Schwab Trading Products
There's a lot to look forward to when you start trading at Schwab. Access all the investment products you have now, including equities, options, futures, and forex. Plus enjoy new products and capabilities.
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There's a lot to look forward to when you start trading at Schwab. Like extensive investment choices and potential opportunities to seize. Read on for details.
Stocks and ETFs
Access a wide selection of stocks and ETFs, including:
- All stocks listed on U.S. exchanges, plus over-the-counter stocks (OTCs) and more.
- A broad range of international stocks, including American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), Canadian stocks, and foreign ordinaries.
- All ETFs listed on U.S. exchanges—more than 2,000 different ETFs.
Plus discover a new investing choice for you: Schwab Stock Slices®. Now you can own fractional shares of any company in the S&P 500® for as little as $5. Fractional shares aren't traded via the trade ticket or Snapticket on Schwab.com. Instead, you'll go to Schwab.com > Trade > Schwab Stock Slices to place an order. Watch our "How to buy Schwab Stock Slices" video for details.
Options
Great news—the options trading level you're assigned at the time of your scheduled move will transition to Schwab with you. Read on for details about options trading at Schwab.
Note: You will be subject to a new options trading agreement. Please take a moment to review the new options trading agreement at your leisure.
Compare options levels at TD Ameritrade and Schwab.
Your options trading capabilities will be similar to what you experience today, with a few differences. Take a look at the table below to see the strategies that will be allowed at Schwab for each options level at TD Ameritrade:
| Options level at TD Ameritrade | Options level at Schwab | Strategies allowed |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 – Covered |
|
|
2 – Cash |
1 – Long |
|
|
2 – Margin |
2 – Spreads |
Margin or Limited Margin (IRA) is required
|
| 3 | 3 – Short Uncovered |
Margin is required
|
Spread trading in IRAs
If you're currently approved to trade options spreads in your IRA at TD Ameritrade, you'll retain that approval once your account moves to Schwab. However, your IRA will be subject to a minimum account balance of $5,000 to trade options spreads. This is different from your current experience, as TD Ameritrade doesn't have a minimum account balance to trade options spreads in IRAs.
You will be subject to a new spread trading agreement, which can be found in the spread trading application for your reference. We want to stress that you do not need to complete or return the application to us. Simply review the agreement language at your leisure.
options
Options symbols
- thinkorswim® will continue to use the same options symbols that you see today.
- The options symbols used on Schwab.com and the Schwab Mobile app are very similar to how they appear on tdameritrade.com.
- Here's how the same call on AAPL appears on thinkorswim, tdameritrade.com, and Schwab.com:
• thinkorswim: .AAPL220520C135
• tdameritrade.com: AAPL May 20 2022 135 Call
• Schwab.com: AAPL 05/20/2022 135.00 C
options expiration
Options expiration
- The Schwab cutoff time to submit a "do not exercise" request will be 5:00 p.m. ET (currently set at 5:30 p.m. ET at TD Ameritrade).
- Instead of sending real-time notices about assignments, Schwab will send a trade confirmation noting that the transaction is the result of an assignment.
Exchange routing for options trades
You'll still be able to select the exchange to which your options orders are routed at Schwab when using thinkorswim platforms. This functionality will not be available on Schwab.com or the Schwab Mobile app.
In addition, you'll also be able to call a broker to request the exchange you'd like the order routed to.
Options symbol conversion in watchlists
Some options symbols held in TD Ameritrade watch lists may appear with formatting errors when converted to Schwab watchlists. If that happens, simply deleting and adding back the symbols should correct the issue.
Futures
As a futures-approved client, you can expect a familiar futures trading experience when your account transitions to Schwab.
Forex
You can also expect a familiar forex trading experience once your account transitions to Schwab.
Margin
If you have margin enabled at TD Ameritrade, your margin feature will move with your account to Schwab. Here’s what you need to know to start using margin at Schwab.
Portfolio Margin
If you have portfolio margin enabled at TD Ameritrade, your portfolio margin feature will move with your account to Schwab. Here's what you need to know to start using portfolio margin at Schwab.
Securities lending
You'll continue to enjoy access to fully paid lending, plus you'll see significant short sale process improvements at Schwab.
Securities
Fully paid
filly paid
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You'll have a dashboard for fully paid shares on Schwab.com, giving you up-to-date information on all borrowed securities. The image displayed is an example of what your dashboard will look like.
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Your cash collateral amounts for borrowed securities will be updated and posted daily on the fully paid dashboard.
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You'll have a supplemental account when you move to Schwab. As stocks are borrowed, they'll move between your primary and supplemental accounts. This can sometimes affect your buying power in the primary account when a security is moved to the supplemental account when it is borrowed.
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Whenever there are borrows or returns, you'll get an email for each transaction. If multiple positions are borrowed, you'll receive multiple emails for each security borrowed and multiple emails for rate changes and returns on each security.
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You'll receive any accrued interest payments from your borrowed fully paid shares at TD Ameritrade in your TD Ameritrade account, like normal, up until the transition weekend. Any accrued interest payments due to you after that weekend will be paid to your primary account at Schwab.
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You'll be subject to a new fully paid agreement, which can be found in the fully paid application for your reference. We want to stress that you do not need to complete or return the application to us. Simply review the agreement language at your leisure.
Short sales
Short sales
We want to make you aware of some changes to your short selling experience that we think you'll really like. With the added features and functionality that Schwab offers, short selling will be more streamlined and more transparent than before. The image displayed is an example of what a short sale order looks like at Schwab.
Here's what else you should know:
| How it works at TD Ameritrade | How it works at Schwab | |
|---|---|---|
| Borrow rate and availability of hard-to-borrow securities | Rate and availability information is not accessible online—clients can only see if the security is easy or hard to borrow. | Rate and availability information is accessible during the order entry process on any trading platform at Schwab and will be accessible via watchlists on thinkorswim® in late 2023. |
| How borrow fee charges are calculated | Charged based on collateral. | Charged based on market value. |
| When you start being charged for borrow fees | Charged on settlement date. | Charged on trade date. |
| When you're charged to reserve hard-to-borrow shares | Charged on execution date. | Charged at order entry. |
| Eligibility to short hard-to-borrow securities | Must sign Hard-to-Borrow program agreement to short these securities. | All margin-enabled clients will automatically be eligible to short hard-to-borrow securities—no enrollment is required. |
| Hard-to-borrow eligible order types | GTC and day orders. | Day orders only. |
| Options positions on a hard-to-borrow underlying security | Short positions are closed out if you're assigned or exercised on a hard-to-borrow underlying security but aren't enrolled in the program. | As long as shares are available to borrow (and you have sufficient funds/buying power in your account), positions will not be closed out. You'll be able to maintain the short position and you'll be charged borrow fees. |