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Desjardins Bank

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – April 15, 2016

While one basketball legend is retiring another one is seeing his star rise. Whether it’s professional basketball or the world of DIY investing, performance is what counts. For the race that is the Canadian discount brokerages landscape, however, coasting along is not an option.

In this week’s roundup, we take a look at continued signs of life with one online brokerage who is getting prepped to move deeper into the investor education space. Next we take a look at the latest results from online brokerage in the US to see what trends are emerging across the brokerage industry as a whole. From there we’ll preview the upcoming investor education events in the week ahead and close out the round up with comments from DIY investors on Twitter and around the investor forums.

Making the Grade

This first few months of 2016 have been busy for Virtual Brokers. After their recent commission price adjustments, Virtual Brokers has tried to distance itself somewhat from the “ultra low cost” discount brokerage image and in place of the label try to introduce features and services that offer up more value for the dollars being spent on commissions. A recent article in the Globe and Mail featured a quote from Virtual Brokers CEO Bardya Ziaian in which he stated “I want to go beyond the notion that Virtual Brokers is a cheap way of trading, we want to add value.”

In line with this move to offer greater value, Virtual Brokers appears to be ramping up efforts to provide additional market research information and education to DIY investors. Their latest move was noted this week as they announced a webinar in partnership with Morningstar to discuss the Morningstar economic moat feature. In addition to the webinar, there are also plans in the near term to offer more value-added research and analysis of markets to clients. While details are still to come, it’s clear that Virtual Brokers is actively moving towards a ‘value’ focused offering.

As one of the relatively newer entrants into the DIY investing space, however, Virtual Brokers still has to outcompete the massive amounts of advertising and marketing resources being spent by their peers. The boost in exposure by being crowned the top online brokerage in the Globe and Mail has certainly made a material difference to Virtual Brokers. And, in order to keep atop the standings, there has to be a clear focus on delivering innovative and useful features. In other words, for Canadian online brokerages, the best way not to be noticed is to stand still.

Let’s Get Digital

Earnings and quarterly reports from US online brokerages are kicking off once again. What’s particularly interesting about this round of reports is that Charles Schwab, the largest online brokerage in the US, has just crossed the one year mark since they launched their robo advisor service (or as they call it the ‘digital advice’ segment), and, according to the numbers, there are about 6.6 billion reasons to celebrate.

On a year over year basis, Schwab had very healthy gains in net revenues (+16% to $1.8B), net income (up 36% to $412M) and modest account growth (+3%). Part of the reason for those gains came from their robo-advisor segment which attracted $6.6B in assets in just over a year’s time.

Despite being an online brokerage, Schwab makes the majority of its revenue from interest revenue, asset management and administration fees whereas trading revenue made up 13% of net revenues for the quarter. And, while the volatility over February and March may have provided a 12% quarter over quarter increase in trading revenues, the notion of what it takes to succeed in the online brokerage space clearly points to having something more than trading revenues to keep you going.

The reason these numbers matter is because they clearly demonstrate that there is a market for the ‘managed wealth’ that appears to be outpacing the DIY trading segment. Further, it also shows how sensitive the earnings at online brokerages are to interest rate moves and why low rates are a challenge to the business model.

For Canadian online brokerages, there has clearly been an interest in following suit with Schwab’s model of deploying robo-advisors; Questrade and more recently BMO began offering these ‘digital advice’ products as a way to capture market share from the not-so-do-it-yourself crowd. Virtual Brokers also appears to be positioning themselves within this space as they were recent sponsors of the Morningstar robo-advisor conference.

While the scale of the US wealth management market is considerably larger than Canada’s, it is interesting nonetheless to see how online brokerages are going to have to adapt their offering and business for a robo-world. Earnings for E*trade and Interactive Brokers are also on deck for the upcoming week so the picture of where investors are (or aren’t going) will be even clearer heading into the end of April.

Event Horizon

Patio weather has arrived, and it’s a refreshing week ahead for discount brokerage-sponsored investor education events. Here are some upcoming sessions that may be of interest to options enthusiasts, those interested in international investing, and ETFs. Technical analysis, trading strategies, and a fundamental landscape overview round out this week’s selection.

April 18

NBDB – Technical Analysis with Mr. Gaetan Royer of Cobalt Investments – [Fr]

April 19

Scotia iTRADE – Dogs of the Dow – Easy as 1, 2, 3 with Pro Market Advisors

April 20

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Investing in Options

NBDB – International Investing – [Fr]

April 21

Scotia iTRADE – Options Trading Using Technical Analysis with Montreal Exchange

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Investing in Options

Desjardins Online Brokerage (Disnat) – Macro Masters Foundations Course

Virtual Brokers – Understanding Morningstar’s Economic Moat

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

Spring is here. And while it brings flowers, and showers it also seems to bring bugs – at least for some. Mentioned this week are: BMO Investorline, Questrade, Scotia iTrade TD Direct Investing and Virtual Brokers.

 

From the Forums

Clouds Forming

For many investors keeping a handle on all of the official slips and forms and calculations can be, well, taxing. In this thread from reddit’s Personal Finance Canada section, however, the stress level for some of Questrade’s clients (and for many Questrade staff) spiked as it appears T3 forms for some clients were being sent to others. Whoops. The link is worth a read to see the reactions of investors as well as how Questrade stepped up to address the situation.

Green or Red?

It seems many investors looking for an online brokerage account tend to narrow the field down to a couple of choices and from there the hair splitting begins. In this post from Redflagdeals.com’s investing forum, the community weighs in on TD Direct Investing vs CIBC Investors Edge vs Questrade.

Into the Close

That’s a wrap for this week. With earnings season in full swing and a rally that nobody seems to trust, the next week will be fun one for traders. In the meantime, enjoy the spring weather and the human highlight reel that is Kobe Bryant (arguably a great DIY’er) in his last game.

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – April 8, 2016

While April showers might bring May flowers, April is also about the time to start nervously watching the calendar for the ‘sell in May and go away’ moment. For many Canadian online brokerages, however, the hope is that wherever investors decide to go this spring, that they take their brokerage account along for the ride with a smartphone.

In this week’s roundup, we keep it nice and light (we have to enjoy the great weather sometime right?) and take a look at the latest online brokerage to release a new client website.  From there we’ll take a look at a very handy resource for DIY and mainstream investors to enhance their own financial literacy. As usual, we’ll include a look the latest chatter from investors across social media and from the investor forums.

A Classic Move

Another week, another website release. Following on the heels of RBC Direct Investing’s announced rollout of a new website last week, this past week Desjardins Online Brokerage announced that they are launching a new client website for their Disnat Classic account type.

In 2015 Desjardins Online Brokerage unveiled their current website and their latest rollout of an update to the Disnat Classic website provides users with a consistent, clean look and feel. According to their description of the new website, the new ‘classic’ interface will create an easier navigating experience especially around account management.

Even though their branding has changed some time ago, Desjardins Online Brokerage still uses their original branding of Disnat for the two primary DIY accounts offered to investors: Disnat Direct and Disnat Classic.

While Disnat Direct is geared towards more active investors/traders, the Disnat Classic product is geared towards less active investors. And, as such, the new Disnat Classic interface does a good job of catering to the specific needs of the long-term or less active investor.

Screenshot of Disnat Classic’s new website teaser.

One of the great features of the new roll out is the support material that accompanies it. Desjardins has put together a solid selection of tutorials that walk users through the basics of navigating the new layout as well as performing key tasks (such as entering an order or managing accounts).

As far as interfaces go, the classic platform strikes a good balance between usability and features that investors/occasional traders use. In particular, there are handy research tools such as charting and analytics all within the same page and a ‘research’ tab offers more in-depth fundamental insights. While several of these tools (such as Recognia and Morningstar) are available with other brokerages

Similar to the rollout of their refreshed site just over a year ago, this new site for Disnat Classic users offers an interface geared towards modern investors.

The ability to access their new site across multiple devices and screens is even more appropriate for investors who want to stay informed about or manage their account on the go. What continues to be clear though is that Desjardins Online Brokerage continues to focus on user experience and it may just be a matter of time before more and more investors take notice of the efforts being made.

In the Loop

For individuals that are looking for a trusted resources to learn about current events impacting investors, there is a great resource in the newsletter from the Investor Office of the Ontario Securities Commission.

This week’s edition of their newsletter features a great selection of articles on topics such as the risks of binary options and understanding mutual fund series. In fact, there are a number of articles and alerts related to the dangers of binary options and binary options providers that most investors ought to read and stay on top of.

Launched at the end of October 2015, the Investor Office is specifically focused on providing quality information about finance and investing to ‘main street’ investors. And, while the content does definitely contain geographically specific information, the bulk of the material contained pertains to investors across Canada.

To sign up for their newsletter or to access previous issues of the Investor News, click here.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

Event Horizon

Spring has sprung, and it’s a spectacular week ahead for discount brokerage-sponsored investor education events. Here are some upcoming sessions that may be of interest to options enthusiasts, yield hounds, and those who are new to investing. ETFs, technical analysis and trading strategies round out this week’s selection.

April 12

NBDB – Equities and ETFs – [Fr]

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Fixed Income

Scotia iTRADE – Leveraged and Inverse ETFs – Understanding them and strategies for using them with Horizons ETFs

TD Direct Investing – Options Trading Using Technical Analysis

April 13

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Investing in Options

April 14

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Technical Analysis

Scotia iTRADE – Top Ten Investor Myths with AJ Monte

From the Forums

Green with ETF envy

ETF providers may be more than a little green with envy as TD’s six new ETFs commanding quite a bit of attention this past week in a couple of posts (here and here) on redflagdeals.com. Worth a read for those considering what TD may have to offer with the ETF mix.

Small Potatoes

Every investor has to start somewhere. For this investor from reddit’s personal finance Canada section, using Questrade’s RESP for a couch potato portfolio required a little bit of help from the DIY community.

Into the Close

That’s a wrap on another crazy week. Wherever you happen to be when reading this week’s roundup, don’t forget to take some time out to relax from behind the screen to have a little fun. In the meantime, for those considering the ‘sell in May’, here’s an idea that can get you in the summer spirit. See you next week!

via GIPHY

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Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – April 1, 2016

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

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

Cash Back / Free Trade

Referral Promotions

Transfer Fee Promotions

Contests & Other Offers

 Total
March

15

4

10

4

33
April

6

3

8

4

19

 

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

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

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

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

Expired Deals

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

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

Extended Deals

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

New Deals

No new deals to announce at the beginning of April.

Discount Brokerage Deals

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

Cash Back/Free Trade/Product Offer Promotions

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Commission/Cash Offer/Promotion Type Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer Details Link Deadline
Jitney Trade A Sparx Trading exclusive offer! Use the promo code “Sparx Trading” when signing up for a new account with Jitneytrade and receive access to their preferred pricing package. n/a Discounted Commission Rates none For more details click here none
Open and fund a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) with at least $1,000 and you may be eligible to receive 5 commission-free trades. Use promo code 5FREETRADES when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions carefully. $1,000 5 commission-free trades 60 days 5 commission-free trade offer December 31, 2016
Open and fund a new account at Virtual Brokers with at least $5,000 and you may be eligible to receive 3 months of commission-free equity trading and a $150 USD/mo credit towards Edge Trader Pro for 3 months. Use promo code sent at sign up to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for details. $5,000 3 months commission-free equity trading + $150 USD/mo platform fee rebate. 3 months 3 months free trading / Sign up form for promo code available here none
BMO InvestorLine Open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine, and fund it with at least A) $100,000 or B) $250,000 in net new assets and you may be eligible to receive either A) $200 cash back and 100 commission-free equity trades or B) $600 cash back and 100 commission-free equity trades. Use promo code Spring1600 when signing up to be eligible. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. A) $100,000 – $249,999 B) $250,000+ A) $200 cash back + 100 commission-free equity trades. B) $600 cash back + 100 commission-free equity trades. 60 days for equity trades. Cash back will be deposited the week of Oct. 10, 2016. Commission rebates will be paid week of Oct. 10, 2016. Spring 2016 Promotion May 31, 2016

Expired Offers
Open and fund a new account at TD Direct Investing with at least A) $25,000; B) $50,000 or C) $100,000+ and you may be eligible to receive up to A) 50; B) 100 or C) 200 commission-free trades. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $25,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $99,999 C) $100,000 A) 50 commission-free trades B) 100 commission-free trades C) 200 commission-free trades 60 days Commission-free Trading Offer April 15, 2016
Disnat Disnat is offering new & existing clients $500 in commission credits which can be used for up to 6 months. To be eligible, new/existing clients need to deposit $50,000 into a Disnat account. You’ll have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code Disnat500. See details link for more info. $50,000 $500 commission credit 6 months Disnat $500 Commission Credit Promo April 30, 2016
Last Updated: May 9 9:45 AM

Referral Promotions

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Incentive Structure Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer Deposit Details Link Deadline
Refer a friend to Questrade and when they open an account you receive $25 cash back and they receive either A) $25; B) $50; C) $75; D) $100; or E) $250 depending on the amount deposited amount. Enter code: 476104302388759 during account sign up to qualify. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for eligibility and additional bonus payment structure and minimum balance requirements. A) $1,000 – $9,999 B) $10,000 – $24,999 C) $25,000 – $49,999 D) $50,000 -$99,999 E) $100,000+ $25 cash back (for referrer per referral; $50 bonus cash back for every 3rd referral) For referred individuals: A) $25 cash back B) $50 cash back C) $75 cash back D) $100 cash back E) $250 cash back Cash deposited into Questrade billing account within 7 days after funding period ends (90 days) Refer a friend terms and conditions Code Number: 476104302388759 none
Scotia iTrade If you refer a friend/family member who is not already a Scotia iTrade account holder to them, both you and your friend get a bonus of either cash or free trades. You have to use the referral form to pass along your info as well as your friend/family members’ contact info in order to qualify. There are lots of details/conditions to this deal so be sure to read the details link. A) $10,000 B) $50,000+ A) You(referrer): $50 or 10 free trades; Your “Friend”: $50 or 10 free trades (max total value:$99.90) B) You(referrer): $100 cash or 50 free trades; Your “Friend”: $100 cash or 50 free trades (max total value: $499.50) 60 days Refer A Friend to Scotia iTrade March 31, 2016
If you (an existing Virtual Brokers client) refer a friend or family member to open a new account with at least $5,000 you may be eligible to receive $25 cash per referral. For 3 or more referrals Virtual Brokers will add a $50 bonus. Referred individuals depositing either A) $5,000 – $50,000 or B) $50,000+ may be eligible to receive A) $25 or B) $50 cash back. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions carefully for full details. Be sure to read the terms and conditions to this offer carefully for full details. A) $5,000 – $50,000 B) $50,000+ Referrer: $25 per referral; $50 bonus for each 3 or more referrals. Referee: A) $25 B) $50 Cash to be deposited to VB account by August 15, 2016. Cash Referral Program May 31, 2016
BMO InvestorLine If you (an existing BMO InvestorLine client) refer a new client to BMO InvestorLine and they open an account with at least $50,000 the referrer and the referee may both be eligible to receive $50 cash. To qualify the referee must use the email of the referrer that is linked to their BMO InvestorLine account. See terms and conditions for full details. $50,000 You(referrer): $50; Your Friend(referee): $50 Payout occurs after 45 days (subject to conditions). BMO InvestorLine Refer-a-Friend June 30, 2016

Expired Offers
Open a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) and receive $50 commission credit . Use promo code: kdkfnbbc $1,000 $50 commission credit none none none
Last Updated: May 1, 2016 21:30 PT

Transfer Fee Promotions

Company Brief Description Maximum Transfer Fee Coverage Amount Minimum Deposit Amount for Transfer Fee Eligibility Details Link Deadline
Transfer $15,000 or more to RBC Direct Investing and they will pay up to $135 in transfer fees $135 $15,000 Transfer Fee Rebate Details none
Transfer $25,000 or more from another brokerage and Credential Direct will cover up to $150 in transfer fees. Use promo code SWITCHME when signing up to qualify for the transfer promotion. $150 $25,000 Credential Direct Transfer Fee Rebate none
Move your brokerage account to Questrade and they’ll cover the transfer-out fee up to $150. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee Promo none
Transfer at least $25,000 or more in new assets to TD Direct Investing when opening a new account and you may qualify to have transfer fees reimbursed up to $150. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. $150 $25,000 Commission-free trade promo April 15, 2016
Transfer $25,000 or more into a CIBC Investor’s Edge account and they will reimburse up to $135 in brokerage transfer fees. Clients must call customer service to request rebate after transfer made. $135 $25,000 confirmed with reps. Contact client service for more info (1-800-567-3343) none
Transfer $25,000 or more to a National Bank Direct Brokerage account and they will pay up to $135 plus taxes in transfer fees $135 $25,000 Transfer Fee Rebate none

Expired Offers
Disnat Disnat is offering up to $150 to cover the cost of transfer fees from another institution. To be eligible, new/existing clients need to deposit $50,000 into a Disnat account. You’ll have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code Disnat500. See details link for more info. $150 $50,000 Disnat $500 Commission Credit Promo April 30, 2016
Qtrade Investor will reimburse your transfer fee up to $150 when transferring a balance of $10,000 or more. For reimbursement, please mail or fax a copy of your statement from the transferring institution that shows the transfer charge to Qtrade Investor at 604.484.2627 and indicate your Qtrade Investor account number. $150 $10,000 Transfer Fee Rebate April 29, 2016
Last Updated: May 1, 2016 21:30 PT

Other Promotions

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Required Details Link Deadline
Credential Direct has partnered with Trend Micro to offer 50% off Trend Micro Titanium Internet Security. Use code “TrendCF” at checkout. n/a Trend Micro Special Offer Code none
Disnat Desjardins Online Brokerage is offering $50 in commission credits for new Disnat Classic clients depositing at least $1,000. See terms and conditions for full details. $1,000 Broker@ge 18-30 Promotion none
Scotia iTrade Scotiabank StartRight customers can receive 10 commission-free trades when investing $1,000 or more in a new Scotia iTrade account. Trades are good for use for up to 1 year from the date the account is funded. Use promo code SRPE15 when applying (in English) or SRPF15 when applying in French. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for full details. $1,000 StartRight Free Trade offer none

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Expired Deals

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

Extended Deals

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

No deal extensions were noted at the time of publication.

New Deals

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

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

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

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

Discount Brokerage Deals

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

Cash Back/Free Trade/Product Offer Promotions

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Commission/Cash Offer/Promotion Type Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer Details Link Deadline
Jitney Trade A Sparx Trading exclusive offer! Use the promo code “Sparx Trading” when signing up for a new account with Jitneytrade and receive access to their preferred pricing package. n/a Discounted Commission Rates none For more details click here none
Open and fund a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) with at least $1,000 and you may be eligible to receive 5 commission-free trades. Use promo code 5FREETRADES when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions carefully. $1,000 5 commission-free trades 60 days 5 commission-free trade offer December 31, 2016
Open and fund a new account at Virtual Brokers with at least $5,000 and you may be eligible to receive 3 months of commission-free equity trading and a $150 USD/mo credit towards Edge Trader Pro for 3 months. Use promo code sent at sign up to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for details. $5,000 3 months commission-free equity trading + $150 USD/mo platform fee rebate. 3 months 3 months free trading / Sign up form for promo code available here none
Open and fund a new account with Virtual Brokers with at least A) $15,000; B) $25,000 C) $50,000; D) $100,000 or E) $250,000+ and you may be eligible to receive A) 25; B) 50; C) 100; D) 150 or E) 200 commission-free equity (stock & ETF) trades. In addition, qualifying applicants will also be entered into a draw for a $500 Apple gift card. Use promo code 200APPLEWATCH when signing up to be eligible. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for full details. A) $15,000 – $24,999 B) $25,000 – $49,999 C) $50,000 – $99,999 D) $100,000 – $249,999 E) $250,000+ A) 25 commission-free trades B) 50 commission-free trades C) 100 commission-free trades D) 150 commission-free trades E) 200 commission-free trades 90 days (cash for commissions to be credited back Aug. 2, 2016) Virtual Brokers RRSP 2016 Free Trade Promo March 31, 2016
Open and fund a new National Bank Direct Brokerage account with at least A) $20,000 or B) $100,00 and you may be eligible to receive up to either A) $500 or B) $1,000 in commission credits. Use promo code CashBack2016 when registering for an account to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for additional details. A) $20,000 – $99,999 B) $100,000+ A) $500 in commission credit B) $1,000 in commission credit 90 days Cash back promo March 31, 2016
Scotia iTrade Open and fund a new account at Scotia iTrade with at least A) $25,000; B) $50,000; C) $100,000 or $250,000+ and you may be eligible to receive up to A) 75; B) 150; C) 300 or D) 500 commission-free trades. Use promo code TRADES-RSP16 when opening account to be eligible. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $25,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $99,999 C) $100,000 – $249,999 D) $250,000+ A) 75 commission-free trades B) 150 commission-free trades C) 300 commission-free trades D) 500 commission-free trades 90 days Free Trade Offer March 31, 2016
Open and fund a new account at TD Direct Investing with at least A) $25,000; B) $50,000 or C) $100,000+ and you may be eligible to receive up to A) 50; B) 100 or C) 200 commission-free trades. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $25,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $99,999 C) $100,000 A) 50 commission-free trades B) 100 commission-free trades C) 200 commission-free trades 60 days Commission-free Trading Offer April 15, 2015
Disnat Disnat is offering new & existing clients $500 in commission credits which can be used for up to 6 months. To be eligible, new/existing clients need to deposit $50,000 into a Disnat account. You’ll have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code Disnat500. See details link for more info. $50,000 $500 commission credit 6 months Disnat $500 Commission Credit Promo March 31, 2016
Open or fund an eligible account with at least $100,000 and make at least one commission generating trade and you may be eligible to receive a $500 gift card for the Apple Store. Use promo code APPLEWATCH when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions carefully. $100,000 $500 Apple Store gift card Gift card will be sent within 30 days of client meeting eligibility requirements. Apple Watch Promo March 31, 2016
BMO InvestorLine Open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine, and fund it with at least A) $100,000 or B) $250,000 in net new assets and you may be eligible to receive either A) $200 cash back and 100 commission-free equity trades or B) $600 cash back and 100 commission-free equity trades. Use promo code Spring1600 when signing up to be eligible. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. A) $100,000 – $249,999 B) $250,000+ A) $200 cash back + 100 commission-free equity trades. B) $600 cash back + 100 commission-free equity trades. 60 days for equity trades. Cash back will be deposited the week of Oct. 10, 2016. Commission rebates will be paid week of Oct. 10, 2016. Spring 2016 Promotion May 31, 2016

Expired Offers
Open and fund a new qualifying account (registered or margin) with at least A) $2,000; B) $25,000 or C) $50,000 and receive either A) 1 month; B) 2 months or C) 3 months of commission-free trading. Use promo code RSP2016 when registering. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $2,000 B) $25,000 C) $50,000 Commission-free trades A) 1 month B) 2 months C) 3 months RSP 2016 Promotion March 1, 2016
Open and fund a new qualifying account (registered or margin) with at least A) $1,000; B) $25,000 or C) $50,000 and receive either A) 1 month; B) 2 months or C) 3 months of commission-free trading. Use promo code UNLIMITEDW16 when registering. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $1,000 B) $25,000 C) $50,000 Commission-free trades A) 1 month B) 2 months C) 3 months 3 months unlimited trading March 4, 2016
Open a new qualifying account with HSBC InvestDirect and you could be eligible to receive up to 30 commission-free North American equity trades. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. n/a 30 commission-free trades. 60 days Winter free trade promotion March 15, 2016
Open and fund a new account (or existing clients can transfer in new assets) at Credential Direct with at least A) $15,000; B) $50,000; C) $150,000; D) $500,000 or E) $1,000,000 and you may be eligible to receive at least A) $75; B) $125; C) $200; D) $500 or E) $1,000. Applicants need to use code CASH2016RSP and fund account in order to qualify for cash back offer. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $15,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $149,999 C) $150,000 – $499,999 D) $500,000 – $999,999 E) $1,000,000+ A) $75 B) $125 C) $200 D) $500 E) $1,000 Cash credited to account on Oct. 15, 2016. Cash Back Offer March 15, 2016
Last Updated: March 18, 2016 11:05 PM PT
Open a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) and receive $50 commission credit . Use promo code: kdkfnbbc $1,000 $50 commission credit none none none

Referral Promotions

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Incentive Structure Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer Deposit Details Link Deadline
Refer a friend to Questrade and when they open an account you receive $25 cash back and they receive either A) $25; B) $50; C) $75; D) $100; or E) $250 depending on the amount deposited amount. Enter code: 476104302388759 during account sign up to qualify. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for eligibility and additional bonus payment structure and minimum balance requirements. A) $1,000 – $9,999 B) $10,000 – $24,999 C) $25,000 – $49,999 D) $50,000 -$99,999 E) $100,000+ $25 cash back (for referrer per referral; $50 bonus cash back for every 3rd referral) For referred individuals: A) $25 cash back B) $50 cash back C) $75 cash back D) $100 cash back E) $250 cash back Cash deposited into Questrade billing account within 7 days after funding period ends (90 days) Refer a friend terms and conditions Code Number: 476104302388759 none
Scotia iTrade If you refer a friend/family member who is not already a Scotia iTrade account holder to them, both you and your friend get a bonus of either cash or free trades. You have to use the referral form to pass along your info as well as your friend/family members’ contact info in order to qualify. There are lots of details/conditions to this deal so be sure to read the details link. A) $10,000 B) $50,000+ A) You(referrer): $50 or 10 free trades; Your “Friend”: $50 or 10 free trades (max total value:$99.90) B) You(referrer): $100 cash or 50 free trades; Your “Friend”: $100 cash or 50 free trades (max total value: $499.50) 60 days Refer A Friend to Scotia iTrade March 31, 2016
If you (an existing Virtual Brokers client) refer a friend or family member to open a new account with at least $5,000 you may be eligible to receive $25 cash per referral. For 3 or more referrals Virtual Brokers will add a $50 bonus. Referred individuals depositing either A) $5,000 – $50,000 or B) $50,000+ may be eligible to receive A) $25 or B) $50 cash back. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions carefully for full details. Be sure to read the terms and conditions to this offer carefully for full details. A) $5,000 – $50,000 B) $50,000+ Referrer: $25 per referral; $50 bonus for each 3 or more referrals. Referee: A) $25 B) $50 Cash to be deposited to VB account by August 15, 2016. Cash Referral Program May 31, 2016
BMO InvestorLine If you (an existing BMO InvestorLine client) refer a new client to BMO InvestorLine and they open an account with at least $50,000 the referrer and the referee may both be eligible to receive $50 cash. To qualify the referee must use the email of the referrer that is linked to their BMO InvestorLine account. See terms and conditions for full details. $50,000 You(referrer): $50; Your Friend(referee): $50 Payout occurs after 45 days (subject to conditions). BMO InvestorLine Refer-a-Friend June 30, 2016

Expired Offers
Open a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) and receive $50 commission credit . Use promo code: kdkfnbbc $1,000 $50 commission credit none none none
Last Updated: Mar. 1, 2016 21:30 PT

Transfer Fee Promotions

Company Brief Description Maximum Transfer Fee Coverage Amount Minimum Deposit Amount for Transfer Fee Eligibility Details Link Deadline
Qtrade Investor will reimburse your transfer fee up to $150 when transferring a balance of $10,000 or more. For reimbursement, please mail or fax a copy of your statement from the transferring institution that shows the transfer charge to Qtrade Investor at 604.484.2627 and indicate your Qtrade Investor account number. $150 $10,000 Transfer Fee Rebate April 29, 2016
Transfer $15,000 or more to a new Virtual Brokers account from another brokerage and Virtual Brokers may reimburse up to $150 in transfer fees. See terms and conditions for more information. $150 $15,000 Virtual Brokers 2016 RRSP Promo March 31, 2016
Transfer $15,000 or more to RBC Direct Investing and they will pay up to $135 in transfer fees $135 $15,000 Transfer Fee Rebate Details none
Transfer $25,000 or more from another brokerage and Credential Direct will cover up to $150 in transfer fees. Use promo code SWITCHME when signing up to qualify for the transfer promotion. $150 $25,000 Credential Direct Transfer Fee Rebate none
Move your brokerage account to Questrade and they’ll cover the transfer-out fee up to $150. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee Promo none
Transfer at least $25,000 or more in new assets to TD Direct Investing when opening a new account and you may qualify to have transfer fees reimbursed up to $150. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. $150 $25,000 Commission-free trade promo April 15, 2016
Scotia iTrade Transfer at least $25,000 or more in new assets to Scotia iTrade when opening a new account and Scotia iTrade may reimburse transfer fees up to $150. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. $150 $25,000 Free trade offer March 31, 2016
Transfer $25,000 or more into a CIBC Investor’s Edge account and they will reimburse up to $135 in brokerage transfer fees. Clients must call customer service to request rebate after transfer made. $135 $25,000 confirmed with reps. Contact client service for more info (1-800-567-3343) none
Transfer $25,000 or more to a National Bank Direct Brokerage account and they will pay up to $135 plus taxes in transfer fees $135 $25,000 Transfer Fee Rebate none
Disnat Disnat is offering up to $150 to cover the cost of transfer fees from another institution. To be eligible, new/existing clients need to deposit $50,000 into a Disnat account. You’ll have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code Disnat500. See details link for more info. $150 $50,000 Disnat $500 Commission Credit Promo March 31, 2016
Scotia iTrade Transfer $15,000 or more to Scotia iTrade from another Canadian brokerage, and iTrade may pay up to $150 in transfer fees. $150 $15,000 500 Free Trade or $500 Cash Back Offer December 31, 2015

Other Promotions

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Required Details Link Deadline
Credential Direct has partnered with Trend Micro to offer 50% off Trend Micro Titanium Internet Security. Use code “TrendCF” at checkout. n/a Trend Micro Special Offer Code none
Disnat Desjardins Online Brokerage is offering $50 in commission credits for new Disnat Classic clients depositing at least $1,000. See terms and conditions for full details. $1,000 Broker@ge 18-30 Promotion none
Scotia iTrade Scotiabank StartRight customers can receive 10 commission-free trades when investing $1,000 or more in a new Scotia iTrade account. Trades are good for use for up to 1 year from the date the account is funded. Use promo code SRPE15 when applying (in English) or SRPF15 when applying in French. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for full details. $1,000 StartRight Free Trade offer none
Open a new account with Questrade with at least $2,000 and you may be eligible to receive free tax software and the platinum bundle package form H&R Block. Use promo code HRBLOCK2016 when signing up to qualify. Read the terms and conditions for full details. $2,000 H&R Block Promo April 15, 2016
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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – February 26, 2016

Time flies when you’re up against a deadline. That seems to be the theme for many Canadians looking to take advantage of the RRSP contribution deadline for 2015 coming up this Monday. For Canadian discount brokerages, however, it seems that at the end of RRSP season may be signaling the start of an even stormier season ahead.

In this week’s roundup, we take a look at what’s around the corner for deals and promotions as we head into a new month and how we might be seeing the first signs of troubled waters for Canadian brokerages as they try to keep pace with one another. Next we take a look at a recent BNN interview with one ranking agency that highlights how tricky it can be to pick an online brokerage without doing some homework first. From there we take a look at the latest discount brokerage tweets and close out the roundup with a look at what investors were talking about on the forums this week.

Peak Deal?

As the RRSP deadline is fast approaching, Canadian investors will be busy trying to calculate their contributions and limits to ensure they can qualify for the 2015 tax year – at least those who intend to make a contribution. This recent survey from H&R Block stated that only 18% of Canadians surveyed intend to contribute to an RRSP this year. Whether it’s the volatile markets or because of other factors, it is against this backdrop that Canadian discount brokerages have had to figure out how best to encourage DIY investors to sign up for an online brokerage account. Clearly they’ve had their work cut out for them.

For Canadian discount brokerages, the RRSP season is typically among the busiest all year and so it is interesting to reflect on who did (or didn’t) post a promotion this year and what that could mean for deals landscape looks as the next big season i.e. tax return season takes effect.

Looking back at last year, there were 24 deals and promotions being advertised in February with that number shrinking slightly to 20 or so by the time March rolled around. This year, however, there are only 18 offers that have been advertised for February and four of those are set to expire within the first week of March.

So, could this be a signal of firms playing defense because of the DIY investing climate or could this be the first real hint that the Canadian online brokerage landscape may soon be thinning out?

Consider the following. Two big bank-owned brokerages, CIBC Investor’s Edge and RBC Direct Investing, opted to sit out the promotional race RRSP season this year despite having run promotions around the same time last year. While it is not clear if other means they’ve used to fuel the interest in their DIY investing products and services have worked the fact remains that this year, they’ve yielded what little market share there is to be had to big bank-owned competitors as well as independent brokerages who have been running promotions.

Another interesting observations between last year and this year is that some brokerages are running promotions that offer lower value incentives year (or higher barriers to qualify) despite the increased competition.

Virtual Brokers, for example, had an offer last year of 50 commission-free trades which required deposits of $5,000 whereas in 2016 that same number of commission-free trades requires a deposit of $25,000.

All is not doom and gloom, however.

Desjardins Online Brokerage upped their commission-credit offer for new clients to $500 from $300 and Credential Direct entered the deals race earlier this year than they did in 2015. Also, encouragingly for investors, Questrade has continued to put forward more incentives and promotions than other Canadian brokerages which implies that they’re committed to providing incentives to get DIY investors’ attention and ultimately business.

Looking at the big picture, with online brokerage margins being squeezed, a turbulent economic situation and now an added factor of robo-advisors competing for client assets, getting more clients or more assets per client will likely be as important as improving operating efficiency. In either case, offering a promotion or incentive enables them to do both.

There are already whispers from several brokerage sources that making deals and promotions a bigger part of their planning in 2016 is in the cards. Of course, just like in any market, when the value becomes compelling enough, the buyers step back in so for Canadian discount brokerages, the next two months will be their chance to make their case.

Know Thyself

As seasoned or new DIY investors continue to kick the tires on their online brokerage options, what it takes to make a good choice still remains somewhat tricky. After all, almost all brokerages are willing to accept a client’s money however finding out what makes a great ‘fit’ is not something brokerages look at the same way as clients do. What is clear about DIY investing and perhaps about wealth management in general is that nobody will care for your money more than you do.

For DIY investors, the reality of choosing the right online brokerage comes back down to knowing what kinds of services and costs are appropriate for their particular needs. This past week, the president of financial services research firm Surviscor Glenn LaCoste was on BNN offering viewers tips on what to look out for when choosing a brokerage.

Three questions that were highlighted as important for DIY investors looking for an online brokerage to ask were:

  • Do I know what I am getting myself into?
  • What kind of account am I looking for?
  • Do I need the firm to offer both online & mobile options?

Of course, the online brokerage industry is constantly evolving and the differences between firms are narrowing which highlights why DIY investors need to know more about what they want and need since relying on rankings and ratings may cause some confusion.

A good case in point of just how fluid the results of a top online brokerage ranking may be was also illustrated in that same interview.

Of the five brokerages listed as “top picks” (BMO InvestorLine, Scotia iTrade, Questrade, RBC Direct Investing and Qtrade Investor) there were other brokerages that seemed to score higher on Surviscor’s recent rankings that were left off the list. So, for example, RBC Direct Investing was ranked 6th (along with TD Direct Investing) in Surviscor’s 2015 Online Discount Brokerage Review and behind Credential Direct who ranked 5th. Further, in Surviscor’s most recent Service Level Assessment analysis RBC Direct Investing and Questrade ranked 13th and 14th (out of 14) respectively. As such, it was interesting to note that despite scoring higher than RBC Direct Investing on various Surviscor rankings, these top picks did not include Credential Direct (who placed 4th on the service level assessment) and underscores the point that measuring and recommending discount brokerages is always a moving target.

A brokerage that does well or poorly on a ranking or rating in one period may do worse or better on a relative basis when measured at another time frame. Further, even rankings that might measure similar components (such as customer service)will do so in different ways and thus yield different results. In fact, this was the focus of an article published in 2013 that still holds true today: when looking at a rating, ranking or recommendation for a brokerage it is important to understand how and what’s being measured to get a clear picture of what the ranking means. For those shopping around for a brokerage account, the lesson appears to increasingly point to knowing what you want and need before making any decisions on a provider.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

This week technology strikes again as brokerages big and small work their way through some digital hiccups. Mentioned this week were BMO InvestorLine, Questrade, RBC Direct Investing, Scotia iTrade, TD Direct Investing & Virtual Brokers.

From the Forums

A DRIP of this, a dash of that

The power of compounding is an essential ingredient for the long term dividend investor. In this post from RedFlagDeals’ Investing thread, one user was curious how to get up and going with setting up a DRIP at RBC Direct Investing.

Adjust Cause

Tax time is here and with it come the flood of questions from investors trying to make heads and tails of the proper method of tracking their buys and sells. In this post on reddit’s personal finance Canada section, one user has a question about the adjusted cost base calculation for shares purchased in US dollars.

Into the Close

That’s a wrap for this week’s roundup. For the movie buffs, this is the big screen equivalent of the super bowl as some of hollywood’s best and brightest will be walking down the red carpet for the Oscars. Of course, in 2016 in addition to the glitz and glamour, there’ll also be many entertaining (and sometimes NSFW) tweets to go along with it all. Here’s a highlight (or lowlight) reel heading into the big show. Have a great weekend!

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – February 19, 2016

Having had such a terrible start to the trading year, this past week offered a reprieve from the bad news. Of course the recent stock market performance has many skeptics shouting from the rooftops but, as it always is, it will be the market that has the last word.

For Canadian discount brokerages, the market they need to be paying attention to is DIY investors. Specifically listening to what they’re asking for and finding a way to deliver it. While many brokerages are looking for ways to innovate, it’s clear that what investors want will ultimately drive popularity and this past week we saw some interesting developments take shape.

In this week’s roundup we take a look at the latest promotional offer from an online brokerage getting creative with ETFs. Next we take a look at a recent review and ranking of online brokerage service and why Canadian online brokerages received a failing grade. As usual, we’ll take a look at what DIY investors were chatting about online and showcase upcoming investor education events.

Canadian ETFs go commission-free at National Bank Direct Brokerage

ETFs continue to make headlines and waves with retail investors and several Canadian online brokerages are looking to leverage this attention.

National Bank Direct Brokerage has once again opened up commission-free ETF trading, making them, at least until the end of June, the fifth Canadian online brokerage to offer up some form of commission-free ETF offering. The offer is open to both new and existing clients and no promotional code is required to take advantage of the commission-free ETF trading program however there are some important conditions.

One of the important distinctions between National Bank Direct Brokerage’s offer and that of the other brokerages is that NBDB’s promotion is limited to Canadian ETFs only. Given the rise in popularity of ETFs, the list of Canadian ETFs numbers somewhere close to 510 (as of December 2015), which technically speaking, would be the highest number of completely commission-free ETFs (i.e. buying and selling are commission-free) being offered by any Canadian brokerage (see table below). So, even though investors may be missing out on trading some of the approximately 1600 US ETFs commission-free, there’s definitely lots for investors to choose from. With the Canadian dollar also being where it is relative to the US dollar, not having to worry about the currency factor is also another bonus of having access to such a wide range of commission-free ETFS, a few of which are US currency hedged.

Online Brokerage commission-free ETF buying only commission-free ETF buying AND selling # of fully commission-free ETFs Notes
National Bank Direct Brokerage No Yes* 511** *Canadian ETFs only; minimum purchase 100 units;
**estimated as of Feb. 2016
Qtrade Investor No Yes 60
Questrade Yes No n/a
Scotia iTRADE No Yes 50
Virtual Brokers Yes Yes 150

Another important detail for investors considering this offer to take note of is that there is a minimum quantity of 100 units to be purchased in order for this offer to qualify as commission-free. Thus, the offer may be less appealing for investors who fine tune and rebalance their portfolio with small (or odd lot) quantities of purchases and sales.

Finally, the list of ETFs eligible for this promotion is the one published by the Canadian ETF Association found here. The most recent list (at the time of publishing this piece) was from December 2015 however it appears that the list is generally updated monthly (for the previous month’s total) around the middle of each month.

For Canadian DIY investors, having another online brokerage offer up commission-free ETFs is certainly a big plus. If there is a limitation to this offer, however, it is that it is only offered up for a short amount of time.

This is not the first time NBDB has run a promotion offering commission-free ETFs nor are they the only Canadian online brokerage to offer the same kind of promotion (CIBC Investor’s Edge also ran a similar promo last year). Given how fiercely competitive the online brokerage space is, and factoring in the rise in popularity of robo-advisors, if this offer proves to have traction with DIY investors, it seems fair to assume that this won’t be the last time we see National Bank Direct Brokerage (or one of their competitors) roll out an ETF-based program such as this.

Service Shuffle

At a time when client service is starting to become a bigger focus at Canada’s financial services firms, it seems that providing speedy resolution via email is out of focus at Canadian discount brokerages according to the latest assessment by financial services firm Surviscor. Ironically, while email has been the de facto method to communicate online since the internet turned mainstream, today’s investors have so much access to so many digital touch points that it has become a challenge for brokerages, big and small, to keep pace with where there clients are. As a result, the notion of what constitutes ‘service’ has become a much more fluid concept for investors, rankings agencies and brokerages to agree on.

Earlier this month Surviscor announced the results of their latest Service Level Index (SLI) ranking, formerly known as the Customer Email Responsiveness program. This analysis program measures the speed with which different online brokerages respond to online requests for support (via ‘mystery shop’ requests) and uses that as a measure of how strong (or weak) a firm’s service response levels are.

To help provide additional context, Surviscor also applies a tiered rating system according to how quickly a response is received from a brokerage. The rating system ranges from Platinum, which is awarded to firms with a response time of under 2 hours to Bronze which is awarded to those with response times of 8 to 12 hours.

In Surviscor’s latest assessment, which took place over the full year (2015), Qtrade Investor earned the best “Service Level Index” score whereas Desjardins Online Brokerage had the best response time of the brokerages listed. Both firms were close in score, separated only by 2 percentage points however Qtrade Investor scored highest with 88%.

Unfortunately, there were no online brokerages that achieved either a ‘platinum’ or ‘gold’ standard ranking this year meaning that none of the firms assessed had a consistent response time of faster than five hours via email.

What was particularly interesting, however, was just how poorly most brokerages ranked on this assessment. The average ranking for the group worked out to be a meagre 45% with 9 out of the 14 brokerages studied falling beneath that average, with RBC Direct Investing earning a grade of 10%.

In short, according to the Surviscor assessment, “2015 was not a banner year for self-direct brokerage firms….” It seems that according to the numbers shown above, that might be an understatement.

Of course with most of the rankings, ratings and reviews of Canadian online brokerages, these numbers don’t tell the whole story. Specifically, the method used to gauge these service levels may not be the only nor the best way to reach an online brokerage representative for support.

For example, Questrade, who ranked 13th (out of 14) on Surviscor’s SLI assessment, has both live chat support during business hours and also has a Twitter handle which is well monitored (as shown on numerous occasions in our weekly roundups). They also have their own forum on which individuals can submit questions and support requests and they are the only online brokerage to be actively responding and covering popular investor forums, including Reddit.

No other Canadian brokerage, including firms that ranked above Questrade assessment have so far shown the same kind of breadth of coverage.

Another example of alternative support channels can be seen with TD Direct Investing. Unlike most of their bank-owned brokerage peers, TD Direct Investing has dedicated coverage on its support forum TD Helps, it also has its own Twitter feed (although this is a recent development) and both of these appear to be relatively quick methods to get resolution or a proper response to an inquiry, as shown just this past week in the following Twitter interaction:

Recent Twitter interaction between TD Direct Invest and online user.

Interestingly the parent bank of TD Direct Investing placed second in Surviscor’s assessment of the banking services levels showing that the customer service experience in one channel (i.e. banking) might create high expectations for other areas that the bank may be involved with, making it all the more important for bank-owned brokerages to create a consistent brand experience.

The take home message for DIY investors is simply this: that with any ranking or rating it is important to know what is being measured.

In the case of “service” it is even more important to be clear on exactly what that term means since different interpretations of what comprises “service” are (quite evidently) possible, especially in a world where online investors turn to multiple online sources for support.

It would be fair to say that based on Surviscor’s latest ranking of service levels, overall email response times could stand to improve at most Canadian brokerages.

Unfortunately for consumers, with so many brokerages ranking so poorly, it seems that email-related service experience would not be something DIY investors could really expect a strong positive experience with. That said, for those brokerages that have done well, their commitment to providing quick turnaround times via email stands out even more this year and may continue to be an investment that pays off with existing and prospective clients.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

This week there was a good cross section of responses from DIY investors on Twitter. Mentioned this week were Questrade, RBC Direct Investing, Scotia iTRADE and TD Direct Investing, Virtual Brokers. Interestingly, the Twitter push from CIBC Investor’s Edge seen last week was surprisingly silent.

Event Horizon

The days are getting longer, and it’s an illuminating week ahead for discount brokerage-sponsored investor education events. Here are some upcoming sessions that may be of interest to options enthusiasts and yield hounds. Short selling, trading strategies, and a market outlook round out this week’s selection.

February 20

TD Direct Investing – Market Outlook

February 23

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Fixed Income

Scotia iTRADE – Strategies for Bear Markets – What Goes Up When the Market Goes Down with Pro Market Advisors

February 25

TD Direct Investing – Options Fundamentals

NBDB – Short Selling – [Fr]

From the Forums

Too late to say sorry?

Saying good-bye to a brokerage is a common occurrence for many DIY investors. Regardless of the reason, sometimes the exit is not nearly as seamless as investors like. In this post on Reddit, one Questrade user submitted their frustration with the process. Interestingly (especially given the story above) Questrade replied. Worth a read for those considering a switch.

Next stop…the world

Which brokerages will let DIY investors trade internationally? It’s a question that more and more investors are asking yet surprisingly fewer brokerages are answering the call for. In this post, also from Reddit, one user was curious about online brokerages that offered international trading. Of course there were also some alternatives provided which were interesting approaches to international exposure.

Into the Close

Even though the trading week was short, it seems that markets favoured the long trade. But, all may not be as it seems as the bears still have quite a bit of support heading into next week. And, don’t forget, bears are resilient bunch. This story of the ‘water bear’ (tardigrade) coming back to life after surviving being frozen for 30 years might offer some food for thought – especially to all of those in parts of Canada that feel more like Antarctica and of course, those holding onto losing positions in their portfolio. Have a great weekend, keep warm but stay frosty into the week ahead!

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – February 5, 2016

It seems like Fox Mulder and Goldman Sachs share at least one more thing in common: they both want to believe. When the poster child for capitalism questions out loud whether or not capitalism actually is working as it should, there is definitely something paranormal happening. Canadian and US discount brokerages alike also want to believe that the recent downturn in stocks won’t spook investors.

In this week’s roundup we take a look at two sides of the race for dominance in online trading. Starting first with the most recent discount brokerage deals and promotions to emerge in the race to the RSP contribution deadline. From there, we take a look at the recent performance of the US online brokerages to gauge whether investors are trading more or less as a result of the recent market volatility. Next we’ll review the upcoming investor education events and then take a look at what DIY investors were talking about on Twitter and in the investor forums.

New Month, New Deals

A big story at Canadian discount brokerages this year continues to be the fierce competition to provide incentives and promotions to DIY investors.

In the initial week of February, Virtual Brokers stepped into an already crowded deals and promotions arena bringing the number of advertised promotions to 18 with an offer that pitted it clearly against Questrade’s recent success with the Apple watch (i.e. Apple store gift card) promo.

Although Virtual Brokers’ promotion is not exactly the same, it has many popular elements as their cross-town rival.

First, it has a tiered deposit structure so that the more a client deposits, the greater the reward. In this case, the reward is commission-free trades ranging from 25 (minimum deposit required: $15,000) through to 200 (minimum deposit required: $250,000).

Under their new “classic” commission pricing structure of $9.99 per trade (flat) this equates roughly to just under $250 to and $1998 in value (depending on the deposit).

In addition to the tiered offer, Virtual Brokers has also paired the tiered offer with an entry to a contest to win a $500 Apple gift card (which can be used towards an Apple watch for example). Previously, Questrade was the only Canadian discount brokerage leveraging the Apple watch as part of its promotional mix.

What is interesting about Virtual Brokers’ latest promotion is that it sets the deposit bar far higher than Questrade does in order to qualify for a modest incentive (VB’s deal requires $15,000 minimum whereas Questrade has 6 offers requiring $5,000 or less). That means the barrier to qualify for a promotion is much higher than with Virtual Brokers than with Questrade.

Another interesting observation is that with Virtual Brokers now in the deals arena there are only 4 online brokerages without some kind of publicized deal for DIY investors: CIBC Investor’s Edge, Interactive Brokers, Qtrade Investor and RBC Direct Investing.

Distribution of current discount brokerage deals & promotions (as of February 5, 2016)

That said, Interactive Brokers does offer a referral bonus (that benefits the referrer not so much the referee) and Qtrade Investor is running an RSP contest, however unlike in previous years, CIBC Investor’s Edge and RBC Direct Investing have yet to step forward with any major offers.

As the month progresses, competition should continue to heat up. As most of these offers show, however, many of the deadlines for these promotions fall after the RSP contribution deadline of February 29th which means that while there are some limited-time offers, there’s still plenty of selection for those that are looking to see what else pops up.

A Volatile Combination

Volatility may bring opportunity, but many DIY investors in the US pulled back on their trading in the most recent quarter. With the exception of one brokerage, most of the publicly traded US online brokerages saw less activity in the face of global equity volatility and crude oil in freefall.

One of the key indicators of that trading activity, known as “daily average revenue trades” (DARTs), saw quarter over quarter (QoQ) and year over year (YoY) declines across the board. DARTs specifically measure the total number of trades over trading days in a given period.

According to recent earnings releases from key players in the DIY brokerage space, including TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwab, and E*trade, retail traders were marginally less involved in recent swings. Out of all the discount brokerages researched, E*Trade showed the worst performance DART wise (displayed below) and on the new accounts front. New accounts for E*Trade tumbled 34% YoY, the firm is leading in alternative measures of client engagement however.

A key trend in two of the biggest discount brokerages was the client utilization of mobile apps for trading.

E*Trade indicated 14% of their 2015 DART volume was done on a mobile device. Similarly, TD Ameritrade set an internal record of 18% DART volume from mobile. Mobile trading will be a key variable for all online brokers going forward, as it represents a new age of engagement and functionality.

Ideally, the optimal combination for an online brokerage would be increasing DART volume while seeing increasing client account equity. This would indicate clients are engaged with the firm’s services and keen on putting capital to work. Fortunately, this was the case for Interactive Brokers, where customer equity was up 19% YoY with 4% DART growth vs 2014.

Interactive Brokers was also the clear winner new assets wise, while E*trade, TD Ameritrade and Charles Schwab found it harder to grow assets. Interactive Brokers Group stood out as their clients embraced their cutting edge technology and ramped up their activity (and equity) in the face of volatility. Of course, Interactive Brokers is certainly smaller than their peers so percentage growth can mask the difference that scale and size have on the ability to show positive growth.

Nonetheless, the trading habits at these particular firms show that the active traders are drawn to the volatility whereas many of the less or moderately active investors tend to step back and let the dust settle. For many DIY investors currently watching the Canadian markets, as well as several Canadian online brokerages there seems to be a growing hope that the dust settles sooner rather than later.

Event Horizon

What better way to beat the cold this month than to huddle up for an investor education seminar or webinar. Coming up this week are sessions on Technical Analysis, Registered Accounts, ETFs, Options and avoiding common trader pitfalls – and that’s all before Wednesday!

February 9th

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

TD Direct Investing – Building Wealth Through Registered Accounts

Scotia iTRADE – Top Mistakes Made by Investors with Pro Market Advisors

Desjardins Online Brokerage (Disnat) – Meet the 18-30 Broker@ge Team at 360d

February 10th

TD Direct Investing – Building Wealth Through Registered Accounts

Desjardins Online Brokerage (Disnat) – Discover the Benefits of the TFSA

NBDB – Equities and ETFs – [Fr]

RBC Direct Investing – The ETF Selection Process: Navigating the ETF Landscape – RBC Global Asset Management

February 11th

Scotia iTRADE – Options Trading: Myths versus Reality with Montreal Exchange

TD Direct Investing – Advanced Options

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

DIY investors on Twitter paused to take a breath after a wild start to this year’s trading activity. Mentioned this week are CIBC Investor’s Edge, Credential Direct, Questrade, Scotia iTRADE and TD Direct Investing.

From the Forums

Asset A Location?

One of Canada’s largest online brokerages, TD Direct Investing, was the focus of this post on the Reddit personal finance Canada section. In particular, one user was curious to know why there was so much ‘in person’ activity required for an online investment.

Year Right

In this post from Canadian Money Forum, Interactive Brokers’ RSP contribution feature was a cause for confusion because it required individuals to select the tax year for the contribution to apply to. Read on to find out more about how this issue was finally resolved.

Into the Close

That does if for this edition of the roundup. Whether you’re gearing up for the “big game” this weekend or simply looking to take advantage of the ‘bad break’ in the markets – have a super weekend! For all the readers in BC, happy Family Day long weekend!

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – January 8, 2016

source: giphy

The start of the 2016 trading year has been more than a bit loonie. Circuit breakers tripping and then being pulled in China, RBC raising mortgage rates in Canada and the price of oil continuing to plunge have made for quite an opening act to 2016. For Canadian discount brokerages, planning for their busiest season in 2016 just seems to have gotten much more interesting as they are now tasked with enticing DIY investors into opening online trading accounts.

In this week’s roundup, we take a look at the best bet Canadian discount brokerages have to woo investors in our recap of the new promotions that appeared in week one. Next we take a look at one brokerage’s strategy to appeal to the younger generation of investors and potentially encroach on turf well defended by low-cost brokerages. From there we’ll recap the upcoming investor education events and the activity of DIY investors on Twitter. Lastly we’ll close out with some interesting conversations on the Canadian investor forums.

Discount brokerage deals tick up

The discount brokerage deals and promotions activity showed signs of coming back to life this past week. Heading into January, the number of advertised promotional offers fell to 11 however unlike the major stock market indices, there was a modest uptick with a total of three additional offers joining the list.

The promotional offers were a mix of extensions and revivals of deals we had seen earlier in 2015. It was interesting to note, however, that most of these offers had expiry dates that fell just after the RRSP contribution deadline of February 29th.

Both BMO InvestorLine and Questrade tossed in a pair of offers this past week. For BMO InvestorLine, it was a case of repackaging offers that had officially expired at the beginning of January.

The first offer, which is their refer-a-friend promotion, actually changed quite substantially. BMO InvestorLine is now offering to give $50 cash back to both a referrer and referee if the referee deposits at least $50,000. Previously BMO InvestorLine was offering up to $300 cash back to individuals for referring new clients and $100 to new clients that opened accounts with at least $250,000.

BMO InvestorLine’s other offer to launch this month provided individuals with either $200 (on deposits of at least $100,000) or $600 (of at least $250,000) cash back plus 100 commission-free equity trades (commissions to be rebated later in the year). This offer is substantially larger than the commission-free trade offer that expired early January. In the case of that promotion, individuals were being offered 20 commission-free trades which were good for a year and $200 cash back for deposits of at least $100,000.

The battle for the $100,000+ deposit threshold seems to be a two-horse race at this point between Questrade, who is offering up a $500 Apple gift card and BMO InvestorLine with their $200 cash back + 100 trade promo.

At the other end of the deposit spectrum, Questrade put forward two nearly identical commission-free trading offers. The offers consist of either one, two or three months of commission-free trading depending on the deposit levels. Interestingly, the major difference between the offers is the lowest deposit tier of one offer is $1,000 and the other is $2,000. These two offers give Questrade the clear lead in terms of the number of promotions (7) being offered by a brokerage to self-directed investors with 6 of those offers having a minimum deposit of either $1,000 or $2,000.

Another interesting observation in the deals arena is that Scotia iTrade has yet to replace its major offer that expired at the end of December. They did step back into the deals race by extending their refer-a-friend offer but it remains to be seen if they are launching something bigger and bolder heading into the RRSP deadline.

Be sure to check the deals and promotions section regularly through January and February as there are likely to be more announcements of offers in the coming weeks.

Fountain of youth

One of the major buzzwords around the financial services and wealth management space in 2014 and 2015 was ‘millenials’. Specifically, many Canadian online brokerages were trying to figure out ways to make their products and platforms more appealing to the ‘up and coming’ generation of investors.

This past week, it was interesting to note that Desjardins Online Brokerage is now offering a program specifically geared towards individuals between the ages of 18 to 30 years of age.

At first blush, the new program known as ‘Broker@ge 18 – 30’ seems to tick the most relevant boxes for younger investors. Specifically, there are no inactivity fees and no asset minimums to maintain free registered accounts. To sweeten the deal, Desjardins Online Brokerage is also including $50 in commission credits. This program applies specifically to Disnat Classic which is generally geared towards less active investors. On an interesting note, Desjardins also managed to snap a picture of a very “millennial” group of individuals huddled in the Desjardins investor centre.

Looking across the Canadian discount brokerage space, there are only a handful (currently) of incentive programs offered to ‘young’ investors. Virtual Brokers, for example, has their Kickstarter program aimed at students and recent post-secondary graduates; Interactive Brokers has a lower minimum deposit requirement ($3,000 vs $10,000) for individuals 25 years old and younger; and Questrade offers to waive account inactivity fees for clients 25 years and under . While BMO InvestorLine did have a youth-oriented offer for a good portion of last year, there is a lack of bank-owned Canadian discount brokerage that offer up a youth-focused program along with similar incentives.

As was the case at the outset of 2015, Desjardins Online Brokerage is launching 2016 with a new program and it is likely that this move into the younger investor segment will not go unnoticed by their cross-town rivals National Bank Direct Brokerage, but also by the independent brokerages Questrade and Virtual Brokers who actively market to the younger investor segments.

Tweets of the week

With all the activity in markets this past week, there was definitely an uptick in chatter on Twitter. Interestingly many of the tweets provided user feedback to the latest platform rollouts from TD Direct Investing and also Questrade.

Event Horizon

It’s a New Year, and a busy week ahead for discount brokerage-sponsored investor education events. Here are some upcoming sessions that may be of interest to yield hounds, those who are interested in trading strategies, and new to investing. Primers on options, technical analysis, and tax free savings accounts (TFSAs) round out this week’s selection.

January 11

Scotia iTRADE – Generating Income Using iShares ETFs

January 13

TD Direct Investing – The Power of Tax-Free Savings Accounts

Scotia iTRADE – After Your First 10 Trades with Sarah Potter

January 14

Scotia iTRADE – The Ten Most Frequent Mistakes Traders or Investors Make with AJ Monte

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

TD Direct Investing – The Power of Tax-Free Savings Accounts

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Investing in Options

TD Direct Investing – The Power of Tax-Free Savings Accounts

From the Forums

Best brokerage for TFSA?

With TFSA’s on the minds of many DIY investors, this post from RedFlagDeals.com investor thread asks if there is a brokerage that may be better than others when it comes to TFSAs. While we’re a little hesitant to crown a single brokerage as the best brokerage for TFSAs, there are some interesting points made by the posts in the thread.

Questrade vs. Tangerine

While not an apples to apples (or oranges to oranges) comparison, the slow and steady DIY investor crowd tends to ask about the value of going with one or the other of these low-cost providers. In this post from the reddit PersonalFinanceCanada thread, there are some interesting perspectives offered to a recently debt-free DIY investor.

Into the Close

That’s a wrap for the first week of 2016. For those watching the NFL playoffs, it might just be a more volatile weekend than the week that just finished. Nonetheless, it should be a great way to think about something other than rattled markets for a few days. See you next week!

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – January 1, 2016

Happy New Year! Welcome to the first edition of the discount brokerage roundup for 2016. It’s hard to believe that we’re turning the page into another year already but when time flies this fast it must mean that we’re having fun.

With a number of market closures, a gearing down of activity with Canadian DIY investors over the final week of 2015,and probably because everyone is out watching Star Wars, it was an opportune time to look back at all of what’s happened with Canadian discount brokerages in the short span of just one year and muse about what it all means for 2016.

To make it a little easier to navigate all of what happened, we picked the stories that stood out each month and put them together into one super roundup of roundups for 2015.

While it is nowhere near as fun as a hot tub time machine, tardis or a delorian, here is a trip into the most interesting and standout stories from around the Canadian discount brokerage industry for 2015.

January 2015: Questrade Punches Heavier

Questrade stepped into the Canadian ETF provider arena signalling a big move for the small independent brokerage. Questrade would go on to make 2015 a year in which they diversified their business away from just an online brokerage to become a wealth management company offering robo-advisor, ETFs and other managed wealth services. Tack on platform updates and a tonne of promotions month in and month out and Questrade’s start in January was just the tip of iceberg.

February 2015: The Website Update Frenzy Begins

Desjardins Online Brokerage’s launch of their new website unlocked an avalanche of website refreshes from Canadian discount brokerages in 2015. The move from their old website to a more modern, user-focused design signalled a clear shift to the “less is more” model from Canadian brokerages. Five other brokerages would also go on to redesign their websites, and, even though Desjardins’ website did not receive high praise in the Globe and Mail online brokerage rankings, the design and user experience considerations that went into the Desjardins Online Brokerage site were thoughtful and trendsetting for 2015.

March 2015: #SocialMediaMatters

Although it had been a long time coming, one of the most interesting stories of the online brokerage world in Canada was watching TD Direct Investing change the social media game for discount brokerages on Twitter. Unlike every other Canadian discount brokerage (and even many financial services firms) on Twitter, TD Direct Investing undertook the bold move to allow multiple representatives the freedom to tweet instead of having just one solitary voice. Considering the number of people to coordinate, this was a huge risk to take on TD’s part however the gamble appeared to pay off in spades. The pivotal moment when things started to really take off, however, started with their webinar in March. With over 300 live attendees (a headline grabbing number on its own) and thousands more registered, TD Direct Investing’s team could now communicate directly and transparently with DIY investors and with each other all in real time. TD Direct Investing would later go on to have its own Twitter account however no other brokerage, except for maybe Questrade (who has had a 4 year head start over TD on Twitter) has had the kind of impact on social media that TD Direct Investing had in 2015.

April 2015: Keeping it in the Family

For a discount brokerage that built its brand on not charging DIY investors account or inactivity fees, the road to Questrade becoming one that does charge inactivity fees has been a bumpy one. This past April, Questrade made yet another bold move to enable clients the ability to avoid  paying inactivity fee by enabling family members to pool resources and have inactivity fees waived.

While offers to clients in the same household are nothing new, what was interesting about this move was that it offered Questrade yet another feather in its cap of being able to compete with brokerages big and small when it came to client acquisition. Empowering family members with more than just referral bonuses means that the value to customer goes beyond a one time deposit or commission credit. Later through the year, Questrade would also raise its fees, but when the firm goes about making itself more personable online, it’s something that the former ‘no fee’ brokerage can pull off without the kind of backlash it has faced in the past. Well played Questrade, well played.

May 2015: We Sherwood Like Lower Commissions

It’s interesting that one of the biggest developments in the online brokerage space in 2015 came from a non-Canadian brokerage. The firm Robinhood, which many Canadian investors may not have even heard of, offers commission free trading to its clients. Yes, you read that right.

In May 2015, Robinhood announced they’d be going global to bring commission-free trading to countries outside of the US with a first stop to Australia.

Whether or not Canada is a place that Robinhood would consider coming to anytime soon is anyone’s guess however the next wave in commission price drops would almost certainly be triggered by news of Robinhood moving into Canada or of another firm here deciding that commission-free trading is possible.

June 2015: Kicking Assets, Taking Names

Yet again, it was another US-based brokerage that grabbed the spotlight for the most interesting development for the first summer month. In particular, Interactive Brokers (which has a Canadian subsidiary) released stats showing just how well they’ve been crushing it when it comes to asset and account growth. Interactive Brokers is almost a goto name amongst active traders – something that is the envy of online brokerages everywhere.

Their secret? Being better at technology and automation apparently. Regionally, however, Interactive Brokers continued to get frozen out of the brokerage rankings throughout the year so despite being a firm that now caters to less active investors and those seeking registered accounts, their “trader” reputation seems to be working against them. Numbers don’t lie and it seems like they’re anything but concerned about not being ranked by a Canadian ranking as they nailed top spot in Barrons’ 2015 online brokerage ranking.

July 2015: Big Screen Not Enough for the Small Screen

In a bid to spark some interest on social media, the folks at Scotia iTRADE decided to try getting investors into their new investor centre to take selfies. Looking back, it’s safe to say that the contest response was a little underwhelming.

It was, however, interesting to see that the lure of the promise of a free movie ticket wasn’t enough to generate the kind of buzz that a free giveaway normally would on social media. As the only brokerage that has not lowered its standard commission prices to compete with every other Canadian brokerage, Scotia iTRADE is clearly incentivizing clients with larger balances to pay attention. It was not entirely surprising, therefore, to see that the promise of a single movie ticket just couldn’t convince DIY investors to make the trek to the downtown Toronto investor centre during the Pan-Am game HOV restrictions.

August 2015: Solving Problems 140 Characters at a Time

One of the realities of the 2015 world is that when consumers have a problem with a company, social media can be a powerful medium to escalate the issue to a global audience. Until this year, many Canadian discount brokerages who were on Twitter were spared the very long back and forth exchanges that can arise between vocal clients and client service reps. In August, however, a rather interesting conversation took place between Scotia iTRADE and one of their apparent clients. While it started seemingly innocuously, the issue eventually gave way to a weeks long affair. The conversation ended up stretching over a couple of months and involved just one individual and multiple brokerages encouraging Scotia iTRADE’s unhappy client to give a different brokerage a try. It was clearly a standout moment as it signaled just how different the ‘customer service’ model has become and how brokerages have now rethink their approach to resolution. (skip to slide 16 in the tweets of the week for the first tweet in this conversation).

September 2015: The Nail in the High Commission Coffin

It’s hard to define an exact moment when the days of high trading commissions became numbered. When RBC Direct Investing lowered their standard pricing to 9.95 per trade in early 2014, it set off a shockwave that culminated in September of 2015 with HSBC InvestDirect finally conceding to lower their standard commission price to under $10 per trade. While RBC Direct Investing enjoyed the spotlight for ‘going first’ (even though the smaller independent brokerages were already charging less than $10/trade), the spotlight for being last now belongs exclusively to Scotia iTrade. Whether or not the two points are related is hard to say, however September was also the month in which the JD Power discount brokerage rankings were published. The data from those ratings clearly illustrate how tight the race is between Canadian discount brokerages and underscores the challenge facing Scotia iTrade to justify the higher price per trade for certain client segments.

October 2015: Raising the Bar on Investor Education

Providing DIY investors with educational resources and tools is something that only a handful of Canadian online brokerages have fully committed to. Among the Canadian brokerages who do provide investor education, however, TD Direct Investing is a juggernaut of seminars, webinars and content. One of the most interesting developments in 2015 for Canadian brokerages was the shift of TD Direct Investing away from doing lots of in person seminars to focusing on delivering educational content online (usually via webinars). What was particularly game-changing for the brokerage-provided education space, was the event TD Direct Investing held with Tastytrade founder and famous options trader Tom Sosnoff. Nothing quite like this event has been put together (in recent memory) for DIY investors and it illustrates just how much harder it will be for Canadian brokerages to deliver quality, entertaining investor education content now that TD Direct Investing is leveraging a powerful platform (ThinkOrSwim) and a very polished production in Tastytrade.

November 2015: Here Come the Droids

Robo-advisors continued to make big strides with investors in 2015. One of the standout stories from the Canadian brokerage world was the news that BMO may be stepping into the robo-advisor arena in the near future. Already Virtual Brokers and Questrade have either affiliations with or their own in house robo-advisory, however a major bank supporting the robo-advisor model could touch off a whole other layer of competition amongst brokerages. While the adoption and understanding of robo-advisors by Canadian investors is still relatively small, the fact that robo-advisors have gained so much traction within such a short amount of time means that this story is only bound to pick up speed going forward into 2016.

December 2015: A Very Good Year

With the 2015 edition of the Globe and Mail discount brokerage rankings published in December this year, it was interesting to see how all the major online brokerages fared over all the rankings. The focus of Rob Carrick’s review clearly shifted away from price and into the realm of user experience – in particular the websites of Canada’s discount brokerages. SparxTrading collected the results of the big three analyses that typically take place and saw that of all the brokerages, BMO InvestorLine appeared to have a banner year.  Also of interest was the strong showing this year by Questrade and TD Direct Investing. Equally interesting was the consensus view that emerged on HSBC InvestDirect has a lot of ground to make up to compete with other online discount brokerages.

Looking back across the past year of news makers for the weekly roundups, there are certainly names that continuously come up and names who barely get mentioned. In that, there may be a method to the weekly roundup madness after all: Brokerages who are busy doing interesting things, will get typically get covered or mentioned in the weekly roundup. For Canadian discount brokerages heading into 2016, this year is one in which being interesting is going to be more important than ever before and we can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next.

Into the Close

That’s a wrap on the special roundup of roundups for 2015. Our regularly scheduled tweets and events will be back next week. From everyone here at SparxTrading.com, we wish you and your families a happy and prosperous New Year. And, for the traders and DIY investors out there a very profitable year too!

Happy New Year (source: Giphy)

 

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Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – January 1, 2016

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Expired deals

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

The expired offers are:

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

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

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

Extended deals

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

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

New deals

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

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

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

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

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

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

Discount Brokerage Deals

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Commission/Cash Offer/Promotion Type Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer Details Link Deadline
Jitney Trade A Sparx Trading exclusive offer! Use the promo code “Sparx Trading” when signing up for a new account with Jitneytrade and receive access to their preferred pricing package. n/a Discounted Commission Rates none For more details click here none
Open a new qualifying account with HSBC InvestDirect and you could be eligible to receive up to 30 commission-free North American equity trades. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. n/a 30 commission-free trades. 60 days Winter free trade promotion March 15, 2016
Open a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) and receive $50 commission credit . Use promo code: kdkfnbbc $1,000 $50 commission credit none none none
Refer a friend to Questrade and when they open an account you receive $25 cash back and they receive either A) $25; B) $50; C) $75; D) $100; or E) $250 depending on the amount deposited amount. Enter code: 476104302388759 during account sign up to qualify. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for eligibility and additional bonus payment structure and minimum balance requirements. A) $1,000 – $9,999 B) $10,000 – $24,999 C) $25,000 – $49,999 D) $50,000 -$99,999 E) $100,000+ $25 cash back (for referrer per referral; $50 bonus cash back for every 3rd referral) For referred individuals: A) $25 cash back B) $50 cash back C) $75 cash back D) $100 cash back E) $250 cash back Cash deposited into Questrade billing account within 7 days after funding period ends (90 days) Refer a friend terms and conditions Code Number: 476104302388759 none
Open and fund a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) with at least $1,000 and you may be eligible to receive 5 commission-free trades. Use promo code 5FREETRADES when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions carefully. $1,000 5 commission-free trades 60 days 5 commission-free trade offer December 31, 2016
Open and fund a new qualifying account (registered or margin) with at least A) $1,000; B) $25,000 or C) $50,000 and receive either A) 1 month; B) 2 months or C) 3 months of commission-free trading. Use promo code UNLIMITEDW16 when registering. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $1,000 B) $25,000 C) $50,000 Commission-free trades A) 1 month B) 2 months C) 3 months 3 months unlimited trading March 4, 2016
Open and fund a new qualifying account (registered or margin) with at least A) $2,000; B) $25,000 or C) $50,000 and receive either A) 1 month; B) 2 months or C) 3 months of commission-free trading. Use promo code RSP2016 when registering. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $2,000 B) $25,000 C) $50,000 Commission-free trades A) 1 month B) 2 months C) 3 months RSP 2016 Promotion March 1, 2016
Open and fund a new online trading account with Questrade with at least $5,000 and you could be eligible to receive 25 commission-free trades good for use for up to 1 year. Use promo code NEWYEAR2016 when applying to be eligible for this offer. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions for this promotion. $5,000 25 commission-free trades Jan. 1, 2017 25 Commission-free Trade for 1 Year Promotion February 29, 2016
Scotia iTrade If you refer a friend/family member who is not already a Scotia iTrade account holder to them, both you and your friend get a bonus of either cash or free trades. You have to use the referral form to pass along your info as well as your friend/family members’ contact info in order to qualify. There are lots of details/conditions to this deal so be sure to read the details link. A) $10,000 B) $50,000+ A) You(referrer): $50 or 10 free trades; Your “Friend”: $50 or 10 free trades (max total value:$99.90) B) You(referrer): $100 cash or 50 free trades; Your “Friend”: $100 cash or 50 free trades (max total value: $499.50) 60 days Refer A Friend to Scotia iTrade March 31, 2016
Open and fund a new account (or existing clients can transfer in new assets) at Credential Direct with at least A) $15,000; B) $50,000; C) $150,000; D) $500,000 or E) $1,000,000 and you may be eligible to receive at least A) $75; B) $125; C) $200; D) $500 or E) $1,000. Applicants need to use code CASH2016RSP and fund account in order to qualify for cash back offer. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $15,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $149,999 C) $150,000 – $499,999 D) $500,000 – $999,999 E) $1,000,000+ A) $75 B) $125 C) $200 D) $500 E) $1,000 Cash credited to account on Oct. 15, 2016. Cash Back Offer March 15, 2016
Open and fund a new National Bank Direct Brokerage account with at least A) $20,000 or B) $100,00 and you may be eligible to receive up to either A) $500 or B) $1,000 in commission credits. Use promo code CashBack2016 when registering for an account to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for additional details. A) $20,000 – $99,999 B) $100,000+ A) $500 in commission credit B) $1,000 in commission credit 90 days Cash back promo March 31, 2016
Scotia iTrade Open and fund a new account at Scotia iTrade with at least A) $25,000; B) $50,000; C) $100,000 or $250,000+ and you may be eligible to receive up to A) 75; B) 150; C) 300 or D) 500 commission-free trades. Use promo code TRADES-RSP16 when opening account to be eligible. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $25,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $99,999 C) $100,000 – $249,999 D) $250,000+ A) 75 commission-free trades B) 150 commission-free trades C) 300 commission-free trades D) 500 commission-free trades 90 days Free Trade Offer March 31, 2016
Open and fund a new account at TD Direct Investing with at least A) $25,000; B) $50,000 or C) $100,000+ and you may be eligible to receive up to A) 50; B) 100 or C) 200 commission-free trades. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $25,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $99,999 C) $100,000 A) 50 commission-free trades B) 100 commission-free trades C) 200 commission-free trades 60 days Commission-free Trading Offer April 15, 2015
Disnat Disnat is offering new & existing clients $500 in commission credits which can be used for up to 6 months. To be eligible, new/existing clients need to deposit $50,000 into a Disnat account. You’ll have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code Disnat500. See details link for more info. $50,000 $500 commission credit 6 months Disnat $500 Commission Credit Promo March 31, 2016
BMO InvestorLine If you (an existing BMO InvestorLine client) refer a new client to BMO InvestorLine and they open an account with at least $50,000 the referrer and the referee may both be eligible to receive $50 cash. To qualify the referee must use the email of the referrer that is linked to their BMO InvestorLine account. See terms and conditions for full details. $50,000 You(referrer): $50; Your Friend(referee): $50 Payout occurs after 45 days (subject to conditions). BMO InvestorLine Refer-a-Friend June 30, 2016
Open or fund an eligible account with at least $100,000 and make at least one commission generating trade and you may be eligible to receive a $500 gift card for the Apple Store. Use promo code APPLEWATCH when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions carefully. $100,000 $500 Apple Store gift card Gift card will be sent within 30 days of client meeting eligibility requirements. Apple Watch Promo March 31, 2016
BMO InvestorLine Open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine, and fund it with at least A) $100,000 or B) $250,000 in net new assets and you may be eligible to receive either A) $200 cash back and 100 commission-free equity trades or B) $600 cash back and 100 commission-free equity trades. Use promo code WinterSD600 when signing up to be eligible. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. A) $100,000 – $249,999 B) $250,000+ A) $200 cash back + 100 commission-free equity trades. B) $600 cash back + 100 commission-free equity trades. 60 days for equity trades. Cash back will be deposited the week of Oct. 10, 2016. Commission rebates will be paid week of Oct. 10, 2016. Winter 2016 Promotion March 1, 2016

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

Transfer Fee Deals

Company Brief Description Maximum Transfer Fee Coverage Amount Minimum Deposit Amount for Transfer Fee Eligibility Details Link Deadline
Transfer $15,000 or more to RBC Direct Investing and they will pay up to $135 in transfer fees $135 $15,000 Transfer Fee Rebate Details none
Transfer $25,000 or more from another brokerage and Credential Direct will cover up to $150 in transfer fees. Use promo code SWITCHME when signing up to qualify for the transfer promotion. $150 $25,000 Credential Direct Transfer Fee Rebate none
Qtrade Investor will reimburse your transfer fee up to $150 when transferring a balance of $10,000 or more. For reimbursement, please mail or fax a copy of your statement from the transferring institution that shows the transfer charge to Qtrade Investor at 604.484.2627 and indicate your Qtrade Investor account number. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee Rebate none
Move your brokerage account to Questrade and they’ll cover the transfer-out fee up to $150. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee Promo none
Scotia iTrade Transfer at least $25,000 or more in new assets to Scotia iTrade when opening a new account and Scotia iTrade may reimburse transfer fees up to $150. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. $150 $25,000 Free trade offer March 31, 2016
Transfer $25,000 or more into a CIBC Investor’s Edge account and they will reimburse up to $135 in brokerage transfer fees. Clients must call customer service to request rebate after transfer made. $135 $25,000 confirmed with reps. Contact client service for more info (1-800-567-3343) none
Transfer $25,000 or more to a National Bank Direct Brokerage account and they will pay up to $135 plus taxes in transfer fees $135 $25,000 Transfer Fee Rebate none
Disnat Disnat is offering up to $150 to cover the cost of transfer fees from another institution. To be eligible, new/existing clients need to deposit $50,000 into a Disnat account. You’ll have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code Disnat500. See details link for more info. $150 $50,000 Disnat $500 Commission Credit Promo March 31, 2016
Scotia iTrade Transfer $15,000 or more to Scotia iTrade from another Canadian brokerage, and iTrade may pay up to $150 in transfer fees. $150 $15,000 500 Free Trade or $500 Cash Back Offer December 31, 2015