CIBC Investor’s Edge – Page 12

Posted on January 22, 2016 by user — Leave a comment

Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – January 22, 2016

From national squirrel day to discovering a whole other planet to the end of week bounce in the markets, there’s been no shortage of interesting events this week. Of course, this strange string of events may have something to do with the X-files officially returning to TV this upcoming weekend. Or so some might want to believe.

While everything from squirrels to celestial events might be used to explain the wild swings in the markets, it’s no coincidence that heading into RSP season banks & discount brokerages alike are ramping up their efforts to win over DIY investors.

In this week’s roundup we take a look at the recent moves by two brokerages to win over investors with chances to win big money. Next we take a look at highlights from a few news stories that emerged this week – from brokerages winning awards for client service to one brokerage’s attempt at a celebrity endorsement Canadian style to one bank’s potential disruption in the wealth management space. As usual we’ve also got a great selection of investor education events and reactions from DIY investors on Twitter and in forums on our menu. Hope you’re hungry!

Winning at the Ballot

As commission pricing among most of Canada’s discount brokerages is now roughly around the same $10 per trade level, brokerages are working hard to make themselves standout from one another. We’ve already seen that deals and promotional offers are a popular strategy among Canadian brokerages with 16 deals currently being advertised. Another category of promotional offer that brokerages appear to be increasingly turning to, however, is the tried-and-true “contest”.

This past week both Qtrade Investor and Scotia iTrade got into the promotional offer mix by launching two contests for DIY investors.

Qtrade Investor’s latest promotion is definitely geared to catch the attention of investors as they are out shopping during the “RRSP” season. Specifically their “love your RSP” contest offers up two grand prizes of $5,000 (to new clients and existing clients). In order to qualify, new or existing clients have to contribute at least $2,000 to their Qtrade RSP account.

Scotia iTrade, on the other hand, is taking a targeted approach to Toronto-based (or those brave enough to visit Toronto from January through March) clientele. In a specific bid to boost traffic through their investor centre, the Scotia iTrade contest is offering up a top prize of $10,000 and one of five prizes of $1,000 to individuals who either attend a seminar (in person); attend a 20 minute session with a relationship manager; open a new account or fund an existing iTrade account all exclusively at the investor centre.

In addition to these brokerages, Questrade is still advertising a pair of contests offering prizes of $5,000 or $1,000 to generate more interest in their managed wealth business line and RBC Direct Investing recently concluded their $1,000 contest for participating in their community feature.

As online brokerages are forced to come up with creative ways to connect with new and existing clients, contests offer a way to generate interest among the DIY investor community. Unlike many other contests, where simply submitting your name is enough for entry, these latest contests from Qtrade Investor and Scotia iTrade can require individuals make a deposit in order to qualify (or to enhance their odds of winning).

Awareness alone isn’t the only value discount brokerages derive from the contest strategy, however. These contests also help to discount brokerages to establish a way of directly contacting new potential clients – through some form of direct marketing effort. As more and more brokerages ramp up their advertising and marketing efforts through the busy RSP season, getting new clients is something they’re not leaving up to chance.

Sharing the Winners Circle

Earlier this week, the results from Dalbar Canada’s 2015Direct Brokerage Service Award were announced.

HSBC InvestDirect and RBC Direct Investing both landed in the winner’s circle yet again and were recognized by Dalbar for their respective performance on a number of client service metrics.

As mentioned in a previous piece on the Dalbar award, this is one of the only major discount brokerage assessments/rankings to take into account the quality of client service. While what defines a “quality” client service team or interaction is certainly up for debate, according to Dalbar’s methodology one of the key elements to receiving this recognition is the completeness of the answer and anticipation of other needs the client may have.

For many DIY investors, the interaction with client service may be minimal and thus not a driver in the decision to go with one brokerage over another. To those for whom service does matter, however, the Dalbar awards offer at least some idea of the service experience without actually having to try out a brokerage directly. Unfortunately for DIY investors, there were no additional details about the rest of the field that were disclosed and as such, the Dalbar award is of limited value when trying to decide on a brokerage’s client service relative to other brokerages.

Hammering Home the Message

If there’s one investment that’s got most of the financial community and media fixated it’s real estate. In an interesting twist to capitalize on the fervor, CIBC Investor’s Edge has recruited home reno personality, real estate investor and author Scott McGillivray to put together a series of 30ish second video clips on DIY investing.

While it is yet another in a series of small changes that CIBC Investor’s Edge has made over the last year, this move in the direction of getting the star factor will definitely get people to pay more attention than some of the other imagery and video being produced by other brokerages. Though it’s not quite the same caliber as TD Ameritrade teaming up with Matt Damon as spokesperson, it is stepping up the game for getting the attention of DIY investors in distinctively Canadian fashion. And as Justin Trudeau has shown, good hair can certainly go places.

Robo Roll Out

This past week offered up another big announcement from the wealth management space. BMO officially rolled out its robo-advisor “SmartFolio” for full release.

As with most products rolled out by a major financial institution, the planning and implementation of the robo-advisory has taken quite a bit of time and effort. Still, even though other upstart services have had a considerable head start, it’s a big deal when a major player such as BMO decides to play in the same sandbox.

Given how closely Canada’s big five banks mirror one another, it should be interesting to watch the response (if any) from the other players. On the one hand, when RBC Direct Investing lowered their standard commission pricing to $9.95 in 2014, almost all of the other major bank-owned brokerages responded within a few months by doing the same. Conversely, when BMO InvestorLine launched the hybrid DIY-advice product called AdviceDirect in 2012, no other large or small brokerage put forward a comparable product.

Roboadvisors are clearly reaping rewards as shown by the monolithic Charles Schwab in the US. Whether or not the same results can be expected in Canada, however, is debatable.

Despite the fierce competition, there are still 15 Canadian online brokerages battling for market share – with some clearly battling harder for new business than others. Whether the wealth management space in Canada is big enough to withstand yet another product remains to be seen. For BMO, however, the spotlight on the robo-advisor space is clearly on them, which is not something that happened with the adviceDirect rollout and yet another reason the other big banks will have to seriously consider the robo-advisor approach as part of their offering.

Event Horizon

Winter’s slowly winding down, and it’s an exciting week ahead for discount brokerage-sponsored investor education events. Here are some upcoming sessions that may be of interest to options and technical analysis enthusiasts. ETFs, registered accounts, and an international resource investment conference round out this week’s selection.

January 23

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Technical Analysis

January 24

Cambridge House International Vancouver Resource Investment Conference (VRIC) – 2016

January 25

Cambridge House International Vancouver Resource Investment Conference (VRIC) – 2016

TD Direct Investing – Stock Talk

January 26

TD Direct Investing – Alternatives to Mutual Funds: Learn What Else Is Out There

January 27

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Technical Analysis

RBC Direct Investing – Getting Started with ETFs – iShares by Blackrock

Scotia iTRADE – Options Strategies for RRSP & TFSA with Montreal Exchange

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

This week there was definitely more chatter about brokerages on Twitter. From mishaps and hiccups with accounts and trading platforms, brokerages big and small were in the spotlight for tech issues demonstrating that size alone will prevent outages during the trading day.

From the Forums

Reaction to Robo-Advisor Rollout

Given the attention that robo-advisors have garnered from the investor community, the recent move by BMO to widely roll out their smartfolio robo-advisor service has got people talking. Here are two posts – the first from reddit’s personal finance Canada section with some interesting perspectives on rates and value and a second post at Financial wisdom forum with a view from more seasoned investors.

Banking on Change

Making the switch between brokerages is something many DIY investors contemplate. But, is the grass really greener on the other side of the fence? In this post from redflagdeals.com, one user’s question touched off an interesting comparison between TD Direct Investing and RBC Direct Investing.

Into the Close

That’s a wrap on what has been an incredibly busy week. For those suffering through the wrath of Old Man Winter, this may be the best weekend yet to start training hard for the TV marathon. Shovel responsibly!

Posted on January 1, 2016January 30, 2021 by user — Leave a comment

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
	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
	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
	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 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
	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
	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
	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
	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

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
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 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
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

Posted on December 1, 2015January 30, 2021 by user — Leave a comment

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 3^rd 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
	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
	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
	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 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
	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
	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

Brief Description	Maximum Transfer Fee Coverage Amount	Minimum Deposit Amount for Transfer Fee Eligibility	Details Link	Deadline
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 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

Posted on November 27, 2015 by user — Leave a comment

Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – November 27, 2015

This past week, many DIY investors have been turning their attention to ways to spend their money rather than to grow it. Although online traders have typically avoided coming to blows with each other over discounted vegetable steamers, online trading is most definitely a fierce battle to get a deal that can be monetized by selling to someone further down the line. Undoubtedly there have been and will forever be expletives hurled at screens of all sizes when orders or trades don’t go as planned. Luckily those screens don’t talk (at least not for the moment).

For Canada’s discount brokerages, this past week they’ve done their best to score some time in the news cycle for much more positive reasons. In this edition of the roundup we take a look at one bank-owned brokerage’s three-peat in the winner’s circle for an online brokerage award. Next we take a look at what a survey from Canada’s largest online brokerage has to say about the future of DIY investing in Canada. We then focus on the latest tweets of the week and gather some interesting investor commentary from the forums.

BMO InvestorLine Crowned Best Online Brokerage by Morningstar

As one of Canada’s most visible bank-owned brokerages, BMO InvestorLine continues to find the awards spotlight. For the third consecutive year, this Canadian discount brokerage was recognized by the Morningstar Canada awards as being Canada’s best discount brokerage.

The ceremony took place on November 25th in Toronto and was an evening that recognized many within the Canadian financial services sector. For DIY investors, the best discount brokerage selection was performed by a committee of members

Morningstar’s Best Online Brokerage award is a submission based award which requires brokerages interested in participating to pay a $1,000 submission fee. According to their selection criteria, the Morningstar award for best online brokerage jurors are particularly interested in knowing the following from participating brokerages:

In what areas have you differentiated your business from that of your peers?
Emphasis should be placed on developments and upgrades introduced within the past 1-2 years.
Your submission should discuss any particular segments of the market targeted by your firm and how these are being reached.

Additionally, the three major categories that the panel of jurors considered were:

Online Presence
Customer Service
Costs

Of note, the Morningstar awards for best online brokerage are structured around several of the criteria used in the Surviscor discount brokerage rankings. Surviscor also helps to provide research and contributes to the MoneySense brokerage rankings. These also happen to be the rankings in which BMO InvestorLine has finished at or near the top of, and so it seems that BMO InvestorLine has maintained their strong showing throughout the year.

For BMO InvestorLine, the third consecutive victory also falls at the third anniversary mark of their advice-direct platform – something that hasn’t garnered nearly the same recognition or attention as their DIY investing arm has.

As we head into the end of the year, there is still one more major brokerage ranking (the Globe and Mail 2015 discount brokerage ranking) to go.

For DIY investors, it will be interesting to compare the results from the Globe’s rankings as they represent a very different approach than the Surviscor/MoneySense/Morningstar rankings. Historically, BMO InvestorLine has also performed well in those rankings however unlike the Morningstar awards, there is no submission fee to be evaluated. With free admission, the field is bound to be more crowded and therefore tougher to outshine.

DIY Investing Gathers Momentum

In spite of all the talk of competition between brokerages, it seems that a recent study commissioned by TD Direct Investing suggests the pool of Canadian DIY investors will continue to expand.

Results of recent survey of 1750 Canadian DIY investors this past September provided a number of compelling insights, many of which are summarized in the infographic below.

Aside from the finding that that the number of investors who are managing at least part of their investments could double within the next 10 years, it was what investors reported was still lacking on the part of the online brokerage providers that might touch off a wave of features in the near future.

One of those items DIY investors reported was that websites are ‘too complex’ to navigate. This is particularly timely given the number of new website releases that have taken place this year, with a handful more in the pipeline. TD Direct Investing also recently revamped their website with a decidedly simpler front end.

Another item that stood out was that only 7% of users polled preferred to use their smartphone for DIY investing. While stats were not provided for tablet users, this number is expected to grow now that the technology, internet connections and user interfaces/apps have matured. There are still features, such as charting and research, which are going to be challenging to do efficiently on a small screen, however the mobile trading experience today is drastically different than it was even just 2 years ago. That said, a quick look at the discount brokerage tweets for the past several weeks would show that that there is a divergence between theory and reality when it comes to mobile trading sites and apps.

For Canadian DIY investors, there is clearly an interest in taking a more hands on approach to managing their financial futures. With the upcoming fee disclosure changes coming to the advisor world and a tough year for Canadian equities, there might be additional momentum towards considering the benefits of DIY investing as investors take a closer look at what their fees are earning them. And, although several brokerages have already undertaken major redesigns of their website in anticipation of the new ways investors are hoping to interact with their products, the biggest challenge confronting brokerages will be to provide experiences to investors that truly meet their diverse needs.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

This week’s tweets feature a mixture of highs and lows. For DIY investors, the word of the week was ‘frozen’ (trading apps that is) and unlike Elsa and Anna, they did not let it go. Mentioned this week are BMO InvestorLine, CIBC Investor’s Edge, Questrade, Scotia iTrade, TD Direct Investing and Virtual Brokers.

From the Forums

Trading out of the money

As any investor knows, it takes money to make money. Of course, nobody specified exactly whose money it has to take in order to make that next return. In this post from RedFlagDeals’ investing forum, it was interesting to note one DIY investor’s experience trying to trade an RBC Direct Investing account without funds in the source account.

Staying in-formed

Paperwork (and lots of it) is usually synonymous with DIY investing. Of course for anyone trading with US securities this only becomes even more of a challenge. In this post, one user with multiple brokerage accounts at several big brokerages has the onerous task of keeping the regulatory powers that be apprised of their financial and citizenship status.

Into the Close

That’s a wrap for this week’s roundup. Best of luck hunting great deals as cyber Monday promises another day of marketing madness and some great bargains. Of course, one savvy retail experiment shows that even if you promise nothing, people are still willing to pay.

Posted on November 1, 2015January 30, 2021 by Ken Yeung

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
	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
	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
	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 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
	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

Brief Description	Maximum Transfer Fee Coverage Amount	Minimum Deposit Amount for Transfer Fee Eligibility	Details Link	Deadline
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 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

Posted on October 30, 2015 by Ken Yeung — Leave a comment

Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – October 30, 2015

Much of Canada is currently experiencing the effects of fall weather: falling leaves, lowering temperatures, and Toronto Maple Leaf’s fans thinking about a Stanley Cup run. As many of Canada’s discount brokerages know, however, while hope may be a good thing, hedging your bets is a necessity.

In this week’s roundup, we’ll take a look at how some of Canada’s largest online brokerages are hedging their bets when it comes providing more features to DIY investors. Of course, deals and promotions are a great way to hedge against the falling commission prices which is what we look at, followed by an eventful week on Twitter. We cap off the roundup with some exciting investor education events and interesting investor forum chatter.

Lending an Invisible Hand

If nothing else, DIY traders believe in capitalism: a market-based system in which companies are rewarded for being more competitive. At this point, the market for DIY investors reads somewhat like a textbook case in competition. With pricing now less of a differentiating factor, the real fun begins with discount brokerages having to get creative to figure out (or finally listen to) what investors want. This week, we take a look at what two bank-owned discount brokerages in particular are doing right now to capture your attention, and ultimately your business.

First, earlier this month, BMO InvestorLine announced a new feature that can benefit the DIY trader, especially during tax season. Specifically, the brokerage has replaced its Activity Report with an enhanced Realized Gain and Loss Report that provides a detailed and customized transaction history and portfolio performance report. Among other things, this new feature will allow InvestorLine clients to export transactions to CSV spreadsheet format, resulting in a much simpler calculation of capital gains and losses when filing returns to the Canada Revenue Agency.

Our second look this week at new features from a discount brokerage also involves simpler calculations from trading activity. That’s what Scotia iTrade aims to achieve for its clients with its added ‘Income Details’ tab on the brokerage’s online platform. With this feature, users can instantaneously access and calculate historical and projected income from equities, ETFs and fixed income securities. Details of any interest paid on cash in an account is also accessible in this new platform.

The competition to provide DIY traders with increasingly enhanced features appears to be proceeding quite nicely, thank you very much, and the beneficiary should be prospective brokerage clients looking for value, and a competitive edge. After all, that’s what capitalism should be all about, isn’t it?

All Good Things Come to …

The fall season represents a transition from the fullness of summer, when life and energy are often at their peak, to the uncompromising cold of winter, where both animal and plant life often slumber until the rise of spring. Of course, for online brokerages, it’s a catch-22. When the weather is good, investors typically don’t want to hunker down and watch the markets – they’d rather be on vacation. With the return of activity of the markets, there’s a scramble to keep up with interest and to get the attention of DIY investors.

While some brokerages are able to selectively put on promotions during the year, others have to (or choose to) offer incentives year-round.

Not surprisingly, old habits are hard to die for Questrade as it leads October with a whopping six promotional offers active during the month. Only two are set to expire at the end of October: the prepaid Visa promo, and the $250 cash back program. BMO InvestorLine is next in line, forgive the pun, with three promotional offers for the month. Sadly, all three are set to expire with the leaves of autumn: youth promotion phase 2, refer a friend, and the 20 free trades with $200 cash back deal. Virtual Brokers is also slated to have one of their student promotions expire.

Of course, there’s nothing to prevent these offers from being extended. In total, and by our count, Canada’s discount brokerages had 17 active advertised promotional deals during October, with only six set to expire by the end of the month.

Luckily for DIY investors, we here at Sparx Trading keep a pulse on who’s doing what with respect to promotions at the discount brokerages, and what’s exactly falling by the wayside as we head into a new month. Be on the lookout as next week as the deals roster is set to change, perhaps quite substantially, as we head into the final stretch of 2015.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

Technology strikes again. This week’s tweets showcase the hiccups and the completely unexpected events that make DIY investing online a wild ride. Making the roundup this week are CIBC Investor’s Edge, Scotia iTrade, Questrade, Virtual Brokers and TD Direct Investing.

Event Horizon

Fear not, there’s no tricks, just treats in the week ahead for discount brokerage-sponsored investor education events. Here are some upcoming sessions that may be of interest to those who are new to investing, curious about trading strategies, and options enthusiasts. Margin accounts, and a national investment conference rounds out this week’s spooktacular selection.

October 31

Desjardins Online Brokerage (Disnat) – The World Money Show (participating)

November 3

Scotia iTRADE – Stocks Search Selection Strategy with Pro Market Advisors

NBDB – Trading Plan and Investment Strategy for Mid and Short Term Traders – [Fr]

November 4

TD Direct Investing – Understanding Margin & Short Selling

Desjardins Online Brokerage (Disnat) – Protect Your Portfolio Using Options – Preview

From the Forums

It’s not only about price

Competitive forces have leveled the playing field among discount brokerages. In this post from the RedFlagDeals investing thread, people compare the pros and cons between Scotia iTrade and Questrade. We’ve seen big banks decrease their commission rates which results in clients comparing more than just price.

For the passive investor

For those of you that aren’t looking to become active traders and still want to be involved with DIY investing, a great option is passive trading. In this post from the Financial Wisdom Forum a user posts about their lack of interest with active investing. The thread discusses the options for DIY investors that would like to take a more passive approach to investing.

Into the Close

So that’s it for this week’s roundup. Regardless of whether you’re looking for treats from the market, your discount brokerage or simply the candy bar variety, have a happy Halloween!

Posted on October 1, 2015January 30, 2021 by user — Leave a comment

Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – October 2015

*Updated Oct. 9* October is typically the month when little ghouls and goblins put on their best costumes and head out in search of treats. For DIY investors, Canadian discount brokerages have quite a few treats in the form of deals and promotions running this month, and perhaps even a few tricks.

Heading into this month, there was a flurry of activity from five brokerages, each of whom launched new offers in September. While BMO InvestorLine and Questrade kicked off last month’s deal action, and Scotia iTrade launching a new offer to replace an expiring one mid-month, it was National Bank Direct Brokerage and Virtual Brokers who stepped back into the deals pool with some interesting offers. NBDB launched a commission free trade offer which coincided with their top finish in the latest JD Power Investor Satisfaction Survey while Virtual Brokers timed their university student oriented cash back promotion around the back-to-school window.

Extensions on two other long-standing offers also showed up for the start of another round of deals. Scotia iTrade’s ‘Refer a Friend’ offer has been extended to the end of 2015 as has Desjardins Online Brokerage’s $500 commission credit.

Canadian online brokers are in a bit of a holding pattern at the start of the month. With big announcements coming weekly at this point and the fiscal year end for many of the banks/brokerages at the end of October, there may be a few treats left for patient DIY investors. Be sure to check back through the month or follow us on Twitter for updates.

Expired Deals

There was one offer that officially expired mid-month last month from Scotia iTrade – their 1000 trade or $1000 cash back offer. This deal was replaced with a less headline grabbing 500 trade or $500 cash back offer.

Extended Deals

As mentioned above, Scotia iTrade and Desjardins Online Brokerage each had deals they extended out to the end of the year. For Scotia iTrade, the ‘refer a friend’ offer has been extended yet again, this time putting another three months on its game clock. For regular readers of the deals section, this is one offer that has reliably been extended every time it has come up for expiry, although this time around it has been extended for three months instead of the usual one month.

Desjardins Online Brokerage has also extended their signature offer for another three months keeping them on the deals board through the end of 2015.

New Deals

*Update: Oct. 9 – Virtual Brokers added another deal to its promotional offers this week with a revival of their 25 commission-free trade deal. Individuals depositing at least $5,000 of new assets into a new Virtual Brokers account can receive 25 commission-free trades which are good for use for one full year. See table below for more details.*

*Update: Oct. 6 – After a long hiatus from the deals and promotions section, TD Direct Investing is stepping back into the ring with a commission-free trade offer that lasts until November 30th. TD Direct Investing’s latest deal offers DIY investors either 50, 100 or 200 commission-free trades for minimum deposits of $25,000, $50,000 or $100,000 respectively. To help sweeten the deal, they’re also offering 90 days of free access to their Advanced Dashboard platform. See table below for more details.*

There’s nothing to officially report in the new deals department at the beginning of October, however it is worth noting that Virtual Brokers’ new student-oriented cash back deal just got launched less than a week before the start of a new month and runs until the end of this month.

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
	A Sparx Trading exclusive offer! Use the promo code “Sparx Trading” when signing up for a new account with Jitney and receive access to their preferred pricing package and a massive 45% discount on the Real Tick trading platform.	n/a	Discounted Commission Rates	none	For more details click here	none
	Individuals between 18 and 35 years of age who open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine, may be eligible to receive 35 commission-free trades, an eBook on investing, $50 cash back and potentially waived account minimum fees. Use promo code “YOUNG” when signing up. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer.	A) for commission free trades: n/a B) for cash back: $25,000	A) 35 commission-free trades (rebate for free trades to be applied week of March 28/2016) B) $50 cash back + 35 commission-free trades (cash back bonus to be applied week of March 28/2016)	90 days	Youth Promotion	October 31, 2015
	For students and recent graduates (within the past 2 years), open a new account with Virtual Brokers with at least $1,000 and you may be eligible to receive $50 cash back. Use promo code UN332015 when registering to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions.	$1,000	$50 cash back	Cash deposited shortly after Dec. 31/15	Student Promo	October 31, 2015
	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 prepaid Visa gift card. Clients must also place at least one commission-generating trade within 60 days. Use promo code VISA502015 when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details.	$5,000	$50 prepaid Visa card	Prepaid Visa cards will be mailed after clients complete eligibility requirements.	Prepaid Visa Promotion	October 30, 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
	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
	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
	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
	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	October 30, 2015
	Open and fund a new online trading account with Questrade with at least A)$50,000 to $99,999 or B)$100,000+ and you could be eligible to receive either A)$100 or B) $250 cash back. Use promo code CASHBACK2015 when applying to be eligible for this offer. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions for this promotion.	A) $50,000 -$99,999 B) $100,000+	A) $100 cash back B) $250 cash back	Cash will be deposited within 30 days of account being properly funded.	$250 Cash Back Promo	October 30, 2015
	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 June 6, 2016. Trades are good for 1 year from signing up for promotional offer.	Fall 2015 Promotion	October 31, 2015
Expired Offers
Last Updated: October 9, 17:05 PST

Transfer Fee Deals

Brief Description	Maximum Transfer Fee Coverage Amount	Minimum Deposit Amount for Transfer Fee Eligibility	Details Link	Deadline
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 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

Posted on September 1, 2015January 30, 2021 by user — Leave a comment

Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – September 2015

*Updated September 26*

September is not even a day old and it’s off to a volatile start in the equity markets. Even though this is the month when leaves start changing colour, it seems like DIY investors are going to see portfolios and markets change colour first.

Canadian discount brokerages, and in particular their deals and promotions, are also stepping into September having to navigate some big changes. Specifically, heading into this new month, seven deals or promotions from five different brokerages have officially expired leaving the those brokerages who have offers a better chance at getting the attention of DIY investors and those on the sidelines with some catching up to do.

While brokerages, such as BMO InvestorLine and Questrade continue to rotate offers, other online brokerages, such as National Bank Direct Brokerage, HSBC InvestDirect and Virtual Brokers have opted to let offers lapse, at least for the moment.

Part of the strategy behind the number of discount brokerage deals being offered in the summer was to offset the slowdown that typically occurs as investors take time away from the markets. This fall, however, brokerages may have to get creative in providing incentives for DIY investors to open up online trading accounts because of substantial stock market volatility.

As always, we’ll be watching closely to see which brokerages decide to launch offers this month and if you’ve heard of anything not listed, drop us a note or comment below.

Expired Deals

The end of August saw seven deals officially expire from five discount brokerages. Of those, however, three brokerages still have these offers posted on their websites (at the time of publication). Here’s a quick list of the deals that expired at the end of August:

BMO InvestorLine – Summer Cash Back Promotion
~~BMO InvestorLine – Youth Promotion Phase II~~
HSBC InvestDirect – 30 commission free trades promotion
NBDB – iPad Mini or $300 Cash Back promotion
Questrade – 3 months free trading promotion
Questrade – $500 Apple Store Gift Card Promotion
Virtual Brokers – 25 commission free trades promotion

As mentioned above, there are a couple of “expired” offers still being advertised on brokerage web pages at the time of publication, specifically BMO InvestorLine’s Youth Promotion, HSBC InvestDirect’s 30 free trade promotion and Virtual Brokers’ 25 commission-free trades promotion. We’ll continue to monitor them for any updates or extensions.

Extended Deals

*Update: Although it took a few days to reach the website, BMO InvestorLine has extended their Youth Promotion once again. The new deadline to take advantage of this offer is October 31st, 2015. See table below for more info*

At the time of publication there are no extensions of deals to report.

New Deals

*Update: Virtual Brokers is back in the deals ring with a “back-to-school” themed promotion. Students who sign up for a Virtual Brokers account (with a deposit of at least $1,000) can receive a cash-back promotion of $50. See table below for more details*

*Update: The deals and promotions are starting to ramp up as three new offers from three different online brokerages have been spotted since the update four days ago.

First, Scotia iTrade has launched their latest cash back or commission free trade offer to replace the offer which expired Sept. 13th. Their latest offer is similar in that it provides the choice of cash back or free trades, however it looks like Scotia iTrade is sweetening the deal for investors with lower deposit amounts by offering $75 cash back (instead of $50) for the first deposit tier. When the bids increase it’s a sure sign of competition becoming more fierce. See table below for more details on the pricing tiers and deadlines.

The next offer is from Questrade who started the month without a dedicated offer for the deposit tier of $50,000+ but who also has decided to provide a cash-back bonus that is quite competitive. Questrade is offering either $100 cash back or $250 cash back for deposits of either $50,000 or $100,000+ respectively. See table below for more information.

Finally, National Bank Direct Brokerage has stepped back into the deals and promotions arena with a multi-tiered commission-free trades offer. For deposits of between $5,000 to $24,999 eligible clients can receive 25 commission-free trades; for deposits between $25,000 and $49,999, eligible clients can receive 50 commission-free trades; and finally, for deposits of $50,000+, eligible clients can receive 100 commission-free trades. See the table below for more information.*

Two new offers from BMO InvestorLine and Questrade kick started the deals activity for September.

Starting first with BMO InvestorLine, their latest promotion is a combination of free trades and cash back and is aimed at individuals depositing at least $100,000. Specifically, BMO InvestorLine is offering $200 cash back and 20 commission-free trades which are good for use for up to a year. The offer runs until October 31^st and is open to both new and existing clients (who open a new account). See table below for more details.

Questrade starts the month with the most deals of any Canadian online brokerage. Their latest promotion is a relaunch of a previously posted commission-free trading deal. This offer gives eligible clients either 100 commission-free trades (for deposits of at least $10,000) or 10 commission-free trades (for deposits of $1,000 to $9,999).

Discount Brokerage Deals

Company	Brief Description	Minimum Deposit Amount	Commission/Cash Offer/Promotion Type	Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer	Details Link	Deadline
	A Sparx Trading exclusive offer! Use the promo code “Sparx Trading” when signing up for a new account with Jitney and receive access to their preferred pricing package and a massive 45% discount on the Real Tick trading platform.	n/a	Discounted Commission Rates	none	For more details click here	none
	Individuals between 18 and 35 years of age who open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine, may be eligible to receive 35 commission-free trades, an eBook on investing, $50 cash back and potentially waived account minimum fees. Use promo code “YOUNG” when signing up. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer.	A) for commission free trades: n/a B) for cash back: $25,000	A) 35 commission-free trades (rebate for free trades to be applied week of March 28/2016) B) $50 cash back + 35 commission-free trades (cash back bonus to be applied week of March 28/2016)	90 days	Youth Promotion	October 31, 2015
	For students and recent graduates (within the past 2 years), open a new account with Virtual Brokers with at least $1,000 and you may be eligible to receive $50 cash back. Use promo code UN332015 when registering to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions.	$1,000	$50 cash back	Cash deposited shortly after Dec. 31/15	Student Promo	October 31, 2015
	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 prepaid Visa gift card. Clients must also place at least one commission-generating trade within 60 days. Use promo code VISA502015 when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details.	$5,000	$50 prepaid Visa card	Prepaid Visa cards will be mailed after clients complete eligibility requirements.	Prepaid Visa Promotion	October 30, 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
	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	September 30, 2015
	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
	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	September 30, 2015
	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	October 30, 2015
	Open and fund a new online trading account with Questrade with at least A)$50,000 to $99,999 or B)$100,000+ and you could be eligible to receive either A)$100 or B) $250 cash back. Use promo code CASHBACK2015 when applying to be eligible for this offer. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions for this promotion.	A) $50,000 -$99,999 B) $100,000+	A) $100 cash back B) $250 cash back	Cash will be deposited within 30 days of account being properly funded.	$250 Cash Back Promo	October 30, 2015
	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 June 6, 2016. Trades are good for 1 year from signing up for promotional offer.	Fall 2015 Promotion	October 31, 2015
Expired Offers
	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; D)$250,000 – $499,999; E) $500,000 – $999,999 or F)$1,000,000+ you may be eligible to receive a corresponding cash back or commission rebate. For commission-free trades use code: THSP15 or for cash rebates use code: RNYDMN. 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 – $499,999 E) $500,000 – $999,999 F) $1,000,000+	A) 50 commission-free trades OR $50 cash back B) 100 commission-free trades OR $100 cash back C) 250 commission free trades OR $250 cash back + KeeneOnTheMarket Subscription D) 350 commission-free trades OR $350 cash back + KeeneOnTheMarket Subscription E) 500 commission-free trades OR $500 cash back + KeeneOnTheMarket Subscription F) 1000 commission-free trades OR $1,000 cash back + KeeneOnTheMarket Subscription	120 days for commission-free trades Cash back to be deposited by February 13, 2016.	$1000 or 1000 free trade offer	September 13, 2015
Last Updated: September 26, 2015 1:30am PT

Transfer Fee Deals

Brief Description	Maximum Transfer Fee Coverage Amount	Minimum Deposit Amount for Transfer Fee Eligibility	Details Link	Deadline
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	1000 Free Trade or $1000 Cash Back Offer	September 13, 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 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	September 30, 2015

Posted on August 28, 2015 by user — Leave a comment

Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – August 28, 2015

This past week saw such a crazy mix of sell-off and rally it could have easily been characterized as a McWhopper of a trading week. For Canadian discount brokerages, however, volatility is more than just food for thought; it looks like it may just be the main course.

In this week’s discount brokerage roundup, we start with an in-depth look at the back-to-school battle brewing between brokerages in the RESP space. Next we check out the deals that are on the chopping block heading into September and then take a look at how the volatile markets rattled online brokerages in the tweets of the week. On the final approach we look at upcoming investor education events and close out with some interesting brokerage chatter from the forums.

Back to School Battles

With back-to-school on the minds of many parents, it looks like several online brokerages are taking the opportunity to promote their RESP account offerings. While the RESP doesn’t typically get a lot of attention, it was interesting to take a deeper dive into the different approaches taken to pricing this account by Canadian brokerages.

The Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) is staple registered account type and as such is offered by almost all Canadian online brokerages. These past few weeks, however, two big bank-owned brokerages, CIBC Investor’s Edge and TD Direct Investing, have posted messaging on their homepages referencing these account types, and another non-bank owned brokerage, Questrade, has been talking about upcoming changes to its RESP pricing.

While the messaging from CIBC Investor’s Edge and TD Direct Investing was fairly standard, it was the move that Questrade was making that caught our attention.

In a note to its DIY investor clients this past week, Questrade announced that starting November 1^st, its fees for RESPs are going up for certain clients. Specifically, clients with less than $15,000 in assets (across all Questrade accounts or less than $15,000 in combined assets with a myFamily program), will be subject to a $50 annual charge for their RESP account.

Given the fierce competition between brokerages, especially on commission pricing, it is interesting to see Questrade once again start to raise its non-commission fees, especially since they have historically competed on ‘low cost’.

So just how does Questrade’s new $50 annual charge for an RESP stack up?

Within the Canadian discount brokerage space, RESP account fees typically range between $0 and $100 per year depending on the brokerage. As the charts below show, however, account fees only tell part of the story – the other part has to do with the size of assets required to qualify to have those fees waived.

When it comes to RESP account fees, CIBC Investor’s Edge has the lowest fee ($0) regardless of balance size or activity level. It is interesting to note that they are the only Canadian discount brokerage for whom that is true.

Also interesting to note is that the size of the brokerage doesn’t necessarily translate into what an RESP costs. That is to say, of the five brokerages that charge administration charges of $100 per year (currently the highest administration charge), two of them are non-bank owned (Credential Direct and Qtrade) brokerages.

Conversely, two of the brokerages that typically compete on commission cost, Questrade and Virtual Brokers, don’t have the cheapest fees for RESPs.

For Questrade, the newly announced fee of $50 per year requires at least $15,000 in order to be waived. For Virtual Brokers, on the other hand, their pricing page states that the annual fee for their Canadian dollar RESP is $25 per year, regardless of balance.

With regards to the big bank-owned brokerages, both BMO InvestorLine and TD Direct Investing require the highest asset minimums to have fees waived at $25,000. RBC Direct Investing and Scotia iTRADE, on the other hand, have lower thresholds at $15,000 but have higher fees than BMO InvestorLine and TD Direct Investing for not meeting those minimums.

Thus, for individuals hunting for a low-cost provider for online brokerage services, the lesson is to understand what your total needs are as an investor.

Brokerages that might offer a break on commission-fees may not offer the same low-cost when it comes to administration fees or thresholds to have those fees waived.

In the case of Canadian online brokerages offering RESPs, for those with less than $15,000 in assets, the least expensive provider is CIBC Investor’s Edge followed by Virtual Brokers. Those with $25,000 or more in assets don’t really need to worry about fees unless they’re with either HSBC InvestDirect or Virtual Brokers. Given that Virtual Brokers appears in both types of categories indicates that there are certain balance conditions in which it may be advantageous relative to most other brokerages and others where it less competitive.

On the other hand, the fact that CIBC Investor’s Edge can offer the bank-owned convenience factor as well as low trading commission cost poses a genuine challenge to other providers of this account type.

With Questrade now raising fees and other providers not yet moving in this space, CIBC Investor’s Edge looks like they’re sitting at the head of the RESP class.

Deals on a Roll

As the markets have shown heading into September, summer is not about to go quietly. And, it appears, neither are the advertised discount brokerage deals and promotions.

Although there are 16 advertised offers currently in play, 7 of those are scheduled to expire at the end of August. Online brokerages including BMO InvestorLine, HSBC InvestDirect, National Bank Direct Brokerage, Questrade and Virtual Brokers all have offers set to end signaling a lot more volatility in the promotions space about to take place.

Of particular interest is the group of offers for individuals depositing at least $50,000 or $100,000 as this prized segment has attracted some very competitive offers from BMO InvestorLine, National Bank Direct Brokerage, Questrade and Scotia iTRADE.

While it is difficult to predict which offers, if any, will be renewed or extended, the odds are good that BMO InvestorLine, Questrade and Virtual Brokers will have promotions in play beyond the end of August deadline.

Historically the fall season is when DIY investors perk up and start paying attention to markets. This year the recent market volatility has certainly caught the attention of many and perhaps kick-started the comparison shoppers.

Online brokerages have almost certainly noticed more interest from DIY investors kicking the tires on new accounts. For savvy DIY investors, however, the forecast for deals and promotions heading their way looks favourable.

Be sure to check out the deals and promotions section next week and throughout September as many of the major financial institutions will be sprinting towards their fiscal year end (end of October) and hopefully tossing in a few extra deals to finish on a high note with.

Tweets of the Week

Markets weren’t the only ones seeing red this week. With the sharp uptick in volatility taking equity prices across the globe for a joyride, there were many investors that either tried to get into or out of (or both) positions via their online trading accounts. Unfortunately for many of them, more than a few brokers saw trading platforms and feeds choke on the volume. But the pain didn’t stop there.

When platforms or data feeds go down, most DIY investors know that the only lifeline for an order is to make a phone call. As this week showed, however, even the biggest bank-owned brokerage call centres couldn’t handle the swell, with phone lines flashing busy as traders rushed to try and place their orders.

This week’s tweets offer a great example of how discount brokerages big and small can get overwhelmed when markets move quickly, especially to the downside. And, just in case readers think this was a Canadian brokerage issue – it most certainly wasn’t. Major US brokerages such as TD Ameritrade and Charles Schwab also saw trading interruptions as a result of technology being overwhelmed.

View the story “Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week – 8/28/15” on Storify

Event Horizon

Options trading, short selling and technical analysis are just a few of the topics being covered by different online brokerage investor education teams next week. Click the links below for more details.

September 1^st

Scotia iTRADE – Getting Started with Options with Pro Market Advisors

September 2nd

NBDB – Short Selling – [Fr]

September 3rd

Scotia iTRADE – How to Balance Risk and Reward Trading Options with Sarah Potter

September 4th

Scotia iTrade – Combining Technical and Fundamental Analysis with AJ Monte

From the Forums

With the markets moving around so much this week, there was also an uptick in the level of conversation about what the markets were doing and whether the sudden and sharp sell-off was the beginning of the end or the buying opportunity of the year. In the talk of market tops and bottoms, here are a couple of interesting finds related directly to discount brokerages.

Byte the Hand that Feeds

In this brief exchange on RedFlagDeals.com’s investing forum, one new user to Interactive Brokers is looking for a little more information on which data feeds to consider when using IB’s trading platform.

A Better Option?

Options trading continues to grow in popularity with DIY investors. While many trading platforms have yet to really keep pace with the user experience of options trading, ThinkOrSwim typically stands out as one platform options traders like. In this post from RedFlagDeals.com’s investing forum, the cost of Interactive Brokers is pitted against the user performance of ThinkOrSwim. Find out what folks had to say about each.

Into the Close

With the wild ride of this past week, many investors are glad to be heading into a weekend of relaxation. For die hards like this Japanese trader that apparently raked in $34 million this past week, there’s a reminder that while most folks are out relaxing, there are some that keep on grinding away looking for opportunity. However you end up charting out your weekend activities, have a great final weekend of August!

Posted on August 1, 2015January 30, 2021 by user — Leave a comment

Discount Brokerage Deals and Promotions – August 2015

*Updated August 8, 2015* It’s hard to believe that August is already here. That’s right, 146 days left until Christmas, 142 left until winter and just a paltry 53 days until the beginning of fall. For Canadian discount brokerages, however, the ramp up to a busy fall and winter promotions session has already begun and time is definitely not on their side.

As far as discount brokerage deals and promotions go, August is shaping up to be an important month. Of the 15 16 deals now in play, just under half (~~47%~~ 44%) are set to expire at the end of the month. At the outset of August, it is interesting to see that even deals that showed up later in July were still scheduled to expire at the end of August.

In addition to the standard cash back and commission free promotions, there are also some promotions going on that don’t usually end up in the deals tables but which we can mention here.

The first is Questrade’s Portfolio IQ contest in which individuals can enter for the chance to win a $5,000 professionally managed portfolio. Another interesting promotion, this one from Scotia iTrade, offers 10 commission-free trades to clients of Scotiabank’s StartRight program for newcomers to Canada. Finally, BMO InvestorLine (as part of a contest run by BMO) is offering students the chance to win up to $10,000 towards tuition and $500 towards books.

With so much poised to change heading into September and with so much activity already underway at Canadian brokerages, it will be interesting to watch how the discount brokerage deals unfold through this month. As always if there are any promotions that we’ve missed drop us a note or post in our online brokerage deals discussion thread.

Expired Deals

Heading into August, only one discount brokerage, Questrade, had offers that officially expired. The two offers from Questrade that were retired were the Amazon gift card promotion and the 25 commission-free trade offer.

Extended Deals

Although it technically expired at the end of June, Virtual Brokers did bring back their 25 commission-free trade offer towards the end of July and bumped the expiry date to August 31, 2015. For that reason it is not being listed as a new deal, but rather an extended one. The deal is identical to that listed in June’s deals – the minimum deposit to qualify is $15,000 and individuals receive 25 commission free trades (valued at $6.49 per trade) to use for up to 1 year from the time their account is open and funded.

New Deals

The two brokerages with new offers this month are Questrade and BMO InvestorLine.

Starting first with Questrade. Their latest promotion offers new or existing clients 5 commission-free trades for opening an account with at least $1,000. On the surface, it may not seem like a very exciting offer however it is nonetheless interesting for two reasons.

First, the offer is set to expire at the end of 2016. That is an interesting signal that this is going to be a standing offer. The second reason this promotion is interesting is because there are other offers that appear to be slightly more compelling that are directly competing with this.

The $50 commission credit offer, for example, has no deadline and can be good for up to 10 trades (depending on the structure of the trade and the commission charge). This latest offer by Questrade (the 5 free trade promotion) is good for 5 trades of up to $9.95 each and has a window of 60 days within which these bonus trades can be used.

BMO InvestorLine’s latest promotion (the “summer promotion”) is a reincarnation of their 5 star offer with some key differences. The most significant component to BMO InvestorLine’s new deal is that it takes at least $100,000 to qualify for the offer and there are cash back offers based on deposit tiers that go beyond the historically high $500,000 deposit mark and up to the $1 milllion+ dollar deposit range.

The only other brokerage in recent memory (and currently) to have a promotional offer geared to these higher deposits is Scotia iTrade. For more details on the BMO InvestorLine offer see the table below.

*Updated August 8, 2015

Questrade has relaunched its $50 Visa gift card promotion, which was last seen in May of this year. To qualify for the $50 Visa gift card, individuals must deposit a minimum of $5,000 of net new assets into a new online trading account (registered, margin or FX and CFD are eligible) and make at least one commission-generating trade within 60 days. This offer is currently set to expire at the end of October. Read 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
	A Sparx Trading exclusive offer! Use the promo code “Sparx Trading” when signing up for a new account with Jitney and receive access to their preferred pricing package and a massive 45% discount on the Real Tick trading platform.	n/a	Discounted Commission Rates	none	For more details click here	none
	For individuals between 18 and 35 who open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine, they may be eligible to receive 35 commission-free trades, an eBook on investing, $50 cash back and potentially waived account minimum fees. Use promo code “YOUNG” when signing up. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer.	A) for commission free trades: n/a B) for cash back: $25,000	A) 35 commission-free trades B) $50 cash back + 35 commission-free trades	90 days	Youth Promotion	August 31, 2015
	Open a new account with HSBC InvestDirect and you may be eligible to receive up to 30 equity trades (North American listed equities only) commission free. Only trades placed within the first 60 days of account opening will be eligible. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for full details on this offer.	n/a	30 commission-free trades (commission will be rebated within 90 days after 60 day trading period)	60 days	HSBC InvestDirect Summer Promotion Terms & Conditions	August 31, 2015
	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	August 31, 2015
	Open and fund a new account at Questrade with at least A)$1,000, B)$25,000 or C)$50,000+ and you could be eligible to receive either A)1 month, B) 2 months or C)3 months of commission-free trading. Use offer code UNLIMITED2015 when opening an application to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions on this offer.	A)$1,000 B)$25,000 C)$50,000	A) 1 month commission-free trading B) 2 months commission-free trading C) 3 months commission-free trading (*note trading commissions will be rebated within 10 business days of trade execution)	A) 1 month B) 2 months C) 3 months	Unlimited Trading Promotion	August 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 prepaid Visa gift card. Clients must also place at least one commission-generating trade within 60 days. Use promo code VISA502015 when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details.	$5,000	$50 prepaid Visa card	Prepaid Visa cards will be mailed after clients complete eligibility requirements.	Prepaid Visa Promotion	October 30, 2015
	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	September 30, 2015
	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; D)$250,000 – $499,999; E) $500,000 – $999,999 or F)$1,000,000+ you may be eligible to receive a corresponding cash back or commission rebate. For commission-free trades use code: THSP15 or for cash rebates use code: RNYDMN. 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 – $499,999 E) $500,000 – $999,999 F) $1,000,000+	A) 50 commission-free trades OR $50 cash back B) 100 commission-free trades OR $100 cash back C) 250 commission free trades OR $250 cash back + KeeneOnTheMarket Subscription D) 350 commission-free trades OR $350 cash back + KeeneOnTheMarket Subscription E) 500 commission-free trades OR $500 cash back + KeeneOnTheMarket Subscription F) 1000 commission-free trades OR $1,000 cash back + KeeneOnTheMarket Subscription	120 days for commission-free trades Cash back to be deposited by February 13, 2016.	$1000 or 1000 free trade offer	September 13, 2015
	Open and fund a new account at Virtual Brokers with at least $15,000 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 “TRYUS2015” when signing up to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions carefully.	$15,000	25 commission-free trades	365 days	Free trades for one year promotion	August 31, 2015
	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	September 30, 2015
	National Bank Direct Brokerage is offering either A) a 16GB iPad Mini or B) $300 cash back to new clients who sign up for the InvestCube service and deposit at least $50,000. Use either promo code “Mini2015” for the iPad or “Cash2015” when signing up to be eligible for this offer. Be sure to read the terms and conditions of this promotion carefully.	$50,000	A) iPad Mini (16GB) B) $300 cash back	Within 45 days of the eligibility date either A) the order for the tablet will be processed or B) cash back will be credited to the account.	InvestCube Tablet or Cash Back Promotion	August 31, 2015
	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	October 30, 2015
	Open a new account (registered, margin, or FX & CFD) with at least $100,000 in new assets and execute at least one commission-generating trade and you may be eligible to receive an Apple Gift Card worth $500.00. Use promo code APPLEWATCH2015 when registering. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions on this offer.	$100,000	$500 Apple Store gift card	Apple Store gift card will be emailed within 30 days of eligibility requirements being met.	Apple Gift Card Promo	August 31, 2015
	Open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine, and fund it with either A)$100,000 – $249,999; B)$250,000 – $499,999; C)$500,000 – $999,999 or D)$1 million+ in net new assets and you may be eligible to receive either A)$200; B)$500; C)$750 or D)$1,000 cash back. Be sure to use the appropriate promotion code for the corresponding cash back tier when signing up. For the $200 cash back use DISC200; for $500 cash back use DISC500; for $750 cash back use DISC750 and for $1000 cash back use DISC1000.Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer.	A) $100,000 – $249,999 B) $250,000 – $499,999 C) $500,000 – $999,999 D) $1,000,000+	A) $200 B) $500 C) $750 D) $1000	Cash award will be paid the week of April 11, 2016.	Summer Offer Promotion	August 31, 2015
Last Updated: August 8, 2015 17:40 PT

Transfer Fee Deals

Brief Description	Maximum Transfer Fee Coverage Amount	Minimum Deposit Amount for Transfer Fee Eligibility	Details Link	Deadline
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	1000 Free Trade or $1000 Cash Back Offer	September 13, 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 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	September 30, 2015