As a large and sophisticated order sender, we have the advantage of experience, and we put that
knowledge to work for you. Our routing intelligence is combined with the speed of our proprietary routing technology.
It dynamically sends orders to different market centers that seek to fill your order quickly and at the best available price.
Market and Marketable Limit
Order Price Improvement Dollars
Average dollars of price improvement per 1,000 shares for market and marketable limit orders between 100 and 1,999 shares.
Working to get you the quoted price or better
One goal behind seeking best execution is to get you the best price on your trade. When
routing your order, we seek execution of your order at a price better than the National Best Bid or Offer
(NBBO). That means executing your order below the best offer for buys or above the best bid for sells.
Taking action for you
If your order executes at a price outside the NBBO and isn't justified, we may take action
and request a price adjustment from the market center. Some prices outside the NBBO are justified due to
market volatility or trade volume. That's why we consistently monitor trades to identify those executed
outside the NBBO and look for opportunities to improve the price you receive.
Routing your orders aggressively
Where your order is executed can impact the price you pay for a stock because your broker
generally has a choice in where to route your order. We pursue the highest quality order execution with
the various market centers. And because TD AMERITRADE is one of the largest order routers in the industry, we’re able to analyze thousands of market orders and put our knowledge to work for you every time you place a trade.
Read TD AMERITRADE's quarterly report on routing practices.
There is no one single chart, or statistic, you can use to determine whether your brokerage firm is obtaining best execution. Rather, best execution is a weighing of the competing goals of obtaining the best price(s), as quickly as possible, for the entire amount of a client order. One of TD AMERITRADE's goals is to achieve high levels of improvement per share on as many orders as reasonably possible. That is how we measure ourselves against the competition.
Chart data for TD AMERITRADE is calculated pursuant to SEC Rule 605, as provided by TD AMERITRADE Clearing, Inc., an affiliate of TD AMERITRADE, Inc., and derived from Thomson Transaction Analytics, a third-party vendor that is not affiliated with TD AMERITRADE, Inc. Industry statistics are derived from SEC Rule 605 data provided by Thomson Transaction Analytics and represent the volume-weighted average of all industry participants posting Rule 605 data. Except for the Limit Order Price Improvement Chart, order data is derived from market orders for at least 100 shares and up to 1999 shares. The Limit Order Price Improvement Chart is derived from marketable limit orders for at least 100 shares and up to 1999 shares.
Market volatility, volume and system availability may delay account access and trade executions. Price
can change quickly in fast market conditions, resulting in an execution price different from the quote
displayed at order entry. Execution price, speed and liquidity and account access are affected by many factors,
including market volatility, size and type of order and available market centers.
TD AMERITRADE is obligated to seek the best price available for your order, taking into consideration the cost of execution and current
market conditions, such as the NBBO, volume and liquidity. Price improvement is not guaranteed and will not occur
in all situations. TD AMERITRADE acts as agent. Orders are filled by independent third parties.
