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Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – April 1, 2016

People often look at springtime as a chance to clean house. And, for many of Canada’s discount brokerages, that is exactly what they did with the deals and promotions heading into April.

At the outset of this month, there are almost half as few deals being offered as there were throughout March which is a signal that online brokerages are stepping back as the summer season approaches.

Cash Back / Free Trade

Referral Promotions

Transfer Fee Promotions

Contests & Other Offers

 Total
March

15

4

10

4

33
April

6

3

8

4

19

 

The biggest decline was seen in the number of cash back or commission-free trades being offered however at the time of publication, several brokerages, such as Scotia iTrade and Virtual Brokers, still had the expired offers listed on their website raising the prospect of a potential extension from someone.

What is interesting is who has managed to keep a promotion alive through the spring turnover. Specifically, Virtual Brokers’ commission-free trading offer has definitely been on the radar of many deal hunters and the two bank-owned brokerages in the mix, BMO InvestorLine and TD Direct Investing, have much more attention thanks to the exit of so many other players.

There’s a high likelihood that many brokerages will be assessing where they need to go next now that the busy first quarter of 2016 is officially over. With tax return (and for many, tax refund) season now underway, we anticipate that the deals and promotions activity will start to pick up again in April.

For DIY investors, 19 discount brokerage deals on the table still means that there are still lots of options to consider, however with any deal be sure to read the fine print to know exactly what strings are attached.

Expired Deals

The list of expired  Canadian discount brokerages deals from last month is quite long. Here’s a quick list of what expired in March:

  • Questrade – Apple Watch ($500 Apple Gift Card)
  • Scotia iTrade – Free Trade Offer
  • Scotia iTrade – Refer a Friend
  • Virtual Brokers – RRSP 2016 Promotion
  • Credential Direct – Cash back offer
  • Questrade – 3 months free trading
  • Questrade – 3 months unlimited trading
  • NBDB – $500 or $1000 commission credit
  • HSBC InvestDirect – 30 commission-free trades

Extended Deals

Only one discount brokerage at the start of the month extended an existing offer. Desjardins Online Brokerage kept their $500 commission credit alive for another month extending the deadline for this offer out to April 30, 2016.

New Deals

No new deals to announce at the beginning of April.

Discount Brokerage Deals

  1. Cash Back/Free Trade/Product Offer Promotions
  2. Referral Promotions
  3. Transfer Fee Promotions
  4. 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
Jitney Trade 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 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, 2016
Open and fund a new account at Virtual Brokers with at least $5,000 and you may be eligible to receive 3 months of commission-free equity trading and a $150 USD/mo credit towards Edge Trader Pro for 3 months. Use promo code sent at sign up to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for details. $5,000 3 months commission-free equity trading + $150 USD/mo platform fee rebate. 3 months 3 months free trading / Sign up form for promo code available here none
BMO InvestorLine Open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine, and fund it with at least A) $100,000 or B) $250,000 in net new assets and you may be eligible to receive either A) $200 cash back and 100 commission-free equity trades or B) $600 cash back and 100 commission-free equity trades. Use promo code Spring1600 when signing up to be eligible. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. A) $100,000 – $249,999 B) $250,000+ A) $200 cash back + 100 commission-free equity trades. B) $600 cash back + 100 commission-free equity trades. 60 days for equity trades. Cash back will be deposited the week of Oct. 10, 2016. Commission rebates will be paid week of Oct. 10, 2016. Spring 2016 Promotion May 31, 2016

Expired Offers
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 up to A) 50; B) 100 or C) 200 commission-free trades. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $25,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $99,999 C) $100,000 A) 50 commission-free trades B) 100 commission-free trades C) 200 commission-free trades 60 days Commission-free Trading Offer April 15, 2016
Disnat Disnat is offering new & existing clients $500 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 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code Disnat500. See details link for more info. $50,000 $500 commission credit 6 months Disnat $500 Commission Credit Promo April 30, 2016
Last Updated: May 9 9:45 AM

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
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:$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 March 31, 2016
If you (an existing Virtual Brokers client) refer a friend or family member to open a new account with at least $5,000 you may be eligible to receive $25 cash per referral. For 3 or more referrals Virtual Brokers will add a $50 bonus. Referred individuals depositing either A) $5,000 – $50,000 or B) $50,000+ may be eligible to receive A) $25 or B) $50 cash back. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions carefully for full details. Be sure to read the terms and conditions to this offer carefully for full details. A) $5,000 – $50,000 B) $50,000+ Referrer: $25 per referral; $50 bonus for each 3 or more referrals. Referee: A) $25 B) $50 Cash to be deposited to VB account by August 15, 2016. Cash Referral Program May 31, 2016
BMO InvestorLine 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 after 45 days (subject to conditions). BMO InvestorLine Refer-a-Friend June 30, 2016

Expired Offers
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
Last Updated: May 1, 2016 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
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 read terms and conditions for full details. $150 $25,000 Commission-free trade promo April 15, 2016
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 info (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

Expired Offers
Disnat 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 Disnat500. See details link for more info. $150 $50,000 Disnat $500 Commission Credit Promo April 30, 2016
Qtrade Investor will reimburse your transfer fee up to $150 when transferring a balance of $10,000 or more. For reimbursement, please mail or fax a copy of your statement from the transferring institution that shows the transfer charge to Qtrade Investor at 604.484.2627 and indicate your Qtrade Investor account number. $150 $10,000 Transfer Fee Rebate April 29, 2016
Last Updated: May 1, 2016 21:30 PT

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
Disnat 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
Scotia iTrade 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

Expired Offers
Open a new account with Questrade with at least $2,000 and you may be eligible to receive free tax software and the platinum bundle package form H&R Block. Use promo code HRBLOCK2016 when signing up to qualify. Read the terms and conditions for full details. $2,000 H&R Block Promo April 15, 2016
Last Updated: May 1, 2016 21:30 PT
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Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – March 1, 2016

*Update Mar. 18* While there were lots of offers available to DIY investors from Canadian online brokerages into the RRSP contribution deadline, there were definitely fewer than last year. Volatile markets and Canadians signaling their reluctance to contribute to an RRSP this year might have contributed to the pullback in participation by brokerages however there may also be signs that the Canadian discount brokerage landscape may be gearing up for the inevitable shakeup.

Heading into this new month there are two big stories. First, Virtual Brokers has started to offer referrals for ‘friends and family’ which now enables Virtual Brokers’ clients to earn a cash referral fee for a new account signup.

The second exciting story is that we’re refining the way in which discount brokerage promotions are being reported and expanding the types of promotions we’re covering. One of the primary objectives of SparxTrading.com is to help simplify the process of choosing an online brokerage and that includes sifting through the deals and promotions being offered.

With so many offers currently on the market things have gotten a bit unwieldy and so we’ve decided to split the deals and promotions into the following four categories for easier comparison and review:

  1. Cash Back/Free Trade/Product Offer Promotions
  2. Referral Promotions
  3. Transfer Fee Promotions
  4. Contests & Other Offers

The Cash Back/Free Trade/Product Offer category of promotions includes those offers from brokerages that typically consist of a user either getting cash back, free trades or trading credits (either through waived commission fees or commission reimbursements) and product offer promotions where a discount brokerage may be offering up a tangible item or equivalent gift card which has a definable market value.

The referral promotions cover the affiliate programs that a brokerage may be offering. These would typically include the “refer-a-friend” style promotions as well as any affiliate program codes that SparxTrading has access to (and for which we may receive any compensation for).

The transfer fee table will remain unchanged and it covers the fees that online brokerages are typically willing to cover when transferring between one brokerage and another.

Finally, the ‘contests & other offers’ covers any additional promotion that a brokerage might be running that is advertised to new or existing clients or even to the general public (as most contests are generally open to more than just clients).

We’re excited by the update and look forward to seeing where things go from here as there are 19 offers at the time of writing but 11 deals and promotions that are scheduled to expire in March which should make this month an exciting one. As always, if there are promotions that you’re aware of that we haven’t included, let us know and we can share it with all of our readers.

Expired Deals

Only one offer officially expired at the end of February: Questrade’s 25 commission-free trades for a year offer. That said, there are two offers that expire at the end of day (11:59 ET) on March 1st: Questrade’s 3 months of commission-free trading (code RSP2016) and BMO InvestorLine’s 2016 combined free trade and cash back offer (See extended deals section for update). Questrade also has another promotion scheduled to expire on the 4th of March.

Extended Deals

*Update Mar. 2: BMO InvestorLine has extended their combined free trade and cash back offer through the end of May. See table below for updated deadline date and promo code.*

No deal extensions were noted at the time of publication.

New Deals

*Update Mar. 18: Virtual Brokers has just launched another new promotion and it is a big one. They are offering up 3 months free of their Edge Trader Pro trading platform which then qualifies a user to trade on their commission-free trading commission plan. In short, this offer lets users trade for 3 months commission-free (on equities only) since the $150 USD/mo platform fee associated with this plan will be credited for 3 months. The minimum deposit required to qualify for this promotion is $5,000 CAD. Be sure to see the table below for more details.

*Update Mar. 2: Qtrade Investor has a transfer fee promotion that will cover transfer fees from another brokerage for a deposit of at least $10,000. See table below for more details.*

Virtual Brokers is the only Canadian online brokerage to start off March with a new promotion. They are launching a referral program – albeit for a limited time – that offers $25 cash back for a referral from a friend or family member of an existing Virtual Brokers account holder. Interestingly, and similar to Questrade’s referral promotion, individuals referring 3 or more new accounts to Virtual Brokers receive an extra $50. For individuals referred to this program, there are tiered rewards depending on deposit level. Individuals depositing at least $5,000 (and up to $50,000) can receive a $25 cash back offer; individuals contributing more than $50,000 can receive a cash back bonus of $50.

This new offer is interesting on a number of levels, not the least of which is actually the detail with which the terms and conditions spell out who is considered a ‘friend’ for the purposes of this promotion. See the table below for more details.

Discount Brokerage Deals

  1. Cash Back/Free Trade/Product Offer Promotions
  2. Referral Promotions
  3. Transfer Fee Promotions
  4. 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
Jitney Trade 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 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, 2016
Open and fund a new account at Virtual Brokers with at least $5,000 and you may be eligible to receive 3 months of commission-free equity trading and a $150 USD/mo credit towards Edge Trader Pro for 3 months. Use promo code sent at sign up to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for details. $5,000 3 months commission-free equity trading + $150 USD/mo platform fee rebate. 3 months 3 months free trading / Sign up form for promo code available here none
Open and fund a new account with Virtual Brokers with at least A) $15,000; B) $25,000 C) $50,000; D) $100,000 or E) $250,000+ and you may be eligible to receive A) 25; B) 50; C) 100; D) 150 or E) 200 commission-free equity (stock & ETF) trades. In addition, qualifying applicants will also be entered into a draw for a $500 Apple gift card. Use promo code 200APPLEWATCH when signing up to be eligible. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for full details. A) $15,000 – $24,999 B) $25,000 – $49,999 C) $50,000 – $99,999 D) $100,000 – $249,999 E) $250,000+ A) 25 commission-free trades B) 50 commission-free trades C) 100 commission-free trades D) 150 commission-free trades E) 200 commission-free trades 90 days (cash for commissions to be credited back Aug. 2, 2016) Virtual Brokers RRSP 2016 Free Trade Promo March 31, 2016
Open and fund a new National Bank Direct Brokerage account with at least A) $20,000 or B) $100,00 and you may be eligible to receive up to either A) $500 or B) $1,000 in commission credits. Use promo code CashBack2016 when registering for an account to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for additional details. A) $20,000 – $99,999 B) $100,000+ A) $500 in commission credit B) $1,000 in commission credit 90 days Cash back promo March 31, 2016
Scotia iTrade Open and fund a new account at Scotia iTrade with at least A) $25,000; B) $50,000; C) $100,000 or $250,000+ and you may be eligible to receive up to A) 75; B) 150; C) 300 or D) 500 commission-free trades. Use promo code TRADES-RSP16 when opening account 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 commission-free trades B) 150 commission-free trades C) 300 commission-free trades D) 500 commission-free trades 90 days Free Trade Offer March 31, 2016
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 up to A) 50; B) 100 or C) 200 commission-free trades. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $25,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $99,999 C) $100,000 A) 50 commission-free trades B) 100 commission-free trades C) 200 commission-free trades 60 days Commission-free Trading Offer April 15, 2015
Disnat Disnat is offering new & existing clients $500 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 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code Disnat500. See details link for more info. $50,000 $500 commission credit 6 months Disnat $500 Commission Credit Promo March 31, 2016
Open or fund an eligible account with at least $100,000 and make at least one commission generating trade and you may be eligible to receive a $500 gift card for the Apple Store. Use promo code APPLEWATCH when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions carefully. $100,000 $500 Apple Store gift card Gift card will be sent within 30 days of client meeting eligibility requirements. Apple Watch Promo March 31, 2016
BMO InvestorLine Open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine, and fund it with at least A) $100,000 or B) $250,000 in net new assets and you may be eligible to receive either A) $200 cash back and 100 commission-free equity trades or B) $600 cash back and 100 commission-free equity trades. Use promo code Spring1600 when signing up to be eligible. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. A) $100,000 – $249,999 B) $250,000+ A) $200 cash back + 100 commission-free equity trades. B) $600 cash back + 100 commission-free equity trades. 60 days for equity trades. Cash back will be deposited the week of Oct. 10, 2016. Commission rebates will be paid week of Oct. 10, 2016. Spring 2016 Promotion May 31, 2016

Expired Offers
Open and fund a new qualifying account (registered or margin) with at least A) $2,000; B) $25,000 or C) $50,000 and receive either A) 1 month; B) 2 months or C) 3 months of commission-free trading. Use promo code RSP2016 when registering. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $2,000 B) $25,000 C) $50,000 Commission-free trades A) 1 month B) 2 months C) 3 months RSP 2016 Promotion March 1, 2016
Open and fund a new qualifying account (registered or margin) with at least A) $1,000; B) $25,000 or C) $50,000 and receive either A) 1 month; B) 2 months or C) 3 months of commission-free trading. Use promo code UNLIMITEDW16 when registering. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $1,000 B) $25,000 C) $50,000 Commission-free trades A) 1 month B) 2 months C) 3 months 3 months unlimited trading March 4, 2016
Open a new qualifying account with HSBC InvestDirect and you could be eligible to receive up to 30 commission-free North American equity trades. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. n/a 30 commission-free trades. 60 days Winter free trade promotion March 15, 2016
Open and fund a new account (or existing clients can transfer in new assets) at Credential Direct with at least A) $15,000; B) $50,000; C) $150,000; D) $500,000 or E) $1,000,000 and you may be eligible to receive at least A) $75; B) $125; C) $200; D) $500 or E) $1,000. Applicants need to use code CASH2016RSP and fund account in order to qualify for cash back offer. 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 credited to account on Oct. 15, 2016. Cash Back Offer March 15, 2016
Last Updated: March 18, 2016 11:05 PM PT
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

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
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:$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 March 31, 2016
If you (an existing Virtual Brokers client) refer a friend or family member to open a new account with at least $5,000 you may be eligible to receive $25 cash per referral. For 3 or more referrals Virtual Brokers will add a $50 bonus. Referred individuals depositing either A) $5,000 – $50,000 or B) $50,000+ may be eligible to receive A) $25 or B) $50 cash back. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions carefully for full details. Be sure to read the terms and conditions to this offer carefully for full details. A) $5,000 – $50,000 B) $50,000+ Referrer: $25 per referral; $50 bonus for each 3 or more referrals. Referee: A) $25 B) $50 Cash to be deposited to VB account by August 15, 2016. Cash Referral Program May 31, 2016
BMO InvestorLine 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 after 45 days (subject to conditions). BMO InvestorLine Refer-a-Friend June 30, 2016

Expired Offers
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
Last Updated: Mar. 1, 2016 21:30 PT

Transfer Fee Promotions

Company Brief Description Maximum Transfer Fee Coverage Amount Minimum Deposit Amount for Transfer Fee Eligibility Details Link Deadline
Qtrade Investor will reimburse your transfer fee up to $150 when transferring a balance of $10,000 or more. For reimbursement, please mail or fax a copy of your statement from the transferring institution that shows the transfer charge to Qtrade Investor at 604.484.2627 and indicate your Qtrade Investor account number. $150 $10,000 Transfer Fee Rebate April 29, 2016
Transfer $15,000 or more to a new Virtual Brokers account from another brokerage and Virtual Brokers may reimburse up to $150 in transfer fees. See terms and conditions for more information. $150 $15,000 Virtual Brokers 2016 RRSP Promo March 31, 2016
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
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 read terms and conditions for full details. $150 $25,000 Commission-free trade promo April 15, 2016
Scotia iTrade Transfer at least $25,000 or more in new assets to Scotia iTrade when opening a new account and Scotia iTrade may reimburse transfer fees up to $150. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. $150 $25,000 Free trade offer March 31, 2016
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 info (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 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 Disnat500. See details link for more info. $150 $50,000 Disnat $500 Commission Credit Promo March 31, 2016
Scotia iTrade Transfer $15,000 or more to Scotia iTrade from another Canadian brokerage, and iTrade may pay up to $150 in transfer fees. $150 $15,000 500 Free Trade or $500 Cash Back Offer December 31, 2015

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
Disnat 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
Scotia iTrade 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 a new account with Questrade with at least $2,000 and you may be eligible to receive free tax software and the platinum bundle package form H&R Block. Use promo code HRBLOCK2016 when signing up to qualify. Read the terms and conditions for full details. $2,000 H&R Block Promo April 15, 2016
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Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – February 1, 2016

*Updated: Feb 2* While it still looks like winter across most of Canada, the deals and promotions section is a balmy +17 +18 at the outset of February.

Even though no new deals have launched at the beginning of February, this month is typically a very exciting month across the discount brokerage space. Throughout January, for example, there were 7 offers that went live as well as several contests being promoted by Canadian brokerages. As the RSP deadline (February 29th) draws closer, things are likely to get even more competitive.

A case in point is the entrance into the deals pool by TD Direct Investing. Ahead of the new month, TD Direct Investing revived a tiered commission-free trade offer with as many as 200 commission-free trades being granted to individuals depositing at least $100,000. As one Canada’s largest online brokerages, TD Direct Investing’s entry at this point signals that even the big players are doubling down their efforts into the RSP contribution deadline (February 29th).

Looking more closely at the discount brokerage deals currently being offered, Questrade once again dominates in the number and diversity of offers with 7 offers. Interestingly, 6 out of the 8 promotions from Canadian discount brokerages requiring deposits of less than $10,000 to qualify are from Questrade, indicating their aggressive pursuit of more modest depositors (and likely to be younger investors). In fact, looking at the following graph, it’s clear that Questrade (shown in bright green) is competing with offers above and below the most crowded deposit ranges. Questrade does have offers that apply at the $25,000 deposit level, however these are part of tiered offers, which is why they don’t appear directly on the graph below. That said, Questrade is clearly competing across the promotional board which is not something any other Canadian discount brokerage is currently doing.

Minimum deposit for current Canadian discount brokerage promotion offers vs. days to offer expiry (measured as of Feb. 1st 2016)
Minimum deposit for current Canadian discount brokerage promotion offers vs. days to offer expiry (measured as of Feb. 1st 2016)

Another interesting observation is that the most competitive deposit range appears to be between $20,000 and $50,000 with five discount brokerages (including several bank-owned brokerages) putting forward offers for deposits at these levels.

Finally, while RSP season appears to be quite busy, as shown in the chart above, the deadlines for many of the current discount brokerage deals expire well after the February 29th contribution deadline. We’ll keep an eye out for any new developments and of course, if there are any that we’ve missed, let us know here.

Expired Deals

No news to report here.

Extended Deals

No news to report here.

New Deals

*Updated Feb. 2: Well it didn’t take long for another Canadian discount brokerage to be drawn into the deals and promotions competition. Virtual Brokers has rolled out a new tiered commission-free trading offer that runs from the beginning of February through to the end of March.  Unlike previous promo offers from Virtual Brokers, their latest offer includes an entry into a draw for a $500 Apple gift card. This latest move is a direct response, it seems, to their cross town rival Questrade.  The tiered offer from Virtual Brokers requires a minimum deposit of $15,000 to qualify for at least 50 commission-free trades. See table below for more information.*

While technically not new for February, the latest offer from TD Direct Investing launched quite close to the beginning of the new month. Their latest offer is a revival of their tiered commission-free trade offer where new account openings may be eligible for 50, 100 or 200 commission-free trades for deposits of $25,000, $50,000 or $100,000+. See the table below for more information.

Discount Brokerage Deals

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Commission/Cash Offer/Promotion 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 Jitneytrade and receive access to their preferred pricing package. n/a Discounted Commission Rates none For more details click here none
Open a new qualifying account with HSBC InvestDirect and you could be eligible to receive up to 30 commission-free North American equity trades. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. n/a 30 commission-free trades. 60 days Winter free trade promotion March 15, 2016
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
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
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, 2016
Open and fund a new qualifying account (registered or margin) with at least A) $1,000; B) $25,000 or C) $50,000 and receive either A) 1 month; B) 2 months or C) 3 months of commission-free trading. Use promo code UNLIMITEDW16 when registering. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $1,000 B) $25,000 C) $50,000 Commission-free trades A) 1 month B) 2 months C) 3 months 3 months unlimited trading March 4, 2016
Open and fund a new qualifying account (registered or margin) with at least A) $2,000; B) $25,000 or C) $50,000 and receive either A) 1 month; B) 2 months or C) 3 months of commission-free trading. Use promo code RSP2016 when registering. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $2,000 B) $25,000 C) $50,000 Commission-free trades A) 1 month B) 2 months C) 3 months RSP 2016 Promotion March 1, 2016
Open and fund a new online trading account with Questrade with at least $5,000 and you could be eligible to receive 25 commission-free trades good for use for up to 1 year. Use promo code NEWYEAR2016 when applying to be eligible for this offer. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions for this promotion. $5,000 25 commission-free trades Jan. 1, 2017 25 Commission-free Trade for 1 Year Promotion February 29, 2016
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:$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 March 31, 2016
Open and fund a new account with Virtual Brokers with at least A) $15,000; B) $25,000 C) $50,000; D) $100,000 or E) $250,000+ and you may be eligible to receive A) 25; B) 50; C) 100; D) 150 or E) 200 commission-free equity (stock & ETF) trades. In addition, qualifying applicants will also be entered into a draw for a $500 Apple gift card. Use promo code 200APPLEWATCH when signing up to be eligible. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for full details. A) $15,000 – $24,999 B) $25,000 – $49,999 C) $50,000 – $99,999 D) $100,000 – $249,999 E) $250,000+ A) 25 commission-free trades B) 50 commission-free trades C) 100 commission-free trades D) 150 commission-free trades E) 200 commission-free trades 90 days (cash for commissions to be credited back Aug. 2, 2016) Virtual Brokers RRSP 2016 Free Trade Promo March 31, 2016
Open and fund a new account (or existing clients can transfer in new assets) at Credential Direct with at least A) $15,000; B) $50,000; C) $150,000; D) $500,000 or E) $1,000,000 and you may be eligible to receive at least A) $75; B) $125; C) $200; D) $500 or E) $1,000. Applicants need to use code CASH2016RSP and fund account in order to qualify for cash back offer. 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 credited to account on Oct. 15, 2016. Cash Back Offer March 15, 2016
Open and fund a new National Bank Direct Brokerage account with at least A) $20,000 or B) $100,00 and you may be eligible to receive up to either A) $500 or B) $1,000 in commission credits. Use promo code CashBack2016 when registering for an account to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for additional details. A) $20,000 – $99,999 B) $100,000+ A) $500 in commission credit B) $1,000 in commission credit 90 days Cash back promo March 31, 2016
Scotia iTrade Open and fund a new account at Scotia iTrade with at least A) $25,000; B) $50,000; C) $100,000 or $250,000+ and you may be eligible to receive up to A) 75; B) 150; C) 300 or D) 500 commission-free trades. Use promo code TRADES-RSP16 when opening account 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 commission-free trades B) 150 commission-free trades C) 300 commission-free trades D) 500 commission-free trades 90 days Free Trade Offer March 31, 2016
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 up to A) 50; B) 100 or C) 200 commission-free trades. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $25,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $99,999 C) $100,000 A) 50 commission-free trades B) 100 commission-free trades C) 200 commission-free trades 60 days Commission-free Trading Offer April 15, 2015
Disnat Disnat is offering new & existing clients $500 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 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code Disnat500. See details link for more info. $50,000 $500 commission credit 6 months Disnat $500 Commission Credit Promo March 31, 2016
BMO InvestorLine 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 after 45 days (subject to conditions). BMO InvestorLine Refer-a-Friend June 30, 2016
Open or fund an eligible account with at least $100,000 and make at least one commission generating trade and you may be eligible to receive a $500 gift card for the Apple Store. Use promo code APPLEWATCH when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions carefully. $100,000 $500 Apple Store gift card Gift card will be sent within 30 days of client meeting eligibility requirements. Apple Watch Promo March 31, 2016
BMO InvestorLine Open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine, and fund it with at least A) $100,000 or B) $250,000 in net new assets and you may be eligible to receive either A) $200 cash back and 100 commission-free equity trades or B) $600 cash back and 100 commission-free equity trades. Use promo code WinterSD600 when signing up to be eligible. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. A) $100,000 – $249,999 B) $250,000+ A) $200 cash back + 100 commission-free equity trades. B) $600 cash back + 100 commission-free equity trades. 60 days for equity trades. Cash back will be deposited the week of Oct. 10, 2016. Commission rebates will be paid week of Oct. 10, 2016. Winter 2016 Promotion March 1, 2016

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Feb. 2, 2016 17:30 PT

Transfer Fee Deals

Company Brief Description Maximum Transfer Fee Coverage Amount Minimum Deposit Amount for Transfer Fee Eligibility Details Link Deadline
Transfer $15,000 or more to a new Virtual Brokers account from another brokerage and Virtual Brokers may reimburse up to $150 in transfer fees. See terms and conditions for more information. $150 $15,000 Virtual Brokers 2016 RRSP Promo March 31, 2016
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
Qtrade Investor will reimburse your transfer fee up to $150 when transferring a balance of $10,000 or more. For reimbursement, please mail or fax a copy of your statement from the transferring institution that shows the transfer charge to Qtrade Investor at 604.484.2627 and indicate your Qtrade Investor account number. $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 read terms and conditions for full details. $150 $25,000 Commission-free trade promo April 15, 2016
Scotia iTrade Transfer at least $25,000 or more in new assets to Scotia iTrade when opening a new account and Scotia iTrade may reimburse transfer fees up to $150. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. $150 $25,000 Free trade offer March 31, 2016
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 info (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 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 Disnat500. See details link for more info. $150 $50,000 Disnat $500 Commission Credit Promo March 31, 2016
Scotia iTrade Transfer $15,000 or more to Scotia iTrade from another Canadian brokerage, and iTrade may pay up to $150 in transfer fees. $150 $15,000 500 Free Trade or $500 Cash Back Offer December 31, 2015
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Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – January 1, 2016

*Updated Jan. 29/16* For DIY investors, nothing says welcome to 2016 quite like a review of the latest deals and promotions from Canadian discount brokerages. With markets and Canadian online brokerages closed for New Years, the deals and promotions engine looks like it’ll need some time to warm up before it kicks back into gear on the first Monday of 2016. Nonetheless there are some interesting observations out of the gate.

The first and most obvious observation for the beginning of 2016 is that deals section has thinned out considerably.

2016 starts off with 11 promotions currently on the table for DIY investors to choose from however that could drop to a low of 9 if a pair of offers from BMO InvestorLine set to expire on January 3rd aren’t extended. That said, if history and market forces are any indicator, these numbers could shift dramatically over the next few weeks.

For some context, the average number of discount brokerage promotional offers in any given month over the past year has been just over 17. At the crossover from 2014 to 2015, however, there were also 16 open offers, half of which were ‘technically’ scheduled to expire at the end of year. When the dust settled in early January though, there were only three offers that actually expired and by the end of January there were at least 22 offers from Canadian online brokerages to choose from.

The wildcard, it seems, will come from the 7 offers that technically expired December 31st. With the beginning of a new month and year falling on a Friday, there’s a good chance that websites of several brokerages are simply not updated. Which and how many of these promotions are extended for 2016 remains to be seen however with the ramp up to the RSP contribution deadline looming, there’s a good chance brokerages will be anteing up to the table with some interesting offers for DIY investors.

There are also some other factors for DIY investors looking for an online brokerage account to consider.

Four discount brokerages, for example, each have competitive promotions that extend out to the end of March 2016 – a signal that there are definitely offers on the table for DIY investors to take advantage of between now and the RSP contribution deadline.

In addition, that Questrade’s latest offer of 25 commission-free trades for a year is identical to the recent offer from Virtual Brokers is another indicator that Questrade (the most active brokerage when it comes to promotions) is not likely to shy away from going head-to-head with other offers being put forward.

We’ll be keeping a close watch on the deals and promotions section when markets restart on Monday however here is a snapshot of the landscape heading into January.

Expired deals

At the time of publication there are 7 offers that expired on Dec. 31st 2015 with four of those coming from Questrade.

The expired offers are:

*Update Jan. 8/16: BMO Investorline had one deal expire in the first week of January. Their $200 cash back + 20 free trade offer is now over.*

  • 10 free trades or 100 free trades Promo (Questrade)
  • 1 month unlimited trades (Questrade)
  • $50 amazon.ca gift card (Questrade)
  • iPad Mini 2 (Questrade)
  • 500 Free Trades or $500 Cash Back (Scotia iTRADE)
  • Refer a Friend (Scotia iTRADE) Now extended
  • 25 Commission Free Trades (Virtual Brokers)

As stated above, it is likely that several of these offers will find their way into the extended deals column this month and are perhaps also likely to show up again later in 2016.

Extended deals

*Update Jan. 8/16: Scotia iTrade has officially renewed and extended their refer-a-friend offering. The referral offer now expires at the end of March 2016. BMO InvestorLine also renewed their refer-a-friend out to June 30th 2016.*

Only one brokerage has officially extended out an offer well into 2016 at the outset of the month. Desjardins Online Brokerage’s flagship $500 commission-credit promotion has been extended until the end of March.

New deals

*Updated Jan. 29/16: TD Direct Investing officially joined the deals & promotions race this week by relaunching their popular commission-free trade offer. Individuals opening a new account and depositing at least $25,000 may be eligible to receive 50 commission-free trades, which are good for use for up to 60 days. This promotion is a tiered offer so individuals depositing more can get a greater number of commission-free trades. See the table below for more information.*

*Updated Jan. 15/16: Two more deals were added this past week. Credential Direct officially jumped into the deals pool with a cash back offer based on multiple deposit tiers. The minimum deposit level to qualify for a cash back incentive is $15,000. Interestingly, Credential Direct will also contribute an amount equal to 10% of the bonus received to Kids Life Line. See table below for more details on deposit levels.

Scotia iTrade also stepped back into the deals race with a free trade offer aimed at new clients. The minimum deposit to qualify for the Scotia iTrade promotion is $25,000 with free trades ranging from 75 trades through to 500. See table belwo for more details.*

*Updated Jan. 8/16: Questrade’s promotional momentum continued with two new offers launched in the first week of January. While it is not the first time these offers have been seen, they’re here to stay through the RSP contribution deadline date at the end of February. Both the new offers from Questrade offer up unlimited/free trading for either 1, 2 or 3 months depending on the deposit. What is interesting about these latest deals is that Questrade has positioned one of its offers to require a higher minimum deposit ($2000 vs $1000) than other offers on the table.

Not to be left behind, BMO InvestorLine has also upped the ante on a free trades and cash back promotion.  The good news for investors is that BMO InvestorLine is offering $200 cash back and 100 commission-free equity trades (which are good for two months). See table below for more details.*

While 2016 is officially launching without any new offers from Canadian discount brokerages, there was one offer from Questrade that arrived late in December.
Questrade is offering up 25 commission-free trades which are good for up to 1 year for individuals depositing at least $5,000. See the table below for additional details.

Discount Brokerage Deals

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Commission/Cash Offer/Promotion 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 Jitneytrade and receive access to their preferred pricing package. n/a Discounted Commission Rates none For more details click here none
Open a new qualifying account with HSBC InvestDirect and you could be eligible to receive up to 30 commission-free North American equity trades. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. n/a 30 commission-free trades. 60 days Winter free trade promotion March 15, 2016
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
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
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, 2016
Open and fund a new qualifying account (registered or margin) with at least A) $1,000; B) $25,000 or C) $50,000 and receive either A) 1 month; B) 2 months or C) 3 months of commission-free trading. Use promo code UNLIMITEDW16 when registering. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $1,000 B) $25,000 C) $50,000 Commission-free trades A) 1 month B) 2 months C) 3 months 3 months unlimited trading March 4, 2016
Open and fund a new qualifying account (registered or margin) with at least A) $2,000; B) $25,000 or C) $50,000 and receive either A) 1 month; B) 2 months or C) 3 months of commission-free trading. Use promo code RSP2016 when registering. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $2,000 B) $25,000 C) $50,000 Commission-free trades A) 1 month B) 2 months C) 3 months RSP 2016 Promotion March 1, 2016
Open and fund a new online trading account with Questrade with at least $5,000 and you could be eligible to receive 25 commission-free trades good for use for up to 1 year. Use promo code NEWYEAR2016 when applying to be eligible for this offer. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions for this promotion. $5,000 25 commission-free trades Jan. 1, 2017 25 Commission-free Trade for 1 Year Promotion February 29, 2016
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:$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 March 31, 2016
Open and fund a new account (or existing clients can transfer in new assets) at Credential Direct with at least A) $15,000; B) $50,000; C) $150,000; D) $500,000 or E) $1,000,000 and you may be eligible to receive at least A) $75; B) $125; C) $200; D) $500 or E) $1,000. Applicants need to use code CASH2016RSP and fund account in order to qualify for cash back offer. 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 credited to account on Oct. 15, 2016. Cash Back Offer March 15, 2016
Open and fund a new National Bank Direct Brokerage account with at least A) $20,000 or B) $100,00 and you may be eligible to receive up to either A) $500 or B) $1,000 in commission credits. Use promo code CashBack2016 when registering for an account to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for additional details. A) $20,000 – $99,999 B) $100,000+ A) $500 in commission credit B) $1,000 in commission credit 90 days Cash back promo March 31, 2016
Scotia iTrade Open and fund a new account at Scotia iTrade with at least A) $25,000; B) $50,000; C) $100,000 or $250,000+ and you may be eligible to receive up to A) 75; B) 150; C) 300 or D) 500 commission-free trades. Use promo code TRADES-RSP16 when opening account 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 commission-free trades B) 150 commission-free trades C) 300 commission-free trades D) 500 commission-free trades 90 days Free Trade Offer March 31, 2016
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 up to A) 50; B) 100 or C) 200 commission-free trades. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $25,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $99,999 C) $100,000 A) 50 commission-free trades B) 100 commission-free trades C) 200 commission-free trades 60 days Commission-free Trading Offer April 15, 2015
Disnat Disnat is offering new & existing clients $500 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 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code Disnat500. See details link for more info. $50,000 $500 commission credit 6 months Disnat $500 Commission Credit Promo March 31, 2016
BMO InvestorLine 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 after 45 days (subject to conditions). BMO InvestorLine Refer-a-Friend June 30, 2016
Open or fund an eligible account with at least $100,000 and make at least one commission generating trade and you may be eligible to receive a $500 gift card for the Apple Store. Use promo code APPLEWATCH when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions carefully. $100,000 $500 Apple Store gift card Gift card will be sent within 30 days of client meeting eligibility requirements. Apple Watch Promo March 31, 2016
BMO InvestorLine Open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine, and fund it with at least A) $100,000 or B) $250,000 in net new assets and you may be eligible to receive either A) $200 cash back and 100 commission-free equity trades or B) $600 cash back and 100 commission-free equity trades. Use promo code WinterSD600 when signing up to be eligible. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. A) $100,000 – $249,999 B) $250,000+ A) $200 cash back + 100 commission-free equity trades. B) $600 cash back + 100 commission-free equity trades. 60 days for equity trades. Cash back will be deposited the week of Oct. 10, 2016. Commission rebates will be paid week of Oct. 10, 2016. Winter 2016 Promotion March 1, 2016

Expired Offers
BMO InvestorLine Open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine, and fund it with at least $100,000 in net new assets and you may be eligible to receive either A)$200 cash back plus 20 commission-free equity trades. Use promo code FALL2015 when signing up to be eligible. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. $100,000 $200 + 20 commission-free equity trades Cash award will be paid the week of January 16, 2017. Trades are good for 1 year from signing up for promotional offer. Fall 2015 Promotion January 3, 2016
Open and fund a new account at Virtual Brokers with at least $5,000 and you could be eligible to receive up to 25 commission-free stock or ETF trades good for use for up to one year. Use promo code “TRADEFREE2015” when signing up to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions carefully. $5,000 25 commission-free trades 365 days 25 commission-free trades December 31, 2015
Scotia iTrade Open and fund a new Scotia iTRADE account with at least A) $15,000 – $49,999; B) $50,000 -$99,999; C)$100,000 – $249,999; or D)$250,000+ and you may be eligible to receive a corresponding cash back or commission rebate. For commission-free trades use code: FTN-F15 or for cash rebates use code: NC-F15. Be sure to read the terms and conditions carefully for rebate and cash back eligibility. Contact Scotia iTrade for full details on this offer. A) $15,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 -$99,999 C) $100,000 – $249,999 D) $250,000+ A) 75 commission-free trades OR $75 cash back B) 125 commission-free trades OR $125 cash back C) 250 commission free trades OR $250 cash back D) 500 commission-free trades OR $500 cash back 120 days for commission-free trades; Cash for the cash back offer will be deposited directly by September 30, 2016. 500 free trade or $500 cash back promo December 31, 2015
Last Updated: Jan. 29, 2016 23:55 PT

Transfer Fee Deals

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
Qtrade Investor will reimburse your transfer fee up to $150 when transferring a balance of $10,000 or more. For reimbursement, please mail or fax a copy of your statement from the transferring institution that shows the transfer charge to Qtrade Investor at 604.484.2627 and indicate your Qtrade Investor account number. $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
Scotia iTrade Transfer at least $25,000 or more in new assets to Scotia iTrade when opening a new account and Scotia iTrade may reimburse transfer fees up to $150. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. $150 $25,000 Free trade offer March 31, 2016
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 info (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 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 Disnat500. See details link for more info. $150 $50,000 Disnat $500 Commission Credit Promo March 31, 2016
Scotia iTrade Transfer $15,000 or more to Scotia iTrade from another Canadian brokerage, and iTrade may pay up to $150 in transfer fees. $150 $15,000 500 Free Trade or $500 Cash Back Offer December 31, 2015
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Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – December 2015

*Update Dec 19th* With 2015 quickly drawing to a close, it looks like Canadian discount brokerages have already put forward their best deals and promotions to take investors into 2016. As the year winds down, DIY investors and traders are looking at places to spend their money rather than grow it, and as such, markets as a whole tend to wane. Still, there are 15 deals on the table and who knows, if DIY investors have been a good bunch perhaps there may be a surprise or two left under the tree before the month is through.

Once again, the month is off to a slow start with no new offers officially launching at the beginning of December. There were two noteworthy promotions that resurfaced through November that reiterated which brokerages are continuing to actively pursue bringing on clients, regardless of the time of year.

As has been the case for most of 2015, Questrade continues to offer more promotions than any one of the other discount brokerages. This month, Questrade has a whopping 8 of this month’s 15 16 open offers. The next nearest brokerages are BMO InvestorLine and Scotia iTrade which each have two offers each and are the only two major bank-owned brokerages with advertised promotions. Other brokerages with offers this month include Desjardins Online Brokerage, Jitneytrade and Virtual Brokers.

We’ll be sure to check in on the brokerages regularly throughout December to see if there are hints of any other deal miracles. In the meantime, if there are any other offers that we might have missed, please let us know.

Extended Offers

There was one online brokerage that took the opportunity to revive one of their longstanding refer-a-friend offers. After a brief absence from the November deals section, BMO InvestorLine updated the terms and conditions of their refer-a-friend program which now states that the promotion runs from November through to January 3rd 2016. As seen in the following tweet, the deadline date was the source of some confusion until the update occurred.

The extension of this program is not a long one so it looks like whatever changes were being contemplated to the refer-a-friend program may show up at the beginning of 2016.

Expired Offers

Heading into December, there were a pair of promotional offers from bank-owned brokerages that expired.

The first was a free trade promo from TD Direct Investing. Although TD has typically not been as active with promotions as some other bank-owned brokerages, they have run promotions during the fall period for two consecutive years now suggesting that they have preferred spots during the year to run promotions. Spring is another of the key seasons, especially for discount brokerages, so stay tuned for what could transpire in early 2016.

The other promotional offer that expired was a commission-free trade offer from National Bank Direct Brokerage.

New Offers

*Update Dec. 19th* For some DIY investors looking for a good deal, Christmas came early in the form of an offer from National Bank Direct Brokerage. Earlier this week NBDB launched a commission-credit promotion that offers up to either $500 or $1,000 in commission rebates for individuals opening a new account with at least $20,000 or $100,000 respectively. The credits are applicable to trades made within 90 days of signing up. See table below for more information.

*Update Dec. 3rd* It looks like at least one Canadian discount brokerage is getting into the holiday spirit. HSBC InvestDirect has launched a commission-free trading offer for individuals who open a new account with them. The offer is for 30 commission-free North American equity trades (i.e. it does not include options trades) which are good for use for up to 60 days. Unlike many of the offers currently on the market, this one does not appear to require a minimum deposit. See table below for additional details. Thanks to Tim for sharing that with us!

While there were technically no new offers that arrived at the outset of December, shortly before the beginning of this new month Questrade once again launched their Apple Watch themed promotion. Specifically, individuals who open a new Questrade account with at least $100,000 may be eligible to receive a gift card from Apple worth $500.00 CAD. While the promotion is certainly suggesting that individuals could receive an Apple Watch, in reality, qualifying individuals can use the $500 gift card towards any other Apple product. Interestingly, the expiry date for this promo has been set to fall right in the middle of the infamous “RRSP” season which means this is likely to be one of the more valuable offerings Questrade puts forward going into the New Year.

Discount Brokerage Deals

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Commission/Cash Offer/Promotion 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 Jitneytrade and receive access to their preferred pricing package. n/a Discounted Commission Rates none For more details click here none
Open a new qualifying account with HSBC InvestDirect and you could be eligible to receive up to 30 commission-free North American equity trades. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. n/a 30 commission-free trades. 60 days Winter free trade promotion March 15, 2016
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
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
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, 2016
Open and fund a new online trading account with Questrade with at least A)$1,000 or B)$10,000 and you could be eligible to receive either A)10 or B) 100 commission-free trades. Use promo code 100LOWCOM2015 when applying to be eligible for this offer. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions for this promotion. A)$1,000 B)$10,000 A) 10 commission-free trades B) 100 commission-free trades 60 days Commission-free Trade Promotion December 31, 2015
Open a new online trading account (registered, margin or FX and CFD) with Questrade and deposit at least $5,000 in order to be eligible to qualify for a $50 Amazon.ca gift certificate. Clients must also place at least one commission-generating trade within 60 days. Use promo code AMAZON50 when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. $5,000 $50 Amazon.ca gift certificate The Amazon.ca gift certificate will be awarded in CAD and emailed to the client within 30 business days of the account reaching the minimum funding requirement of $5,000 and execution of one commissionable trade in the eligible account. Amazon.ca Gift Certificate Promotion December 31, 2015
Open and fund a new account at Virtual Brokers with at least $5,000 and you could be eligible to receive up to 25 commission-free stock or ETF trades good for use for up to one year. Use promo code “TRADEFREE2015” when signing up to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions carefully. $5,000 25 commission-free trades 365 days 25 commission-free trades December 31, 2015
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:$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 December 31, 2015
Scotia iTrade Open and fund a new Scotia iTRADE account with at least A) $15,000 – $49,999; B) $50,000 -$99,999; C)$100,000 – $249,999; or D)$250,000+ and you may be eligible to receive a corresponding cash back or commission rebate. For commission-free trades use code: FTN-F15 or for cash rebates use code: NC-F15. Be sure to read the terms and conditions carefully for rebate and cash back eligibility. Contact Scotia iTrade for full details on this offer. A) $15,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 -$99,999 C) $100,000 – $249,999 D) $250,000+ A) 75 commission-free trades OR $75 cash back B) 125 commission-free trades OR $125 cash back C) 250 commission free trades OR $250 cash back D) 500 commission-free trades OR $500 cash back 120 days for commission-free trades; Cash for the cash back offer will be deposited directly by September 30, 2016. 500 free trade or $500 cash back promo December 31, 2015
Open and fund a new National Bank Direct Brokerage account with at least A) $20,000 or B) $100,00 and you may be eligible to receive up to either A) $500 or B) $1,000 in commission credits. Use promo code CashBack2016 when registering for an account to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for additional details. A) $20,000 – $99,999 B) $100,000+ A) $500 in commission credit B) $1,000 in commission credit 90 days Cash back promo March 31, 2016
Open a new online trading account (registered, margin or TFSA) with Questrade and deposit at least $25,000 in order to be eligible to qualify for free advanced data and 30 days of unlimited commission-free trades. Use promo code ADVANTAGE14 when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. $25,000 30 days unlimited commission-free trades and free advanced data 30 days 30 days unlimited commission-free trades and free advanced data December 31, 2015
Disnat Disnat is offering new & existing clients $500 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 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code Disnat500. See details link for more info. $50,000 $500 commission credit 6 months Disnat $500 Commission Credit Promo December 31, 2015
BMO InvestorLine If you refer a new client to BMO InvestorLine and they open an account with a)$50,000 – $249,999 or b)$250,000+ the referrer and the referee will both receive cash. The new account must be opened with the referral code specific to the referrer. A) $50,000 – $249,999 B) $250,000+ A) You(referrer): $200; Your Friend(referee): $50 B) You(referrer): $300; Your Friend: $100 Payout occurs after 60 days (subject to conditions). BMO InvestorLine Refer-a-Friend January 3, 2016
Open or fund an account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) with at least $100,000 and you may be eligible to receive an iPad Mini 2. Use promo code IPADMINI15Q4 when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions carefully. $100,000 iPad Mini 2 60 days IPad Mini 2 Promotion December 31, 2015
Open or fund an eligible account with at least $100,000 and make at least one commission generating trade and you may be eligible to receive a $500 gift card for the Apple Store. Use promo code APPLEWATCH when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions carefully. $100,000 $500 Apple Store gift card Gift card will be sent within 30 days of client meeting eligibility requirements. Apple Watch Promo March 31, 2016
BMO InvestorLine Open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine, and fund it with at least $100,000 in net new assets and you may be eligible to receive either A)$200 cash back plus 20 commission-free equity trades. Use promo code FALL2015 when signing up to be eligible. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. $100,000 $200 + 20 commission-free equity trades Cash award will be paid the week of January 16, 2017. Trades are good for 1 year from signing up for promotional offer. Fall 2015 Promotion January 3, 2016

Expired Offers
Last Updated: December 19, 2015 11:50 PT

Transfer Fee Deals

Company Brief Description Maximum Transfer Fee Coverage Amount Minimum Deposit Amount for Transfer Fee Eligibility Details Link Deadline
Scotia iTrade Transfer $15,000 or more to Scotia iTrade from another Canadian brokerage, and iTrade may pay up to $150 in transfer fees. $150 $15,000 500 Free Trade or $500 Cash Back Offer December 31, 2015
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
Qtrade Investor will reimburse your transfer fee up to $150 when transferring a balance of $10,000 or more. For reimbursement, please mail or fax a copy of your statement from the transferring institution that shows the transfer charge to Qtrade Investor at 604.484.2627 and indicate your Qtrade Investor account number. $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 $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 info (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 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 Disnat500. See details link for more info. $150 $50,000 Disnat $500 Commission Credit Promo December 31, 2015
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Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – November 2015

*Updated November 6* November starts out quietly with only a couple of new deals from Questrade. Hopefully Canadian online brokers are waiting to launch new promotions sometime before the Holiday season.

At the start of this month there are 13 offers currently available from seven different brokerages. Of those nearly half (46%) come from Questrade, demonstrating once again that Questrade is the discount brokerage offering the most deals or incentives.

The most interesting promotion is one of the new promotions offered by Questrade. It targets active traders that can get the most bang for their buck if they plan to trade a high volume during their first 30 days.

Expired Deals

The biggest changes with this month’s deals are the departure of BMO InvestorLine from our monthly deals & promotions page. All three of their promotions have expired and they did not introduce any new promotions for now. At the time of this publication BMO InvestorLine still have their offers posted on their website. The end of October saw six deals officially expire from three discount brokerages. Here’s a quick list of the deals that expired at the end of October:

  • BMO InvestorLine – Youth Promotion Phase
  • BMO InvestorLine – Refer a Friend
  • BMO InvestorLine – 20 Free Trades + $200 Cash Back
  • Questrade – $250 Cash Back
  • Questrade – Prepaid Visa Promo
  • Virtual Brokers – $50 Cash Back

Extended Deals

*Update: Nov.6 – BMO InvestorLine extended one of their promotional deals on Monday of this week. Individuals depositing at least $100,000 of new assets into a new BMO Investorline account can receive 20 commission-free trades which are good for for use for one full year and $200 cash back. BMO Investorline maintains it’s place among discount brokerages offering promotions to their current and potential clients.

Heading into November, no deals or promotions were extended. It seems that Canadian online brokers are winding things down for the year end.

New Deals

*Update: Nov.6 – Questrade added their own promotion directed at individuals investing at least $100,000. After depositing a minimum of $100,000 in net new assets individuals can receive an iPad Mini 2.

There are two new deals being offered this month and both are from Questrade.

Questrade replaced their Prepaid Visa Promo with a new Amazon.ca gift certificate promotion, the conditions and value of the promotion ($50) are strikingly similar. The other promotion being introduced by Questrade is aimed at active traders, individuals that deposit $25,000 will receive 30 days of commission free trading and free advanced data. Both of these new offers expire at the end of this year. Happy trading!

As always, if there are any new deals or promotions that you’d like to share with us, please drop us a note or comment below.

Discount Brokerage Deals

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Commission/Cash Offer/Promotion 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 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 (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) and receive $50 commission credit . Use promo code: kdkfnbbc $1,000 $50 commission credit none none none
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
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, 2016
Open and fund a new online trading account with Questrade with at least A)$1,000 or B)$10,000 and you could be eligible to receive either A)10 or B) 100 commission-free trades. Use promo code 100LOWCOM2015 when applying to be eligible for this offer. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions for this promotion. A)$1,000 B)$10,000 A) 10 commission-free trades B) 100 commission-free trades 60 days Commission-free Trade Promotion December 31, 2015
Open a new online trading account (registered, margin or FX and CFD) with Questrade and deposit at least $5,000 in order to be eligible to qualify for a $50 Amazon.ca gift certificate. Clients must also place at least one commission-generating trade within 60 days. Use promo code AMAZON50 when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. $5,000 $50 Amazon.ca gift certificate The Amazon.ca gift certificate will be awarded in CAD and emailed to the client within 30 business days of the account reaching the minimum funding requirement of $5,000 and execution of one commissionable trade in the eligible account. Amazon.ca Gift Certificate Promotion December 31, 2015
Open and fund a new account at Virtual Brokers with at least $5,000 and you could be eligible to receive up to 25 commission-free stock or ETF trades good for use for up to one year. Use promo code “TRADEFREE2015” when signing up to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions carefully. $5,000 25 commission-free trades 365 days 25 commission-free trades December 31, 2015
Open a new online trading account with National Bank Direct Brokerage and deposit either A) $5000 – $24,999; B) $25,000 – $49,999 or C) $50,000 and you may be eligible to receive either A) 25; B) 50 or C) 100 commission-free trades. Use promo code “Trade” when applying to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions carefully. A) $5,000 – $24,999 B) $25,000 – $49,999 C) $50,000+ A) 25 commission-free trades B) 50 commission-free trades C) 100 commission-free trades 90 days Commission-free Trades Offer November 30, 2015
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:$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 December 31, 2015
Scotia iTrade Open and fund a new Scotia iTRADE account with at least A) $15,000 – $49,999; B) $50,000 -$99,999; C)$100,000 – $249,999; or D)$250,000+ and you may be eligible to receive a corresponding cash back or commission rebate. For commission-free trades use code: FTN-F15 or for cash rebates use code: NC-F15. Be sure to read the terms and conditions carefully for rebate and cash back eligibility. Contact Scotia iTrade for full details on this offer. A) $15,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 -$99,999 C) $100,000 – $249,999 D) $250,000+ A) 75 commission-free trades OR $75 cash back B) 125 commission-free trades OR $125 cash back C) 250 commission free trades OR $250 cash back D) 500 commission-free trades OR $500 cash back 120 days for commission-free trades; Cash for the cash back offer will be deposited directly by September 30, 2016. 500 free trade or $500 cash back promo December 31, 2015
Open and fund an eligible TD Direct Investing account with at least a) $25,000 b) $50,000 or c) $100,000 in new (to TD) assets and you could be eligible to receive a) 50 b) 100 or c) 200 commission-free trades. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions for this offer. A) $25,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $99,999 C) $100,000+ A) 50 commission-free trades B) 100 commission-free trades C) 200 commission-free trades 45 days; commission-rebates will be paid by June 3, 2016 200 Free Trades Promo November 30, 2015
Open a new online trading account (registered, margin or TFSA) with Questrade and deposit at least $25,000 in order to be eligible to qualify for free advanced data and 30 days of unlimited commission-free trades. Use promo code ADVANTAGE14 when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. $25,000 30 days unlimited commission-free trades and free advanced data 30 days 30 days unlimited commission-free trades and free advanced data December 31, 2015
Disnat Disnat is offering new & existing clients $500 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 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code Disnat500. See details link for more info. $50,000 $500 commission credit 6 months Disnat $500 Commission Credit Promo December 31, 2015
Open or fund an account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) with at least $100,000 and you may be eligible to receive an iPad Mini 2. Use promo code IPADMINI15Q4 when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions carefully. $100,000 iPad Mini 2 60 days IPad Mini 2 Promotion December 31, 2015
BMO InvestorLine Open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine, and fund it with at least $100,000 in net new assets and you may be eligible to receive either A)$200 cash back plus 20 commission-free equity trades. Use promo code FALL2015 when signing up to be eligible. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. $100,000 $200 + 20 commission-free equity trades Cash award will be paid the week of January 16, 2017. Trades are good for 1 year from signing up for promotional offer. Fall 2015 Promotion January 3, 2016

Expired Offers
Last Updated: November 20, 11:55 PST

Transfer Fee Deals

Company Brief Description Maximum Transfer Fee Coverage Amount Minimum Deposit Amount for Transfer Fee Eligibility Details Link Deadline
Scotia iTrade Transfer $15,000 or more to Scotia iTrade from another Canadian brokerage, and iTrade may pay up to $150 in transfer fees. $150 $15,000 500 Free Trade or $500 Cash Back Offer December 31, 2015
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
Qtrade Investor will reimburse your transfer fee up to $150 when transferring a balance of $10,000 or more. For reimbursement, please mail or fax a copy of your statement from the transferring institution that shows the transfer charge to Qtrade Investor at 604.484.2627 and indicate your Qtrade Investor account number. $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 $25,000 or more from another brokerage and TD Direct Investing will cover up to $150 in transfer fees. $150 $25,000 200 commission-free trades November 30, 2015
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 info (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 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 Disnat500. See details link for more info. $150 $50,000 Disnat $500 Commission Credit Promo December 31, 2015
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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – August 14, 2015

This week provided yet another reminder to traders big and small of the value that data plays in the market place. From the news of the arrest of hackers taking advantage of press releases, to frustrations of receiving delayed (or worse) data to the growing chatter among DIY investors about algorithmic trading, the message is simple, better data gives marketplace participants an edge. Interestingly, this message also rang true for Canadian discount brokerages trying to navigate their own competitive landscape by getting better information as well as having to figure out how to ensure they’re providing ‘good’ data.

In this edition of the roundup, we’ll take a deep dive into a recent study by one bank-owned online brokerage into the state of Canadian investor psychology. Following that we’ll look at an interesting article from the US on an emerging trend among the new breed of DIY investors. Next on the list will be a fascinating look at the action on Twitter, a quick scan of the upcoming investor education events and finally the chatter from the Canadian investor forums.

Fear Factor

Some interesting results of a survey sponsored by BMO InvestorLine were released earlier this week that pulled back the curtain on Canadian investor psychology. What the survey found was equal parts fascinating and concerning all at once.

Despite a common perception of Canadian investors being largely the same from one region to the next, the data tells a very different story. One point of interest was how vastly different attitudes towards market volatility vary depending on where an investor resides.

For example, when looking at the percentage of individuals who reported being anxious about how market volatility would impact their portfolio performance, the difference in absolute terms ranged from a low of 21% (in Quebec) to a high of 46% (in Alberta) with a national average of 33%.

Fascinatingly, provinces west of on Ontario seemed to be much more sensitive to market volatility than the provinces east of it. In relative terms, however, these numbers suggest Western Canadian investors are nearly twice as sensitive to volatility as those east of Ontario.

The most interesting finding, however, is that despite the finding that investors are unanimously anxious (97% on average) and confused (90% on average) about investing, all of the individuals polled invested anyway.

While all surveys should be treated with some degree of caution, the picture these results paint are particularly puzzling and also a bit troubling.

Specifically, the question raised by these results is why would so many individuals invest despite being so anxious or as confused as they are?

Are they feeling compelled to invest out of fear, persuasion, social pressures or some other reason? Or, is it greed – a fear of a different kind – that perhaps they’re missing out? Perhaps experiencing “investment anxiety” or being “generally confused about investing” aren’t as bad as they sound?

Whatever the case, if (and it is a big if) the surveyed individuals are representative of the investing public, then this survey is bound to provoke some uncomfortable conversations.

In particular, these results force the investment industry as a whole to dig further into the issues uncovered. They may need to ask whether enough has been done to explain and educate the general public on what investing entails and what individual investors are getting themselves into.

Given the extent of the findings, it will be interesting to see how or if other investment industry observers respond. If the results of this survey don’t prompt further action, then that ought to be a cause for anxiety or, at the very least, confusion.

Pros & Quants

It seems that every day that goes by stories about advances with robots are becoming part of the normal news stream. In the world of online investing and trading, robots have made a big splash in recent years as high-frequency traders and now as advisors. While the latter has certainly made waves with the retail/DIY investor, algorithmic trading has largely been the focus of a small subset of DIY investor – the tech enthusiast – which may be changing.

An interesting piece from the Wall Street Journal this past week shed light on another facet in which robo-trading could start to make its way more and more into the ‘retail investor’ crowd. Specifically, the article explored the way in which individual investors (or small groups of retail investors) are setting up their own trading algorithms and trading bots via online brokerage firms to go up against the professional market wizards who are the subject of Michael Lewis’ Flash Boys.

For Canadian DIY investors, there are only a handful of brokerages that are really equipped (so far) to offer the kind of setup that enables this algorithmic (algo) trading. Among them are Interactive Brokers, Jitneytrade and, most recently, Questrade.

Although the evidence is scattered, the interest in the practice of DIY algo trading is growing and can be seen in this week’s ‘From the Forums’ section as well as in a nascent conversation threads on how to solve programming challenges for different brokerage APIs.

While Canadian DIY investors have largely been limited to the Interactive Brokers platform (which has had automated trading capabilities for quite some time) early ‘tinkerers’ are getting on board with Questrade’s new API.

Since most Canadian discount brokerages are still wrestling with the Robo-advisor question or working to update and modernize their websites or backend, don’t expect there to be a flood of traditional online brokerages offering up DIY robo-trading any time soon.

Innovation, it seems, may come from younger firms that are less beholden to legacy technology platforms.

For example, the rise of the robo-advisor firms in Canada has been possible because they can build new, streamlined IT systems from the ground up. Online brokerage Robinhood has gone from concept to international company in just a few years, and, could seemingly be capable of enabling technology to help supplement human trading. Even Interactive Brokers, one of the leaders in the DIY algorithmic trading space, could (and appears likely to) grow their business in this area by offering some interesting off-the-shelf scripts and algorithms.

While only time will tell, the emerging picture shows that those firms that have a head start in the DIY robo-trading space are likely to capture this very lucrative group of traders. It also seems to show that humans are going to have to adapt to a very different trading landscape to be able to trade around the growing number of machines on the playing field.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

Markets weren’t the only reason investors were seeing red this week. A couple of discount brokerages, Scotia iTrade in particular, found themselves having to put out some very public fires regarding technical issues. The interaction between Scotia iTrade and one options trading client of theirs was especially fascinating and instructive on a number of levels. For instance, the new service dynamic between clients and providers that exists on Twitter showcases in somewhat real-time and full view how exciting and/or deflating (there’s a Tom Brady plug in there) the client resolution experience can be. This is not only a sign of the times, but also a huge shift in the way that financial services firms have to run and manage client service.

Event Horizon

August 17

Scotia iTRADE – Bonds Investment Strategies

August 18

Scotia iTRADE – Day Trading with Pro Market Advisors

NBDB – Take Advantage of Margin Accounts – [Fr]

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Fixed Income

August 19

Desjardins Online Brokerage (Disnat) – Trading ETFs

TD Direct Investing – Top 10 Retirement Mistakes

Scotia iTRADE – Taking Your Portfolio Around The World with iShares

August 20

TD Direct Investing – Building a Fixed Income Strategy

Scotia iTRADE – Combining Technical and Fundamental Analysis with AJ Monte

From the Forums

Refreshing Problem

In a world with high-frequency trading bots working to take advantage of every nanosecond, this post from RedFlagDeals.com’s investing forum about trading data speed almost seems quaint. While human traders can still navigate the markets, speed and accuracy of data are crucial to making the crucial decision to buy, sell or hold. It’s an interesting read for those considering the Interactive Brokers Trader Work Station (TWS) platform.

Importer Exporter

In another data-themed post, this time from the Financial Wisdom Forum, one user asked an interesting question about exporting of trading data from online brokerages. For those curious about how to get information out of their brokerage and which brokerages offer some data export capabilities, it’s a good read.

Into the Close

That’s a wrap for this week’s roundup. With this time in August roughly coinciding with the Perseids meteor shower, if you happen to be outside keep an eye out for any shooting stars. Of course, if you happen to be in Toronto, you may just be seeing a ball or two being knocked skyward. Go Jays Go!

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – April 24, 2015

From parcel delivery to vacuum cleaners to financial management, it seems like robots are here to stay. With the NASDAQ finally breaching its previous all-time high, led there of course by the technology giants, there’s no doubt that robots and gadgets are powering the drive. For many online discount brokerages confronting this brave new world, their choices seem to be either join the party or step off the dance floor. For the moment, at least, it looks like several discount brokerages are willing to dance.

In this week’s roundup we take a look at the latest online brokerage to get connected to a fast growing stock exchange followed by one online brokerage that’s looking to add to its stable of registered account offerings. Following that, we quickly look at the raising of the TFSA contribution limit followed by some interesting action and numbers behind the robo-advisors and what they mean for online brokerages. We cap off the round up with a tour through the upcoming investor education events followed by some interesting lessons from the investor forums.

BMO InvestorLine Connects to the CSE

This past week the Canadian Securities Exchange announced the addition of another Canadian online brokerage, BMO InvestorLine, to its list of brokerages allowing direct trading access and real-time quotes. The list of online brokerages now offering direct trading and real-time quotes to the CSE has now expanded to include all bank-owned Canadian discount brokerages as well as most of the independent Canadian brokerages. Earlier this year, TD Direct Investing became a major addition to that list as well. According to the CSE, Desjardins Online Brokerage is in the process of getting on board. Not yet hooked up to the CSE are Interactive Brokers as well as Jitneytrade. For more information on the brokerages enabling direct online trading and real-time quotes to the CSE, click here.

RDSP Now Available at National Bank Direct Brokerage

Earlier this week, National Bank Direct Brokerage became one of only two Canadian online brokerages (the other is TD Direct Investing) to offer the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP). The RDSP is a registered account that enables individuals who are eligible for the Disability Tax Credit to grow investment income within the plan on a tax-deferred basis.

The information pages for the RDSP on NBDB’s website offers valuable information on the plan, how it works as well as hyperlinks to official government resources on the RDSP.

TFSA Limit Raised

Another registered account that is popular with DIY investors made headlines this week. The Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA) got a big boost by having the maximum contribution amount per year raised to $10,000 from $5500. While there was a substantial hike telegraphed a few weeks ago, the confirmation came in the official budget announcement earlier this week. From a practical standpoint, it appears that financial institutions are already allowing TFSA contributions from Canadians looking to top up their contribution even though the budget has not officially passed through Parliament. For DIY investors, expect to see more in the way of marketing from financial institutions (Questrade is already on it) and media coverage on the TFSA in the weeks to come.

source: Twitter

 

Money Machines

With earnings season in full swing, it was an interesting week looking at the performance of the US online brokerages. While Canadian discount brokerages will almost always lag what the US brokerages are up to, in at least one respect they are not that far behind their counterparts in the US.

While normally we might focus on trading metrics or asset growth, the bigger story emerging out of the financial results has been the impact of robo-advisors to the earnings of Charles Schwab. According to their latest earnings report, Schwab’s ‘robo-advisory’ unit has attracted a staggering $1.5B after just six weeks. And they’re not the only online brokerage taking advantage of the popularity of these robo-advisory models. Interactive Brokers also recently announced their acquisition of Covestor, a firm who lets individuals mirror the trades of other investors actively or passively.

The activity in this space isn’t limited just to the US, however. Already there are signs in Canada that this space is about to explode. Earlier this month it was reported that Power Financial Corp is agreeing to ante up to $30M into Wealth Simple. Interestingly, one Canadian discount brokerage appears to be capitalizing strategically on the robo-advisor trend. Robo-advisor firms WealthSimple and Wealthbar both appear to have relationships with Virtual Brokers. Virtual Brokers’ direct competitor Questrade, chose a slightly different strategy by building their own robo-advisory known as Portfolio IQ.

Given how fast technology is moving in the financial services sector, waiting and seeing is no longer something brokerages can afford to do for too long. As the influx of client assets into robo-advisors clearly demonstrates, the market is talking, the only question is how long will it take for the larger online brokerages to respond.

Event Horizon

April 26

Scotia iTRADE – Top Global Investment Themes for 2015 – Larry Berman Roadshow Edmonton, AB

April 28

NBDB – Introduction to Technical Analysis – Moving averages – [Fr]

Desjardins Online Brokerage (Disnat) – The Stockscores Approach to Active Trading

April 29

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Investing

TD Direct Investing – Understanding Margin & Short Selling

NBDB – Tools and Technical Analysis with Michel Carignan – [Fr]

April 30

NBDB – Introduction to Technical Analysis: Oscillators – [Fr]

RBC Direct Investing – Getting Started with ETFs – Vancouver

Desjardins Online Brokerage (Disnat) – Investing With the Stockscores Approach

From the Forums:

Heading into the Close

Heading into the tax filing deadline, there are many DIY investors who are aware of or about to learn a hard lesson about the importance of record keeping. In this post from the Financial Wisdom Forum, there is a particularly instructive lesson about making sure to regularly collect/download/store transaction histories – especially when closing down accounts.

At Least the Chairs Are Comfy

There are probably no shortage of classic internet memes that could capture the experience from this post of an individual attempting to open an online trading account with TD Direct Investing in an offline setting. More and more, consumers are expecting online interactions to be easy however as online brokerages of all sizes have shown, competing IT demands tend to mean some features get priority over others. Perhaps the most interesting thing was that another online brokerage didn’t chime in to showcase their online account opening abilities.

That does it for this week’s roundup. For most folks there will be lots of hockey and/or relaxation on the menu – not so for the DIY trader at the centre of a scandal involving the great ‘flash crash’ of 2010. If you’re a Vancouverite, you might appreciate the effect that ‘spoofing’ can have (am I right Mother Nature?) with the wicked “Spring” weather going into the weekend. So, for those who choose not to venture outside, check out this interesting read on whether or not the lone trader Navinder Singh Sarao is a hero or villain.

source: Twitter

 

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – April 10, 2015

As it turns out, the launch of Game of Thrones season 5 isn’t the only epic battle around this April. While there won’t be the same kind of over-the-top fight scenes, gore or unending-memes, Canadian discount brokerages appear to be gearing up for their own fight for supremacy.

In this week’s roundup, we take a flying dragon’s eye view at the lay of the online brokerage landscape starting first with some big news about TFSAs followed by the growing movement to have better trading platforms. Following that, we take a look at which brokerage decided to hike inactivity fees, a brokerage that kicked off a competition to find the best investor in the land, as well as dark-horse entering into the investor education event space. Finally, we go to the voice of the people to find out the latest investor chatter in the land.  Brace yourselves.

Double Eh

One of the big news stories for DIY investors this past week was the hint that the Federal Government may be doubling TFSA contribution limits from $5,500 to $11,000 in the upcoming Federal Budget. While the TFSA vs RRSP debate still rages on, there are many Canadians who have fully embraced this vehicle for growing their wealth.  There are even those, to the chagrin of the CRA, who have embraced it a little too enthusiastically.  Of course the move to widen out the contribution limits of the TFSA is likely to touch off another huge wave of promotional activity from Canadian discount brokerages for whom the announcement is like an early Christmas.

Online brokerages are eagerly waiting for the confirmation before making any official announcements of their own, but it’s a likely bet that there were lots of analysts tasked with figuring out exactly what this opportunity could mean to their brokerage firm. The widened contribution limits mean additional assets through the door and perhaps a greater inclination of those with the wealth to trade it.

Trend in searches about TFSAs in Canada from 2008 – 2015 (April) -Source: Google Trends

For DIY investors there is almost certainly something else they can expect with this new announcement: a flood of marketing and advertising about TFSAs.  One of the themes we see emerging from activity around the brokerage industry this week is definitely a ratcheting up of marketing activity and the announcement of the TFSA limits being raised is like tossing gasoline onto this already growing fire.

BMO InvestorLine Looks to Click with Active Traders

In the online brokerage industry, active traders are by far the most prized. Last November, we reported on the quiet roll-out of the Market Pro platform.  Earlier today, BMO InvestorLine announced some key feature upgrades to their Market Pro platform that look like they’ve got the functionality closer to what active traders would actually demand of a performance platform.  Included in the latest updates are point and click trading of equities and options as well as real-time position and balance updates.

The platform itself is powered by Interactive Data, the same firm behind ‘eSignal’ which has variants known as Market Q (used by National Bank Direct Brokerage) and Desktop Pro (used by Jitneytrade).  From a trading perspective, users can expect to get a significant boost in functionality compared to the BMO InvestorLine web interface.  While one user’s experience doesn’t define the experience for everyone, the following user on Twitter summarizes the hazard of trying to quickly execute trades using web browser-based trading platforms.

Not only are there lots of fields to complete when executing the trade, but also other factors, such as latency make the web-based solution less than appealing. Currently, the Market Pro platform is being packaged in BMO InvestorLine’s “5 star program” which has replaced their “Active Trader” program.  Specifically, access to Market Pro is available on the Gold and Platinum star packages which require minimum trading levels of 30+ or 150+ trades per quarter respectively to qualify. In addition to this roll out, it looks like BMO InvestorLine is also going to be placing additional focus on improving their platform experience as they also have posted for a user experience (UX) designer to assist them with enhancing the experience on InvestorLine across multiple devices (desktop, tablet and smartphone).

BMO InvestorLine isn’t the only bank-owned online brokerage looking to enhance user experience with a new platform. RBC Direct Investing is also testing out the beta version of a new web-based platform (and has been since late 2014). Unlike the BMO InvestorLine Market Pro, the new RBC Direct Investing platform appears to be geared towards the ‘standard’ trader/investor and is a significant departure from their existing trading interface. In either case, however, it is clear that DIY investors are starting to see bank-owned online brokerages start to create better user experiences and interfaces.

Fee-ling the Pinch

Ever hungry for growth in revenues and shareholder value, several of Canada’s large banks have recently undertaken a wave of fee hikes for many of their banking services. Responses from frugal Canadians have been decidedly negative (see here for TD, here for BMO and here for RBC). However unpleasant, though, having banks raise fees doesn’t seem too unexpected. Not so for independent online brokerages though.

In an interesting move, Questrade has also decided to join in the fee-raising in an announcement listed in their community section. Specifically Questrade announced that they are raising their inactivity fee from $19.95 to $24.95. This announcement comes on the heels of their new myFamily plan launch, presumably to help soften the blow of the once no-fee brokerage starting to ratchet up their fees alongside the big banks.

Looking for a Big Winner

National Bank Direct Brokerage and Horizons ETFs are back at it again with the return of the ‘Biggest Winner’ online investing competition. The contest kicks off April 13th and features a top prize of $7500, a second place prize of $2500 and 6 weekly prizes of $500. The top prize will be awarded to the contestant with the highest portfolio value at the conclusion of the contest. Check out the full contest details and rules here.

Event Horizon

The investor education section looks like it might start to get just a bit more crowded with the entrance of a newer player to the field. RBC Direct Investing, which has held orientation seminars at its investor centres in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver, is now starting to offer sessions on ETF investing with educational partner iShares. Sessions will be featured on the investor education calendar and the event horizon later on this month. Also on the horizon this week is a webinar from TD Direct Investing and the Montreal Exchange on Options Trading Mistakes to Avoid (April 15).

April 11

Desjardins Online Brokerage (Disnat) – When To Sell – Common Signals That the Trend is Turning

April 12

Scotia iTRADE – Top Global Investment Themes for 2015 – Larry Berman Roadshow Toronto, ON

April 14

Scotia iTRADE – Build a Low Cost and Efficient Portfolio Using ETFs with Horizons ETFs

NBDB – Introduction to Technical Analysis: Trends – [Fr]

April 15

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Investing

Scotia iTRADE – Generating Income Using ETFs with iShares

TD Direct Investing – Investing Idea: An Introduction to REITs

April 16

NBDB – Introduction to Technical Analysis : Supports and Resistances – [Fr] 

Scotia iTRADE – Advanced Options Strategies and Technical Analysis with AJ Monte 

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Fundamental Analysis 

Desjardins Online Brokerage (Disnat) – Finding Position Trades With the Stockscores Approach

From the Forums

Boldly Going

TFSAs are set to boldly go where they have never gone before.  In this post from the Canadian Money Forum, the rumoured raising of the TFSA contribution limit has also raised the spirits of many DIY investors.  Check out what they had to say here.

Once Upon an RRSP

There are often times folks find themselves not exactly clear on how it is an RRSP actually works.  In the following thread from the reddit Personal Finance Canada thread, there are a number of interesting analogies and explanations of how these plans save investors money and what happens at retirement. That’s a wrap for this week’s roundup.  Don’t forget to get out from behind the screen to enjoy the spring weather or at the very least start using those new emojis to describe what you see!  Have an ☀️✌

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – February 20, 2015

View image on TwitterIt’s not often that a haircut makes the news. For a change, however, it isn’t the haircut that Greece’s debt holders are going to take – this one comes from North Korea’s Kim Jung Un. So, what does a head of hair from a head of state have to do with Canadian discount brokerages (you might be asking)? This past week they’ve both been taking Twitter by storm.

 In this week’s roundup we’ve pulled together an interesting assortment of news and observations from Canadian online brokerages. First, we take an in-depth look at the latest promotional offer to be launched in an already crowded deal space. Next, we piece together something interesting that’s been happening on Twitter and provide an example of how this social media channel is one DIY investors will want to tune into. On the home stretch we’ll take a look at the official launch of one online brokerage’s new website, cruise through the upcoming investor education events and close out with a look at some interesting developments in the investor forums.

 Credential Direct Deals Themselves In

After standing on the sidelines of the discount brokerage deals and promotions melee, Credential Direct has stepped in swinging with their latest offering.  Along with Credential Direct, Questrade also added a pair of promotions, bringing the total number of advertised Canadian discount brokerage deals to 26.

While Questrade’s newest offers means that they retain the title of offering the most promotions of any discount brokerage, seeing Credential Direct step into the deals and promotions space is going to ruffle a few feathers with their competitors.

Credential Direct’s latest promotion, launched earlier this past week, offers new or existing clients either a cash-back or commission credit amount that varies with the size of the portfolio deposit.  While the cash back and commission credit amounts are in line with offers from CIBC Investor’s Edge and Questrade, what sets this offer apart is the deadline to use the trades (only trades used by September 30 are eligible for rebate) and the tiers of deposit.

Previous to the launch of Credential Direct’s latest promotion, only Scotia iTrade had an advertised deal for deposits of $500,000 or more. With this new deal, however, Credential Direct has now joined the relatively few brokerages that are pitching promotions aimed specifically for clients depositing more than $100,000. And, it is in this category that the Credential Direct offer stands out. Credential Direct is offering unlimited commission-free trading (until the end of September) for clients who deposit $500,000 or more whereas a similar deposit from Scotia iTrade would land 500 commission-free trades.

It warrants mentioning, however, that Questrade also has an unlimited commission-free trading offer with a minimum deposit of $50,000. The dramatic difference in deposit amounts for commission-free trading offers means that both Questrade and Credential Direct are going to likely get compared on how well they each cater to the active trader – the most likely kind of client to take advantage of the commission-free trades. For the brokerages not advertising something ‘special’ to clients bringing in bigger deposits (i.e. >$250,000), they will likely have to come up with something noteworthy just to be seen as ‘keeping up’.

#LookAtMeNow

Although discount brokerages being on Twitter is not something new, there is definitely something interesting happening on the social media network.

This month, Credential Direct looks to have officially stepped into the social media space by launching their own Twitter account and TD Direct Investing, one of the largest Canadian bank-owned brokerages, has stepped up their efforts on Twitter.

Most Canadian discount brokerages (and probably many Canadian investors) are still skeptical of Twitter’s utility.  Online brokerages currently on Twitter include Interactive Brokers (although this account is not Interactive Brokers Canada exclusively), Jitneytrade, Questrade, Scotia iTrade and Virtual Brokers. Of that group, it’s fairly clear that Questrade and Scotia iTrade have been the most active for the better part of the past two years.  All that may change, however, now that Credential Direct and TD Direct Investing are stepping in.

In particular, while Credential Direct has just one account, TD Direct Investing appears to be deploying multiple individuals in the service of broadcasting their message. From a user’s perspective, this might make it cumbersome to follow several different TD Direct Investing related Twitter accounts (we’ve made a list which can be subscribed to here) however from the other brokerage’s perspective, this is definitely a cause for worry.

The big question for self-directed investors, however, is ‘so what?’  Does Twitter even matter?  The answer is increasingly ‘yes’. In 2015, Twitter has now become the news, with as many news agencies reporting about what’s happening on Twitter as there are Twitter users tweeting about the news.

Twitter has become one of the ‘go to’ resources for breaking news, a place to vent, and a way to connect.  In a previous piece on discount brokerages on social media, we highlighted that Twitter is a valuable resource to find out about breaking news, outages, deals or new developments even before any of these hit the mainstream media.

For online brokerages, Twitter also is a place where clients come to voice their concerns or, more rarely, sing the praises of great client experience. DIY investors curious about what it is like to deal with client service at a particular brokerage can simply scan the Twitter feed of any of the brokerages (caution: some of the more colourful comments are definitely NSFW) and review the conversations between client and provider.

The latest moves by TD Direct Investing and Credential Direct signal that Twitter is about to become a new arms race. In this battle, victory goes to the most interesting, not necessarily to the biggest player. Questrade was able to pull this off in the lead up to their launch of the wealth management unit. Going forward however, the new entrants and the existing players will have to step up their collective game 140 characters at a time if they want to earn the interest and attention of DIY investors.

TD Direct Investing now Offers Online Trading with the CSE

As a segue from talking about the value of Twitter, this past week showed the value in finding out some valuable information via the social media channel.  This week there were a number of interesting tweets from the TD Direct Investing team about WebBroker (their online trading platform) being able to trade CSE-listed securities.  The reason these tweets are interesting is because there have been no official announcements/news releases from either the Canadian Securities Exchange or from TD Direct Investing on this demonstrating, at least on this occasion, that Twitter can move faster than PR departments sometimes can.  A quick check of the TD helps community forum also confirmed the new development – although even internally there seemed to be some disconnect between features being enabled and front-line staff finding out about it.

With TD now connected to the CSE, the vast majority of Canadian discount brokerages are patched in and DIY investors can trade CSE listed securities directly from their online trading platforms (instead of having to phone in).

Desjardins Online Brokerage’s New Website Launched

As we had reported last week, Desjardins Online Brokerage had scheduled the roll out of their new website before the end of February.  Their new website officially went live on February 18th and, as was mentioned in our preview of the site, it is a major upgrade from their prior site and raises the bar design-wise on most of the other online brokerage sites in Canada.

 

Event Horizon

Here are this week’s learning opportunities, enjoy!

Feb. 21 (Sat) TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Fundamental Analysis

Feb. 23 (Mon) Desjardins Online Brokerage (Disnat) – Discover the Benefits of the TFSA

Feb. 23 (Mon) TD Direct Investing – Market Outlook – Winter 2015

Feb. 25 (Wed) TD Direct Investing – Understanding Margin & Short Selling

Feb. 25 (Wed) Scotia iTRADE – Options Fundamentals with Montreal Exchange

Feb. 26 (Thurs) TD Direct Investing – Understanding Margin & Short Selling

From the Forums

This past week there was a very interesting development in the investor forums.  One of the more popularly discussed brokerages, Virtual Brokers, joined RedFlagDeals and actually responded to a client complaint.  While Questrade has been dutifully covering all kinds of forum/social media ground, this marks a rare occasion that Virtual Brokers has decided to engage with clients on this particular forum.  The topic – whether fractional shares after a reverse split would be issued – is a very interesting discussion in and of itself and is worth a read to see how it played out.

That’s a wrap on this week’s roundup. While the snow packs may be keeping many folks indoors (not so for the lucky West Coasters), there’s a silver lining that at least the Oscars will be on.  Ironically, of course, a lot of interesting reaction and perspective will be able to be seen on Twitter. #GoFigure #HaveAGreatWeekend