SparxTrading – Page 35 – This is where great traders start

Posted on February 17, 2017 by user — Leave a comment

Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – February 17, 2017

One of the most interesting qualities about markets is that they behave like voting machines. Despite the inflammatory rhetoric coming out of Washington, stock markets in the US and Canada have, for the most part, been voting for optimism in the economy. The lesson: trade the chart not the news.

Speaking of lessons, the starting point of this week’s discount brokerage roundup shines the spotlight on one Canadian discount brokerage that seems to be testing the waters of the investor education pool. Next, there’s some exciting news about a bank-owned online brokerage that is setting up to unveil its new public facing website very soon. From there, we’ll take a look the latest developments in the deals & promotions space and report on the chatter from DIY investors on Twitter and the investor forums.

Virtual Brokers Launches DIY Investing Education Seminar

For DIY investors looking to get oriented to the world of investing and online brokerages looking to boost client confidence in taking the investing plunge, there’s no bigger win-win than investor education content. This past week, Virtual Brokers, waded slightly further into the DIY investor education pool by sponsoring an investor education day featuring speakers from 5i Research and the Independent Investor Institute.

The event itself, is scheduled to take place in Markham, on Saturday February 25^th and runs from 1pm to 4:30pm. Presenting at the event will be Ryan Modesto, Managing Partner at 5i Research and Ziad Jasani, Founder of the Independent Investor Institute.

This won’t be the first time Virtual Brokers has worked with these two firms. 5i Research currently has a promotional offer with Virtual Brokers that provides VB clients with access to 5i Research’s newsletter service for a year. In the Independent Investor Institute’s case, Virtual Brokers has run webinars with them in the past as well. What is interesting, however, is that both of these firms will be providing investor education content jointly in a live session – a move that Virtual Brokers has not typically undertaken to grow their client base.

Screenshot of Virtual Brokers’ Seminar Landing Page

With the addition of a live seminar, it is clear that Virtual Brokers is continuing with their strategy to build on providing investor education as part of their value proposition to DIY investors. Late last year, Virtual Brokers launched a new investor education focused section to their website that included additional primers on investing topics – something that should be appealing to beginner investors looking for some pointers on the basics of investing.

As mentioned at the outset, educational support for investors is typically a win-win for online brokerages. That said, discount brokerages definitely have a strong incentive to build confidence and enable DIY investors to make their own trading decisions. As individuals trade more, brokerages reap the benefits in the form of commission revenue.

Investor ‘education’ is a mixture of information about investing as well as orientation on how to use features, tools on a particular brokerage’s platform, then there is a hybrid that shows DIY investors how to conduct research on particular brokerages’ platforms.

Currently, investor education seminars and webinars are still provided by TD Direct Investing, Scotia iTRADE, National Bank Direct Brokerage and Desjardins Online Brokerage although there has been a noticeable pullback in the quantity of educational sessions delivered. That said, Virtual Brokers has clearly signaled an intent to add investor education into what they bring to the table – which is something that will help to differentiate their offering from those competitors who do not. Moreover, Virtual Brokers has selected two engaging investor education content providers who will undoubtedly encourage interested investors to spend a Saturday afternoon in the company of fellow investors and learn about how to navigate the current investment terrain.

All told, it looks like Virtual Brokers’ latest move might prompt others in the space to up their game which is always good news for DIY investors. Stay tuned.

Canadian Discount Brokerage to Launch New Website

As much as we love to get the scoop on a new story, we’ve got some exciting news about the launch of a new website by one of Canada’s popular online brokerages.

We can’t reveal which online broker it is at the moment but we’ve had a chance to take a sneak peek at their new website and will share an exclusive early look on the SparxTrading.com blog over the next few days.

Be sure to check back or follow us on Twitter where we’ll announce the story when it goes live.

Deals View

With the RRSP contribution deadline (March 1^st) just around the corner, there are plenty of deals and promotions for individuals looking to open an online trading account. In what is a sign of the competitive landscape, there are now over 30 promotional offers in play for DIY investors to take advantage of, with almost all Canadian online brokerages offering some kind of incentive to attract new clients or assets.

While there haven’t been any new deals announced, this past week RBC Direct Investing’s bonus points offer, which was originally set to expire on February 15^th has now been extended to March 1^st. DIY investors were eager to see what, if any, possible other deals RBC Direct Investing would offer however, those interested in a commission-free trade or cash-back offer from RBC Direct Investing will have to continue waiting or look elsewhere for this kind of offer.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

Exciting times around the discount brokerage world as many investors are kicking the tires on a new brokerage account. Mentioned this week were the most popular brokerages on social media – Questrade, Scotia iTRADE & TD Direct Investing.

From the Forums

Comparing Canadian Online Brokerages

With so many choices for DIY investors to choose from, making a decision ultimately comes down to what people feel is most important to them. This post, from reddit’s personal finance Canada forum, highlights which online brokerages forum users think might be best suited to the poster’s particular needs.

Learning the investing ropes

Everyone has to start somewhere. For one aspiring DIY investor the familiar question of where to begin was raised along with a few eyebrows as to the possible motives for posting on the forum. Nonetheless, this post from the Canadian Money Forum is an interesting look at the community of DIY investors and how many have been helped to get started by the wisdom of the crowd.

Into the Close

Happy family day to everyone outside of BC celebrating this holiday. With markets closed in Canada and the US, this will be a rare opportunity to step back, relax and recharge for the predictably unpredictable week ahead.

Posted on February 10, 2017 by user — Leave a comment

Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – February 10, 2017

Did someone say rally? While the Trump news cycle is on full blast, a funny thing has been happening in financial markets in the US and Canada – they’ve been going up. Despite the many sounds of alarm that are being rung by newscasters and analysts everywhere, the fact that financial markets are rallying in spite of it means that investors are clamoring to get into markets, at least for now.

For Canadian discount brokerages, the past week also showcased some very interesting maneuvering. In this week’s roundup, we’ll take a look at one major online brokerage that is banking on international opportunities. Next we take a look at another bank-owned brokerage that is sending one its platforms into early retirement. From there we’ll take a quick scan of what DIY investors had to say on Twitter and round out with a look at chatter in the investor forums.

World Denomination

CIBC Investor’s Edge now appears to have some very grand global ambitions. One of Canada’s big bank-owned discount brokerages took a very bold step with their latest feature: the ability for clients to be able to hold not just US dollars but six other foreign currencies as well. On the list of foreign currencies are Euros, British Pounds, Swiss Francs, Australian Dollars, Japanese Yen and New Zealand Dollars, all of which can be held in both non-registered and registered accounts (except for RESPs).

CIBC Investor's Edge introduces USD trading account — Screenshot from CIBC Investor’s Edge

In a year in which equity markets are sure to be impacted by uncertainty, there are many who are looking to foreign currencies for trading opportunities, so the timing of this new set of features is, for some investors, spot on.

By all accounts (pun intended), this is a major score for CIBC Investor’s Edge and their clients.

Starting first with the fact that adding the ability to settle trades in US dollars in a registered account means that there are no more messy conversion fees to deal with (unless you want to of course). In addition, clients can also receive dividends, interest and other distributions in US dollars – something not all bank-owned brokerages offer the ability to do.

While CIBC Investor’s Edge may not be the only bank-owned brokerage to work in multiple currencies (HSBC InvestDirect enables trades to settle in foreign currencies but does require conversions), they are the only major Canadian bank-owned brokerage to enable clients hold the currency itself in a registered or non-registered account. So, not only can individuals have a USD RRSP, they can also have cash in one of the six other currencies in a registered (or non-registered) account also.

This latest move by CIBC Investor’s Edge will certainly get the attention of their bank-owned brokerage competitors as well as independent brokerages, most of whom do not offer currencies other than USD to be held in a registered (or non-registered) account. So, in terms of differentiation, this definitely hits the mark.

Another reason why this move is bound to make a splash is because there are no extra fees associated with the multi-currency account – again not something other Canadian brokerages are offering for free.

Over the next few weeks there will almost certainly be more chatter and clarity that emerges as savvy DIY investors digest how to take advantage of the volatility in the US markets as well as in markets across the world. In the meantime, there are a few questions that are bound to arise now that CIBC Investor’s Edge is wading into the world of multi-currency accounts, such as whether the minimum amount to waive administration (or account maintenance) fees being charged on the account would be in the currency of the account (i.e. 25,000 euros to waive administration fees in a registered account) or the Canadian equivalent.

Of greater intrigue, however, is that if multi-currency accounts are a reality, does this then set the stage for CIBC Investor’s Edge to open up more formally to international trading? A speculator can certainly wish.

Screened Out

Retirement is on the minds of lots of folks at this time of year and for many it’s still a long time away. But, for Scotia iTRADE iPad app retirement is right around the corner.

After announcing in late 2016 that the iPad app would be discontinued some time in early 2017, this past week on social media Scotia iTRADE broke the news to a disheartened user the app’s days are quite numbered.

To @MomtoNikoP’s point – it’s hard to believe that the app itself has been around for about 4 years already. Unfortunately for technology, that is quite a long time.

Of course, in dealing with older technologies or deciding how best to adapt to changing needs of clients, online brokerages have to continuously wrestle with just where to allocate their technology resources. Sadly for the tablet app, it didn’t make the cut.

While there is appeal to using a tablet, perhaps this move by Scotia iTRADE is a signal of the realities of DIY investor behaviour. One of the most important benefits of trading or researching stocks on a tablet is screen real-estate. Rather than having to squint, pinch and zoom, researching charts or reading quarterly reports is easier on the eyes on a tablet than on most smartphones. The catch is, however, most people have smartphones and would rather use those devices than tote around or hold up a bulky tablet.

Also from a user experience point of view, investors ‘on the go’ that want to monitor, and even execute, transactions can work with data in small tables and can probably get away with using a smartphone. If you’re likely to be at a place where you can use a tablet, there’s a good chance you can probably use a laptop. Also, laptops are now lighter and more powerful than they’ve ever been, so for the DIY investor that needs a bigger screen, the ability to use a keyboard and a mouse make relying on the tablet a hard sell.

So, while there are users of tablet-specific apps that might relish in being able to go seamlessly from device to device, the latest move by Scotia iTRADE shows that tablet-specific apps might end up getting the swipe left as most DIY investors choose between either laptop, desktop or smartphone.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

This week some DIY investors found themselves having to sort through technology glitches – and ultimately let people know about it on Twitter. Mentioned this week were BMO InvestorLine, CIBC Investor’s Edge, Questrade, RBC Direct Investing, Scotia iTRADE, TD Direct Investing & Virtual Brokers.

From the Forums

Deals in Motion

For the deal hunters among us, this latest thread on Red Flag Deals throws some love our way and also shows that there are more than just the advertised offers we have listed in our discount brokerage deals section – there are sometimes targeted offers in play too.

DRIP by DRIP

Dividend reinvestment plans (aka DRIPs) are a popular strategy for many investors to build wealth over the long term. In this post, also from Red Flag Deals, one investor was learning some important lessons on how dividends get issued and reinvested in the wild.

Into the Close

That’s a wrap on another crazy week. For those on top of this rally, there’s definitely a reason to cheer heading into the end of the week. Of course, how long to hold on for is anybody’s guess at this point – to quote a famous frog, ‘it’s not easy being green’. Have a great weekend and stay warm!

Posted on February 3, 2017 by user — Leave a comment

Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – February 3, 2017

It’s hard to believe a whole month has gone by in 2017. With the news cycle dominated by the ever unpredictable movements of the US president, speculation is as rampant as ever. For Canadian online brokerages, however, getting attention is far more difficult than just sending out a tweet at odd hours. Nonetheless they’re still finding a way to make some headlines.

This week there’s lots on the docket. First we take a look at some ‘yuge’ news to come out of the deals arena, as one online brokerage definitely went ‘bigly’ on the incentive offers for RRSP season. From there, we’ll cover the headlines made by two online brokers and their respective awards for service and price that were announced this past week. In keeping with the influence of the US on the news cycle, one online brokerage caused a ‘tremendous’ stir by repealing and replacing their standard commission rates with something much lower. And, as is usual fare, we’ll take a look at what DIY investors were chatting about on Twitter and in the investor forums.

New Deals & Promotions

It’s a new month and while winter still might be here (amiright Vancouver?), February’s deals and promotions at Canadian discount brokerages are red hot.

At the outset of February, Virtual Brokers made a very big splash by launching four deals at the beginning of the month, including the mind-boggling $10,000 commission-rebate offer that dwarfs anything put forward by other Canadian brokerages in recent memory. After factoring in the deals that were retired and the inclusion of credit card points related special offers, there are now at least 30 incentive offers from Canadian brokerages.

Looking back on January, there were six brokerages that announced offers, primarily timed around the RRSP season. While most were commission rebate offers, there were also a pair of cash back incentives and even a couple of credit card points offers for good measure.

Despite almost all brokerages offering some type of offer, there was one notable exception – Interactive Brokers. Perhaps because they already enjoy having significant appeal to the trader community, Interactive Brokers doesn’t need to work as hard to attract this highly prized category of the DIY investor market. Even so, with no shortage of other Canadian brokerages who are willing to try and get a share of those in the market for an online trading account, Interactive Brokers may want to reconsider their approach here in Canada in order to give them more visibility in a very crowded space.

Virtual Brokers, thanks to the launch of its recent flurry of deals now leads Canadian brokerages with 6 offers followed by Questrade and Desjardins Online Brokerage, each of whom has four. Even though Virtual Brokers saw some turnover, it’s clear they’re doubling down efforts heading into the RRSP deadline, with promotions and marketing ramping up significantly.

In terms of the deals themselves, transfer fee coverage remains a staple at almost all discount brokerages, followed by the commission-credit and cash back category. The least popular category, interestingly, remains the referral bonus with only three brokerages having an advertised program in place.

For DIY investors looking at opening an online trading account, be it for an RSP account, a TFSA or just another trading account to put in that income tax refund, this year competition amongst brokerages means a great selection of offers. And while a deal may not be the only reason to select a brokerage, the market has clearly shown that it can be the make or break factor in such a competitive race.

Accolades for Service & Pricing

For a pair of Canadian online brokerages, February is off to a great start.

At what is the busiest time of the year for Canadian discount brokerages, financial services research firm Surviscor released the results of two assessments of the Canadian online brokerage industry.

The first, an analysis of customer service quality known as the ‘Service Level Assessment Review’ found that Qtrade Investor handily outperformed its competitors, both bank-owned and independent, in terms of response times to client service inquiries.

With a score of 96% Qtrade Investor was more than 15 percentage points ahead of the second place Desjardins Online Brokerage (81%) and third place Scotia iTRADE (79%). This assessment used 170 ‘mystery shopper’ service enquiries per firm and measured how quickly each firm responded as well as a number of other items including accuracy of response and whether a firm met its own response guidelines.

While Qtrade Investor’s strong customer service scores are in keeping with its history of strong performance in this category, it was also interesting to note just how far apart Canadian online brokerages were in terms of their scores on this assessment.

For example, the difference between the top rated Qtrade Investor (who scored 96%) and bottom rated Laurentian Bank Discount Brokerage (who scored 4%) is almost unbelievably wide. Even so, the number of firms (9) who scored less than or equal to 50% was also staggering, especially because it contained four major bank-owned online brokerages as well as firms such as Questrade (who scored 15%) who have demonstrated a strength in responding to clients across social media channels and far flung places such as reddit.

Without knowing the exact scoring methodology or how the results were gathered, however, it is difficult to put the numerical values into context and as such, while these figures likely do measure some component of the online customer service enquiry process, they should also be taken with caution.

The second Surviscor assessment which was announced was this week was for the ‘Cost of Services’ award given to Virtual Brokers. While the press release about this reward was published by Virtual Brokers, it was interesting to note that this particular survey simulated the cost of trading by looking at over 13,000 trades across brokerages and found that Virtual Brokers came out on top.

Further details about this survey or its methodology were not available so the results should be treated with caution however it is clear that as competition between brokerages heats up, awards and recognition for areas of strength are going to be increasingly a part of the marketing and advertising strategies of all Canadian brokerages who receive them.

Major US Online Brokerage Cuts Commissions

What a difference two dollars can make. Charles Schwab, one of the largest online brokerages in US with almost $3 trillion in assets, announced this week that they were lowering commission prices down to $6.95 per trade from $8.95. In doing so, Schwab caused a massive sell off in the stock prices of other publicly traded online brokerages such as E*Trade Financial and TD Ameritrade as markets anticipate that these firms will likely have to follow suit and lower commission prices (and therefore revenues) to compete.

The latest move is an interesting case study for industry observers as Schwab’s business model has evolved in the low interest rate, low volatility environment to rely on managed wealth fees as a significant source of revenue rather than trading commissions. Currently less than 11% of net revenues are from trading.

In the Canadian online brokerage landscape, this move might inspire a large enough player (such as a bank-owned brokerage) that has both a strong managed wealth business as well as an online brokerage component to disrupt the market as a whole with a commission price drop from the $9.95 standard.

Internal data from SparxTrading.com already indicate that for CIBC Investor’s Edge, there has been a dramatic shift investor interest away from higher cost alternatives because of CIBC’s commission price cut to a standard commission of $6.95.

The fallout from the latest move by Schwab will be interesting to monitor, in particular because it puts tremendous pressure on firms such as E*Trade Financial and TD Ameritrade to respond. Additionally, it could very well signal to Canadian firms that yet another round of commission-lowering is on the horizon, especially if the largest players at the table decide like their US counterparts, to aggressively gain market share.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

Lots of chatter on Twitter this week – there’s good, bad and even a little ugly. Mentioned this week were BMO InvestorLine, CIBC Investor’s Edge, Questrade, RBC Direct Investing, Scotia iTRADE, TD Direct Investing & Virtual Brokers.

Discount Brokerage Tweets – 02-03-2017 – Curated tweets by angeloAtSparx

From the Forums

Glitch Happens

This past week, a user on reddit posted a notice of a technical outage on Questrade’s platform. It was an interesting thread insofar as the author seemed to entertain switching because of a glitch however other users chimed in to provide alternate perspectives.

Platform for Trading

A familiar question comes from this recent post from reddit’s personal finance Canada section with a user looking for a trading platform/brokerage to trade ETFs. Worth a read for those in a similar boat.

Into the Close

That’s a wrap on yet another crazy week. Fortunately for football fans, the big game takes place this Sunday which might offer just a little sanctuary from the political football that keeps getting tossed around. For those who don’t really care much for football, here is a little something that will hopefully send you into the weekend on an entertaining note.

Posted on February 1, 2017 by user — Leave a comment

Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – February 2017

With the big game coming this weekend, it seems fitting to kick off the deals and promotions action for February in a big way. Canadian discount brokerage deals have reached a feverish pitch as the race to win over DIY investors intensifies to all-time highs.

The biggest news, however, is the launch of four new promotions in a single day by Virtual Brokers. If they were looking to make a splash, then this was certainly one sure fire way to get some attention.

Before getting into what’s new in February, a quick highlight of January will point to how Canadian DIY investors now have the champagne problem of which online brokerage offer to choose from when opening up a new trading account.

Like 2016, January 2017 was also a busy month for launching deals and promotions. Deals from BMO InvestorLine, CIBC Investor’s Edge, Scotia iTRADE, Credential Direct, Qtrade Investor and RBC Direct Direct Investing were all launched throughout the month, with almost all these offers falling into the commission-free trade or cash-back category.

Both Scotia iTRADE and RBC Direct Investing, however, launched deals that were related to credit card bonus points. In the case of RBC Direct Investing, clients who also had an RBC credit card were able to use points towards trading commissions (at RBC Direct Investing) and individuals signing up for a Scotia iTRADE account could also receive a welcome bonus of travel reward miles. Interestingly with almost all of the offers extending to at least the end of February if not the end of March, the RBC Direct Investing points bonus offer expires in mid-February, setting the stage for an intriguing question as to what – if any – offer RBC Direct Investing may come up with as Canadian DIY investors sprint towards the March 1^st RRSP contribution deadline.

As always, if we’ve missed a deal or promotion, send us a note and we can hopefully share it with all of our readers.

Expired Deals

To make room for the slew of offers, Virtual Brokers also retired a couple of their promotional offers at the end of January.

Most notable among the changes was the retirement of Virtual Brokers’ three months of unlimited trading. In addition to three months of commission free trading, this deal included a free trial of the PowerTrader Pro trading platform, which was subsequently then going to be $150USD/mo after the free trial was completed. Fortunately, there is a replacement offer now on the table, although it is not quite the same deal as the one that just expired and with a slightly higher per month cost for the trading platform.

Also on the bench for the time being is the referral program which offered up cash bonuses to new clients as well as those who referred them.

Extended Deals

No deals to mention at this time

New Deals

Go big is the game plan for Virtual Brokers as they launch their most aggressive promotional campaign ever adding four new promotional offers into the deals mix in one launch.

There’s a lot to dive into, so here’s a quick overview.

First, their headline deal of $10,000 in commission rebates is something that is unprecedented in terms of size and scope. Because it is a commission rebate, individuals making up to 1005 trades would have the commissions associated with those trades refunded. What makes this number all the more headline worthy is the fact that the minimum deposit to qualify for this offer is $10,000. The catch, presumably, is that this deal would be most appealing to active traders more so than passive investors, especially because the deadline to use up the commission-free trades is the end of March.

In keeping with the RRSP season, Virtual Brokers has also included a tiered commission offer for new and existing clients. Although it is branded as an RRSP promotion, a number of registered accounts are a part of this promotion, notably TFSA accounts and RESPs. The cash back amounts being offered are $30, $50 or $100 for minimum deposits of $5,000, $25,000 and $50,000 respectively.

The third offer is another commission-free trading promotion. Similar to the unlimited trading deal that was recently retired, this current offer enables clients to trade up to two months commission-free as well as receive two months of the PowerTrader Pro trading platform for free. After the free trial period, the platform costs $250USD per month and trading will remain commission-free. See the table below for more information.

Finally, for good measure Virtual Brokers has brought back their gift card draw for new clients. Individuals signing up for a new account with Virtual Brokers with a deposit of at least $1,000 will be eligible to be entered into a draw for a $250 Apple store gift card. There are five gift cards up for grabs as part of this contest and the draw for the gift card will take place on October 31, 2017.

Although it hit the deal wires late last month, we’re mentioning the RBC Direct Investing credit card points offer here and adding it to the list of offers covered in the “other promotions” section as well as adding Scotia iTRADE’s travel points promotion to the same category.

As always, we’ll be watching the deals action this month but if there are any deals that we’ve missed that other DIY investors would benefit from knowing about, let us know in the comments below and we update our list accordingly.

Discount Brokerage Deals

Cash Back/Free Trade/Product Offer Promotions
Referral Promotions
Transfer Fee Promotions
Contests & Other Offers

Cash Back/Free Trade/Product Offer Promotions

Company	Brief Description	Minimum Deposit Amount	Commission/Cash Offer/Promotion Type	Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer	Details Link	Deadline
	A Sparx Trading exclusive offer! Use the promo code “Sparx Trading” when signing up for a new account with Jitneytrade and receive access to their preferred pricing package.	n/a	Discounted Commission Rates	none	For more details click here	none
	Open a new account with HSBC InvestDirect and you may be eligible to receive up to 50 commission-free North American equity trades. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full offer details.	n/a	50 commission-free North American equity trades	60 days	HSBC InvestDirect Cash Bonus Promo	March 3, 2017
	Open and fund a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) with at least $1,000 and you may be eligible to receive 5 commission-free trades. Use promo code 5FREETRADES when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions carefully.	$1,000	5 commission-free trades	60 days	5 commission-free trade offer	December 31, 2017
	Open and fund a new registered account at Virtual Brokers with at least A) $5,000; B) $25,000; or C) $50,000+ in new assets and you may be eligible to receive A) $30; B) $50; C) $100 cash back. Use promo code RRSPCB2017 when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details.	A) $5,000 – $24,999 B) $25,000 – $49,999 C) $50,000+	A) $30 B) $50 C) $100	Cash back will be deposited just after October 31, 2017	RSP cash back bonus	April 30, 2017
	Open and fund a new account at Virtual Brokers with at least $5,000 and you may be eligible to receive 2 months of commission-free equity trading and a $250 USD/mo credit towards Edge Trader Pro for 2 months. Use promo code 2MFREE2017 at sign up to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for details.	$5,000	2 months commission-free equity trading + $250 USD/mo platform fee rebate.	2 months	2 months free trading	April 30, 2017
	Desjardins Online Brokerage is offering new clients 1% of assets transferred into the new account in the form of commission credits (to a maximum value of $1,000). Minimum qualifying deposit is $10,000. To qualify, individuals will have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code DisnatFlex or email: [email protected]. See details link for more info.	$10,000	1% of assets transferred in the form of commission-credits (max credits: $1,000)	6 months	Disnat 1% Commission Credit Promo	February 28, 2017
	Open and fund a new account with Virtual Brokers with at least $10,000 and you may be eligible to receive a commission-credit of up to $10,000. Use promo code 10K2017 at sign up to qualify. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details.	$10,000	Up to $10,000 in commission credits (@ $9.95 per trade)	deadline to use trades March 31, 2017. Commission rebates to be offered in January 2018.	$10,000 Commission Credit Offer	March 31, 2017
	Open and fund a new account or fund an existing account at Credential Direct with at least A) $15,000; B) $50,000; C) $150,000; D) $500,000 or E) $1,000,000+ in new assets and you may be eligible to receive A) $75; B) $125; C) $200; D) $500 or E) $1,000. Use promo code CASH2017RSP when signing up. As an added bonus, Credential Direct will donate an amount equivalent to 10% of the bonus paid out to United Way. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details.	A) $15,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $149,999 C) $150,000 – $499,999 D) $500,000 – $999,999 E) 1,000,000+	A) $75 B) $125 C) $200 D) $500 E) $1,000	Cash back will be deposited week of October 9, 2017.	Credential Direct Cash Back Promotion	March 16, 2017
	Open and fund a new account by March 31st with at least A) $20,000 or B) $100,00+ and you may qualify to receive up to either A) $500 or B) $1000 in commission reimbursements. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full offer details.	A) $20,000 – $99,999 B) $100,000+	A) up to $500 commission reimbursements B) up to $1000 commission reimbursements	90 days	National Bank Direct Brokerage Cash Back Promotion	March 31, 2017
	Open and fund a new account with Qtrade Investor with a deposit of at least A) $25,000; B) $50,000; C) $100,000; D) $250,000; E) $500,000 or F) $1,000,000 or more and you may be eligible to receive a cash back bonus of A) $25; B) $50; C) $100; D) $250; E) $500 or F) $1,000. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details.	A) $25,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $99,999 C) $100,000 – $249,999 D) $250,000 – $499,999 E) $500,000 – $999,999 F) $1,000,000+	A) $25 B) $50 C) $100 D) $250 E) $500 F) $1,000	Cash back will be deposited by July 31, 2017.	Qtrade Investor Cash Back Bonus	February 28, 2017
	Open and fund a new account at TD Direct Investing with at least A) $25,000; B) $50,000 or C) $100,000+ and you may be eligible to receive A) 50; B) 100 or C) 200 commission-free trades. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full offer details	A) $25,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $99,999 C) $100,000+	A) 50 commission-free trades (max value: $500) B) 100 commission-free trades (max value: $1000) C) 200 commission-free trades (max value: $2000)	April 28th, 2017 Commission charges will be credited the month following when the charge was incurred.	TD Direct Investing 200 Commission-free Trade Offer	March 31, 2017
	Open and fund a new account with Scotia iTRADE with at least A) $25,000; B) $50,000; C) $100,000 or D) $250,000+ and you may be eligible to receive A) 75; B) 150; C) 200 or D) $250,000+ in commission-free trades. In addition, new clients will also receive FlightDesk active trading platform free for 90 days. Use promo code W17FT when signing up to be eligible. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details.	A) $25,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $99,999 C) $100,000 – $249,999 D) $250,000+	A) 75 (max value: $749.25) B) 150 (max value: $1498.50) C) 200 (max value: $1,998) D) 250 (max value: $2,497.50)	90 days	Winter 2017 Free Trade Offer	March 31, 2017
	Open and fund a new account at CIBC Investor’s Edge with at least A) $50,000 or B) $100,000 and you may be eligible to receive A) $200 or B) $400 in cash back. Also, individuals who setup a regular investment plan may also be eligible to receive 50 commission-free equity trades. Be sure to read terms and conditions for more information.	A) $50,000 – $99,999 B) $100,000+	A) $200 B) $400 +Bonus 50 commission-free trades for setting up Regular Investment Plan.	Cash back will be deposited within 30 business days after account funding. Commission-free equity trades good for 60 days after setup of Regular Investment Plan.	Cash Back & Free Trade Offer	March 31, 2017
	Open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine, and fund it with at least A) $100,000; B) $200,000 or C) $300,000+ in net new assets and you may be eligible to receive A) $200; B) $400 or C) $750 cash back. Use promo code PROMO750 when signing up to be eligible. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer.	A) $100,000 – $199,999 B) $200,000 – $299,999 C) $300,000+	Cash back bonus A) $200 B) $400 C) $750	Cash back will be deposited the week of November 6, 2017.	2017 Winter Campaign	April 2, 2017
Expired Offers
Last Updated: Feb. 1, 2017 21:15 PT

Referral Promotions

Company	Brief Description	Minimum Deposit Amount	Incentive Structure	Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer Deposit	Details Link	Deadline
	Refer a friend to Questrade and when they open an account you receive $25 cash back and they receive either A) $25; B) $50; C) $75; D) $100; or E) $250 depending on the amount deposited amount. Enter code: 476104302388759 during account sign up to qualify. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for eligibility and additional bonus payment structure and minimum balance requirements.	A) $1,000 – $9,999 B) $10,000 – $24,999 C) $25,000 – $49,999 D) $50,000 -$99,999 E) $100,000+	$25 cash back (for referrer per referral; $50 bonus cash back for every 3rd referral) For referred individuals: A) $25 cash back B) $50 cash back C) $75 cash back D) $100 cash back E) $250 cash back	Cash deposited into Questrade billing account within 7 days after funding period ends (90 days)	Refer a friend terms and conditions Code Number: 476104302388759	none
	If you refer a friend/family member who is not already a Scotia iTrade account holder to them, both you and your friend get a bonus of either cash or free trades. You have to use the referral form to pass along your info as well as your friend/family members’ contact info in order to qualify. There are lots of details/conditions to this deal so be sure to read the details link.	A) $10,000 B) $50,000+	A) You(referrer): $50 or 10 free trades; Your “Friend”: $50 or 10 free trades (max total value:$99.90) B) You(referrer): $100 cash or 50 free trades; Your “Friend”: $100 cash or 50 free trades (max total value: $499.50)	60 days	Refer A Friend to Scotia iTrade	tbd
	If you (an existing BMO InvestorLine client) refer a new client to BMO InvestorLine and they open an account with at least $50,000 the referrer and the referee may both be eligible to receive $50 cash. To qualify the referee must use the email of the referrer that is linked to their BMO InvestorLine account. See terms and conditions for full details.	$50,000	You(referrer): $50; Your Friend(referee): $50	Payout occurs 45 days after minimum 90 day holding period(subject to conditions).	BMO InvestorLine Refer-a-Friend	June 30, 2017
Expired Offers
	Open a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) and receive $50 commission credit . Use promo code: kdkfnbbc	$1,000	$50 commission credit	30 days	none	none
Last Updated: Feb. 1, 2017 21:30 PT

Transfer Fee Promotions

Company	Brief Description	Maximum Transfer Fee Coverage Amount	Minimum Deposit Amount for Transfer Fee Eligibility	Details Link	Deadline
	Transfer $15,000 or more to RBC Direct Investing and they will pay up to $135 in transfer fees	$135	$15,000	Transfer Fee Rebate Details	none
	Transfer $25,000 or more from another brokerage and Credential Direct will cover up to $150 in transfer fees. Use promo code SWITCHME when signing up to qualify for the transfer promotion.	$150	$25,000	Credential Direct Transfer Fee Rebate	none
	Transfer $25,000 or more to Qtrade Investor from another brokerage and Qtrade Investor may cover up to $150 in transfer fees. See terms and conditions for more details.	$150	$25,000	Transfer Fee Rebate	none
	Move your brokerage account to Questrade and they’ll cover the transfer-out fee up to $150.	$150	$25,000	Transfer Fee Promo	none
	Transfer at least $25,000 or more in new assets to TD Direct Investing when opening a new account and you may qualify to have transfer fees reimbursed up to $150. Be sure to contact TD Direct Investing for further details.	$150	$25,000	Contact client service for more information (1-800-465-5463).	none
	Transfer $25,000 or more to Virtual Brokers and they may cover up to $150 in transfer fees.	$150	$25,000	Transfer Fee promo	tbd
	Transfer $25,000 or more into a CIBC Investor’s Edge account and they will reimburse up to $135 in brokerage transfer fees. Clients must call customer service to request rebate after transfer made.	$135	$25,000	Confirmed with reps. Contact client service for more information (1-800-567-3343).	none
	Transfer $25,000 or more to a National Bank Direct Brokerage account and they will pay up to $135 plus taxes in transfer fees	$135	$25,000	Transfer Fee Rebate	none
	Disnat is offering up to $150 to cover the cost of transfer fees from another institution. To be eligible, new/existing clients need to deposit $50,000 into a Disnat account. You’ll have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code DisnatFlex. See details link for more info.	$150	$50,000	Disnat 1% Commission Credit Promo	February 28, 2017
Expired Offers
Last Updated: Feb. 1, 2017 21:30PT

Other Promotions

Company	Brief Description	Minimum Deposit Amount Required	Details Link	Deadline
	Credential Direct has partnered with Trend Micro to offer 50% off Trend Micro Titanium Internet Security. Use code “TrendCF” at checkout.	n/a	Trend Micro Special Offer Code	none
	Desjardins Online Brokerage, in conjunction with MoneyTalks, is offering 3 months of the “Inside Edge” investor information service to Desjardins Online Brokerage clients. Use promo code DESJ2016 during checkout to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for more information.	n/a	MoneyTalks Inside Edge Discount	none
	Existing RBC clients can redeem 20% more RBC reward points towards contributions to a registered or non-registered account as well as towards RBC Direct Investing commissions.	n/a	RBC Reward Points Bonus Offer	March 1, 2017
	Desjardins Online Brokerage is offering $50 in commission credits for new Disnat Classic clients depositing at least $1,000. See terms and conditions for full details.	$1,000	Broker@ge 18-30 Promotion	none
	Scotiabank StartRight customers can receive 10 commission-free trades when investing $1,000 or more in a new Scotia iTrade account. Trades are good for use for up to 1 year from the date the account is funded. Use promo code SRPE15 when applying (in English) or SRPF15 when applying in French. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for full details.	$1,000	StartRight Free Trade offer	none
	Open and fund a new account with Scotia iTRADE with at least A) $25,000; B) $50,000; C) $100,000; D) $250,000; E) $500,000 or F) $1,000,000+ and you may be eligible to receive 50 commission-free trades plus A) 5,000; B) 7,500; C) 15,000 or D) 20,000; E) 25,000 or F) 50,000 travel points on an eligible Scotia travel points credit card. In addition, new clients will also receive FlightDesk active trading platform free for 90 days. Use promo code W17RP when signing up to be eligible. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details.	A) $25,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $99,999 C) $100,000 – $249,999 D) $250,000 – $499,999 E) $500,000 – $999,999 F) $1,000,000+	Scotia reward points offer	March 31, 2017
	Open a new account with Virtual Brokers with a deposit of at least $1,000 (for the Classic Commission Account) and you may be eligible to win a $250 gift card to the Apple store. Use promo code 250AGC2017 during sign up to be eligible. Residents of Quebec are not eligible for this contest. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details.	$1,000 (Classic Commission Account)	$250 Apple Gift Card Draw	April 30, 2017
	Open a new account with Virtual Brokers with a deposit of at least $1,000 (for the Classic Commission Account) or $5,000 (for the Commission Free Trading Account) and you may be eligible to receive a one-year subscription to access 5i Research. Use promo code 5iVB2016 when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details.	$1,000 (Classic Commission Account); $5,000 (Commission Free Trading Account)	5i Research Offer	March 31, 2017
Expired Offers
Last Updated: Feb. 17, 2017 21:15 PT

Posted on January 27, 2017 by user — Leave a comment

Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – January 27, 2017

Sometimes change is good. Sometimes it’s not. Either way for discount brokerages in Canada and the US, change, and more specifically the ability to navigate change, appears to be what will separate the winners from the rest of the crowd.

In this week’s roundup we take a look at the latest digital shift from one of Canada’s largest online brokerages to see how they’re changing elements to keep looking fresh. From there, we take a look at the details from two recent US online brokerage conference calls with a specific eye as to what online brokerages are working on for the future. As usual, we’ll wrap up the roundup with a look at what investors were talking about on social media as well as in the investing forums.

TD Direct Investing Website Gets Refresh

In more ways than one, the new reality for online investors and those that service them is dealing with change. As online brokerages increasingly evolve into technology companies, the need to be agile and responsive is greater than ever before. Their platforms need to keep up with the times, as do all of their websites, social media feeds, mobile apps and so on. More than just the technology, online brokerages also have to keep up with what an online investor looks like – not just those already in the markets, but those who are looking to get in too.

Over the past three years, there has been a noticeable evolution of the websites and marketing at most of Canada’s online brokerages. This month, there has been yet another website enhancement made from Canada’s largest bank-owned online brokerage – TD Direct Investing.

Looking back at the evolution of the TD Direct Investing story, one of the first important changes took place when TD Waterhouse switched to TD Direct Investing in late 2012.

In late 2015, TD Direct Investing then updated the front end of their website, modifying the look and feel of the brand to become more modern, not only in web design terms, but also in portraying what the ‘typical investor’ looks like. As part of a trend amongst the major Canadian banks, looking and feeling more appealing to everyday Canadians meant recognizing the diversity of what Canadians look like and what they support.

Now, in 2017, TD Direct Investing has updated their look and feel yet again in order to appear more modern and harmonize the brand experience the parent brand.

Screenshot of TD Direct Investing website 2017-01-27

The front end of the TD Direct Investing section of the TD website, with the scroll features that tells the TDDI story, is remarkably familiar to many robo-advisor websites and borrows design elements that are found on other Canadian brokerage websites that use icons and the scroll-based design.

Clicking through the homepage, there are links that still point to pages that use the previous design standard as well as links that point to the newer look, signaling a gradual transition to a newer look and feel rather than a wholesale change. It is an interesting choice from a design point of view in that users see the old and new imagery and layouts within the same visit.

While the updated design does add an element of change, the key observation is that TD continues to use bold imagery of ordinary looking people. These may be stock images, however there is more thought in their selection that shows they’re conscientious about recognizing a more diverse-looking set of customers. Fortunately, TD Direct Investing is not alone in this regard. This is also true for a couple of TD Direct Investing’s bank-owned brokerage peers – BMO InvestorLine and RBC Direct Investing. With so much divisive rhetoric emerging from the US it’s nice to see Canadian banks being Canadian and embracing the portrait of an online investor as a mixture of men and women, old and young and all shades of skin colour.

On the Line

With markets making new all-time highs and a difficult to predict new president, there’s lots of uncertainty for investors on exactly how they’re going to approach trading this market. To get some insights, it was interesting to review the latest news coming out of US online brokerages’ earnings conference calls as they reported their quarterly earnings and spent time explaining their strategies and vision for 2017 as well as where they see investors headed during these uncertain times.

In the E*trade Financial conference call, one of the interesting priorities for them in the upcoming year will be in marketing. As we had mentioned in a previous weekly roundup, in a hypercompetitive marketplace, in particular in the online brokerage space, an increasing amount of focus will have to be paid to getting client acquisition and retention right. This means undertaking some bold but thoughtful marketing.

The comments made by E*Trade Financial’s CEO Karl Roessner during the most recent conference call certainly highlight that E*Trade will be focused on aggressively onboarding new clients, with the ever-prized active trader segment being of particular interest.

In conjunction with the strategy of acquiring new clients, it appears that E*Trade is also going to be undertaking major branding initiatives and enhancing their digital experience by upgrading their web presence. Like the recent moves observed by TD Direct Investing referenced above, the following quote signals that keeping the digital experience of E*Trade fresh and current is a key component to their marketing plans:

And at the top of a long list of initiatives is the re-launch of our brand. We’ve enjoyed phenomenal brand awareness, and we intend to build on that to reclaim our challenger position in the industry. Expect to see more around mid-year. In the meantime, we are working on updates to our website, including an overhaul to the look and feel, along with improved navigation.

Another conference call from an online brokerage took place this week, this time from TD Ameritrade. While also discussing the results of an integration with Scottrade, there were a number of interesting nuggets on the technology front revealed by TD Ameritrade.

For example, the launch of innovative integrations with Amazon’s Alexa (using the TD Ameritrade skill app) that enable individuals to get stock market updates points to a future where home automation or virtual assistants will meet the world of investing.

In addition, there was also some insight given on the social media monitoring tool, Social Signals, that helps investors look for investment opportunities based on what stocks individuals are talking about online – in particular on Twitter.

One of the most interesting perspectives, however, came from CEO Tim Hockey’s answer on the possible behaviour of retail investors heading into the next few months post-Trump’s election. Specifically, Hockey’s position is that DIY investors will be looking to reposition their portfolios given the new US President’s policies and initiatives. In particular, the comment that investors appear to be moving in a contrarian fashion – pulling money out on the big rallies, signals there’s some skepticism as to the valuation of the US markets and especially in the larger cap names.

While the US online brokerage marketplace is certainly distinct from Canada’s, there is clearly a view towards what the future may hold for the industry in Canada.

With regards to innovation, US brokerages such as TD Ameritrade are clearly developing the next generation of tools that DIY investors can use to monitor and potentially trade with. The race to bring in innovation to the DIY trading world reinforces the observation that online brokerages are going to have to become much more technology based than they already are, which may be easier said than done.

One potentially noteworthy comment by Interactive Brokers’ CEO Thomas Peterffy in their latest conference call probably should serve as a warning to online brokerages. Specifically, Peterffy was asked about why Interactive Brokers took the unusual step of payment of high amount of bonuses to employees at the end of Q4, to which Peterffy responded “It’s a very competitive world.”

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

It was a tough week for online investors caught on the wrong side of a platform outage at Questrade illustrating once again that trading isn’t without its random risks. Mentioned this week were BMO InvestorLine, CIBC Investor’s Edge, Questrade, Scotia iTRADE & TD Direct Investing.

Discount Brokerage Tweets – 01-27-2017 – Curated tweets by angeloAtSparx

From the Forums

Cut it Out

This past week the firestorm of tweets on Questrade’s platform outage also extended to comments in reddit’s Personal Finance Canada thread in this post. Fortunately, Questrade also stepped in to the discussion to help let people know their options during an outage.

Unpleasant Exchange

In this post, from the RedFlagDeals.com investing forum, one user learned the hard lesson about currency conversions at online brokerages – namely that they can get expensive. Read on to find out how others can get around the extra fees related to currency conversions.

Into the Close

That’s a wrap on the first chaotic week of the Trump presidency and a record breaking week on the markets. For those trying to figure out where markets go from here, you may want to take the weekend off and simply remember that the trend is your friend until it ends. For all those celebrating the Lunar New Year this weekend – happy New Year! And for those looking for something to celebrate – Monday isn’t here for another couple of days, make the most of it!

Posted on January 20, 2017 by user — Leave a comment

Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – January 20, 2017

Trump, or more formally, President Trump is known for many things – among them, the art of the deal. The new US president isn’t the only deal maker around, however, as Canadian brokerages are also looking to start giving some ‘bigly’ deals to DIY investors.

This week’s roundup puts a spotlight on the latest deals action that occurred this week – a signal that competition amongst Canadian discount brokerages is reaching a new high. From there we’ll take a look at what DIY investors had to say to Canada’s online brokerages on Twitter and what was on the minds of investors in the financial forums.

Deals Reach Feverish Levels

This week there were three new offers that were added to the long list of promotions being offered by Canada’s discount brokerages to entice potential clients (as well as a few existing clients) to bring in assets. Joining the fray this week were offers from Qtrade Investor, Credential Direct and RBC Direct Investing. Both Qtrade Investor and Credential Direct launched cash back promotional offers while RBC Direct Investing launched a points based promotion linked for RBC credit card holders.

With the addition of these new offers, the total number of advertised offers now stands at 32, of which 7 were added to the list in January – a sign that competition amongst Canadian brokerages has increased significantly. Interestingly, the only major Canadian online brokerages not offering a cash back or commission-free trading deal (at least at the time of publication) for new accounts are RBC Direct Investing and Interactive Brokers.

Whether it is the specter of Robo-advisors, the changes forecast with the CRM2 fee disclosures, the rally in the markets, or some combination of these, Canadian discount brokerages are definitely trying to perfect the art of the deal in order to attract new clients (or more precisely, new assets).

Heading into RRSP season, it’s clear that innovation and new features have taken a back seat to cold hard cash. In particular, there’s been a noticeable increase in cash back offers as a proportion of the total deals being offered which speaks to the growing recognition of the preference for these offers with DIY investors over commission-free trades.

With all of the offers now in play navigating them can be somewhat of a challenge. As such, we’ve done a little bit of the homework for readers looking to compare cash back offers between discount brokerages below.

In terms of cash back offers, there two main types to consider, those that are available without a referral and those that are part of a referral offer. A quick comparison of the two show that for someone opening a new account (or in some cases bringing new assets) with a non-referral offer, the cash back bonus ranges from 0.1% to 0.5% of assets deposited. For the referral-based cash back offers, the range is wider going from 0.1% to 2.5%.

In the case of referral-based cash back offers, these generally are better deals for deposits of between $1,000 and $10,000 simply because there are no non-referral cash back offers for deposits under $15,000. In fact, for deposits under $25,000 referral bonuses offer the best selection and rates for a cash back bonus. Nonetheless, Credential Direct’s offer of $75 cash back for a minimum $15,000 and Questrade’s referral-based offer of $75 cash back for a minimum deposit of $25,000 are the offers that provide clients with the largest bonus in the sub-$25,000 deposit range.

Perhaps the most crowded segment of the deals market is at the $50,000 deposit mark, where there are 7 different offers ranging from a low of $50 (from BMO InvestorLine and Qtrade Investor) to a high of $200 (from CIBC Investor’s Edge). In this segment, CIBC Investor’s Edge’s offer is more than 1.5x that of its nearest competitor, Credential Direct (who’s offering $125 cash back). In addition, at that deposit level, brokerages are also willing to cover transfer out fees meaning that even greater total value can be obtained.

Interestingly, at the $100,000 deposit mark, the field thins out, with four offers specifically targeting minimum deposits at this level. The range for cash back bonuses goes from a low of $100 (Qtrade Investor) to a high of $400 (CIBC Investor’s Edge).

Finally, for deposit tiers higher than $150,000 (up to the $1M+ range), cash back bonuses range between 0.1% and 0.25% with maximum bonuses of $1,000 cash back being offered by Credential Direct and Qtrade Investor at the highest deposit tiers.

The big picture for DIY investors is that there are 27 different deposit tiers that they can qualify for between the referral and non-referral cash back offers – an extraordinary level of choice. Paradoxically, on a percentage basis, at most brokerages the higher the amount of assets an individual brings in, the lower the reward. So, for example, an individual who deposits $50,000 at Credential Direct receives $125 but if they were to deposit $500,000 they would not receive $1250, but only $500 instead.

Arguably, the cash back incentives are not going to be the primary reason an individual chooses a particular brokerage. With the dollar amounts being given out, there simply isn’t enough financial incentive for most people to go through the process of moving investments around just to get a cash bonus. That said, with services, features and pricing at most online brokerages being very close to one another, the tie-breaker will almost certainly come down to who’s more willing to give to get. And, when it comes to getting a new client, money definitely talks loudest.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

January might be the middle of winter but some of this week’s tweet seemed extra cold. Mentioned this week were CIBC Investor’s Edge, Questrade, RBC Direct Investing, Scotia iTRADE and TD Direct Investing.

Discount Brokerage Tweets – 01-20-2017 – Curated tweets by angeloAtSparx

From the Forums

Stating the Facts

With CRM2 rolling out at Canadian discount brokerages, this post from Canadian Money Forum offers a very interesting look across the board at how investors are reacting to the new statements.

Deal or no deal?

With the launch of their cash back (plus free trade) offer, CIBC Investor’s Edge not only has an ultra-competitive commission cost but now one of the most competitive deals out there for those who qualify. This thread from the investing sub-forum of RedFlagDeals.com gauges the reaction of the bargain hunting community on whether the offer from CIBC Investor’s Edge measures up.

Into the Close

That’s a wrap on one of the most historic weeks in the new year. Within just a few hours of taking office there’s already lots for traders and investors to digest with Trump now at the helm of the US. At this point, there’s little doubt that things are going to continue to get interesting for investors. For those who are just a little too Trumped out, thankfully there’s some good football ahead. Stay warm!

Posted on January 13, 2017 by user — Leave a comment

Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – January 13, 2017

For the superstitious, Friday the 13^th is supposedly an unlucky day. As this week draws to a close, however, it seems that DIY investors are in luck as deals and promotions activity is red hot at the outset of 2017.

We’ll keep things light for this edition of the roundup, putting the spotlight on the deals and promotions being offered by Canadian discount brokerages and how the new deals that launched this past week could shake things up for other Canadian brokerages. From there, we’ll take a look at some interesting news and developments from across the online brokerage landscape that caught our attention and round out with the latest tweets from Canadian investors & online brokerages as well as what people are talking about on the investor forums.

Everyone into the Pool

This week, the deals gauge went from hot to red hot, and with good reason. There are now at least 28 advertised offers from Canadian discount brokerages, with cash back/commission-free trades now making a comeback after pulling back late in 2016.

The two brokerages causing the commotion this week, CIBC Investor’s Edge and Scotia iTRADE, have now made the case for all Canadian online brokerages to have a live cash back or commission-free trade offer or risk losing out new business to those who do.

CIBC Investor’s Edge, which has the lowest standard commission costs amongst Canadian bank-owned brokerages, made a big splash by offering up a cash back promotion of up to $400 for deposits of $100K or more. In addition, individuals who set up a ‘Regular Investment Plan’ (amusingly given the acronym RIP), are also eligible for up to 50 commission-free trades.

So, while it is a positive development for DIY investors that CIBC Investor’s Edge has stepped into the promotions space to start 2017, there are also a number of other reasons why their entry is significant.

First, as one of the lowest cost commission rates available, CIBC Investor’s Edge naturally enjoys a competitive edge over its bank-owned brokerage peers as well as the non-bank-owned group. This means that they inevitably get more attention or get considered more often by virtue of the fact that many DIY investors are looking for the best value – and low commissions for many investors equates to just that.

Second, now that CIBC Investor’s Edge is in the fray, the only major bank-owned brokerage without a cash-back or commission-free trade offer is RBC Direct Investing (BMO, CIBC, Scotia and TD are all offering these promos) which means RBC Direct Investing will either have to post a promotion or contend with direct competitors grabbing attention and market share from them. If mortgage rates and other financial services offer any clues, the odds that RBC Direct Investing stands idly by while the rest of the field eats their lunch just got lower.

Finally, while CIBC Investor’s Edge has offered promotions in the past, the presentation of this offer (specifically the push to a cleanly designed landing page) suggests an overhaul to the Investor’s Edge look and feel are probably on the way. The broader CIBC user experience (for example on mobile) has seen an upgrade so to maintain a consistent user experience, it looks like a new website will likely be on its way.

Scotia iTRADE also returned to the deals and promotions section, this time with two offers launching simultaneously. The primary offer of interest to DIY investors is a commission free-trade offer that ranges from 75 trades up to 250 trades, depending on the amount deposited into the new account. The second promotion is actually tied to their travel credit card program in which individuals who do have a Scotia credit card and who sign up for a new online brokerage account can receive a combination of 50 commission-free trades points

An interesting angle on the deals and promotions activity might also be a response to the Rob Carrick article recently published that encourages DIY investors to try non-bank-owned online brokerages on for size rather than defaulting to a big bank. To say that this has made waves is certainly an understatement considering the degree of influence Carrick has with Canadians – and especially within the realm of Canadian personal finance. What this means is that big bank-owned brokerages may need to be more active with deals and promotional activity to counter the recommendation from Carrick’s article for DIY investors to try a non-bank-owned brokerage.

While there are important points Carrick makes in the article about fees and banks recently being in the news for overcharging investors, the point to be made (and certainly reading through comments from investors who are clients at non-bank-owned brokerages also highlights this) is that all financial service providers can make mistakes – whether by omission or commission. There are simply too many moving parts, from technology integration, compliance, security and more to not expect something to break. The real questions are (or should be) which provider would be best able to address an issue when it comes up and what would be a reasonable price to pay for that as a consumer?

Marketing Pullback

Normally this is the section where we mention upcoming education events or events of interest to DIY investors. One such event that’s coming up is the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference taking place on 22nd and 23rd of January. While the focus of this conference has been primarily on natural resource related investing, historically there have been a couple of Canadian online brokerages exhibiting in person, specifically Desjardins Online Brokerage and TD Direct Investing. Interestingly, neither of these brokerages are on the list of exhibitors this year (as of publication), hinting at least of a redrawing of plans in terms of where brokerages are going to spend their time (and money) connecting with investors.

Rise of the Machines

While robo-advisors are currently getting a lion’s share of the attention with regards to using algorithms in financial services, another story crossed our radar regarding the use of artificial intelligence integrated into the trading platform interface at Interactive Brokers. Their recently deployed “IBot” is gathering data on how individuals trade in the hopes of determining how best to work with human traders in providing information/answers they are seeking. While it seems like a high-powered search engine at this point, it certainly provides a glimpse into the kinds of innovation to the trading experience that will be required to get DIY investors excited. Provided, of course, that it works the way it’s supposed to.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

This week saw the big bank owned brokerages in the cross hairs of more than a few DIY investors. Mentioned this week were BMO InvestorLine, CIBC Investor’s Edge, Questrade, RBC Direct Investing, Scotia iTRADE, TD Direct Investing and Virtual Brokers.

Discount Brokerage Tweets – 01-13-2017 – Curated tweets by angeloAtSparx

From the Forums

Mini-Series

For DIY investors, one of the most popular choices are low cost mutual funds, such as the TD E-series. In this post from reddit’s personal finance Canada thread, one community member was interested in finding out whether the grass was greener on the DIY side of the fence or if E-series was the way to go.

Money-weighted Return

With new CRM2 compliant investor statements heading out to DIY investors, one of the less familiar terms to be aware of is money-weighted return (performance). In this post from reddit’s personal finance Canada section, one Questrade user was looking for a little more clarity and got a number of good examples to help explain the concept.

Into the Close

That’s a wrap on this week’s action across the Canadian discount brokerage landscape. Remember, US markets will be closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. With all of the uncertainty in the markets, it seems appropriate to check out something a little lighthearted heading into the weekend. Of course, for all of the market watchers, maybe the picture of a bubble might hold a little more meaning. Stay warm and go Seahawks!

#TWNFan Jeff Schultes mixed dish soap, maple syrup, sugar & warm water to make frozen bubbles in -20°C temperatures in Regina, SK this week pic.twitter.com/NSrOW8KdzU

— The Weather Network (@weathernetwork) January 10, 2017

Posted on January 6, 2017 by user — Leave a comment

Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – January 6, 2017

Welcome to the first roundup of new year! It’s good to be back at the helm in what will likely be one of the most exciting and unpredictable years for DIY investors in recent memory. Given all of the uncertainty, the theme of this year seems to be strategy – the traditional playbook is out and the ability to improvise and rapidly adapt is in. For Canadian online brokerages, this year more than any other will test their resourcefulness as well as their talent for getting creative.

In this week’s roundup we take a look at how the deals and promotions from Canadian discount brokerages started the year and what incentives might be in store for DIY investors heading into 2017. From there we take a look at the preparations brokerages are making for the final stretch of CRM2 and then recap the tweets to and from Canadian brokerages this past week. Finally, we close out with some topics of interest from DIY investor forums.

Deal updates

At the start of 2017, Canadian DIY investors looking to open a new brokerage account (or to switch brokerages) have lots to look forward to in the way of deals and promotions. This month’s deals action has already been swift, with new offers from HSBC InvesDirect and BMO InvestorLine to start the year.

Screenshots of offers from HSBC InvestDirect (top) and BMO InvestorLine (bottom) at the beginning of January 2017.

In total, we’ve spotted 25 public promotions that are now active that DIY investors can look to when shopping around online for a new trading account. Part of the reason this number is at this level was because two bank-owned brokerages, TD Direct Investing and National Bank Direct Brokerage, each launched deals ahead of the holiday season. Also sources at several other brokerages have indicated that January is likely to see additional deals activity so there is even more in the works for online investors.

As far as deals and promotions from Canadian online brokerages are concerned, the lead up to the RRSP contribution deadline will be a busy time.

With markets flirting with new all-time highs in both the US and Canada, an IPO for Snapchat on the horizon and whispers of a potentially frothy year for IPOs in general, the roll out of the final phase of CRM2 and added competition from robo-advisors looking to win over prized millennial investors, Canadian online brokerages will be pulling out all the stops this year to get attention from DIY investors thinking about investing online.

We will continue to monitor the deals and promotions activity but bullish signals such as the long expiry dates for most offers, healthy participation from multiple brokerages as well as renewed enthusiasm in the equity markets will likely translate into Canadian discount brokerages stepping up their efforts to gain market share, and more importantly to them, share of wallet.

Making a statement

For a very long time, investors have had to face unclear and sometimes incomprehensible investment statements. Over the past few years, however, things have gotten better and in 2017, investors are about to see more detail on how their investments are being managed and exactly where the costs for managing their money are coming from.

To better assist Canadian investors with understanding exactly where and how fees are generated on their investment accounts, financial market regulators required financial service providers, including Canadian online brokerages, to disclose fees more clearly to their clients. A great primer on the upcoming changes done by the Globe and Mail can be found here and a good explanation is also provided by FAIR Canada in the video below.

Heading into 2017 Canadian discount brokerages have begun alerting clients on their respective websites and via email that newer, easier to understand, investment statements are now available. Some of the more visible notifications have come from firms such as BMO InvestorLine, National Bank Direct Brokerage and CIBC Investor’s Edge. Interestingly, BMO InvestorLine and CIBC Investor’s Edge went a step further by also including a video that explains the changes to their statements.

Interestingly, and certainly not by accident, Questrade has been anticipating this transition with a popular and widespread campaign on asking tough questions to financial advisors.

The reasoning is that once investors, especially those with mutual funds, begin to see what they’re paying for the service with these new statements, they may start to look around for better value. Curiously, other brokerages have been less visible or have yet to launch campaigns directed at capitalizing on the ‘sticker shock’ of finding out how much in fees is being eaten up. In this regard, Questrade has managed to get out in front of their competitors and will stand to benefit from having timed their campaign so well.

It is difficult to imagine a scenario in which the new statements being sent to investors would not provoke investors into considering a lower fee alternative. For the larger institutions, there has been a noticeable effort to become more ‘friendly’ and also more service focused, in hopes of being able to demonstrate value for the fees that are being charged.

Perhaps the biggest upshot for investors year end summaries of activity will be able to show how much is being spent on trading commissions. For active traders, this will really hit home to see whether or not trade execution could be more economical at another brokerage. This would certainly be an interesting and opportune moment for a savvy online brokerage to drop standard commission fees or for those with low commission rates to speak up. We suspect either of these may already be in the works.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

Fees, speed, service – this week had a little bit of everything to kick off 2017. Mentioned this week were BMO InvestorLine, CIBC Investor’s Edge, Questrade, Scotia iTRADE and TD Direct Investing.

Discount Brokerage Tweets – 01-06-2017 – Curated tweets by angeloAtSparx

From the Forums

Dating issues

In this post from the reddit personal finance Canada thread, one user wanted to get what seems like a simple answer to what date the deadline is for contributing to an RRSP in 2017. Interestingly, there is clearly still quite a bit of confusion as to when an individual investor can make a contribution to their RRSP and which year it “counts” towards when making it.

TFSA and Daytrading

This post from reddit’s personal finance Canada thread is a perennial favourite for those who seek clarity on whether or not ‘trading’ in a TFSA is allowed. Definitely interesting to see the variety of interpretations on what is a very grey area to begin with.

Into the Close

That’s a wrap on the first week of 2017. While this year is going to be full of surprises, perhaps one of the most curious sights was the clamoring of individuals for ‘free salt’ in Vancouver. Not sure what the lesson is here (or even if there’s just one) but something about supply and demand springs to mind. Whatever you happen to get up to this weekend, hopefully you’re staying warm (and you have enough salt)!

#Breaking: salt arrives at hall 17, people break out of line and rush the pile. Incredible. @GlobalBC pic.twitter.com/WFhiLlaRxQ

— Jordan Armstrong (@jarmstrongbc) January 5, 2017

Posted on January 3, 2017 by user — 6 Comments

Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – January 2017

*Update: Jan. 17* It’s a new year, a new month and for DIY investors, a chance to get some good news while shopping around for an online trading account. While 2016 saw some interesting developments in the deals & promotions space, one of the more notable occurrences was the pullback in offers from Questrade. In their absence, however, a number of other offers did come to market and as the year drew to a close, we observed a spike in deals being offered by Canadian discount brokerages.

Heading into this new year, there are now 25 offers from Canadian discount brokerages, with major players like TD Direct Investing and National Bank Direct Brokerage launching promotional offers in mid-December. In addition, this month has more promotions coming to market. Even though these offers have yet to be advertised to the public, the deal count appears healthy at the outset of the year. The only deals set to expire in January are the BMO InvestorLine offer due to expire at midnight (E.T.) of January 3^rd, and fee transfer offers from Qtrade Investor and Virtual Brokers.

As always, if there are promotions or deals from Canadian discount brokerages that we might have missed, drop us a note and we can add them to the list.

Expired Deals

*Update: Jan 17 – Qtrade Investor’s transfer fee offer that required a lower deposit amount ($10,000) to qualify has now expired. Qtrade Investor still offers to cover transfer fees but the minimum deposit amount required is now $25,000.*

*Update: Jan 5 – BMO InvestorLine’s cash back plus commission-free trade offer has officially expired and has been replaced with a new cash back offer. See below for more details*

HSBC InvestDirect’s transfer in bonus offer officially expired at the end of December. Fortunately, HSBC InvestDirect is also launching a new deal to replace this outgoing one – see below for more info.

Extended Deals

A couple of deals managed to get extended out into 2017. Desjardins Online Brokerage has extended the deadline for their 1% commission-rebate offer out to the end of February. In addition, Qtrade Investor has extended their transfer fee offer a few more weeks until January 16^th.

New Deals

*Update: Jan. 17 – Qtrade Investor has now officially jumped into the cash back promotion race, with a new tiered offer ranging from $25 to $1,000 cash back. See the table below for more details on deposit tiers.

Credential Direct, also surprised us this week by launching a new cash back promotion of their own. Like several offers out there, they have elected to have a tiered cash back reward for different deposit levels. This promotion is open to both new accounts as well as to existing clients who deposit additional funds. In addition, however, Credential Direct will donate the equivalent of 10% of the bonus payments paid out during this promotion to the United Way, meaning that DIY investors can also do a little good while getting a reward.*

*Update: Jan. 12 – CIBC Investor’s Edge has now stepped into the deals arena, launching a new cash back and free trade offer . The minimum deposit to qualify for the cash-back promotion is $50,000 in assets however for individuals who set up a “Regular Investment Plan”, there is also a bonus of 50 commission-free equity trades available. See table below for more information. Thanks to a reader Jake for letting us know about this one.

Scotia iTRADE also got back into deal mode with the launch of a commission-free trading deal. Their latest free trade promotion offers up between 75 and 250 commission-free trades depending on the amount deposited. In addition to their latest commission-free trade offer, Scotia iTRADE has also launched a commission-free trade offer + travel points reward offer for Scotia travel credit card holders.*

*Update: Jan. 5 – Two new deals have crossed the wires this week. First, as anticipated, details of HSBC InvestDirect’s 50 free trade offer have been published on the HSBC InvestDirect website so we are able to share the details listed in the table below. Of note, there is no minimum deposit required to qualify for this offer and it appears that those interested in the deal are being encouraged to call in to client services to sign up.

BMO InvestorLine also launched a new deal this week to replace their outgoing cash back + commission-free trade offer. The latest promotional offer from BMO InvestorLine is a traditional cash back deal that offers three tiers of cash back based on different deposit amount. The cash back tiers include $200 cash back for a $100,000 deposit, $400 cash back for a $200,000 deposit or $750 for a $300,000+ deposit. Interestingly, this is one of the first cash back offers to not decrease (in proportionate terms) as deposits increase. See table below for more details*

Although no new deals were technically published online from any of the Canadian online brokerages at the outset of the month, we did get confirmation from HSBC InvestDirect that a promotion has started as of January 3^rd which is a commission-free trade offer. Until we see the promotion posted live on the website, we don’t know the full terms and conditions, however we have been told that it is a 50 commission-free trade offer that requires no deposit minimum to qualify. This promotion is scheduled to run from January 3^rd through to March 3^rd. Additional details will be provided in the table below when they’re available online.

This month we also added the Virtual Brokers transfer promotion back into the list of transfer offers as we noticed it reappeared in their terms and conditions section on their website.