a financial planner who will then guide you in a way that will help you achieve your goals.

Overall, we find that TD Ameritrade is one of the best resources on investing for retirement on the internet. If you develop relationships with people on the trading desk, you’ll get more personalized service. The ease of use of the site and the personal approach is what keeps many customers with this firm.

Conclusion

In summary, if you do not plan to invest in your retirement account in mostly stocks and ETFs, and you don’t trade much, then go ahead with TD Ameritrade. Lots of free tools, excellent trading platform, and 60 days of trading for free and up to $600 cash bonus are very strong incentives to open account too.

TD Ameritrade 401(k) Promotion

Trade free for 60 days + Get up to $600.

About Individual 401(k) Account

An Individual 401k retirement plan offers the maximum retirement contribution (limits or levels) for self-employed individuals and flexible investment options.

The Individual 401k allows owners to make both employer and employee contributions, providing owners the ability to maximize their personal retirement contributions and their business deductions. This is why an Individual 401k is most suitable for self-employed individuals or a business owner with no additional employees other than a spouse or a child. Consider this type of plan if your business has irregular profit patterns.

Key Benefits of Individual 401k Plans

• Discretionary funding
• Higher contribution limits
• Greater control over withdrawal timing
• Low administrative expenses

Eligibility requirements for the plan sponsor

Eligible businesses include sole proprietorships, partnerships and incorporated businesses.

Setup and funding

An Individual 401k must be established by the end of the employer’s tax year and funded by the employer’s tax return due date, plus extension. Contributions can vary by year.

Article was updated on 1/14/2015.