TD Ameritrade has extended market trading hours for 12 widely held U.S.-listed equity ETFs.
Retail investors who use its thinkorswim and Mobile Trader platforms can now execute limit order trades on stock ETFs such as SPY (SPDR S&P 500), EEM (iShares MSCI Emerging Markets) and QQQ (PowerShares ETF based on the Nasdaq 100 Index) 24 hours a day, five days a week, from 8 p.m. ET Sunday to 8 p.m. ET Friday.
Advisors will also have access to extended trading overnight (EXTO), but they will need to open a separate approved account and can contact TD Ameritrade for details.
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The broker, which has more than 11 million client accounts with total assets topping $1 trillion and provides custodial services to more than 6,000 RIAs, expects to add additional securities to trade 24/5 over time, including ETFs and individual stocks.
"This is a monumental first for our industry and retail investors," said Steve Quirk, executive vice president of trading and education for TD Ameritrade, in a statement. "Online trading made the markets available to anyone, mobile trading made the markets available from anywhere, and now 24-hour trading will make the markets available anytime."
After-hours trading is especially important when markets move on breaking news: "During events like Brexit or the U.S. election, futures were the only product available to investors looking to reposition their portfolios as the markets moved after hours," said Quirk.
