Broker wars

I logged into my TD Ameritrade account today and was surprised to see a banner announcement at the top of the page.  It said that $0.00 commissions were now a reality. 

I was skeptical. 

I clicked on the "more details" link, expecting to find a catch in the fine print.  I found no catch, though, other than the usual added fees for broker-assisted trades and option contracts.  It looks like it is what it appears to be: free online trades for stocks and ETFs.

I was curious as to what spurred this radical change, so I did some quick googling.  It turns out Charles Schwab made an identical change earlier this week.  TD Ameritrade simply matched their policy.

Here's an article about it:

https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/3-major-brokerage-stocks-18-billion-wiped-out-fee-war-2019-10-1028574665

Basically, the two brokers--three, actually, now that E*Trade joined in, too--seem to be playing a game of high-stakes chicken.  I suppose one of them will flinch when it can't afford to keep the lights on any longer.

I don't know how this will end, but I'll enjoy the free trades in the meantime.  I'm mostly an investor, not a trader, so I only average a handful of trades every year, but this change still amounts to a few extra bucks in my pocket.  Thanks, TD Ameritrade.  :)