Loyal TD Ameritrade and thinkorswim users finally found out what's about to happen to their trading platforms.
Charles Schwab, an IBD Best Online Broker that bought TD Ameritrade in 2020, on Monday said it plans to meld TD Ameritrade and thinkorswim capabilities with it own into a new brand called Schwab Trading Powered by Ameritrade. This move puts thinkorswim in the hands of all Schwab clients for the first time.
The fact that Schwab is keeping thinkorswim's core capability comes as a relief to former TD Ameritrade customers. Many of thinkorswim's trading tools are more advanced and customizable than what Schwab has offered.
Existing TD Ameritrade customers whose accounts haven't merged with Schwab yet will keep using existing tools. However, Schwab has said it plans to complete the integration in a few months. All customers will then use Schwab Trading Powered by Ameritrade.
What's Staying In Thinkorswim
Schwab, as part of its quarterly earnings release, says its new platform will retain the key pieces of thinkorswim including thinkorswim Desktop, thinkorswim Mobile and thinkorswim Web.
The brokerage acknowledges the role of trading in its business. Trading accounted for a fifth of Schwab's revenue in the past two years. And average new assets of traders is 6.5 times higher than other households.
To hold on to these traders, the new platform is also keeping thinkorswim's programming language, advanced charting, paper trading simulator and chat rooms.
Meanwhile, some thinkorswim and TD Ameritrade tools make their way into Schwab's platform, such as "SnapTicket" orders, which simplify the trading process.
Additionally, Schwab is adding the former TD Ameritrade's investing education tools and resources to its own site. That includes access to experienced trading pros even when the market is closed.
"We've achieved an important, highly anticipated milestone in the integration with the broad availability of thinkorswim," said Schwab's head of trading services, James Kostulias. "Trading is a huge focus for us at Schwab and represents a critical part of our overall business as we go forward."
