TD Ameritrade is a broker that offers an electronic trading platform for the trade of financial assets, including common stocks, preferred stocks, futures contracts, exchange-traded funds, forex, options, cryptocurrency, mutual funds, fixed income investments, margin lending, and cash management services.

The company was founded as Ameritrade in 1971 before the company acquired competitor TD Waterhouse from the Toronto-Dominion Bank in 2006. The newly combined company was then renamed TD Ameritrade, with Toronto-Dominion Bank keeping about 40 percent minority ownership. In October 2020, Charles Schwab Corporation acquired TD Ameritrade in a $22-billion stock deal that gave Toronto-Dominion Bank 13 percent minority ownership in Charles Schwab.

TD Ameritrade was initially based in Omaha, Nebraska, with major trading centers in Southlake, Texas, and St. Louis, Missouri. Charles Schwab plans to move most of the operations to a new combined headquarters in the Dallas Fort Worth metropolis.

As of March 31, 2020, TD Ameritrade had more than 12 million client accounts and client assets of approximately $1.2 trillion. In fiscal 2020 second quarter, the company executed an average of 2.1 million daily average revenue trades per day.

In fiscal 2019, the company derived 33.3% of its revenues from commissions and fees, including payment for order flow, 28.5% of its revenues from the company's bank deposit account program, 25.5% of revenues from interest, 9.7% from investment product fees, and 3% from other sources.

To sell stock on TD Ameritrade

To access the order screen, log in to your TD Ameritrade account at tdameritrade.com, and click Trade > Stocks & ETFs > Buy/Sell from the main menu. Then, use the Action menu and select Buy. Enter the number of shares as well as the symbol. Then, select an order type, set a price, and select a time-in-force

TD Ameritrade remains one of the largest online brokers, and it has continued to build on its edge with beginner investors. TD Ameritrade reaches customers and prospects with on-ramps to its services constructed on a variety of social media sites, including Twitter and Facebook. Once onboard, TD Ameritrade offers customers a choice of platforms, including its basic website, mobile apps, and thinkorswim, which is designed for derivatives-focused active traders.

Although Charles Schwab has acquired TD Ameritrade, the two brokerage behemoths merger is expected to take several years to complete. In the meantime, TD Ameritrade is functioning as a separate entity, so we will look at how it ranks as a standalone brokerage and help you decide whether it is a good fit for your investing needs.