E*TRADE vs. thinkorswim vs. Investors Vanguard

During the COVID pandemic, the airline companies were taking a big hit on travel and I saw this as a great opportunity to invest in airline stock because its value in the market had dropped tremendously. I used this opportunity to invest in multiple airline stocks through e-trade by buying the stock at an all-time low for airline stock. It was a great investment for me in the long term.

Incentivized

I would not hesitate to recommend thinkorswim to someone who wants to get into the stock market. The opportunity to use "paper money" can help beginners learn the fundamentals of trading without any risk. Although the trial period is only 60 days, [that's a] good amount of time for new users to learn enough before venturing out into the real world. Adding to the positives, thinkorswim mobile app is superb and a great way to keep up with your portfolio on the go.

Incentivized

Vanguard is a tried and true investment platform. They hold a large portion of people's wealth in the United States, so they have experience and the reputation to go along with it. Their customer service via phone is top-of-the-line, which is helpful for any retirement or investing-related questions. However, their website and app sometimes lack functionality, and it can be difficult to navigate. For users looking for an easy-to-use platform for investing, Vanguard might not be it.

Incentivized

• I like their sell orders that allow you to set a price or percentage as a stop loss.
• Their dashboard is easy to use and gives you some quick info.
• I also like E*TRADE's reports for gains and losses.
• Moving funds into and out of your accounts is pretty simple with E*TRADE.

Incentivized

• Day Trading
• Swing Trading
• Long term Investment

Incentivized

• Low cost
• High value index funds
• Very good exposure to all markets.

• summary page needs to have more details like it doesn't show current market price for an option purchased
• purchase or sell needs to be user friendly so it takes less time.

Incentivized

• Offering more streaming platforms, like bloomberg for example or Fox Business.

Incentivized

• identifying source of stock receipts

Incentivized

robinhood is similar to e-trade but they are geared more to bitcoin and companies that may not be offered on E*TRADE because they are off-market companies.

Incentivized

I have personally used Charles Schwab mobile app and online page for about 3 years and have been thoroughly satisfied. Before TD Ameritrade and Charles Schwab merged, I had used thinkorswim for the 60-day paper money trial before using my real money on investments. I confidently believe the time I've spent on thinkorswim has helped me mitigate any big losses in my investments. As for robinhood, the mobile app is a lot better for beginners to understand and the UI can be described as more aesthetically pleasing. thinkorswim triumphs in many other aspects [as well] such as being backed up by TD Ameritrade and Charles Schwab and the plethora of knowledge [a user can access].

Incentivized

I thought I would need Vanguard Predictive Planning, but the robot-investor style tool like that didn't fit my current needs. I have availability to learn and explore so I took the plunge to handle it myself without predictive planning in place. I do review quarterly, but I didn't need a separate tool for that.

• Limit how much you want invest.
• This is an open trade website and there is a risk of losing your money based on your investments.
• If you make some sound investments and keep yourself within a budgeted spending limit there is the opportunity to make money on e-trade.

Incentivized

• Easy to place orders
• Easy to analyse stocks
• Easy to check over all portfolio

Incentivized

• Vanguard has helped our employees invest their money
• Vanguard's broad offerings and low fees have made our benefits packages seem more appealing to potential hires

Incentivized