TD Ameritrade to Eliminate Account Fees

Online brokerage TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. on Tuesday said it was eliminating account maintenance fees for its retail customers, in the latest move among discount brokers to chop fees amid intense competition for clients.

TD Ameritrade used to charge $15 a quarter if customers had a balance of less than $2,000 or conducted fewer than two trades during that period. The company said it would eliminate the fees for all accounts regardless of size or trading activity, beginning April 21.

A spokeswoman said the move would affect both legacy TD and legacy Ameritrade customers. Ameritrade bought rival TD Waterhouse USA this year, turning itself into TD Ameritrade.

The company said it did not expect to update its outlook based on this change.

Rivals also have cut fees. In September, Charles Schwab & Co. said it was eliminating account service fees of as much as $180 a year on U.S. individual brokerage accounts.

ETrade Financial Corp. last year agreed to waive account service fees if customers complied with one of a number of standards, such as trading at least one stock per quarter or keeping their balance above $10,000.