<<I have got my initial package but without the Internet trading password yet.>>
I've had a Datek account for about a year and recently opened an Ameritrade account to trade options. I received the Ameritrade package you're referring to about eight days after I mailed the application. I got a separate letter with the pin number (password) the next day.
<<I have to try transferring my account from Datek but I would like to wait and watch before I do it.>>
Here's a very brief, and incomplete, comparison of Datek's and Ameritrade's online performance, based on my several hundred trades with Datek and less than a dozen so far with Ameritrade:
Reliability of Web Site:
Datek: Good to Very Good
Ameritrade: Poor to Fair
Datek has lots of backup servers. ATrade appears to have only its main server and one backup. AT site is very buggy, especially using Internet Explorer 4.0 browser. Netscape is best for Datek site, virtually mandatory for ATrade site. It's difficult to log on to ATrade during heavy market activity.
Price Improvement, Speed and Execution of Trades:
Datek: Good
Ameritrade: Fair
If you're a serious day trader, don't even consider ATrade. Datek is also not the best broker for day traders, as they do not yet permit AON or FOK orders (which ATrade does allow). Occasionally, Datek has provided price improvement on my trades. I haven't made enough trades with ATrade to test them on that.
Trade Confirmations, Ease of Canceling Orders, Account Status, Etc.:
Datek: Excellent
Ameritrade: Awful
Those SOES boys at Datek knew what they were doing when they designed their software user interface, presumably because they are traders themselves. With ATrade, in short, you never know where you stand until at least 24 hours after the fact. Especially scary is ATrade's "iffy" trade cancellation procedure.
Range of Services:
Datek: Lousy
Ameritrade: Good
With Datek, you currently can't trade options or OTC:BB stocks. With ATrade, you can buy and sell that stuff, along with mutual funds, et al.
As for commissions, they're both about as cheap as it gets. But the more I learn about investing the more I realize that while you're saving pennies with deep discount brokers like Datek and Ameritrade, you're probably losing dollars through inferior execution and price improvement compared to the better full service brokers.
Good luck, hope this helps. |
