TD Ameritrade EU and UK: Expansion Plans and Alternatives

TD Ameritrade is one of the leading US online brokers, alongside other discount brokers such as Webull, Robinhood, or E*TRADE. Through TD Ameritrade, a trader can access a wide variety of US-listed assets through the broker’s awesome proprietary platform, Thinkorswim.

In 2019, it was acquired by the Charles Schwab Corporation, a leading name in the investment and brokerage industry. So, TD Ameritrade is now a Charles Schwab subsidiary.

Do you want to know if TD Ameritrade is available in the European Union and the UK and the alternatives available? Keep on reading. We’ve got you covered!

TD Ameritrade EU and UK: Account Opening Error

TD Ameritrade European Alternatives

Founded in 1978 and publicly listed in NASDAQ (ticker: IBKR), Interactive Brokers is a global online broker which surpassed major financial crises, showing resilience and a rigorous risk management process.

Interactive Brokers offers an advanced investment platform that includes a wide range of products (stocks, options, mutual funds, ETFs, futures, bonds, and currencies) from 150 markets, solid trade execution (IB SmartRouting), and a set of technical and fundamental tools to help you in your investment decisions.

Beginners and intermediate investors have educational tools to explore, but the learning curve will be steep. That´s why we mainly endorse it to more advanced traders. Besides, the customer service gives crystal clear answers to your doubts, so there is no need to go back and forth.

On the downside, Interactive Brokers’ fee structure is quite complex, the registration process is lengthy but fully online, and the broker doesn’t offer commission-free trading. However, when considering FX fees, narrower spreads, and the stock loan program, Interactive Brokers’ clients still get significant savings compared to most brokers.

Interactive Brokers also launched IBKR GlobalTrader, a modern mobile trading app to trade Stocks, Options and ETFs, ideal for beginner investors. Some of the features of IBKR GlobalTrader include automatic currency conversions, fractional shares, demo account, and more.

Want to know more about Interactive Brokers? Check our Interactive Brokers Review.

TD Ameritrade European Alternatives

eToro is the world’s leading social trading platform with over 30 million clients in more than 140 countries. It allows retail account holders to mimic the trades and trading strategies of the most successful clients automatically and in real time.

Still, it does not only focus on social trading! It is also a multi-asset platform offering many different financial instruments to trade, such as CFDs, ETFs, stocks, commodities, Forex, and cryptocurrencies. eToro provides 0% commission on stock and ETF trading (not all ETFs are commission-free). The spreads on CFDs may vary according to each financial product, so keep that in mind before placing an order.

The website and mobile app are nearly identical, attractively laid out, and incredibly simplified. The account opening process is pretty easy and fast. You only need a couple of minutes to sign up and follow the identification procedure. Moreover, if you are not yet comfortable with investing or its comprehensive dashboard, eToro provides you with a practice account.

eToro is considered safe since top-tier financial authorities regulate it like the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and it has shown resilience during the Covid-19 market turmoil.

On the downside, it only has one account base currency (USD) and charges a 5$ commission per withdrawal. Plus, cost-free trading only applies when you trade real stocks or ETFs. In other words, if you leverage your positions, you’re trading CFDs and not real stocks or ETFs, and so you will incur spreads and overnight fees.

If you are interested, please read our eToro Review.

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

TD Ameritrade European Alternatives

Founded in 2002, XTB is a major player in the brokerage industry with extensive worldwide experience, regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – plus other relevant regulatory bodies – and listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

You can invest through xStation 5 and xStation Mobile in different investment products, such as stocks, ETFs, and CFDs on stocks, Forex, indices, commodities, and cryptocurrencies (this product offering may vary slightly from country to country). It offers 0% commission on stocks and ETFs, but only in some European countries*. International investors only get a 0% commission on stock and ETF CFDs.

Opening an account and transferring money is a quick and hassle-free process. For beginners, it presents a demo account where you can trade as if it were real money to help you feel the investment platform firsthand, and you get access to educational tools. For intermediate and advanced investors, you will find plenty of technical and fundamental tools to help you better assess your investment decisions.

On the downside, you will face an inactivity fee of €10/month after one year of non-trading, and if you have not deposited in the last 90 days, it charges high commissions on CFDs of cryptocurrencies but low costs for Forex. XTB is not available in the United States and Australia.

Want to know more about XTB? Check our XTB Review.

*The Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, and Spain.

TD Ameritrade European Alternatives

Founded in 2008, Plus500 is an online broker offering a wide range of financial products, including real shares and CFDs on forex, indices, shares, commodities, options, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies. It is available in over 50 countries and is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

There are two distinct account types:

• Plus500 CFD: It only focuses on CFD products;
• Plus500 Invest: Where you can trade stocks (real shares);

The web platform you will use is the WebTrader, Plus500’s proprietary platform, offering a stable trading experience and reliable access from multiple devices, including a mobile app. All platforms are accessible and responsive, and you can start testing the features by opening a demo account.

Their customer support is helpful and readily assessed through a chat that is always shown on the trading platform. Their spreads are low, offering accounts in sixteen currencies, including USD, EUR, and GBP. Still, they charge a 0.70% currency conversion fee and a $10 monthly fee following three months with no activity. On Plus500 Invest, they only charge a small commission per trade (US market: $0.006/share).

Finally, it is regulated by financial regulators like the FCA and CySEC, meaning that Plus500 is appropriately supervised and that there is an investor protection scheme under the entity you open an account. For instance, If you open an account as a European investor through Plus500CY Ltd, you are protected up to €20,000. Additionally, Plus500 provides negative balance protection for CFD trading on a per-account basis – only to retail clients from the European Union.

Want to know more about Interactive Brokers? Check our Plus500 Review.

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 80% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

TD Ameritrade European Alternatives

Founded in 2013, DEGIRO is a low-cost brokerage firm that has become very popular due to its low rates! With over 2.5 million users, the innovative platform has become widely known for its “do-it-yourself” philosophy in the sense that you have everything at your disposal to start investing on your own. It offers a wide range of financial assets to trade, including stocks, ETFs, bonds, options, futures contracts, warrants, investment funds, and some leveraged products (not quite the same as CFDs. More info here).

For instance, you can trade some ETFs for free (a €1.00 flat handling fee – external costs – still apply) with no minimum amount required. The web trading platform is basic, but it is efficient and straightforward to use. In a matter of minutes, you get used to it. The same applies to its mobile app. On the downside, there is an absence of any significant fundamental research, a €2.50 connectivity fee applies, and pricing alerts are missing.

Regarding security, DEGIRO is the Dutch branch of flatexDEGIRO Bank AG (a German-regulated bank). In the unlikely event that the segregated assets cannot be returned to clients, DEGIRO falls under the German Investor Compensation Scheme, which compensates any losses from non-returned assets up to 90% (with a maximum of €20,000), so do bear this in mind if you are planning to invest much larger volumes. Furthermore, any money deposited on a DEGIRO Cash Account with flatexDEGIRO Bank AG will be guaranteed up to an amount of €100,000 under the German Deposit Guarantee Scheme.

Still any doubts? Go through our DEGIRO Review!

The bottom line: which broker should you go for?