How To Transfer From E*TRADE to TD Ameritrade 2023

Investors are making the switch from E*TRADE to TD Ameritrade for a variety of reasons. 

Although E*TRADE is a fantastic platform for both beginners and advanced traders, more and more investors are switching to TD Ameritrade for its exceptional trading tools and features. 

One of TD Ameritrade’s greatest tools is its thinkorswim trading platform. This desktop and mobile trading tool provides investors a world-class trading experience. 

The investing community has awarded TD Ameritrade’s thinkorswim platform the following awards: #1 Platforms & Tools, #1 Desktop Trading Platform, and #1 Active Trading. 

Whatever the reason may be for wanting to transfer from E*TRADE to TD Ameritrade, we will show you how to execute this transfer step-by-step!

How To Transfer From E*TRADE to TD Ameritrade

The process for transferring your assets from E*TRADE to TD Ameritrade can be completed through 3 steps. 

1. Gather information from E*TRADE
2. Open your TD Ameritrade Account
3. Initiate your transfer from E*TRADE to TD Ameritrade

These steps will be described in detail in the paragraphs below!

1. Gather Information From E*TRADE

The first step in ensuring a successful transfer of assets is to gather all necessary account information from E*TRADE. 

Typically, all required account information can be found on your E*TRADE account statements. Some of the information that you will need is listed below. Please note you may need additional information during the transfer. 

• Account type
• Account name(s)
• Account title
• Account number
• Estimated value of E*TRADE investments

To find the above account information, follow the below instructions on the E*TRADE mobile app. 

1. Sign in to your mobile E*TRADE account
2. Select the account you want to transfer (i.e. Individual Brokerage Account)
3. On the top banner, scroll to the right and click “Documents”
4. Under “Type” select “Statements”
5. Click on a recent statement to find all necessary information 

To find the above account information on E*TRADE desktop, follow the below instructions on the web. 

1. Sign in to your online E*TRADE account
2. Navigate to the home screen of the account you want to transfer (i.e. Individual Brokerage Account)
3. On the top banner, hover over “Documents” and select “Brokerage Statements”
4. Click “Statements”
5. Select a recent statement to find all necessary information 

2. Open Your TD Ameritrade Account

After you have gathered the information that you need from E*TRADE, head to the TD Ameritrade website and follow the step-by-step instructions to create your TD Ameritrade account. 

Here you have the ability to select what type of account you want to create. Many of the options are the same between E*TRADE and TD Ameritrade (Individual Accounts, IRA Accounts, etc.).

It is vital to understand that the name(s)/title on the account being transferred must exactly match the name(s)/title on the new TD Ameritrade account. 

To illustrate the above principle, assume you are working to transfer your assets out of your Individual Account within E*TRADE. The TD Ameritrade account that you create must be an Individual Account with you being the sole owner of the account (just like the E*TRADE account is). 

Once the transfer has been completed you will have the ability to change the titling of the newly opened TD Ameritrade accounts. However, for a successful transfer of assets, name(s)/title must match completely. 

3. Initiate Your Transfer From E*TRADE To TD Ameritrade

The final mandatory step to complete the process is to officially initiate the complete asset transfer from E*TRADE to TD Ameritrade. Please note that E*TRADE charges a $75 fee for transferring assets out of the brokerage. Click here to see E*TRADE’s complete pricing sheet. 

In most cases you will be initiating an in-kind transfer which means you will not be selling assets during the transfer (thus you will not be incurring a tax liability). 

However, there are a few cases you will need to liquidate an investment prior to transferring into TD Ameritrade. 

First, you will need to liquidate assets in ETRADE’s proprietary funds (i.e. funds that are created by E*TRADE and only sold through the E*TRADE platform).

Second, if you are holding partial shares of stock in E*TRADE, the partial shares will need to be liquidated. This is because TD Ameritrade does not allow the transfer of partial stocks. 

Please remember that the sales of any assets may incur a tax liability. 

To initiate the transfer in TD Ameritrade, follow the below steps. 

1. Log onto the TD Ameritrade desktop version
2. Click “My Account” in the top left of the page
3. Select “Account Transfer”
4. Click “Begin Transfer” and then “E*TRADE” on the next page
5. Use the information gathered from Step 1 to complete the remaining form

After initiating the transfer, you can expect to see your assets in TD Ameritrade in about a week.

Conclusion: Transfer From E*TRADE To TD Ameritrade

Typically, transferring assets from one brokerage to another is a pretty straightforward process. However, the transfer of proprietary funds and partial shares can cause a bit of complexity. 

As mentioned above, the transfer process may take several days to complete. During the transfer process, you will not have access to your assets and you will not be able to make trades. Please keep that in mind when planning out when to initiate the transfer. 

Transferring assets does carry risk, especially if information is entered incorrectly. Investing Simple advises all investors to confirm the above steps with the E*TRADE and TD Ameritrade official websites. For additional guidance, TD Ameritrade has provided an FAQ section to support in the process. 

Remember that you will be paying a $75 fee for transferring funds out of E*TRADE. Additionally, if you ever need to transfer all your funds out of TD Ameritrade, expect the fee to be around $75. To see TD Ameritrade’s full pricing sheet click here.