Gyroscopic Investing

Thinking of pushing to switch brokerage for my offices's retirement accounts. Currently use TD Ameritrade. But, unlike Fidelity, Vanguard, and Schwab, TDA charges commission for trading treasuries. Does anyone see a reason to stay if switching is possible?

"TD Ameritrade may act as principal on any fixed-income transaction. When acting as principal and receiving compensation on a net yield basis, we will add a markup to any purchase, and subtract a markdown from every sale. The markup or markdown will be included in the price and yield quoted to you."

https://www.tdameritrade.com/pricing.page#FixedIncome

AFAIK practically every broker does that on individual bonds. There's no such thing as a free lunch.

TD Ameritrade is one of the lowest-cost brokers for ETF-based PPs, so IMO it's not worth the effort to lobby to change away from them. Who would you rather they use?

BearBones wrote: Thinking of pushing to switch brokerage for my offices's retirement accounts. Currently use TD Ameritrade. But, unlike Fidelity, Vanguard, and Schwab, TDA charges commission for trading treasuries. Does anyone see a reason to stay if switching is possible?

I have an account with TD Ameritrade (via thinkorswim acquisition) and don't care for them.  They're fat, bloated and pricey.  Schwab has the largest selection of free ETF's.  Fidelity would be best for Solo Roth 401(K)'s, Treasuries and Fidelity Select Sector mutual funds.  For mutual fund trades, optionXpress is the lowest cost, but only E-Trade has automatic investment program for mutual funds.  I'd stay away from Vanguard, antiquated web interface and incompetent back office.

So, if your workers are not all that familiar with the tax advantages of ETFs, I think E-Trade would probably be a good choice if they allow the automatic investment management into custodian retirement accounts.

I've been very impressed with Schwab. As MG said, they have a great assortment of ETFs including SGOL, as well as automatic bond laddering tools. You can also buy individual treasuries in blocks as small as $1000, compared to 5k for TDAmeritrade.

KevinW wrote: TD Ameritrade is one of the lowest-cost brokers for ETF-based PPs, so IMO it's not worth the effort to lobby to change away from them. Who would you rather they use?

I was thinking of Fidelity. I do not want to rack up fees, so I have used TLT, SHV, and IAU for my tax-deferred PP, all of which still have $9.99 trades and all of which are from BlackRock. Would like to buy bonds and bills directly without commission.

BearBones wrote: I do not want to rack up fees, so I have used TLT, SHV, and IAU for my tax-deferred PP, all of which still have $9.99 trades and all of which are from BlackRock. Would like to buy bonds and bills directly without commission.

TLT should trade commission-free at TDAmeritrade, as does SHY if you're willing to stomach a bit more interest rate risk. But if you're really look to slice out fees, my Schwab recommendation stands. Commission-free gold ETF trades are sooooo nice.