Key Takeaways

Stay up to date with new tools and features added to the thinkorswim Mobile app

Learn how to access and use heat maps, dynamic watchlists, and portfolio organization features on thinkorswim Mobile

thinkorswim Mobile integrates the functionality of the thinkorswim desktop platform to bring users a more efficient trading experience 

As traders become more dependent on mobile devices to analyze, chart, and trade, it’s only natural to expect your mobile trading app to be as robust as your desktop trading software. The laptop isn’t on its way out—not yet, anyway. But mobile trading apps are making strides in offering advanced features. 

TD Ameritrade is doing its part by adding new tools to the thinkorswim Mobile app to bridge the gap between the desktop thinkorswim trading platform and the app. Let’s take a look at a few of these features: Heat Map, Dynamic Watchlists, and Arrange Positions.

Visualize the Markets: Heat Map

Just like the thinkorswim desktop platform, the Heat Map shows market cap visualized in terms of size. A bigger square means a larger stock in terms of market cap, while smaller squares means smaller stocks. The red and green shades show you price changes (as a percentage)—the brighter the color, the bigger the move.

Heat maps are useful for getting a pulse on what’s happening in a specific sector or the larger market. And if you want to get a snippet of info for any of the companies on the Heat Map, just select the square. The info pops up and you can create an alert for that specific stock.

The Heat Map can be accessed on iPads on thinkorswim Mobile from the Watchlist by selecting the icon (see figure 1).

FIGURE 1: THINKORSWIM MOBLE HEAT MAP ON IPAD. The Heat Map shows which stocks in a watchlist are seeing the biggest price moves. Green is up; red is down; gray is unchanged. Bigger boxes are stocks with higher market caps, and brighter colors are bigger moves. Chart source: thinkorswim Mobile from TD Ameritrade. For illustrative purposes only. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Take Your Scans with You: Dynamic Watchlist

The Stock Hacker tool on thinkorswim can simplify the process of scanning for stocks you want to trade. After all, scanning the entire universe of stocks can be a resource-heavy process. The desktop version can handle it, but it may not be the best use of bandwidth for a mobile device (although that may change when 5G becomes the norm).

But thinkorswim Mobile offers scan functionality via a dynamic watchlist. Here’s how to set it up: On the desktop version, create, run, and save any scan query you want to use. These scans will show up on your personal Watchlist on thinkorswim Mobile (see figure 2). The cool thing is it’s a dynamic watchlist, which means it connects the desktop and mobile ecosystems to give users the best of both worlds. 

FIGURE 2: SCANS DELIVERED VIA WATCHLISTS. When you create a scan on the desktop version of thinkorswim, it’ll show up on your thinkorswim Mobile personal Watchlist. Chart source: thinkorswim Mobile from TD Ameritrade. For illustrative purposes only. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Get Organized: Arrange Positions by Orders

It’s a no-brainer—traders want to know how their open positions are doing. But sometimes too many positions can make things a bit confusing, especially if you’re on the go. It helps if you can organize your portfolio. In thinkorswim Mobile, you can organize your portfolio by account or by originating order, although it’s also possible to view each position individually.

To arrange positions by orders, select the Positions icon, then the Settings icon. In position settings, choose View, then turn on to the ability to Arrange Positions by Orders (see figure 3). 

FIGURE 3: ARRANGING POSITIONS. Organizing your portfolio positions by order makes it simpler to monitor your open positions. You can also arrange the columns to display trade price, trade cost, and profit and loss. Chart source: thinkorswim Mobile from TD Ameritrade. For illustrative purposes only. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

When you group your positions by orders, it’s ideal to customize the columns so you don’t have to try and figure out any math in your head (you know, like multi-leg options spreads). You can set up the Positions window to display trade price, the cost of the trade (this’ll display the cost for the different legs of an options spread), profit and loss, and the options greeks.

Marrying the desktop and mobile ecosystems is an efficient way to bring traders extra functionality on the go. Of course, don’t be in any hurry to get rid of the desktop version. You still need it, but you’ll get some peace of mind knowing a good slice is accessible from your mobile device.

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