E*Trade
Table of Contents
Useful Links
Planning – Those new to E*Trade can benefit from a signup bonus.
Knowledge – A page to gain insight into strategies, and which may suit your situation
Core Portfolios – Managed portfolios to help get a quick, reliable start to investing
Pricing – Up-to-date prices of commission
Order routing report – Quarterlyorder routing report by E*Trade
Background
Used by: Mobile traders, Options traders, low-activity traders
E*Trade is an electronic trading platform founded by William Porter and Bernard Newcomb in 1982. In 2018, the company had 4.9 million brokerage accounts, and a margin receivables balance of $9.56 billion. E*Trade acquired OptionsHouse in 2016.
E*Trade is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, but has offices dotted around the United States.
Whilst the company has seen great success during its long trading history, it began it fall behind when competitors began offering zero commission stock trading. As this was becoming the norm, E*Trade decided to follow suit in 2019, and has since caught a second wind.
Affiliations or Secondary Platforms
Morgan Stanley announcing in February 2020 that they would acquire E*Trade, many new partners and affiliations will likely begin working with E*Trade.
Market Access for Live Trading
| Market Access | Instruments |
|---|---|
|
Stocks |
All major US markets, no access to EuroNext, Asian Stock Exchanges, or London Stock Exchanges |
|
Commodities |
N/A |
|
Futures |
CBOT, CME, NYMEX, COMEX, CBOE, MGE, ICE U.S |
|
Options |
US Stock Exchanges |
|
CFDs |
N/A |
|
Forex |
Forex Exchange data only |
|
Mutual Funds |
Yes, over 6,000 mutual funds offered |
|
Hedge Funds |
N/A |
|
Bonds |
Core bonds, corporate bonds, ultra short-term bonds, municipal bonds, short-term municipal bonds |
|
ETFs |
Yes, extensive offering |
|
Futures Options |
CBOT, CME, NYMEX, COMEX, CBOE, MGE, ICE U.S |
|
Crypto |
Cryptocurrency futures only (BTCUSD, ETHUSD, etc.) |
|
IPOs |
Ability to buy into IPOs through E*TRADE platform |
|
Direct Market Access |
Available through Power E*TRADE platform |
|
Account Types |
Individual, Joint, Custodial, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, SEP IRA, Simple IRA, Trust, Corporation, General Partnership, Limited Partnership, LLC, Sole Proprietorship |
E*TRADE For Market Access
E*TRADE provides extensive market access, including all major US stock exchanges. However, it does not offer access to EuroNext indices, Asian stock exchanges, or the London Stock Exchange. Futures trading is available on CBOT, CME, NYMEX, COMEX, CBOE, MGE, and ICE U.S
Options trading is supported on US stock exchanges, and ETRADE offers cryptocurrency futures trading, including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, and XRP. However, direct forex trading is not available, only forex exchange data (Investopedia). ETRADE clients can also participate in IPOs directly through the platform, allowing them to place conditional orders for shares (Investopedia).
Market Data and Software Costs
| Market Data | E*Trade fees and margin rates are frequently discussed topics. While many reviews offer basic information, Quant Savvy provides a detailed breakdown and comparison with other trading platforms |
|---|---|
|
Data Feeds Compatible |
Not applicable |
|
Minimum Account Opening Balance |
No minimum for standard brokerage accounts |
|
Time to open account |
1-3 days |
|
Inactivity fee |
None |
|
Withdrawal Fee |
From $25 |
|
Desktop |
Free, includes ETRADE Web and Power ETRADE platforms |
|
Mobile App |
Free, with comprehensive trading features |
|
Web Trading |
Free |
|
Stocks & ETFs |
$0 commission |
|
Stock Options |
$0.65 per contract |
|
Futures |
$1.50 per contract per side |
|
Futures Micro E-mini |
$1.50 per contract per side |
|
Futures Options |
$1.50 per contract per side |
|
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User Interface and Technology
Charting, Indicators and Tools
E*Trade is fantastic for beginner traders because of the tools available, along with UX/UI. In particular, options trading is made extremely accessible. For example, when using the Snapshot Analysis tool, the key events to keep an eye on are listed along the P&L chart, and the risk/reward is denoted in smiley faces – it doesn’t get much more user friendly.
Futures trading is also great with E*Trade, particularly with the use of the Quick Trade widget, which triggers orders with ease, as well as having many futures ladders than can be run at once.
E*trade Charting: Chart IQ powers the Power E*Trade platform, which is a 3rd party HTML 5 chart provider. Panning and zoom is liquid smooth, and there are 119 technical indicators, with 32 drawing tools. Recognia technical analysis is also integrated.
Platform Reviews by Users
“I’m very pleased with E*Trade. I’ve been with them since 1999. E*Trade has a lot of good tools for analyzing, and I like their excellent charts for account Performance & value to see how one has done. I’m a simple minded investor, so don’t use all their fancy tools, but I strictly go for longer term value.“
“I absolutely love this platform. It’s much more in depth than many others I’ve used. The quotes are in real time and extremely accurate and trades are executed immediately. I love it.“
“I used to be a big advocate of Etrade. They have a great interface (the site is easy to use), and it gives the individual investor access to a lot of tools. However, in the past year or so I have become aware that my trades are not routed to the most efficient exchanges, but are instead sold to HFT’s so they can pinch a few pennies off of each trade in the dark pools. The net result is that individual investors (trade customers!) have ultimately been sold out.“
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E*TRADE Ranked Second
ETRADE offers a user-friendly interface with both a browser-based platform and a mobile application. The clean, practical layout makes web trading intuitive, and its chart trading functionality is comprehensive. ETRADE supports a wide range of indicators and studies, with robust tools for customization (StockBrokers.com).
User reviews highlight ETRADE’s excellent charting capabilities, extensive research tools, and the ease of use of its mobile app. However, some users report occasional issues with the platform's performance and customer support response times. Despite these drawbacks, ETRADE remains favored for its robust trading tools and user-friendly interface, enhancing the overall trading experience
Day Trading Platform Tools, Live Trading, Research and Portfolio Risk Software
Scanners, Screeners, Watch Lists, Software tools, Alerts
OptionStation Pro: toolset allows you to build, evaluate, and track just about any options strategy you can think of. Tools are geared to active traders, such as time and sales, market depth, and snapshots that show how your positions are performing.
Radar Screen: Continuously monitors and ranks up to 1,00 symbols in real-time, based on more than 180 fully customizable technical and fundamental indicators, as well as virtually unlimited amounts of custom criteria, through Easy Language (link to the programming language subsection).
3rd Party Data: Plot 3rd party data in a Chart Analysis or RadarScreen window from previously created ASCII or MetaStock (9.x or greater) data files. This allows you to use proprietary data that may have been generated through another application (such as Excel) or that was obtained for exotic markets not currently supported by the TradeStation Data Network.
Trading Apps: Choose from 100s of products which can be downloaded directly to the Tradestation platform offering full compatibility. Options include ffron end order entry apps or uniques indicators or even fully automated trading strategy.
Placing Live Trades and Trading Technology
Matrix: Combined benefits of a detailed market depth window, a highly advanced order-entry tool, and a precise order-tracking systems. The Matrix is the fastest way to enter or change an order, with single click and/or drag and drop simplicity.
TradeStation’s smart order router: elements of both spray and sequential order routing methodologies, depending on the order placed and market conditions at the time. Order logic seeks out and capture as much price improvement and hidden size as reasonably possible within a reasonable period of time.
Portfolio, Risk Management and Software Tools
Trade Manager: this is the only portfolio tool and it displays trade and account activity. All orders are logged to the TradeManager window on a real-time basis when TradeStation is open. Orders are color-coded so you can differentiate between different order statuses at a glance. The colors are updated in real-time as the status of your orders changes. You can also quickly close positions and cancel orders from the TradeManager window, as well as view your order history.
Research and News Feeds
News feed: Offers Market Insights, the news is categorized based on the products and sectors. On the trading platforms, you can filter the news based on several categories, channels, and you can also search for a symbol.
• TradeStation is not built for performing in-depth company research.
• No traditional fundamental research for stocks
• No mutual funds or fixed income research
• Nearly non-existent ETFs research experience.
Tradestation Market Insights: Provides news and up to date commentary on the markets. Source: https://insights.tradestation.com/
Tradestation Research: App built directly into the website is very dated but provides some info on symbols you want to track, still very limited on what can be achieved.
E*TRADE Ranked Second Platform Tools
ETRADE ranks second for its powerful platform tools. The Power ETRADE platform offers customizable charting, over 100 technical studies, and advanced options strategy tools. The Live Action scanner helps monitor real-time market activity effortlessly.
For portfolio management, E*TRADE provides real-time updates and detailed analysis. While its research tools are robust, they slightly lag in depth compared to some competitors. However, its extensive toolset and seamless automation features make it a favorite among traders.
Discover how E*TRADE compares to other top trading platforms. Visit our detailed reviews and insights on Quant Savvy.
Mobile App
Mobile App Rating
Apple Store Rating: 4.2 Android Rating: 2.8
Mobile Trading
Functionality: Functionality is fairly impressive on the mobile platform, being both intuitive and powerful. News is accessible, with Bloomberg TV being streamable, as well as a daily webinar. Security is strong, with face or fingerprint recognition being available. Customer service can be accessed on the app via chat.
Charting: The analytical power for a mobile app is impressive at E*Trade. On the mobile app, the E*Trader screener has 15 criteria. Charting is easy to use on mobile, with the user interface being intuitive and slick. The app mirrors the web platform fairly accurately, so there’s little left to be desired.
Mobile App Reviews
“Love the app for growing my IRA, lots of references for new investors and most trades are FREE!!” “Love this app! Makes trading so EASY!! Everything at your fingertips, gotta love it. Not a whole bunch of bells, whistles; everything an experienced (not professional!) trader would need.“
“This interface is in serious need of an upgrade. I’ve been using this for over 5 years and haven’t seen any significant improvements to make the app more user friendly. Navigating the layout is frustrating when scrolling horizontally doesn’t work. If not associated with my employer’s stock plan I wouldn’t even use this app.“
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E*TRADE Good Mobile App
E*TRADE's mobile app offers a sleek design and intuitive interface, making it easy to transition from viewing your portfolio to placing orders. You can quickly access quotes, hot lists, and the order matrix. The app excels in analyzing and trading option spreads, providing clear strike, expiration, and volume data. Chart analysis with indicators is also straightforward and clean.
Programming Language
Language
Python, Java and Node.js can be used when developing your own trading application, which can make use of the reliable E*Trade API.
Learning Curve
Learning: The web, mobile and desktop platform all have a shallow learning curve. With the benefit of an intuitive user interface, it’s one of the easier platforms to learn. There’s only an education environment and a tonne of support pages, but also a Youtube channel.
Programming/API: Example applications are provided on the developer side of the E*Trade website. These come with ReadMe files and .py files with some basics to help get started. There are also some “Getting Started” and Support pages on the website. Past this, users are on their own to develop a trading strategy.
YouTube Video Channel
E*Trade has an official Youtube channel which uploads, to this day, several times per month. For example, a recent upload was explaining the new Options Trade Ticket Redesign, which helps keep users up-to-date with changes and how they operate.
Compatibility and Design
Like with most platforms, E*Trade uses multiple programming languages to help optimize each facet of the business. For example, the customer facing tools are mostly using c/c++ and Java, which Python and Perl are used for backend.
Compatibility: E*Trade is impressively compatible for users. Being available on mobile, desktop and web browsers, there really are no users left out here. The web browser platform is still highly functional and powerful, and the mobile platform mirrors this very closely – there’s not much functionality being left out of the mobile version.
Design: The E*Trade dashboard is well spaced out, and manages to host a lot of widgets and data without seeming overcrowded. Even when using a tablet, which is touch-orientated, the design holds up to be functional and intuitive. There’s a light and dark theme for charting, and the indicators are easy to apply. Furthermore, the visualisation of the portfolio analysis is extremely impressive, and can make the data easily digestible for beginners.
Speed and Performance Considerations
The platform itself guarantees speed in how you navigate investments, view charts and manage trades.
As for the order routing technology, it uses both sequencing and spray routing, with the majority of trades sent to market makers.
Resilience and Limitations
One limitation is that, apart from zero commission online equity and ETFs, E*Trade is quite expensive. OTCBB trades have a $6.95 commission per trade for some customers, and expensive wire transfer.
The other downfall of E*Trade is the lack of products and markets accessible. There’s no Forex, CFD or cryptocurrency, and the equity markets are limited to the US only. Whilst they have a good bond selection, the funds, options and futures markets are smaller than most competitors.
User Reviews
“”they say they offer an API and I was able to get a sandbox api key and get a skeleton application working and pulling data. Now their sandbox api is so limited you can’t really test any real world application on it, because it only provides prices for a few stocks.“
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E*TRADE Average Programming Platform
ETRADE’s programming platform is average, earning a 3 out of 5. Unlike TradeStation’s EasyLanguage, ETRADE does not have a dedicated programming language tailored for traders. It lacks the simplicity of plain English commands and the support for extensive trading strategy development.
While E*TRADE provides a robust set of tools for trading and analysis, it falls short in offering advanced programming capabilities. There is no built-in support for developing automated trading strategies using custom code. This makes it less ideal for traders looking to create and backtest complex strategies. However, it suits the needs of many traders who do not require advanced programming features.
See how E*TRADE compares: Quant Savvy’s platform reviews.
Automated Trading and Backtesting
Backtesting
The Options Income Backtester is a backtesting tool that allows users to view historical returns for your income-focused Options trades. Power E*Trade users will benefit the most from backtesting, as the web standard platform is limited.
At Quant Savvy we load our systems into TradeStation automated software, where systems generate trading orders automatically which are then transmitted in real-time to your broker.
Live Automated Trading
With the Core Portfolios (account type), diversified portfolios are selected by the Personalized Investment Strategy team – a feature that helps rebalance portfolios along the way as it sees necessary. This is an automated investing .
Trade Management and Historical Trades
Trade Management: E*trade offers high quality and speed of trading execution which is 0.12 seconds (S&P 500 performance) and 0.31 seconds (Non-S&P 500 performance). Effective/quoted spread is reposted to be 53.71% for S&P 500 performance and 60.84% for Non-S&P 500 performance.
Portfolio Testing and Trading
E*Trade has the ability to paper trade, meaning investors can practice their strategy without risking real money. The feature replicates the platform well, and is one of the most used simulated trading platforms in the world.
Backtesting is available, as mentioned elsewhere in this review, and the portfolio analysis feature is a visual way to represent your current holdings and their cumulative risk/performance.
Data Stability and Speed
E*Trade claims it balances speed with quality, and with seekout the most optimal execution available.
In July 2020, 96.01% of S&P 500 trades were at or better than the National Best Bid or Offer, with an 86.47% price improvement percentage. Execution speed was around 0.17 seconds.
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E*TRADE Average Automated Trading
E*TRADE's automated trading features are rated 3 out of 5. While it offers basic automation and reliable live trading performance, it lacks advanced tools like Walk-forward or Monte Carlo analysis found in other platforms.
E*TRADE's platform supports real-time trade monitoring and management but does not efficiently handle complex strategies or large datasets (Investopedia).
Customer Support and Learning Resources
Online, Telephone, Email and Account Services Support
E*Trade offers phone support, Live Chat, and email.
The majority of reviews on Trustpilot suggest that their customer service is very poor, they often don’t answer the phone and you have to wait ages before you manage to reach them. However, live chat appears to be faster in offering support.
Forum and Community Support
Webinars with Q&A sessions, though infrequent. Previous webinars are stored and watchable.
There is no official community forum.
Opening and Account
The process of opening an account with E*Trade is fully digital and friendly for beginners, with no minimum deposit or deposit fee. Whilst it’s user friendly and the online application is fast, the funding process can take several days. Furthermore, E*Trade is only for US clients.
Deposits, Withdrawals Process
Deposits can be in the form of electronic money transfer (up to 3 business days), wire transfer (same-day), or cheque (up to 5 business days).
Deposits and withdrawals are free. However, wire transfer costs $25 and checks cost $10.
User Reviews
“Dealing with Etrade customer service as been excruciatingly frustrating. I will transfer my account somewhere else as soon as I have some time and the pandemic is over. Don’t open account with Etrade!“
“God help you if you have to ever get somebody live on the phone! 45 minute wait times are not uncommon. I once had to wait 1.5hrs on hold. I only call maybe 1 time every other year but the frustration is enough to get me looking to dump these jokers“
“I find ETrade quite helpful as their customer service was very friendly and convenient. It increased my profit and gave me expect result.”
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E*TRADE Customer Support & Learning
ETRADE's customer support and learning resources are rated 2 out of 5. The platform offers 24/7 support via phone, email, and chat, but response times can be slow, and some users report complex processes. ETRADE also provides a range of educational resources, including webinars, articles, and tutorials.
While the customer support is reliable, it may not be as prompt as some traders expect. The learning resources, however, are comprehensive and beneficial for traders at all levels.
Security
Monitoring, Encryption
Encrypted communication: E*Trade has not yet had any data breaches to date, which suggests their encryption and cyber security is at a good standard. E*Trade is regulated by SEC and FINRA, two top-tier regulators.
Safety of Funds
There’s a Complete Protection Guarantee which covers fraudulent use of a users account, as well as providing extra security software on demand.
SIPC protection, which is in the event of the broker going bust, isn’t necessarily for clients based in other countries. It covers up to $500,000, with a cash limit of $250,000.
Two Factor Authentication
Mobile users can use biometric recognition, such as face or fingerprint, along with a normal password.
E*TRADE Security
E*TRADE ensures robust security with continuous account monitoring and alerts for significant changes. The platform requires unique usernames and strong passwords, and it uses identity verification for logins from unknown devices.
E*TRADE employs 256-bit TLS/SSL encryption and advanced firewalls to safeguard data. The platform also provides guidance to clients on securing their accounts. Futures accounts comply with regulatory standards, maintaining sufficient cash reserves and segregating client funds.
Enhanced security measures include two-factor authentication and biometric login options for mobile devices, protecting against fraudulent activities.
E*TRADE Review Summary 4 Stars
E*TRADE is an excellent broker for beginners and intermediate traders focused on comprehensive trading tools and educational resources. It excels in providing a user-friendly platform and a wealth of educational materials.
Pros:
User-Friendly Interface: The platform is intuitive and easy to navigate, making it ideal for new traders.
Extensive Educational Resources: E*TRADE offers a wide range of educational materials, including webinars, articles, tutorials, and a comprehensive knowledge base.
Mobile App: The mobile app is highly intuitive and well-designed, allowing quick access to place trades, monitor portfolios, and check account balances in real-time.
Comprehensive Platform: E*TRADE provides a one-stop shop for trading across multiple asset classes, including stocks, options, futures, and ETFs, with advanced trading tools and real-time data analysis.
Competitive Fees: E*TRADE has competitive fees, particularly for US-based traders dealing in stocks, options, and futures.
Cons:
Customer Support: Some users have reported slow response times and complex processes for certain issues.
Automated Trading Limitations: The platform has some limitations in automated trading features, particularly in managing complex strategies.
Despite these minor drawbacks, E*TRADE remains a top choice for its robust educational resources, user-friendly interface, and comprehensive trading tools. For those looking to develop their trading skills and leverage advanced tools, E*TRADE is highly recommended. For more information and detailed reviews, visit Quant Savvy.
E*TRADE stands strong against competitors like Interactive Brokers, particularly for average US stock, options, and futures traders, although institutional investors might prefer Interactive Brokers for broader market access.
