TD Ameritrade
| File:Amtd logo.gif | |
| Company type | Public (Nasdaq: AMTD) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Brokerages |
| Founded | Omaha, Nebraska (1971) |
| Headquarters | Omaha, Nebraska, USA |
Key people | Joe Moglia, CEO J. Joseph Ricketts, Chairman Randy MacDonald, CFO J. Peter Ricketts, Vice Chairman/COO |
| Products | Stock Brokerage |
| Revenue |  $1.003 Billion USD (2005) |
| $339.7 Million USD (2005) | |
Number of employees | 2,052 (2005) |
| Website | www.amtd.com |
TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation is the owner of Ameritrade Inc., the largest online brokerage in America.
History
TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation traces back its lineage to a small investment banking firm and First Omaha Securities, Inc. (later Accutrade) in Omaha, Nebraska. Ameritrade Clearing Inc. is established as a clearing broker in 1983, and by 1987 TransTerra Company becomes the holding company for Ameritrade, and the company is subsequently known as TransTerra Company. In October 1995, Ameritrade acquired All American Brokers. In January of 1996, TransTerra's Accutrade launches "Accutrade® for Windows®," the first online investing system that lets individuals partake in program investing and basket trading. By May of 1996, TransTerra launched an Internet only broker called eBroker™, and by November, TransTerra Company becomes Ameritrade Holding Corporation. In March of 1997, Amertrade became a publicly held company, and its IPO opened at $15 per share. Ameritrade formed Freetrade in November of 2000, which provided commission-free equity market orders. Freetrade has since been replaced by Ameritrade Izones, which now offers $5 equity market orders. In 2001, Ameritrade made two acquisitions- the February acquisition of TradeCast, giving Ameritrade a presence in the business-to-business arena, and the September acquisition of National Discount Brokers Corporation, adding $6.3 billion in client assets. In 2002, Ameritrade merged with Datek Online Holdings Corporation, and raised commissions to $10.99 from $8. Ameritrade purchased Mydiscountbroker.com in June 2003, and client accounts reached 3 million. In 2004, Ameritrade completed the purchase of Bidwell and Company in January, BrokerageAmerica in February, and JB Oxford and Company in October.
Acquisition of TD Waterhouse USA
Ameritrade Holding Corporation acquired TD Waterhouse USA from TD Bank Financial Group. Following the acquisition, it renamed itself TD Ameritrade. TD Ameritrade is the largest online brokerage with 5.5 million clients and $219 billion in client assets, surpassing the current leader, the Charles Schwab Corporation. Revenue and net income are expected to increase to $1.8 billion and $557 million, respectively. TD Bank now owns 32% of TD Ameritrade, and purchased Ameritrade's Canadian brokerage operations for $60 million cash. Ameritrade investors will receive a $6 dividend, funded from Ameritrade borrowings and excess cash contributed to TD Waterhouse USA by TD Bank. TD Bank will limit their ownership of TD Ameritrade to 45% for up to ten years after the acquisition, while J. Joe Ricketts will limit his family's ownership of TD Ameritrade to 29% for ten years after the acquisition. Ameritrade CEO Joe Moglia will be the CEO of TD Ameritrade.
New commision is $9.99 for unlimited number of shares, market or limit orders.
Ameritrade clients will benefit from the transformation of current TD Waterhouse branches into TD Ameritrade branches, providing local brokerage services. On January 25, 2006, TD Ameritrade closed the deal with Toronto Dominion. [1]
Awards
Four Stars to Ameritrade's Ameritrate Apex™ from Barron's 2005 Review of Online Brokers, March 2005
Certified Customer Call Center from J.D. Power and Associates, May 2004
Reader's Choice Award from Stocks and Commodities magazine, February 2004
Best of the Web from Forbes, 2003, 2004
Top Choice from the Wall Street Journal, May 2002
Data
- Yahoo! - TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation Company Profile
- Hoover's Online - TD Ameritrade Fact Sheet