TradeStation Review
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TradeStation is a trading platform that caters to active traders and cost-conscious investors. It offers low commissions as well as a rich range of features. In addition, TradeStation's low minimum investment (no minimum required for basic TS GO plans) makes it accessible to both new and wealthy investors. This TradeStation review will help you determine if TradeStation is right for your investment needs.
TradeStation is a discount broker for active traders and cost-sensitive investors. You can spend less on other platforms if you are willing to price the commission schedules.
TradeStation Trading Software Review
This stock brokerage is for an active traders looking for low costs.
Pros
- Bonus
- Commissions of $0 for stock and ETF
- Futures trading and cryptocurrency trading
- Minimum account balance
- High-quality trading platform
Cons
- Rates with high margins
TradeStation Perks Worth Mentioning
Cash rewards bonus from $50 to $5,000
Cash rewards bonuses are available to new account holders. They can range from $50 up to $5,000, depending on the amount of their first deposit. Enter code FOOLAFYJ to sign up for the offer.
Commissions low
TradeStation allows you to trade stocks and ETFs without commissions. You can also make competitive commissions on options and mutual funds.
A powerful platform
TradeStation 10 desktop trading platform is powerful and offers all the active traders' features. Its complex charting capabilities and the ability to create automated trading strategies are a favorite feature of traders. TradeStation also offers a fully functional web trading platform and a mobile trading app packed with features.
Investment vehicles
Account-holders can invest in various vehicles, including stocks, ETFs and IPOs, options and cryptocurrencies, futures, futures choices, mutual funds, bonds, and futures.
Minimum requirements
If they plan only to use the mobile and web-based trading portals, investors can open a brokerage account at TradeStation without requiring a minimum deposit. However, a minimum $2,000 deposit is required for clients who wish to access TradeStation's highly-respected desktop trading platform.
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What could be done to improve?
Margin rates
TradeStation margin rates can be beaten for a brokerage that specializes in trading.
TradeStation Alternatives
Robinhood provides a simple and robust mobile trading platform to trade on mobile with attractive margin rates. It also offers $0 commissions on stocks, ETFs, and options and no fees per contract. However, TradeStation's limited account types and inaccessibility to mutual funds are the areas where it is outshined.
Interactive brokers offer lower margin rates than Tradestation. However, with the wide range of trading platforms and investment vehicles available, these stockbrokers can compete with Tradestation.
Commission prices
TradeStation offers two pricing options. The key difference between them is the number of features they offer. Both plans include commission-free stock trade.
The TS GO plan has lower commissions for options, futures trading, and minimum deposit requirements. TS GO is limited to trading through the company's mobile and web-based trading portals.
The TS SELECT plan was designed for active traders. The commissions for options or futures are slightly higher than the TS SELECT plan, but they are still competitive. However, it gives you access to TradeStation 10 desktop platform and all its associated features. To enroll in TSSELECT, investors must deposit $2,000.
Your level of trader proficiency will determine which plan is best for you. Advanced trading tools don't seem to be necessary for most investors. However, if you are an active trader, especially about options and futures, the TS SELECT plan may be worth the slightly higher price.
Buy mutual funds
TradeStation may disappoint investors who have mutual funds as a part of their portfolio. The selection of mutual funds is excellent, even though the $14.95 commission is very low. Although investors have access to more than 2,000 mutual funds, this is only a fraction of the offerings offered by many other competitors.
TradeStation may be a better choice for active traders or investors who plan to purchase individual stocks than long-term retirees who are more likely to use mutual funds. However, many other brokers offer thousands upon thousands of mutual funds that customers can trade free of charge. If mutual funds make up a large part of your portfolio, this could be a significant advantage.
You need to know the TradeStation fees
Before opening a brokerage account, you should review the disclosures regarding broker fees. We delved into TradeStation's fine print and found some fees that merit further discussion.
- Inactivity Fee: TradeStation customers have to make at least five trades each year or have a $2,000 equity balance at the end of each month to avoid its $50 annual fee. Although this inactivity fee is simple to avoid, TradeStation is less appealing for looking to start small.
- IRA annual fee: TradeStation charges a $35 fee annually for IRA accounts. This is a fee that many of our competitors don't have.
- Option assignment and exercise fees: Options traders should be aware of the fees involved in exercising or assigning options. TradeStation charges an assignment/exercise fee of $14.95. This is higher than the $5 base commission price. It also charges an early-exercise or assignment fee of $1.50 for each contract with a minimum of $5.95. Many brokers charge assignment and exercise fees equal to their base commission.
TradeStation's trading platform
TradeStation, like many brokers, offers multiple options for different types and types of investors. For example, you can choose from a browser-based Web Trading platform or a more sophisticated TradeStation 10. There are also mobile apps available for smartphones.
- TradeStation Web trading: Investors can log in quickly to view streaming prices for stocks, ETFs, and options. Trades can be placed in seconds thanks to the "one-click" feature.
- TradeStation10: Complex charting is a key feature of this desktop platform. You can overlay any chart with hundreds of technical indicators, such as moving averages and 50 years' worth of historical charts. Customers can create a watchlist that can display hundreds of data points on individual securities. This allows you to see key metrics for your stocks quickly. TradeStation's RadarScreen allows you to scan the market in real-time using customizable indicators. OptionStation Pro is a feature of TradeStation 10. It allows you to view options chains clearly and clearly show the maximum profit and loss for simple or complicated options trades.
- Mobile App: Android and iOS users can use this mobile trading app to view their portfolio and place trades, even complex options and futures trades. If you don't want to download an app, you can visit its browser-based platform. It scales down to fit smaller screen sizes.
Long-term investors don't care about trading platforms as much as traders. It cannot be easy to evaluate a platform objectively. What works for one investor might not work for another. We encourage you to test it out if you are interested in a particular trading platform. Any broker's platform can be used to check the value of your portfolio and make occasional trades.
TradeStation margin rates
MARGIN BALANCE INTEREST RATE
- Below $50,000 9.50%
- From $50,000 to $499.999 8.75%
- From $500,000 to $1.999,999 5.50%
- $2,000,000 and above 3.50%
Margin loans are a popular way for investors to leverage their portfolios. However, the margin loan cost can quickly become the biggest expense in a brokerage account. TradeStation has lower margin rates than other brokerages. However, it is more competitive for those with large balances.
TradeStation margin rates on stocks and ETFs are based upon a tiered scale. Although the rates are low for large balances, they are among the highest for margin loans of a smaller size.
TradeStation's margin rate is irrelevant if you do not intend to use margin for investments. Cash accounts are used by many long-term stocks, ETFs, and fund investors. They can't borrow money to invest, so the rates TradeStation charges for them are irrelevant.
TradeStation also offers a unique feature called the Fully Paid Stock Lending Program. This allows customers to make their stocks available for lending to other traders (e.g., when a short trade is opened). In addition, TradeStation will pay 30% of the margin interest if you sign up. This could boost your return.
TradeStation Technical Support and Customer Service
Full-service brokerages charge higher commissions than online brokers because they have no overhead costs. In addition, many discount brokers offer customer support 24 hours a day.
TradeStation is an online-only brokerage and doesn't have a branch network like many other large online brokers. It does offer support via phone and online chat during weekdays; however, from 8 a.m. Eastern Time to 8 p.m. Eastern Time. In addition, it offers technical support 24 hours a day, from Sunday through Friday.
Screeners and research
TradeStation's research department caters more to traders than long-term investors. It offers a great stock and ETF screener, but it does not access any research reports. Nor does it offer basic functions such as a link to annual reports or SEC filings of individual stocks. These are features long-term fundamental investors might prefer.
These are just a few of our favorite screening and research tools.
- Morning Market Briefing: Proprietary of TradeStation. The Morning Market Briefing, a 30-minute video presentation, is about the markets, economic data, and key events for the upcoming trading day.
- TradeStation customers get market news from Benzinga free of charge, but many other news sources can be accessed every month through the TradingApp store.
- Stock and option screeners: The TradeStation platform has powerful stock and options screens that allow you to sort trading ideas based upon preset screens quickly. There are hundreds of parameters that can be customized for technical and fundamental investors.
Investors who wish to have free access to third-party research (Morningstar S&P, CFRA, etc.) You might want to consider other stocks, mutual funds, and ETF options. Other discount brokers also offer free research from third-party research companies.
TradeStation Review - Bottom Line
Are you unsure if TradeStation is the right choice for you? Let's make it easy: If these statements are true for you and your trading needs, then TradeStation should be on your shortlist.
- You trade often. TradeStation is a good choice for active traders. It offers competitive commission rates and a robust platform to help them trade. TradeStation is one of the top stock brokers for options.
- If your account balance is $2,000 or higher, you can avoid TradeStation's account inactivity fees.
- You do not invest in funds. TradeStation does not offer any mutual funds with no transaction fees. It also offers a small selection of funds available from other brokers. If you rely on mutual funds or ETFs, it may be that ETFs offered by other brokers are more suitable for your portfolio.
- See more of The Best Funded Trader Programs for 2022
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