International stocks and ADRs
When it comes to international stocks, E*Trade and TD Ameritrade stick with the pack and offer trading only on U.S. tickers. Thus, investors can invest in foreign companies by way of American depositary receipts (ADRs), or by purchasing shares of companies with dual listings on domestic exchanges, but neither brokerage will route orders to international stock exchanges.
The truth is that a minority of online brokers offer the ability to send orders over international borders. If you want to transact directly on a foreign stock exchange, you may want to consider Charles Schwab and Fidelity, both of which feature electronic trading on international exchanges.
In the earliest days, discount brokers were nothing more than a portal to the stock markets. They offered little more than just a way to place a trade. As a result, discount brokers could charge lower commissions than their full-service rivals.
Over time, though, discount brokers have beefed up their research offerings as a value-add to their paying customers. For example, TD Ameritrade customers get access to nearly 50 different daily market reports and stock analysis from multiple third parties (CFRA, Credit Suisse, Market Edge, and more), as well as time-sensitive commentary on major events like earnings reports and economic releases.
Likewise, E*Trade offers a compelling research suite that includes reports from the likes of Moody's, Thomson Reuters, Morningstar, and more. In addition, the company provides daily market commentary from Morningstar, major financial publications, and more, completely free, on all of its platforms.
I've barely scratched the surface here. If you wanted to read up on your portfolio and watch list around the clock, both brokers are chock full of content to keep you busy. Plus, both brokers, like all discount brokers, also offer a wealth of scanners and screeners in which you can sort the market for stocks and funds that meet specific parameters (dividend yields, price-to-earnings ratios, earnings growth, and so on).
The best online brokerage: E*Trade vs. TD Ameritrade
These two brokers are so close on so many things -- prices, fund selection, and research -- that picking a winner of the two largely comes down to a few "make-or-break" features.
TD Ameritrade has the clear advantage for investors who want in-person help along with their online brokerage account as it has a much larger branch network than E*Trade. It also has a slightly better ATM access feature, since customers can use TD Bank's ATM network for free. On the other hand, E*Trade could be the better choice for fee-free mutual fund investing or active options traders.
It's also worth mentioning that both of these brokers have recently been acquired. TD Ameritrade has been acquired by Charles Schwab, while E*Trade has been acquired by Morgan Stanley. The platforms will likely be integrated with their respective acquirers, but this will take some time to play out. For the time being, they are still largely operating independently.