This site is devoted to pointing out some flaws in TD Ameritrade's Strategydesk. All in all, it could be a very nice trading platform. The fact that TD Ameritrade ignores problems with their software though just goes to show that they really don't care about customers that pay a pretty hefty $10 trading fee for each buy or sell. ($20 a round trip). More bothersome is the continuing slick TV advertisements that they run with Sam Waterston and a particularly frenetic trader who touts their trading platforms. Aside from the following issues that I have emailed the StrategyDesk about, I have also experienced other more serious problems. My contacts with TD Ameritrade and StrategyDesk have just been met with stonewalling. They either say I did something wrong, or that by using the software, I agreed to accept the software 'as is'. And that's fine. If TDA had advertised their platforms as buggy Beta tests, then I'd accept my responsibility. But to continue running ads to sucker customers into their company is just slimy business practice. Anyway, I have posted a couple of videos to Youtube which display their buggy software in action and I have included 3 screenshots below. As noted above, I have sent all this to them at one time or other with no satisfaction.
The main problem I experienced involved trading 2 separate accounts with StrategyDesk. In essence, you should be able to switch between two active TD Ameritrade accounts within StrategyDesk. You do this with a dropdown menu at the top of the screen. (You may have an IRA and a non-IRA account for example). You can also stipulate which account gets traded in a similar fashion within the trading 'box'. Unfortunately, for reasons unknown to me, and of course denied by TD Ameritrade, even though the account name had been changed within the dropdown box, sometimes the trade was affected on the wrong account. Several times, I changed accounts, then opened up my active trades to confirm I was in the right account and bought stock only to find that the trade went through on the other account. This actually caused me to be tagged as a 'pattern day trader'. I have since moved one account to Interactive Broker and opened up a 2nd account with IBKR. As soon as I decide which trading software I'll need (probably Worden's) I'll move my last account out of TD Ameritrade.
The question arises; if the software is that screwy, can you really trust it to perform properly for you as a trader?
Youtube Video #1 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK4M5sOt-6I *Demonstrates StrategyDesk hanging during day trades*
Youtube Video #2 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYyhqH_2N68 *Demonstrates StrategyDesk ordering the wrong stock*
Youtube Video #3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CegTPNV1HBU *Demonstrates StrategyDesk crashing as you swap between Workspaces*
