TD Ameritrade Just Lost My Business, Vanguard Gets More

I have a SEP IRA that is funded from earnings of my side business (writing.) It's not a lot of money each year, but over the years, my SEP has grown into a nice-sized account of $15,000 or so.

The account was set up with Ameritrade years ago -- back when I bought many more individual stocks than I do now -- which has now become TD Ameritrade. The other night, I was looking over my TD Ameritrade information, trying to find a contribution form to send in my SEP money for 2006. They didn't have one (many brokers include contribution forms periodically along with statements.) What a pain.

So I called them to request a form. I was told that the average waiting time was three minutes. No problem, I can wait three minutes.

At five minutes, I put my cell phone on speakerphone to monitor the call while I worked on some other things. I still had to listen to their annoying commercials that play while you are waiting, but at least I could be productive at the same time.

At ten minutes, I got fed up. I called Vanguard, requested a SEP account form, and was off the phone in 5-10 minutes. When I get the form, I'll open a Vanguard SEP, fund it for 2006, then transfer the money from the TD Ameritrade account into it. My time is just too valuable to wait on hold for a company that doesn't seem that willing or prepared to answer the phone when a customer calls.

Eventually, I plan to transfer most of my non-Vanguard accounts (TD Ameritrade and Etrade) to Vanguard. I'll keep one of them for stock trading, but other than that, I'm moving more to a company that I know, trust, and who delivers great service.

Sorry, didn't mean for this to become a Vanguard commercial, but I've always had great results with them -- not one bad event in the 15 or so years I've used them.

Comments

[Kurt]

You can have a brokerage account through vanguard as well. Don't know if it's a good deal or not (haven't looked into it) but if you're really set on having all accounts at one place, you can. Incidentally, why is there a form to put money into an account? With Vanguard I just deduct it from my checking account. No hassle; indeed I do it many many times a month and have never had to use a form.

[William Tanksley]

I'm an old-time TD Waterhouse customer, from before they started charging yearly fees. I like them in general, but can't recommend them because of the bait-and-switch fee changes.

When I first signed up, they were free (but with a moderately large trade commission). After the dot-com crash, they tacked on a quarterly fee, AND added a fee to close your account. I had almost enough invested to avoid the fee, so I just accelerated my savings; but I considered it a cheap move.

Now that Ameritrade bought them, they eliminated the fee (yay!), but now they're adding a fee for mailed monthly statements (they already added a fee for mailed trade confirmations, but since they drastically lowered the trade commission, that's hard to argue with).

I don't entirely trust them -- although I like their service. I've never had to wait on hold long; yesterday I needed some ancient historical information from an obsolete account whose number I didn't know, and not only did they get it for me, they called me back with additional information they found (they didn't say they would). If I were picking a broker now, their service, selection, and prices would probably convince me; but their history is discouraging. Perhaps they'll do better now that Ameritrade is calling the shots.

I should add -- when I was dealing with them often, I'd get the extension of one of the local employees (just walk into your local branch and ask for help), so I wouldn't ever have to wait on hold. They do a great job of working with you.

[limeade]

I just use Scottrade for my IRA. It's really simple. Only $7 per transaction. No fees. Plus, I can buy stocks, bonds, CD's, ETFs and mutual funds all in one place. May not be for everyone, but it works for me.

-limeade
http://fiscalmusings.blogspot.com

[tinyhands]

I'm a bit torn in my feelings towards TDW/A. I was a long-time customer too, but left when they closed down the online banking business after the merger. My experience with them was strange:
-If I called, the on-hold waits were pretty bad, but they always fixed the issue.
-If I went into a local branch, I could talk to someone in person but they weren't as helpful as the telephone reps.

TD (Toronto Dominion, in case you were wondering) still has a large call center in Canada, if you don't mind the language barrier. ;)

[Cents You Asked]

I've recently consolidated all my accounts at Vanguard. A nice feature you may want to look into is an account inquiry (where you can see your spouse's accounts and vice versa). All it took was a form and a signature to setup. It helps me easily track all our accounts without manual updating each month. Also, their Money market account offers very competitive rates so I left ING direct/ED/etc and the constant chase of the higest rate.

[Doc]

I was with TDWaterhouse for years before the purchase by Ameritrade. At the time I set up the initial account, I researched online brokers carefully and concluded TDWaterhouse was the smart choice. No longer true!!! I have attempted for months to accomplish some account transfers. When I found the info on the web site inadequate, I called for instructions which I carefully followed. Many calls and broken promises later, they have not completed the transactions. Problem stems from the old TD Waterhouse transfer agent being different from the TD Ameritrade agent. Falls under the category of back room issues that they should make seemless to the customer instead of it being my problem.

At the same time I have been settling two estates and therefore dealing with many brokerage houses and mutual funds. All has gone smoothly and quickly by comparison.

Anyway, as soon as I finally finish this task, I'll be moving all my accounts - considering Scottrade or Fidelity.

[Trading Channels]

I can't say that I've ever had a problem with Ameritrade. Although, I can't recall the last time I've had to call them to get anything fixed. Maybe, I'm one of the lucky ones that hasn't had any problem.

[amit maheshwari]

td ameritrade is fair...maybe not the slickest service but fair...the fact that you have to fill out an additional form to do just about everything sucs...but they are still fair...in fact i plan to be a customer of theirs for a long time...unless they screw it up....

[Yesenia Gray]

TDAmeritrade is the best online brokerage firm EVER!! I have never had a problem with my accounts and they are always very friendly and willing to walk you through anything. Their retirement account department has been the most helpful to me and I am thankful!!!