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Learning to Trade On Your Own – Discount Brokerage Educational Resources

discount brokerage education

Learning Objective – Discount Brokerage Education Resources:

  • To understand the different educational resources currently being offered by Canadian discount brokerages

Introduction

Increasingly, Canadian discount brokerages have begun to recognize that retail investors require tools and resources in order to support them in managing their own trading activities.  Fortunately for retail investors, the quality and diversity of resources is improving.  While some discount brokerages have very basic resources, such as glossaries of key terms that count as their “education” section, other discount brokerages, such as TD Waterhouse discount brokerage and Scotia iTrade, offer a number of investor education events both in person and online.

Types of “educational” content

The types of educational presentations that discount brokerages offer usually fall into the “informational” type or the “product orientation” type.  Sometimes there is a mix between the two types, where educational content is presented alongside a specific product, like a trading platform.  Often times, discount brokerages will open up events to existing clients as well as to non-clients in the hopes of being able to generate new business from those that attend the seminars, so be prepared for sales pitches or offers and promotions that are time-limited.  While there are times when you can land a great deal, it is wise to fully understand what you’re going to commit to before signing up on the spot.

Often, modules are presented by experienced teachers or partner organizations that work with a discount brokerage.  The topics presented can cover a wide variety of topics ranging from getting started with trading to more advanced strategies and techniques.   Most educational resources provided by discount brokerages today is geared towards beginners.  For that reason, some information and lessons are presented by staff members or business development associates that don’t have an in-depth background as a trader and/or teacher.  Be sure to ask about the background of the ‘instructor’ to gauge how well-versed they are in discussing the topic they’re presenting.

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Spot The Difference

Spot the differences in the image below. Answers at the bottom.

Spot The Difference

 

 

 

 

Answers:

  • owl hat
  • rays in sunshine
  • 2 blades of grass
  • top window of school
  • bell in tower
  • cloud
  • mirror on bus
  • apple
  • colour of girl
  • direction of second tree
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Event Review – Margin and Short Selling by TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage

Short selling

This past August we attended several investor education events put on by TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage.  These events were aimed at educating retail investors on the concepts, practices and strategies that will better prepare them when trading. The most recent session we attended was about margin and short selling.

The session covered a number of topics related to using margin including defining margin trading, trading account types, the benefits and risks involved in margin trading and ways of reducing that risk. Our main takeaways from the presentation on the subject of margin trading include:

  • Margin trading is leveraging assets you own or intend to buy
  • Leveraging is the degree to which an investor uses borrowed funds to purchase a security
  • Benefits include increased buying power, lower debt interest rate and the most interesting benefit of all, you can withdraw cash from your margin credit

Of course where there is a silver lining there is always a cloud. There are a few drawbacks to margin trading but the main one is that you can lose more than you invested. You can help mitigate some of these risks by not over-borrowing, diversifying across securities and sectors and having an exit and margin-call strategy.

Short selling was also covered in this presentation. Topics covered included the definition of short selling with examples, reasons to short sell, trading requirements in short selling, some potential risks and ways of reducing those risks. Our key takeaways for this section include:

  • Short selling requires borrowing a security from a broker in order to selling it, then buying back the security to return it to the broker.
  • Profits or losses are realized when shares are repurchased to return to the broker
  • Losses can be infinite in short selling as there is no limit on share price gain
  • Profits are capped as the share price will only go as low as zero

One can utilize the same strategies used for minimizing risks in margin accounts when short selling. These strategies include starting out small, diversifying investments and having an exit and margin-call strategy in place.

Overall the TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage session on margin and short selling was informative. The presenter was knowledgeable and answered all questions asked throughout the presentation.

These types of education oriented events are a great opportunity to learn more about investing and trading, especially if you’re just starting out.  To find more educational events, check out our investor education calendar here.

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Questrade mobile trading app officially released

Earlier this week, Questrade officially launched their IQ Mobile for Android and iPhone and with that they join the rank of other discount brokerages who’ve created mobile-friendly sites or smartphone apps for trading (to see who else offers mobile trading apps check out our review here).

Questrade’s mobile trading app will help investors and traders execute trades, find out stock quote information and check their account and trade position statuses from their smartphones.  The stock price quotes are provided as “snap quotes” (meaning you need to click to refresh the prices). One of the neat features is the integration of the mobile platform with their other IQ trading platforms.   Blackberry users will have to wait until the fall for a version of the mobile IQ compatible with their smart phones.

To learn more about the IQ mobile platform, you can click here and if you want to see Questrade’s video tour of the IQ mobile, check out the video below.

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Event Review – Making Decisions Using Technical Analysis Seminar by TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage

Technical Analysis

Making Decisions Using Technical Analysis

This lunchtime session was held in the downtown Vancouver TD Waterhouse Investor Centre, and was part of a series of educational seminars for retail investors offered by TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage.  The focus of this seminar was on technical analysis and covered what technical analysis is, types of trends, support and resistance, moving averages, indicators(MACD) and using multiple time frames.

With so many topics covered, this session was a brief introduction to these topics and serves as a good starting point for further research.  There’s quite a bit of material in books and online about technical analysis and using indicators, including links in this post, as well as a really great introduction found here.

Some of the tools that TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage offers with their trading platform were also covered, including the Recognia tool which can help identify technical patterns and is a handy tool for looking for potential trading ideas.

Overall, this is a session that moves through a lot of information and might be overwhelming for beginners. Technical analysis takes some getting used to and so practice is key to to really understanding what’s going on. This type of seminar is good for getting your feet wet, and if you’re a TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage client, a chance to see how to use the WebBroker or Active Trader platform to do some of the charting or analysis.  To get the most out of a session like this, some additional reading before or after (or both) would be helpful for following along.

Lastly, as a bonus for attending the seminar, the downtown TD Waterhouse Investor Centre has a couple special promotions for people opening up a new account, which you can learn about here.

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Event Review – Active Trading Strategies Seminar – TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage

Active-Trading-Strategies

The Active Trading Strategies sessions that I attended took place at lunchtime in the downtown Vancouver investor center. The centre itself is a space for retail investors to directly contact TD Waterhouse representatives as well as catch up on what’s going on in the financial markets via the BNN broadcast or with newspapers provided. Also taking place in the investor centre are regular free seminars that deal with a variety of investment-related educational topics as well as product orientation for TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage platforms such as WebBroker.

In this session, a handful of do-it-yourself investors were taught some basics about what active trading is, the different types of trading strategies as well as a bit about technical analysis, level 2 trading and using company insider trading reports.  This session covered quiet a bit of ground but did so at a surface level and while it was definitely aimed at a beginner investor, there are many concepts beginner investors are probably going to have to look up and learn about. If you’re looking to prep before going to one of these you might want to brush up on some basics of technical analysis found in this post (also check out the section on Moving Average Convergence Divergence [MACD] here).  Overall, the session was definitely geared towards education (rather than product orientation) and supporting retail investors, however quite a bit of homework before and after this session is probably necessary if you’re just starting out.

TD Waterhouse discount brokerage is planning to fine tune their investor education seminars this coming fall. According to their representatives, sessions will be organized for beginner, intermediate and advanced traders/investors to help their clients attend seminars that better match their investment knowledge background.

The session had a couple of added bonuses – the first was a draw for a nifty TD Waterhouse bag, and the second was for an exclusive “free trade” deal to open an account which we’ve listed in our deals section.

To find out about TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage seminars, you can click here or to learn more about TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage, check our broker profile page for them here.

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TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage – Special Offer for New Account

We picked up this deal on our radar by attending a free educational seminar at the TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage Investor Centre in downtown Vancouver (check out our review here).  As you can see from the image below, this is an “unadvertised” deal that gives customers who open a new TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage account 10 free trades if they deposit a minimum of $25,000.  There’s also a refer-a-friend bonus of 10 free trades if you refer someone to TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage.  Note that this deal is only valid at the downtown Vancouver TD Waterhouse Investor Centre.

discount brokerage special offer

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Online Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – August 2012

As both investors and markets slow down in the tail end of summer, the discount brokerage deals and incentives have also gotten a bit quieter.  Still, for those of you looking for a deal on a discount brokerage account, there are some hefty commission rebate discounts being offered up this August.

BMO Investorline has upped the competition ante by offering $150 cash back as well as 150 trades when you deposit $150,000 or more into an Investorline account.  What’s interesting about this deal (the 150/150 promotion) is that it is open to existing clients as well as new clients, and it can also be combined with their refer a friend offer.

For those with less money to be depositing, Virtual Brokers is offering 150 free trades with a $25,000 deposit, and Questrade, as part of their new Questrade Advantage program will give you 100 free trades for a deposit of at least $10,000. Scotia iTrade continues to offer 100 free trades for a deposit of $25,000 for new accounts and will also let you try their new FlightDesk™ platform free for 60 days. A deal launched mid-month in July by National Bank Direct Brokerage called the “Commission Holiday Promo” gives new clients a $750 commission rebate with a deposit of at least $25,000.

For very active and pro-level traders as well as platform-savvy traders, you’ll want to check out the exclusive SparxTrading.com offer with Jitneytrade to take advantage of Realtick Platform discounts as well as trading volume discounts.

We also know from the deal rumour mill that there are some exciting promos being put together from a few Canadian discount brokerages for this September so be sure to check our deals section if you’re not quite ready to open your trading account.

Company Brief Description Details Link Deadline
Jitney Trade A Sparx Trading exclusive offer! Use the promo code “Sparx Trading” when signing up for a new account with Jitney and receive access to their preferred pricing package and a massive 45% discount on the Real Tick trading platform. For more details click here none
Open a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) and receive $50 commission credit . Use promo code: kdkfnbbc none none
Move your brokerage account to Questrade and they’ll cover the transfer-out fee up to $150. Transfer Fee Promo none
Refer a friend to Questrade and when they open an account you receive $100 and they receive $50. To receive this deal you must be an existing client with an equity account and refer a person that does not reside with you and who has not previously opened a Questrade account. Refer a friend none
As part of the Questrade Advantage program, deposit $10,000 into a new account by August 31st, 2012 and you can get 100 free trades. Enter the promo code “100AVDL” in the application online. Note that the advantage program requires you to sign up for a data package (currently $89.95/month) the fees for which vary according to trading activity. See details link for terms and conditions on pricing. Questrade Advantage Promo August 31st, 2012
Get up to 100 free trades when you fund an account with a minimum of $10 000. You must open this account by August 31st 2012 and fund it with $10 000 within 30 days of account activation to qualify. You must enter promo code “100FREEQ”. There are quite a few other details, including a minimum balance requirement, so be sure to check the details link. 100 Free Trades August 31st, 2012
Transfer $25,000 or more to a National Bank Direct Brokerage account and they will pay up to $135 plus taxes in transfer fees Transfer Fee Rebate none
If you are an existing National Bank Direct Brokerage client and you refer someone to join, you each get $100. To qualify, the referred account must transfer at least $25,000 from another financial institution. If at least $25,000 is transferred, up to $135 of the transfer fee is covered. Use the promo code “FRIEND” when opening the account Refer a Friend October 31, 2012
Holders of National Bank Platinum, Ovation Gold, Allure or Escapade Mastercard or a card identified by a professional association can now redeem À la carte reward points for a contribution to your National Bank Direct Brokerage RRSP or Spousal RRSP account, or the new TFSA (Tax-free savings account). As the principal cardholder you can exchange your points, either partly or entirely, for one or more 100 $ contributions (100 $ = 11,000 points). contact one of National Bank Direct Brokerage’s Investor Services representatives (514-866-6755 or 1-800-363-3511). Mastercard points transfer none
Open and fund a new account with National Bank Direct Brokerage with $25 000 or more, and you can receive up to $750 in commission reimbursements. To qualify you must use the promo code “REGISTERED2012” in the general information section of the application form. Reimbursements will be paid in either January or April 2013 depending on date account is opened. See the terms & conditions link for more information. Commission Holiday Promo October 31, 2012
Virtual Brokers will cover transfer fees from your transferring institution to a maximum of $150 per account. This offer is only applicable to accounts opened with at least $25,000 in equity before September 30, 2012. Transfer Fee Promo September 30th, 2012
Open a new account with $25,000 before September 30, 2012 and receive 150 trades free. (Applies to the first 150 trades placed within 60 days of account opening at a maximum of $6.49 per trade with a total maximum value of $973) New Account Promo September 30th, 2012
Scotia iTrade Open and fund a new Scotia iTRADE account with at least $25,000 before September 30, 2012 and the commissions associated with your first 100 trades placed within 60 days of the date the account is activated and funded. Also, the new FlightDesk platform is being offered for free for 60 days. See details link for further terms and conditions. Scotia iTrade 100 free trades + FlightDesk September 30th, 2012
BMO InvestorLine Existing BMO Investorline clients who refer a ‘friend’ who then opens an account, (and the “friend” too) can qualify for a cash bonus, depending on the deposit amount. For deposits of between $50,000 and $249,999, the referral bonus is $200 and the “friend” receives $50; for deposits of over $250,000 the referral bonus is $300 the “friend” receives $100. To qualify for the deal, the referral reference code needs to be included in the application – see the details link for terms and conditions. Refer a Friend Promo December 31, 2012
BMO InvestorLine Open a new account with $150,000 or more (or for existing clients make a deposit of $150,000 or more) and get $150 cash back and 150 free trades. Use the promo code BONUS when opening a new account (or when making a new deposit of $150,000 or more). See the details link for qualifying account types and conditions. 150/150 Promotion October 31, 2012
TD Waterhouse Open an account with $25,000 or more and receive 10 free trades. This offer is only valid at the downtown Vancouver TD Waterhouse Investor Centre. 10 trades must be completed within 6 months of account opening; reimbursement based on $9.99 commission rate. scanned photo of flyer none
Qtrade Investor Qtrade Investor will reimburse your transfer fee up to $125 when transferring a balance of $25,000 or more. For reimbursement, please mail or fax a copy of your statement from the transferring institution that shows the transfer charge to Qtrade Investor at 604.484.2627 and indicate your Qtrade Investor account number. Transfer Fee Promo none
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IP-uh-Oh: Investor Lessons from Facebook Going Public – part 3

Learning Objectives – Facebook IPO:

  • Stock prices reflect expectations about the future
  • What a company says they’re going to do or not do can impact what people expect
  • Quarterly earnings reports allow a company to disclose its activities and its financial situation

Introduction

This past month, Facebook released their first ever earnings report as a publicly traded company.  The incredible hype and energy around this company’s IPO has now given way to the more sobering work of scrutinizing the company’s operations and ability to make money. If you’ve been following the first two parts of our IP-Uh-Oh series, you’ll recall that part 1 talked about investments being driven by beliefs and part 2 focused on why companies ‘go public’.  In this last part, we look at the point in time when all the ‘guesses’ get put to the test and a company has to report its earnings to its shareholders.

In its short life as a public company, Facebook’s timeline might resemble that erratic but popular friend we all know on Facebook. It would start with pictures of a seemingly epic party that they managed to get invited to and would somehow give way to status updates about lawsuits suggesting that something at the party has gone horribly wrong. Of course, being the internet, there are countless ways in which the unflattering pictures of the post party hangover have been passed around.  Ironically, the company that was built on “shares, is now more responsible for tending to shares of a different variety. Unfortunately for those holding shares, the market seems to have responded less enthusiastically than many had hoped (as of the writing of this article they’re down over 43% year to date).

Given that stock prices are perpetually forward-looking, however, what a company says (or doesn’t say) about its future opportunities is what investors look to for help in deciding whether to stay the course or to get off the boat.

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