How Tastytrade is competing for former big brokerage customers

As big brokerages compete with rising challenger brands, dark horse Tastytrade is entering the fray with a plan to win over active traders, including a brand awareness campaign that launched earlier this month. Tastytrade is building its brand recognition as dominant brokers contend with the aftermath of mergers, said Catherine Davis, chief marketing officer of IG Group North America, parent company of Tastytrade. Charles Schwab Corp. closed its $26 billion acquisition of TD Ameritrade in late 2020 but didn’t finish transitioning 1.8 million TD Ameritrade customers and their roughly $350 billion in assets to its platform until May 2024. Clients expressed frustration with the transition and looked for other places to take their business throughout the process, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. Charles Schwab in 2023 conceded that it lost retail customers but stated that it outperformed client retention expectations. Meanwhile, E-Trade was acquired by Morgan Stanley for $13 billion in 2020 and finished migrating accounts in 2023. Competitor Robinhood has repeatedly taken shots at the giants, establishing itself as a home for erstwhile customers beginning in late 2023, the Wall Street Journal reported. Robinhood also agreed to acquire TradePMR in November, signaling its entry into the investment advisory space. Tastytrade has sought to establish itself as an alternative to such competitors, largely with its own two-to-three-minute educational YouTube videos and livestreams from sibling company Tastylive, which analyzes the market for several hours each day, Davis said. “It’s 10 hours a day seven days a week,” she said. “That’s a lot of educational content for people, which is different than a lot of our competitors. The two-to-three minute video format we’ve used for Tastytrade makes a lot of sense, too.” Around 80% of Tastytrade’s business comes from options trading, though the brand has seen increased interest in equities, futures and crypto trading, Davis said during the Ad Age Business of Brands conference in September. Tastytrade has almost doubled its brand awareness and increased new account openings by 71% since it rebranded from Tastyworks in early 2023, she said. Tastytrade’s revenue rose 15% in the first half of fiscal 2025, IG Group reported on Thursday, after rising 23% to $251.8 million in fiscal 2024. Its focus on active traders it calls “enterprising mavericks” has historically differentiated it from competitors. The demographic is categorized by its competitive spirit and willingness to take bets, Davis said. Robinhood has begun to encroach on that space, however. In October, it launched Robinhood Legend, a platform for active traders with advanced charting tools for detailed analyses of stocks. Increasing brand awareness Tastytrade’s latest awareness-building campaign launched earlier this month. A 30-second spot from independent agency Opinionated shows a person riding a bull through an office. The bull rider represents the Tastytrade client—someone willing to ride out the unpredictable and bullish trading market, Davis said. The campaign targets active traders of options, stock, futures and crypto, as well as those curious but less experienced with options trading, Davis said. Davis said Tastytrade’s awareness-building effort comes at the start of the year because it’s when traders consider making changes to their portfolios. It’s uniquely important to secure new clients this January, however, as Davis anticipates the trading market to become even more unpredictable now that Donald Trump has taken office. “We’re going into a new administration which potentially adds some unpredictability,” she said. “With any new administration, there are shifts in the market.” With its 2023 rebrand and now its new campaign, Tastytrade seeks to generate brand awareness with active traders. This year’s focus is on the enterprising maverick’s desire to get an edge in the marketplace. “Our approach has been very much about establishing that we understand you, and if this is you, then we’re the right brokerage for you,” Davis said. The campaign is Tastytrade’s first major marketing effort since it rebranded from Tastyworks just a few months after Davis joined IG Group in September 2022. She previously held marketing positions across brands spanning numerous categories, including Feeding America, Diageo and Morgan Stanley, and agencies such as Leo Burnett. The new ad is running on YouTube, streaming platforms and social media, as well as linear TV channels such as CNBC, Bloomberg and Fox Business. Tastytrade is also running static ads from London-based agency Otherway on Yahoo Finance and MarketWatch. Tastytrade also runs static digital ads on personal finance sites promoting high ratings and awards it has received, such as Best Stock Broker for Options Trading from Motley Fool’s The Ascent in January 2024 and Best Broker for Options Trading from Investopedia in March.

How Tastytrade is competing for former big brokerage customers

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