With the recent announcement by TD Ameritrade that it will be closing accounts for all retail investors, many retail investors that have been using the platform are left with only a couple of options.
You could choose to liquidate your shares in the account and withdraw the cash to your bank account, but this would also disrupt your investments into those stocks. The second option would be to transfer the assets in your TD Ameritrade account to another brokerage like Interactive Brokers (IBKR).
IBKR allows for Automated Customer Account Transfer Service (ACATS) which makes it easy to transfer all your assets within TD Ameritrade to the brokerage in a few simple steps. Ideally you’ll want to do this as soon as possible before the 27 Oct deadline to avoid incurring maintenance fees.
In this article we provide a step-by-step guide on how to intiate the transfer process of your current stock holdings and cash balances from TD Ameritrade to IBKR.
Creating an Interactive Brokers account
To begin you must first have an approved Interactive Brokers account. If you don’t have a IBKR account yet, you can sign up using this referral link to be eligible to receive USD $1,000 in IBKR stock.
Step 1: Transfer Positions
Once your account has been approved, you can proceed with the steps to transfer your positions.
Go the interactive brokers website and login to the portal.
Once done you should see a welcome screen like this.
- Click on “Transfer Positions”.
Step 2: Click on “Incoming”
Step 3: Select Region > United States
Since you are transferring assets from TD Ameritrade, select the region “United States”.
Step 4: Select Transfer Method
Here you should select ACATS.
Remember to login to your TD Ameritrade account and download your account statement for safekeeping as well, in case there are any disputes or complications with the transfer process.
Step 5: Broker Information
- Select TD Ameritrade.
- Enter your TD Ameritrade account number.
- Select your account type.
- Select “No” under Save Broker Information field.
Step 6: Select Assets to Transfer
If you are planning to transfer everything in your TD Ameritrade account, click “yes” to transfer all assets.
- Select “yes” to authorize the removal of certain mutual funds that are not supported if you are planning to transfer all assets
- Under the U.S. Micro-cap stocks question, you’ll want to check if you have any US micro cap stocks in your holdings. If in doubt, you can click the “Click here” button and enter the symbol of your stock holdings to check if they are considered to be micro cap stocks
Step 7: Confirmation of Transfer
In the next step you’ll be taken to the confirmation page where you will need to type in your digital signature to initiate the transfer.
Once you input your name, you’re done!
The entire ACATS transfer may take around 1-2 weeks to process so its highly advisable to do it as soon as possible to prevent any fees or account restrictions on your TD Ameritrade account.