Discount Broker Review #1 – TD WaterHouse Web Broker Trading Platform Is Outdated, Active Trader Fee Is Ridiculous Compared To Competitors

by Das Brain

Dissatisfied TD WaterHouse web broker customerMy gripe with TD WaterHouse Web Broker Trading Platform (Canada) and the way they route option orders has hit an all time high.

Over the last four months that I have been actively trading with the TD WaterHouse web broker platform I have come across many many bad qualitites and features about TD web broker platform and the way they do things.

I have had this TD web broker account since I was 21 years old, so for about 15 years and it was a good platform then, if you want to buy and sell stocks or options every 3 to 6 months, or years out. However, for active traders of stocks and options though this TD web broker platform sucks. There is even no real-time quotes watchlist and no advance charting. TD Web Broker is still in the dark ages.

1. One of the biggest gripes I have is the pricing of the TD WaterHouse Active Trader platform which is basically the same trading software platform as TradeFreedom.ca and a few other discount brokerage companies. I think QuestTrade.com and DisnatDirect uses the same trading software platfrom.
I think TD WaterHouse knows that their TD Web Broker is a piece of crap, I actually had one of their Active Trader specialist tell me that, they said that TD WaterHouse is spending a lot of time and money just trying to maintain / upgrade that crappy trading platform and also reducing commissions down to $9.99 to make customers happy.
TD WaterHouse’s response when I make them aware of my concerns and limitations to their TD WaterHouse web broker platform is always, “Well sir, you should consider switching to our Active Trader Platform.” However, what I get with their TD WaterHouse Active Trading or Trader platform is not much better…here’s why.

You have to pay $99 CAD a month to use the TD WaterHouse Active Trader platform if you DO NOT to place 150 trades every 3 months. If you do 149 trades, you’re out of luck and cuts into your profit for the month.

Why should I pay $99 per month to use the TD WaterHouse Active Trader platform so I can get faster option order execution, when TradeFreedom.ca uses the exact same software trading platform, and it is FREE. Also TradeFreedom.ca commissions are about the same as TD WaterHouse.

So on top of getting to use of the same trading software platform as TD WaterHouse for FREE, TradeFreedom.ca option trading commissions is slightly cheaper.

TradeFreedom.ca – $9.95 + $1.25 per contract
TD WaterHouse – $9.99 + $1.25 per contract

This is a NO Brainer, you end up SAVING $99 per month with TradeFreedom.ca

Just a note, even E-Trade is a better value, and that is saying a lot.

2. When buying or selling Option CALL or PUT contracts with TD WaterHouse web broker, the trade or order has to be reviewed by a TD Options specialist which means that the order can take anywhere from 1 minute to 5 minutes to hit the exchange. I have LEVEL II Options Quotes and I know when my orders hit the exchange when I use my OptionsXpress.ca account.
However, when I place my order with TD WaterHouse web broker it can take 2 minutes for the options trade / order to be considered to be reviewed and by the time it hits the exchange and I see it on my LEVEL II Options Quote screen 3-5 minutes has passed. This is unacceptable, sometimes the Option price has already moved pass my bid, and I have lost the opportunity.

After using TD WaterHouse web broker actively for the last 4-5 months I will NOT recommend it to anyone, as I my experience is that the TD WaterHouse web broker platform is severely outdated. The way they settle trades in regards to currency rates is sneaky and basically stealing money from traders.

I have an OptionsXpress.ca account as well, and using the OptionsXpress.ca platform for the last 4 months, I can definitively say that it is far superior than TD WaterHouse web broker and it is FREE.

To say the least, I have reached my wits end with the limitations of the TD WaterHouse web broker trading platform, and I am not going to move to the TD WaterHouse Active Trader Platform because I refuse to pay $99 per month when I can use the same trading software platform with TradeFreedom.ca or use my OptionsXpress.ca account with its powerful real-time charting, LEVEL II options quotes and lightning fast routing of option trades / orders to the exchanges.

Not Satisfied TD WaterHouse Web Broker customer TD WaterHouse is just ripping off investors who have not done their homework in regards to what is available out their for discount brokerages. I unfortunately, have been a TD WaterHouse account holder for the last 15 years, but this is going to change because I recently have done my homework, and see that the TD WaterHouse web broker and active trader accounts does NOT offer good value at all.

I have already pulled $7500 out of my TD WaterHouse web broker account and moved it to my OptionsXpress.ca account. As soon as I close most of my open positions in the TD WaterHouse web broker account, I will be removing the remaining $20,000 out of TD WatherHouse. I will be opening a TradeFreedom.ca account and most likely be moving the majority of the $20,000 into the TradeFreedom.ca account and the remainder into the OptionsXpress.ca. or my E-Trade account.

The main driver of this move is of course my dissatisfaction with the turtle like slow speed of Option contract orders. If TD WaterHouse Web Broker fixes the option order problem and routes them lightning fast like its competitors, then I might consider keeping my money with TD WaterHouse. Until, that happens my money is moving elsewhere.

For Canadian readers of my blog, I strongly recommend you look into OptionsXpress.ca, QuestTrade.com, TradeFreedom.ca and even E-Trade for better platforms and pricing. Don’t learn the hard way like me by signing up with TD WaterHouse web broker.

Here are a few links to of more dissatisfied customer comments of TD WaterHouse:

http://investorial.com/canadian/td-waterhouse-to-complete-ameritrade-canada-merger/

http://www.dogsofthedow.com/waterhousefeed.htm

 

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13 Responses to “Discount Broker Review #1 – TD WaterHouse Web Broker Trading Platform Is Outdated, Active Trader Fee Is Ridiculous Compared To Competitors”

  1. [...] This is an addenum to Discount Broker Review #1 – TD WaterHouse Web Broker Trading Platform is Outdated. [...]

  2. David H says:

    I also would not recommend TD Waterhouse Web Broker. I had have my acoount since they started.

    Since last year, Webbroker freezes on high volume days. I have been log off in the middle of putting in a trade. Last Friday when the market moved up 800 points you couldn’t log on or call in because. I had to go to the nearest TD WAterhouse office to put in my trades. There were three other traders doing the same thing.

  3. Jonathan J says:

    I couldn’t agree more with your opinion with regards to TD Waterhouse. I’ve been using TDW for more than 5 years now. I’ve beend trading less than twice per quarter. But I guess if you are into more active trading, I highly suggest switching over to Interactive Broker or ETrade (you are going to have to figure out which one works the best for you). Thanks for a great review.

    =====

    Reply:  No problem.  I will be doing a review of OptionsXpress.ca and E-Trade in the coming future. Check back soon, and good luck with your switch of your online broker Jonathan J.

    Regards,

    Das Brain

  4. Don M says:

    I also would not recommend td web broker or avtive trader to any one
    I also experince platform freezing up. Poor charting and I have been ripped of on numerus ocations when calling in to wash trades. You have to call in at the end of every day if you buy or sell US stocks. I have found a lot of times my trades were not washed after it was too late costing me 3 % exchange fee each time.
    Vertual trailing stop order did not work for 3 weeks the platform is a joke.

    Don M

  5. Alain says:

    I’ve been trading with WebBroker for a few years. I’m a tolerant person but this trading platform is one of the worst on the market. It is unreliable & slow. It becomes unavailable on a weekly basis and stay offline for hours. I am now transferring all my trading accounts with Scotiabank’s iTrade. They re-branded the ETrade system, one of the best on the market.

    So long TD! I won’t miss you.

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  8. Jeff D says:

    I’ve been a loyal client of TD and Active Trader Plus with daily trading activity. I like the response time real time has to offer moved away from the web based platform of TD and HSBC. HSBC took for ever to make a trade and by then the opportunity was gone. I enjoy TD Active Trader for this reason and timing of trades in a sudden downturn is critical for me. BUT, BUT, BUT – the TD platform is unstable, unreliable and very difficult to log on at the start of the day and when I use my laptop. I’ve gone through some fixes suggersted by TD support, but they are very limited in resolving the issues. The plaform is still very unstable and needs a lot of work. AND – they expect to charge for it if you fall under the minimum trades, which I did for two months – WOW – thats an insult. It takes too long to work with another plaform only to find it has separate issues, so I would like TD to fix theirs. Unfortunately, reality suggests I’m betting on a lame horse. TD – you are now on notice. I hope you come through because I’m looking.

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  11. Fedup says:

    Like wise…I too am fed up and had about all I can take from TD. Commission fees, trading platform, exchanges , login problems….the whole thing stinks, but what do you expect from a “bank”. I am in the process of moving over to credintial direct…mostly for the leve 2, $9 commission fees, if you are at 149 trades instead on 150 they wont’ say “too bad”. I recommend everyone transfer their postions out of TD Webbroker.

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  13. sdc says:

    This is an interesting article, however, it is four years old now… which is also about the time period that I stopped trading. I would like to get back into trading again so my questions are: Is TD Waterhouse still this bad and are the alternative recommendations still valid.

    Additionally, can anyone recommend stand-alone stock trading software that connects to a Canadian trader?

    ===================================

    Hi SDC,
    TD Waterhouse today has improved somewhat…however TD Waterhouse still has the most expensive commission structures for non-active traders. $29 per trade, if you trade over a certain amount in a quarter (3 months) than the commission goes down to $9.99 or cheaper. You should really check out what the charge nowadays, and the restrictions.
    Alternative for Canadian investors are Scotia iTrade (use to be E-Trade.ca) , QuestTrade.ca and OptionsXpress.ca check those out they do offer more competitive commissions and some offer much better platform.

    by Das Brain