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FCAC Website – Section on Savings & Investment

FCAC – Savings & Investment Section

In this section of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada website, (FCAC) you can find a wealth (pun intended) of information on getting started with investing.

Through this page you can learn about:

As a launching point for self-directed investors or folks that are curious about investing, the FCAC is a great resource.  It covers important definitions of terms that investors should familiarize themselves with as well as provide tips that also talk about tax considerations, something a lot of other stock market education sites don’t really cover.

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – Nov. 2, 2012

Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup

There were a couple of really big events that took place this past week including the impact of Hurricane Sandy, TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage’s Direct Investing Expo and Tyler Bollhorn’s soft launch of his new book, “The Mindless Investor”.  Also November is Financial Literacy Month, be sure to pay extra attention to a lot of the great resources and events for self-directed investors that we’re mentioning this month.

Hurricane Sandy Shuts Down Markets

Hurricane Sand shut down US markets for 2 days this past week marking the first time the NYSE has been closed because of weather since 1888.  The ripple effect for discount brokerage clients was obviously that they could not trade US markets but for some even trading on Canadian markets was impaired because datafeeds at some Canadian discount brokerages went down. Even though on the whole market data is fairly reliable, there are times when data feeds do go down, which is something you need to factor in to your type of trading especially if you are more active.  Usually the best response is to call your discount brokerage directly to properly respond – just be prepared for higher wait times when there are platform outages.

An alternative to getting answers is to go on twitter because chances are that there are other more active traders who will report on the status of their trading platforms.  Luckily we’ve put together a handy twitter channel for you to monitor all the discount brokerages that are on twitter in order to monitor announcements.  As a case in point, BMO took to twitter to announce an outage it had on its banking networks, tactfully managing a difficult customer service issue by keeping customers informed with progress reports.

Direct Investing Expo Review

We also reported a two part review of the TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage Direct Investing Expo.  This full day event was a great educational opportunity for self-directed investors to learn about macro-economic trends from Bob Gorman, as well as to learn about technical analysis and options trading from TD Ameritrade and Investools.  Click here to read the full review.

The Mindless Investor

This week in both Calgary and Vancouver, Tyler Bollhorn released signed copies of his book to audiences of Michael Campbell’s session with Tyler.  We managed to land a copy of it and will be putting up a review shortly.  In the meantime, you can read a preview of it here.

Financial Literacy Month

As part of Financial Literacy Month, SparxTrading.com is happy to share some of the great materials we’ve come across that can help self-directed investors better understand investing concepts that are important to learn about.  This week we put together a list of the best stock market education videos we found on the TD Ameritrade website.  Click here to access these videos.

Best Canadian Discount Brokerage Tweet of the Week:

This week’s discount brokerage tweet of the week was a tie between @virtual_brokers for their In Brief newsletter piece on understanding income statements and  @nationalbank where they linked out to a great article from their newsletter Clearfacts on easing into investing and using a TFSA.  To read more about TFSAs check out our article here.

Event Horizon

The Small-Cap Conference happening in Vancouver on November 6th is just about here. This will be a great opportunity to learn how to approach investing in smaller companies as speakers Ryan Irvine and Brent Todd are very good at laying out how to spot good opportunities.  Anyone who per-registers via SparxTrading.com, and attends this free conference will get a great bonus gift courtesy of SparxTrading! For registration details, click here.

The People Have Spoken

This week there was an interesting forum thread on the redflagdeals personal finance section.  Forum member “Squadz” felt a little overwhelmed with TFSAs, Stocks & mutual funds.  To read what everyone had to say to help squadz get through the maze of financial products, click here.

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Event Review – TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage Direct Investing Expo – Vancouver 2012 – Part 2

TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage Direct Investing Expo Review (part 2)

To view part 1, click here.

Options basics – using covered calls

After a long break for lunch, attendees were treated to a session from Investools, an investor education company that was purchased by TD Ameritrade in 2009.  Even though Investools isn’t available to Canadians anymore, rumour has it that there may be something in the works to have them here sometime in the not-too-distant future.    The presentation “using options to help generate cash flow – fundamental options strategies and covered calls” led by Linda McCoy was by far one of the most engaging investor education seminars I’ve ever sat through.  Running a post-lunch seminar with the objective of successfully teaching participants of various experience levels about covered calls was no small undertaking but armed with a healthy dose of dramatic flair, a rock-solid understanding of options, and an obvious grasp of adult learning strategies, Linda was able to successfully lead the room through an often intimidating subject. Using everything from coupons for limes to hand gestures for telephones to get her point across, Linda drove the point home that the world of options is well worth the time it takes to learn about them  Looking around the room, it was clear that I wasn’t the only one who found her presentation both educational as well as entertaining (i.e. nobody was seen knitting at this one).

Risk-defined options strategies

The last portion of sessions for the afternoon had three concurrent sessions, including a repeat of the two sessions from the morning: The Art and Science of Analyzing Charts and ETF Trading: Income Investing Using ETFs, and a third session entitled “Learn to Trade in Any Market Direction – Risk-Defined Option Strategies”.  I sat through the latter, again led by Linda McCoy.  Equally animated, this was a challenging topic as it got into some of the more complicated trade strategies that can be done using options.  For example, in this session Linda went over trading strategies such as vertical spreads, “iron condors” and “calendar spreads”.  While to most people the names of these strategies  can sound like something out of a kung-fu movie, our instructor was able to successfully walk the audience through a full trading plan for each, eventually having the audience put together a hypothetical trade themselves.

The key point of both options sessions is that options can offer a way to make money from markets while controlling risk, especially by taking advantage of a feature of options known as time decay.  While much easier said than done, every successful trader knows that the ability to make a sound trading decisions starts with a trading plan that includes entry and exit rules as well as well-defined money management criteria.

Conclusion

Overall the TD Direct Investing Expo was a well-attended (~160 people), well-planned event.  The speakers kept to the schedule, and events were run generally on time. As far as investor seminars go, it was certainly the type of event that made it worth getting up early on a rainy Saturday morning to attend.  If there were any downsides, they were fairly minor. One suggestion would be to provide a compiled set of notes and slides from the speakers (which to their credit, Investools did do) but which would have been helpful for the Bob Gorman session and for the technical analysis section. In addition, the event did not have a twitter plan in place so even though SparxTrading was tweeting from the event, other clients or followers of TD could not follow along with some of the events of the day.  Incidentally, for those that would like to review the tweets from the event, you can find them below.

For self-directed investors thinking of attending similar events, it’s certainly worth doing a little research on the speakers and the companies in attendance in order to know if it’s the right type of event for you.  A full-day event such as this presents a lot of information to take in. While some may argue that certain types of stock market information just makes things more complicated than they need to be, it is nonetheless important for beginner self-directed investors to be active learners in order to get the most out of what’s being presented.  Taking active notes and asking questions (if there’s the chance) are two tips that ensure that what’s being said will actually stick.

In case you missed it, here are our tweets from the event

Sparx Trading ‏@SparxTrading: Great breakfast before a big day at the #directinvestingexpo @TD_Canada http://yfrog.com/oeqmljuj

Sparx Trading ‏@SparxTrading: Bob Gorman talk launching – exciting stuff! Starting with dominant theme – the US mkts #directinvestingexpo @TD_Canada

Sparx Trading ‏@SparxTrading: Fiscal Cliffs, Fiscal Norms = Fiscal Cheers; Bob Gorman’s positive perspective on 2013 econ events #directinvestingexpo @TD_Canada

Sparx Trading ‏@SparxTrading: Bob Gorman: Canadian real estate speculators be warned esp in Van and Toronto #directinvestingexpo @TD_Canada

Sparx Trading ‏@SparxTrading: Great talk by Bob Gorman – lots of investment ideas to think about! #directinvestingexpo @TD_Canada

Sparx Trading ‏@SparxTrading: Curious about Bob Gorman’s outlook and stock picks? Look out for our review on https://www.sparxtrading.com  soon! #directinvestingexpo @TD_Canada

Sparx Trading ‏@SparxTrading: On now to technical analysis 101 with Ryan Lewenza; trends, volume & patterns give entries and exits a hand #directinvestingexpo @TD_Canada

Sparx Trading ‏@SparxTrading: #technicalanalysis is more helpful at exits than entries: ryan lewenza, #directinvestingexpo @TD_Canada

Sparx Trading ‏@SparxTrading: TA tips: round #’s matter, # of times stock hits a price more important the price, breaks of support/resistance matter #directinvestingexpo

Sparx Trading ‏@SparxTrading: Bearish markets means buy and hold not the best strategy; need to be more active: Ryan Lewenza #directinvestingexpo @TD_Canada

Sparx Trading ‏@SparxTrading: Great to mingle with other investors, swapping investing stories over lunch, can’t wait for the next talk! #directinvestingexpo @TD_Canada

Sparx Trading ‏@SparxTrading: Linda McCoy of investools on #options for cash flow – here we go! #directinvestingexpo @TD_Canada

Sparx Trading ‏@SparxTrading: Linda McCoy has a green laser pointer & she can convince the internet to work?! Talk about engaging speaker #directinvestingexpo @TD_Canada

Sparx Trading ‏@SparxTrading: Learning with Investools about #options with limes and coupons #directinvestingexpo @TD_Canada

Sparx Trading ‏@SparxTrading: Here we go: Learning to trade in any market direction with Investools – sounds promising! #options #directinvestingexpo @TD_Canada

Sparx Trading ‏@SparxTrading: Unless you beta weight, you don’t know if you’re supposed to sleep @ night: Linda McCoy #directinvestingexpo @TD_Canada

Sparx Trading ‏@SparxTrading: Yay yay for Time Decay – generating income by selling #options with Linda McCoy #directinvestingexpo @TD_Canada

Sparx Trading ‏@SparxTrading: Selling time and volatility with spreads – great session on iron condors with Linda McCoy of @investools #directinvestingexpo @TD_Canada

Sparx Trading ‏@SparxTrading: Great sessions and great day for investors at the #directinvestingexpo @TD_Canada; saturday well spent! Thx for having us!

 

 

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November is Financial Literacy Month

Fall is the time of year across Canada where we get to see leaves change from green to red.  In order to avoid your going in the same direction as the leaves, enhancing your financial literacy is something all Canadians can benefit from.  November is financial literacy month and through it we will be posting content and passing along small and easy ways to enhance and promote your own financial literacy.   There are numerous financial literacy events going on across the country which we highly encourage all Sparx visitors to support and attend.

One of the first places we’d like to mention is the sponsoring agency for financial literacy month – The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada.  On their website, there is lots of information for consumers on:

  • banking
  • budgeting and money management
  • credit cards
  • payment options and money transfers
  • mortgages
  • credit and loans
  • savings and investments
  • insurance
  • fraud

Stay tuned to sparxtrading.com in the coming days for more exciting content on getting to know more about finance!

 

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Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – November 2012

November’s lineup of discount brokerage deals and promotions features many of the same players from last month, except with some minor changes to dates and amounts.

Starting first with the newest deals. National Bank Direct Brokerage is running the “Take Control of the Markets!” promo where they’re offering new clients who open an account with $25,000 or more $6.95 flat fee pricing on equity trades for six months. This deal replaces two of their previous promotions, the “Commission Holiday” and “refer-a-friend”.

BMO Investorline is running the “Path to Online Investing Promotion” starting this month.  The bonus offer for this promotion is 150 free trades (which you have 60 days to use) and $150 cash back and is basically a repackaging of the 150/150 promotion (which expired at the end of October) with the main difference being that the “Path to Online Investing Promotion” requires a deposit of $100,000.

Questrade has interestingly extended one of its existing 100 free trade deals into mid-November. The expiry of Questrade’s deal seems to fall at the same time as the expiry of Scotia iTrade’s huge unlimited trades promo.

Those Canadian discount brokerages that are in a bit of a holding pattern from last month include Virtual Brokers, Scotia iTrade, Credential Direct and CIBC Investors Edge.  The transfer fee deals being offered are the same as last month and include Questrade, National Bank Direct Brokerage, Virtual Brokers, Qtrade, Disnat Direct and Credential Direct who are willing to kick in between $125-$150 to help with transfer out fees.

As they have been for some time, Jitneytrade’s exclusive offer for SparxTrading.com’s visitors is still in full effect and worth looking into for the active traders looking for a break on pricing and platforms.

Discount Brokerage Deals & Promos

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Commission/Cash Offer Type Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer 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. n/a Discounted Commission Rates none For more details click here none
Open a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) and receive $50 commission credit . Use promo code: kdkfnbbc $1,000 $50 commission credit none none none
Open and fund a new registered, margin or TFSA account and fund it within 30 days with either A)$1,000 B )$25,000 or C)$50,000 and you will be eligible to receive either unlimited free trading for A) 1 month, B) 2 months or C) 3 months depending on your deposit amounts. You must the code INFINITE to qualify. This is open to new and existing clients. There’s lots of fine print so be sure to read the details link. A) $1,000 B) $25,000 C) $30,000 Unlimited trading (No commissions charged on any trades placed) A) 31 days B) 62 days C) 90 days Unlimited Free Trades Promotion January 15th, 2013
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. $1,000 $50 commission credit (friend) $100 commission credit (referrer bonus) 60 days Refer a friend none
Credential Direct If you are a client of North Shore Credit Union, you can qualify for 5 free trades as well as a $125 transfer fee credit to cover transfer fees from another discount brokerage ($10,000 minimum transfer in value). To qualify, you must enter NSCU-05Trades on your application. $10,000 5 free trades must use trades by Feb. 28/2013 North Shore Credit Union Promo December 31, 2012
Get up to 100 free trades when you fund an account with a minimum of $10,000. You must open this account by November 15th, 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. $10,000 100 free trades ($495 value @ cheapest commission rate) 60 days 100 Free Trades January 15, 2013
Scotia iTrade 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:$199.80) B) You(referrer): $100 cash or 50 free trades; Your “Friend”: $100 cash or 50 free trades (max total value: $999) 60 days Refer A Friend to Scotia iTrade February 28, 2013
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. $25,000 10 free trades 6 months scanned photo of flyer none
Scotia iTrade Open and fund a new Scotia iTRADE account with at least $25,000 before December 31, 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. $25,000 100 free trades ($999 value @ $9.99 commission rate) 60 days Scotia iTrade 100 free trades + FlightDesk December 31, 2012
Open a new account with $25,000 before November 30th, 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) $25,000 150 free trades ($973 value @ $6.49 commission rate) 60 days New Account Promo November 30, 2012
Open and fund a new account with National Bank Direct Brokerage with $25 000 or more, and your commission rate for 6 months will be $6.95 Flat. $25,000 $6.95 Flat commission rate 6 months Take Control of the Markets Promo February 28, 2013
Open an account with either: A) $25,000 or more and receive a $100 cash credit and 25 free equity trades. or B) $50,000 or more to receive $200 cash back and 50 free equity trades. A) $25,000 B) $50,000+ A) $100 cash credit + 25 free equity trades ($823.75 (min)total value @ standard equity rate $28.95) B) $200 Cash credit +50 free equity trades ($697.50 total value @ active trader rate $9.95) 60 days Cash back offer December 31, 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. $50,000 $50 cash (friend) $200 cash (referrer bonus) 60 days (see details) Refer a Friend Promo December 31, 2012
Scotia iTrade Open one or more new Scotia iTrade account(s) by November 16, 2012 with at least $50,000 in cash or net equity and receive 100 days of commission free trades. Also, you get to try FlightDesk free for100 days. To qualify you must enter promo code ” F’12 OFFER” when submitting new account application. See details link for more information. $50,000 unlimited free trades 100 days 100 Days Commission-Free December 14, 2012
Disnat Disnat is celebrating its 30th anniversary by offering new & existing clients $300 in commission credits which can be used for up to 6 months. To be eligible, new/existing clients need to deposit $50,000 into a Disnat account. You’ll have to call 1 800 268-8471 and mention promo code Disnat30. See details link for more info. $50,000 $300 commission credit 6 months Disnat 30th Anniversary Promo December 31, 2012
BMO InvestorLine Open a new account with $100,000 or more (or for existing clients make a deposit of $100,000 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 $100,000 or more). See the details link for qualifying account types and conditions. $100,000 $150 cash 150 free trades ($1492.50 value 60 days Path to Online Investing Promotion January 3, 2013

 

Transfer Fee Deals

Below are the discount brokerages that are offering deals that cover transfer out fees from other discount brokerages.

[table id=42/]

 

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Event Review – TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage Direct Investing Expo – Vancouver 2012 – Part 1

The Vancouver Direct Investing Expo organized by TD Waterhouse provided self-directed investors the chance to learn about macroeconomic trends and issues coming in 2013, tips on technical analysis, exchange traded funds and several options trading strategies. This day-long event featured top-tier speakers such as Bob Gorman, TD’s Chief Portfolio Strategist, as well as a line-up of speakers from Investools, Horizons Exchange Traded Funds and from TD’s Wealth Management division.

Even though it was a typical rainy Vancouver day, the Direct Investing Expo launched on a bright note with a great breakfast spread. The TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage booths surrounding the foyer area had demo stations for several of the major tools of interest to self-directed investors including the TD mobile trading app, the thinkorswim platform, web broker and global trading.  Horizons Exchange Traded Funds and the Montreal Exchange also had booths providing investors with information on their products and services.  Like most discount brokerage sponsored events, TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage took the opportunity to showcase their products to the audience as well as try and land some new clients. To that end, one interesting incentive they offered was a refund of the $100 price of admission for non-TD clients who wanted to sign up for a TD Waterhouse account on the day.  Overall, however, the balance of the day was decidedly on education rather than sales.

The World in 2013 According to Bob Gorman

The first speaker to take the stage was Chief Portfolio Strategist for TD, Bob Gorman.  Investors listened attentively as he outlined his case (impressively without notes) for the economic and investing climate for 2013.  In his view, Bob Gorman believes that 2013 won’t be as dire as some market observers are currently forecasting.  His arguments on the US fiscal cliff being more of a fiscal drag, the recovery of the US auto and housing sectors and an overall soft landing in China mean that on a valuation basis, 2013 could be a positive year for certain sectors.  The tactical approach on where to invest included advising investors to tread carefully with fixed income investments, favouring large cap companies to smaller cap companies and to focus on what he calls ‘dividend-growth stocks’.  For those looking for something more adventurous, the emerging markets may hold promise in the “MIST” countries (Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea and Turkey) over the traditional “BRIC” (Brazil, Russia, India, China).  The mix of economic news and concrete picks made this session a very valuable one for investors looking for some investing themes and companies.

Getting Technical

There was a split in the schedule with two sessions running concurrently.  One was on “The Art and Science of Analyzing Charts” i.e. technical analysis (which I attended) and the second was “ETF Trading: Income Investing Using ETFs” presented by Horizons Exchange Traded Funds. The technical analysis session was led by Ryan Lewenza, V.P. & U.S. Equity Strategist at TD Wealth Management.  Ryan walked the crowd through some of the basics of support, resistance and chart reading.  While technical analysis isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, there were some interesting points made on being able to better time entries and exits on ‘fundamentally good’ companies, with the bottom line (no pun intended) being that stocks are not things investors should ever fall in love with.  Of course, while some folks were writing notes during this one, others who felt a little out of their depth with “Relative Strength Indicators” and ‘on balance volumes’ were fortunate enough to have brought their knitting. Trying to get the basics of technical analysis down in a one hour session is a tricky undertaking, so this session was a understandably tough to follow for most beginners

Check out part two of this review where we describe the sessions with Investools and provide some tips for attending these kinds of  investor seminars.

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Stock Market Education Videos – TD Ameritrade

Stock market education videos was the theme of today’s online hunt and we found a great educational resource for investors on the TD Ameritrade website. There are just over 40 videos on topics for beginner, intermediate and advanced investors. In addition to videos, however, there are links to over 80 webcasts, various articles, courses and publications.  Even though there is a lot of material geared towards US investors on there, Canadian investors looking to learn about stocks, options and investing will have a lot of well-prepared materials to go through.

We’ve also summarized the different topics according to experience level below. To visit their page click here. As an FYI, we’ve also got more video material that we’ve collected links to here.

Title Length New Investor Intermediate Investor Advanced Investor Expert Investor
Avoiding Common Investor Behavior Pitfalls 5:54
Balancing Your Portfolio 4:27
Diversifying Your Portfolio with Bonds 4:49
Diversifying Your Portfolio with Stocks 5:07
ETF Diversification 2:26
Individual Investment and Market Risk 2:33
Introduction to ETFs 3:25
Investing Basics: Options 4:54
Investing Basics: Stocks 4:15
Long-Term Investment Performance 11:14
Making Retirement Income Last 4:05
Mutual Funds Commissions and Fees 3:45
Mutual Funds Style Analysis 3:34
Portfolio Diversification 4:53
Portfolio Performance 4:46
Potential Returns for Value and Growth Stocks 3:14
Reducing Risk for Your Long-Term Goals 4:03
Understanding Value and Growth Stocks 3:57
Allocating for Target-Dated Funds 4:22
Defining Target-Dated Funds 3:12
Determining Retirement Income Sources 3:09
Diversifying through Sector Investing 4:01
Diversifying Your Portfolio through Global Investing 4:46
Exploring Frontier Markets 3:36
Handling Market Downturns 3:15
Interest Rates and Stock Prices during Downturns and Recoveries 4:57
Investing in Commodities 4:10
Investing in Emerging Markets 3:17
Opportunities and Risks in Sector Investing 5:01
Performance and Market Cycles 3:17
Risks and Returns in Commodity Investing 6:01
Taxes and Investment Performance 5:07
U.S. Market Downturns and Recoveries 3:39
Understanding Investing Risks 8:26
Understanding Target-Dated Funds 4:21
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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – Oct. 26th 2012

Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup

This week provided an interesting lesson in activity fees handed out to one RBC Direct Investing client, covered via Global News here.  If you’ve got an account open that you’ve forgotten about, you may want to look closely at what you’re being charged by keeping the account open (you can check out our fee comparison page here).  We looked at the latest news story evolving in markets, complicated orders, and the bigger issue of ‘fairness’ to all players the market.  An interesting twist to this comes from the exchange traded fund (ETF) industry and how major stock exchanges, such as the NASDAQ, are considering allowing a particular order type specifically for ETFs.  This latest turn might be an effort to restore waning investor confidence in stock markets and investing.

Lastly, just before press, there was a great piece published by Rob Carrick in the Globe and Mail (Three smart ways to find an online broker) in which SparxTrading.com gets mentioned.  Also included in this article are a couple of other sites to do some of your research on.

Best Canadian Discount Brokerage Tweet of the Week:

The best discount brokerage tweet for this week comes from @Jitneytrade for passing along a colorful article by author Michael Sincere explaining what options are.  You can read the tweet here.

Event Horizon

As mentioned in our last edition of the roundup, this Saturday October 27th (tomorrow) TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage will be putting on its Direct Investing Expo in Vancouver. There will be a number of speakers including Bob Gorman, Chief Portfolio Strategist for TD Waterhouse.  For more details click here.

Also, around the corner are a couple of other investment seminars, including an Evening with Michael Campbell featuring Tyler Bollhorn, taking place in Calgary (October 29th) and Vancouver (October 30th). Tyler will be talking about his new book, The Mindless Investor as well as giving signed copies of the book to attendees. The Small-Cap Conference (November 6th) in Vancouver just announced their speaker list and for those folks who pre-register via SparxTrading.com, they get a great bonus gift! For registration details, click here.

The People Have Spoken

The comments section on the Michael Sincere article mentioned in the Jitneytrade tweet also got some readers to chime in on whether or not options are easy as the article might suggest. Check out all the comments here.

Canadian Discount Brokerage Jobs

On the hiring front, there are a couple of more positions that Canadian discount brokerages are trying to fill. Sometimes the hiring pools can be indicative of things to come, as we see from the job positions popping up this week.

Qtrade recently announced that they’re looking to hire a Content Strategist and writer.  Qtrade has been  a bit quieter in the social media arena, but it looks like they’re prepping to step into it along with these other discount brokerages.

Questrade is looking for some extra hands in the form of New Accounts Specialists to help for the upcoming RSP rush (yup it’s around the corner).  If you’ve ever been curious to know what it’s like to work as a service agent for Questrade or what it is that they are tasked to do for you as a client, check out the posting we found here.

RBC Direct Investing is also looking to add an Assistant Manager to their Investor Centre staff in downtown.  Interestingly, according to the posting, “main objectives of this position and all activities conducted within the Investor Centres are to drive new client acquisition, consolidate assets from existing clients, and to increase the profitability of each client.”

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The Mindless Investor – preview

mindless investorIn his soon to be released book, The Mindless Investor, Tyler Bollhorn goes ‘head to head’ with the biggest enemy of most stock traders: their common sense. According to the main theme of the book, if you try to use your head you won’t get ahead and that is because, as Tyler puts it, “without understanding what drives stock prices and how your decisions are affected by the stress of risk-taking, you can only do well in the market if you’re lucky.”

The book itself will cover quite a bit of ground, with chapter topics that could (and should) form a list of good trader habits to tape to one’s wall. Topics such as “never fall in love”, “let your profits run” and “stop working hard” are gems that most experienced traders will tell you they’ve had to learn the hard way. Certainly picking up a book written by an experienced trader is a much cheaper way to learn some of the valuable lessons many traders end up paying much more to learn.

While it is formally set to launch early next year, Tyler has been providing snapshots of the Mindless Investor via his free newsletter at Stockscores.com and will be offering an early look at the book to attendees of the upcoming sessions with Michael Campbell in Calgary on October 29th and Vancouver on October 30th.

To get a few tips from Tyler on using ‘uncommon sense’, check out our interview with him here.

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Complicated orders? Maybe we do need to call security

complicated ordersToday’s daily stumble landed an interesting article about the “complicated” stock market order types and the alleged preferential order routing taking place by institutional traders for preferred clients.  While this would be another bombshell if it is true, I would question whether it is entirely surprising.

The reality of stock markets is that they are filled with armies of programmers and mathematicians. The same technological innovations that have enabled competitors to enter the discount brokerage market and drive down commission pricing, have also enabled new methods of extracting value from financial transactions.  If, as the exchanges claim, the data feeds and order types are all efficiently published, then the system as a whole is transparent and there is no harm being done. In this case, there happens to be sophisticated market observers who could give themselves a mathematical advantage by monitoring how, where and when a trade gets executed. Perhaps they’re just simply doing their homework. Should they be penalized for that?  The crux of the debate, I believe, will come down to whether any systematic preferential routing is taking place or if there are just some savvier participants taking advantage of the rules.  Unless there are some clear smoking gun emails, however, it won’t be easy for regulators to untangle that at all.

The competition in the stock market is true of competition in most places – it drives innovation. Even though seeking an advantage at the expense of ‘fair play’ isn’t exactly ethical, neither are stock markets.  It sort of brings to mind all the ‘diving’ we often witness in professional soccer (and sometimes hockey too) – some of the “best” players do it and leave it to the referees to enforce it and even though fans might be outraged once in a while, they keep watching and the game keeps on going.   Of course, as the MADtv character Bon Qui Qui so elegantly points out here, sometimes complicated orders can cause all kinds of problems too, and the right call is to call in security.