TD Ameritrade facts for kids
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Corporate headquarters, in Omaha, Nebraska
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | 1971 (as Ameritrade) |
| Headquarters | Omaha, Nebraska, United States |
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Key people
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Joe Ricketts (Founder) Steve Boyle (Interim President and CEO) |
| Services | Stockbroker Electronic trading platform |
| Revenue |  $4.358 billion (Q3 2020) |
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Operating income
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$1.930 billion (Q3 2020) |
| $1.393 billion (Q3 2020) |
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| AUM |  $1.3 trillion (2020) |
| Total assets | $54.394 billion (Half 2020) |
| Total equity | $9.568 billion (Q3 2020) |
| Owner | Charles Schwab Corporation |
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Number of employees
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8,939 (2020) |
| Parent | TD Ameritrade Holding Co. |
| Subsidiaries | Thinkorswim, Thinktech, TD Ameritrade Network, Scottrade |
TD Ameritrade was a company that helped people buy and sell investments online. It was like an online store where you could trade things such as common stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and options. The company made money from fees when people traded, from interest on money borrowed by investors, and from other services.
The company started in 1971 as Ameritrade. In 2006, it bought the U.S. part of TD Waterhouse and changed its name to TD Ameritrade. A Canadian company, TD Bank Group, owned a large part of the new company. Later, in 2017, TD Ameritrade bought another big brokerage company called Scottrade. All of Scottrade's customers moved to TD Ameritrade. In 2020, Charles Schwab Corporation bought TD Ameritrade. Now, all of TD Ameritrade's services and customer accounts are becoming part of Charles Schwab.
Contents
How TD Ameritrade Started and Grew
In 1975, a rule changed that made it cheaper to buy and sell stocks. Because of this, Joe Ricketts and three friends started a company called First Omaha Securities, Inc. in Omaha, Nebraska.
In 1983, they created Ameritrade Clearing Inc. to help process trades.
By 1988, the company was innovative. It launched the first system that let people get stock prices and place orders using a push-button telephone.
In 1995, the company bought K. Aufhauser & Company, Inc. This was the first company to offer a way to trade investments online.
In 1996, Ameritrade joined with another company called TransTerra.
In 1997, the company became a public company. This means its shares could be bought and sold by anyone on the stock market.
Key Acquisitions and Changes
Over the years, TD Ameritrade grew by buying other companies.
- In 2001, it bought TradeCast and National Discount Brokers.
- In 2002, it acquired Datek.
- In 2003, it bought MyDiscountBroker.com.
- In 2004, it added Bidwell, BrokerageAmerica, and JB Oxford and Company.
A big change happened in 2006. The company bought the U.S. part of TD Waterhouse from Toronto-Dominion Bank. The new company was named TD Ameritrade. The Toronto-Dominion Bank then owned 40% of it.
In 2009, TD Ameritrade bought Thinkorswim. This company made special software for people who trade a lot.
In 2013, TD Ameritrade opened a new main office building in Omaha.
In 2017, the company bought Scottrade. This made St Louis, Missouri, a very important location for TD Ameritrade.
In 2019, TD Ameritrade made a big change for its customers. It stopped charging fees for most online trades.
Becoming Part of Charles Schwab
On October 6, 2020, Charles Schwab Corporation bought TD Ameritrade. This happened just over three years after TD Ameritrade had bought Scottrade.
In January 2021, TD Ameritrade and other trading platforms temporarily limited trading of certain stocks like GameStop and AMC Theatres. This was due to unusual trading activity.
By February 2023, Charles Schwab began moving all TD Ameritrade customers to its own platform.
Important Issues
Protecting Customer Information
In 2007, TD Ameritrade found out that computer hackers had accessed some customer information. This included names, addresses, and trading details. In 2011, the company agreed to pay money to customers who were affected by identity theft because of this.
Later, in 2020, it was found that some customer login details were being sold online.
Money Fund Issues
In 2008, during a financial crisis, some TD Ameritrade customers had money in a special fund that lost value. This fund was connected to another company called Lehman Brothers. TD Ameritrade was accused of not being clear enough about the risks of this investment. The company later agreed to pay some money back to its customers to help cover their losses.
Sponsorships
TD Ameritrade was known for owning the naming rights to a baseball field in Omaha. It was called TD Ameritrade Park Omaha. The company paid about $1 million a year for 20 years for this. After Charles Schwab bought TD Ameritrade, the baseball field was renamed Charles Schwab Field Omaha.
