Is tastytrade legit and safe?

Written by
Fact checked by
Gyula L.
Updated
Apr 2023

tastytrade is overseen by top-tier US regulators, which ensures strong investor protection, but the broker doesn't have a banking background. 

Pros

Cons

  • Majority of clients belong to a top-tier financial authority
  • Does not hold a banking license
  • High level of investor protection
  • Not listed on any stock exchange
  • Financial information is publicly available

 

Whether a financial provider like tastytrade is safe and legit is a common, important and very legitimate question. After all, you trust tastytrade with your money and savings. 

One thing worth bearing in mind: all brokers that you find on BrokerChooser are regulated by at least one top-tier authority. So in this basic sense, tastytrade is of course legit. 

Additionally, there are other factors you can take into account when you check the safety of tastytrade, including whether tastytrade is listed on any exchange, provides a two-step login, discloses its financial results transparently, etc.

We collected and summarized the most common questions related to broker safety, allowing you to decide for yourself whether you consider tastytrade safe in your individual circumstances. We also compared tastytrade with two similar brokers.

Visit tastytrade

Is tastytrade legit?

  tastytrade ChoiceTrade TradeStation
Banking background No No No
Broker listed on stock exchange No No No
Annual financial statements on website Yes Yes Yes
Mobile two-step authentication Yes No Yes
Broker ownership transparency Yes Yes Yes
Broker management transparency Yes Yes Yes
Broker is audited by the Big Four No No Yes

Is tastytrade regulated?

 

Yes, it's regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and the National Futures Association.

 

Is tastytrade safe?

 

To be certain, we highly advise that you check two facts:

  • how you are protected if something goes wrong

  • what the background of the broker is

 

How you are protected

tastytrade investor protection
Country of clients Protection amount Regulator Legal entity
Australian clients No protection ASIC tastytrade Australia Pty Ltd
Global clients $500,000 ($250,000 cash limit) FINRA, SEC tastytrade, Inc.

Accounts by Australian residents are regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), while all other accounts belong to tasty's US entity and thus fall under the regulation of the SEC and FINRA.

Global clients are entitled to investor protection under the US Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) the protection scheme. The SIPC protects you from the loss of cash or securities in case the broker goes bust. The limit of SIPC protection is $500,000, which includes a $250,000 limit for cash.

A non-US citizen who signed up with tastytrade is treated the same way as a US resident if something goes wrong. The $500,000/$250,000 amount is substantially higher than what is offered by most European investor protection schemes.

Not all investments are protected by SIPC. In general, SIPC covers notes, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other investment company shares, and other registered securities. It does not cover instruments such as unregistered investment contracts, unregistered limited partnerships, fixed annuity contracts, currency, and interests in gold, silver, or other commodity futures contracts or commodity options.

Australian clients are not protected by any investor scheme.

 

Background

 

tastytrade was established in 2017. The longer the track record a broker has, the more proof we have that it has successfully weathered previous financial crises. By this standard, tastytrade is quite young.
 

-> Back to tastytrade review for 2022

 

Related topics:

Got questions?
Engage with our growing community of traders and investors like you to find your answers.
Join now

Author of this article

Dan Sallai

Brokerage Bard | Investment • Brokerage • Digital Business

I'm dedicated to ensuring our valuable content reaches people when they need it most. I leverage my extensive 10+ years of online marketing expertise in tandem with our team's financial acumen to achieve this goal daily. During my leisure time, I find enjoyment in bowling, playing tennis, and cherishing moments with my children.

Everything you find on BrokerChooser is based on reliable data and unbiased information. We combine our 10+ years finance experience with readers feedback. Read more about our methodology.

Follow us

Regional settings

×
I'd like to trade with...