Tag: HSBC InvestDirect

HSBC InvestDirect

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Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – March 2017

March is finally here. With the promise of spring ahead of us and the RSP deadline now behind us, attention is going to shift to tax season and where, how and with whom those refunds will be invested.  The great news for DIY investors is that there are still lots of promotional offers to choose from when looking at potential Canadian discount brokerage deals, so there’s no shortage of options.

This month we kick off with a whopping 29 offers from 13 different discount brokerages. Almost all Canadian discount brokers have some kind of promotional offer (except for Interactive Brokers), even if it is just a simple transfer fee coverage offer. Like all good things, however, several of the discount brokerage deals offered this month have a particularly short shelf life expiring during or at the end of March. So, while it has been possible to see what offers might have launched through the RSP deadline, there’s a good probability that many of these deals won’t be around for the rest of the year or even until next year.

Read on to get the full breakdown of expired, extended and new offers to hit the tape this month. Of course if there are any offers that you spot or know of that other DIY investors would find useful, let us know in the comments section below.

Expired Deals

After having received a minor extension to meet the RSP contribution deadline, the RBC Direct Investing Rewards points offer officially expired on March 1st.

Extended Deals

There’s nothing like the word ‘extension’ to put a smile on the faces of procrastinators everywhere. Fortunately, two offers managed to stick around just a little while longer.

The first extension is from Desjardins Online Brokerage who extended their commission rebate offer through to April 28th. Next, Qtrade Investor extended their cash back offering until March 15th. See the table below for more details.

New Deals

Rolling into the new month, there were technically no new offers announced at the very start of March. In late February, however, Scotia iTRADE launched a new Visa card (cash back) deal that coincided with the launch of their new website. Although the offer itself didn’t appear in the promotions section at the time of writing, the link to the offer was live on their site.

Visa card values range from $50 to $500 for deposits that range from $25,000 to $1,000,000+. See 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, 2017
Open and fund a new registered account at Virtual Brokers with at least A) $5,000; B) $25,000; or C) $50,000+ in new assets and you may be eligible to receive A) $30; B) $50; C) $100 cash back. Use promo code RRSPCB2017 when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $5,000 – $24,999 B) $25,000 – $49,999 C) $50,000+ A) $30 B) $50 C) $100 Cash back will be deposited just after October 31, 2017 RSP cash back bonus April 30, 2017
Open and fund a new account at Virtual Brokers with at least $5,000 and you may be eligible to receive 2 months of commission-free equity trading and a $250 USD/mo credit towards Edge Trader Pro for 2 months. Use promo code 2MFREE2017 at sign up to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for details. $5,000 2 months commission-free equity trading + $250 USD/mo platform fee rebate. 2 months 2 months free trading April 30, 2017
Disnat Desjardins Online Brokerage is offering new clients 1% of assets transferred into the new account in the form of commission credits (to a maximum value of $1,000). Minimum qualifying deposit is $10,000. To qualify, individuals will have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code DisnatFlex or email: [email protected]. See details link for more info. $10,000 1% of assets transferred in the form of commission-credits (max credits: $1,000) 6 months Disnat 1% Commission Credit Promo April 28, 2017
Open and fund a new account with Virtual Brokers with at least $10,000 and you may be eligible to receive a commission-credit of up to $10,000. Use promo code 10K2017 at sign up to qualify. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. $10,000 Up to $10,000 in commission credits (@ $9.95 per trade) deadline to use trades March 31, 2017. Commission rebates to be offered in January 2018. $10,000 Commission Credit Offer March 31, 2017
Open and fund a new account by March 31st with at least A) $20,000 or B) $100,00+ and you may qualify to receive up to either A) $500 or B) $1000 in commission reimbursements. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full offer details. A) $20,000 – $99,999 B) $100,000+ A) up to $500 commission reimbursements B) up to $1000 commission reimbursements 90 days National Bank Direct Brokerage Cash Back Promotion March 31, 2017
Open and fund a new account at TD Direct Investing with at least A) $25,000; B) $50,000 or C) $100,000+ and you may be eligible to receive A) 50; B) 100 or C) 200 commission-free trades. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full offer details A) $25,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $99,999 C) $100,000+ A) 50 commission-free trades (max value: $500) B) 100 commission-free trades (max value: $1000) C) 200 commission-free trades (max value: $2000) April 28th, 2017 Commission charges will be credited the month following when the charge was incurred. TD Direct Investing 200 Commission-free Trade Offer March 31, 2017
Open and fund a new account with Scotia iTRADE with at least A) $25,000; B) $50,000; C) $100,000 or D) $250,000+ and you may be eligible to receive A) 75; B) 150; C) 200 or D) $250,000+ in commission-free trades. In addition, new clients will also receive FlightDesk active trading platform free for 90 days. Use promo code W17FT when signing up to be eligible. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $25,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $99,999 C) $100,000 – $249,999 D) $250,000+ A) 75 (max value: $749.25) B) 150 (max value: $1498.50) C) 200 (max value: $1,998) D) 250 (max value: $2,497.50) 90 days Winter 2017 Free Trade Offer March 31, 2017
CIBC Investors Edge Open and fund a new account at CIBC Investor’s Edge with at least A) $50,000 or B) $100,000 and you may be eligible to receive A) $200 or B) $400 in cash back. Also, individuals who setup a regular investment plan may also be eligible to receive 50 commission-free equity trades. Be sure to read terms and conditions for more information. A) $50,000 – $99,999 B) $100,000+ A) $200 B) $400 +Bonus 50 commission-free trades for setting up Regular Investment Plan. Cash back will be deposited within 30 business days after account funding. Commission-free equity trades good for 60 days after setup of Regular Investment Plan. Cash Back & Free Trade Offer March 31, 2017
BMO InvestorLine Open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine, and fund it with at least A) $100,000; B) $200,000 or C) $300,000+ in net new assets and you may be eligible to receive A) $200; B) $400 or C) $750 cash back. Use promo code PROMO750 when signing up to be eligible. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. A) $100,000 – $199,999 B) $200,000 – $299,999 C) $300,000+ Cash back bonus A) $200 B) $400 C) $750 Cash back will be deposited the week of November 6, 2017. 2017 Winter Campaign April 2, 2017

Expired Offers
Open a new account with HSBC InvestDirect and you may be eligible to receive up to 50 commission-free North American equity trades. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full offer details. n/a 50 commission-free North American equity trades 60 days HSBC InvestDirect Cash Bonus Promo March 3, 2017
Open and fund a new account with Qtrade Investor with a deposit of at least A) $25,000; B) $50,000; C) $100,000; D) $250,000; E) $500,000 or F) $1,000,000 or more and you may be eligible to receive a cash back bonus of A) $25; B) $50; C) $100; D) $250; E) $500 or F) $1,000. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $25,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $99,999 C) $100,000 – $249,999 D) $250,000 – $499,999 E) $500,000 – $999,999 F) $1,000,000+ A) $25 B) $50 C) $100 D) $250 E) $500 F) $1,000 Cash back will be deposited by July 31, 2017. Qtrade Investor Cash Back Bonus March 15, 2017
Open and fund a new account or fund an existing account at Credential Direct with at least A) $15,000; B) $50,000; C) $150,000; D) $500,000 or E) $1,000,000+ in new assets and you may be eligible to receive A) $75; B) $125; C) $200; D) $500 or E) $1,000. Use promo code CASH2017RSP when signing up. As an added bonus, Credential Direct will donate an amount equivalent to 10% of the bonus paid out to United Way. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $15,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $149,999 C) $150,000 – $499,999 D) $500,000 – $999,999 E) 1,000,000+ A) $75 B) $125 C) $200 D) $500 E) $1,000 Cash back will be deposited week of October 9, 2017. Credential Direct Cash Back Promotion March 16, 2017
Last Updated: Mar. 17, 2017 17:35 PT

Referral Promotions

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Incentive Structure Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer Deposit Details Link Deadline
Refer a friend to Questrade and when they open an account you receive $25 cash back and they receive either A) $25; B) $50; C) $75; D) $100; or E) $250 depending on the amount deposited amount. Enter code: 476104302388759 during account sign up to qualify. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for eligibility and additional bonus payment structure and minimum balance requirements. A) $1,000 – $9,999 B) $10,000 – $24,999 C) $25,000 – $49,999 D) $50,000 -$99,999 E) $100,000+ $25 cash back (for referrer per referral; $50 bonus cash back for every 3rd referral) For referred individuals: A) $25 cash back B) $50 cash back C) $75 cash back D) $100 cash back E) $250 cash back Cash deposited into Questrade billing account within 7 days after funding period ends (90 days) Refer a friend terms and conditions Code Number: 476104302388759 none
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 tbd
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 45 days after minimum 90 day holding period(subject to conditions). BMO InvestorLine Refer-a-Friend June 30, 2017

Expired Offers
Open a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) and receive $50 commission credit . Use promo code: kdkfnbbc $1,000 $50 commission credit 30 days none none
Last Updated: Mar. 2, 2017 00:15 PT

Transfer Fee Promotions

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

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Mar. 2, 2017 00:25PT

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, in conjunction with MoneyTalks, is offering 3 months of the “Inside Edge” investor information service to Desjardins Online Brokerage clients. Use promo code DESJ2016 during checkout to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for more information. n/a MoneyTalks Inside Edge Discount none
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
Scotia iTrade Open and fund a new account with Scotia iTRADE with at least A) $25,000; B) $50,000; C) $100,000; D) $250,000; E) $500,000 or F) $1,000,000+ and you may be eligible to receive 50 commission-free trades plus A) 5,000; B) 7,500; C) 15,000 or D) 20,000; E) 25,000 or F) 50,000 travel points on an eligible Scotia travel points credit card. In addition, new clients will also receive FlightDesk active trading platform free for 90 days. Use promo code W17RP when signing up to be eligible. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $25,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $99,999 C) $100,000 – $249,999 D) $250,000 – $499,999 E) $500,000 – $999,999 F) $1,000,000+ Scotia reward points offer March 31, 2017
Open a new account with Virtual Brokers with a deposit of at least $1,000 (for the Classic Commission Account) and you may be eligible to win a $250 gift card to the Apple store. Use promo code 250AGC2017 during sign up to be eligible. Residents of Quebec are not eligible for this contest. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. $1,000 (Classic Commission Account) $250 Apple Gift Card Draw April 30, 2017
Open a new account with Virtual Brokers with a deposit of at least $1,000 (for the Classic Commission Account) or $5,000 (for the Commission Free Trading Account) and you may be eligible to receive a one-year subscription to access 5i Research. Use promo code 5iVB2016 when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. $1,000 (Classic Commission Account); $5,000 (Commission Free Trading Account) 5i Research Offer March 31, 2017

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Mar. 2, 2017 00:15 PT
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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – February 10, 2017

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

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

World Denomination

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Screened Out

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

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

From the Forums

Deals in Motion

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

DRIP by DRIP

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

Into the Close

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

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Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – February 2017

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

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

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

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

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

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

Expired Deals

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

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

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

Extended Deals

No deals to mention at this time

New Deals

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Discount Brokerage Deals

  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 a new account with HSBC InvestDirect and you may be eligible to receive up to 50 commission-free North American equity trades. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full offer details. n/a 50 commission-free North American equity trades 60 days HSBC InvestDirect Cash Bonus Promo March 3, 2017
Open and fund a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) with at least $1,000 and you may be eligible to receive 5 commission-free trades. Use promo code 5FREETRADES when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions carefully. $1,000 5 commission-free trades 60 days 5 commission-free trade offer December 31, 2017
Open and fund a new registered account at Virtual Brokers with at least A) $5,000; B) $25,000; or C) $50,000+ in new assets and you may be eligible to receive A) $30; B) $50; C) $100 cash back. Use promo code RRSPCB2017 when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $5,000 – $24,999 B) $25,000 – $49,999 C) $50,000+ A) $30 B) $50 C) $100 Cash back will be deposited just after October 31, 2017 RSP cash back bonus April 30, 2017
Open and fund a new account at Virtual Brokers with at least $5,000 and you may be eligible to receive 2 months of commission-free equity trading and a $250 USD/mo credit towards Edge Trader Pro for 2 months. Use promo code 2MFREE2017 at sign up to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for details. $5,000 2 months commission-free equity trading + $250 USD/mo platform fee rebate. 2 months 2 months free trading April 30, 2017
Disnat Desjardins Online Brokerage is offering new clients 1% of assets transferred into the new account in the form of commission credits (to a maximum value of $1,000). Minimum qualifying deposit is $10,000. To qualify, individuals will have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code DisnatFlex or email: [email protected]. See details link for more info. $10,000 1% of assets transferred in the form of commission-credits (max credits: $1,000) 6 months Disnat 1% Commission Credit Promo February 28, 2017
Open and fund a new account with Virtual Brokers with at least $10,000 and you may be eligible to receive a commission-credit of up to $10,000. Use promo code 10K2017 at sign up to qualify. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. $10,000 Up to $10,000 in commission credits (@ $9.95 per trade) deadline to use trades March 31, 2017. Commission rebates to be offered in January 2018. $10,000 Commission Credit Offer March 31, 2017
Open and fund a new account or fund an existing account at Credential Direct with at least A) $15,000; B) $50,000; C) $150,000; D) $500,000 or E) $1,000,000+ in new assets and you may be eligible to receive A) $75; B) $125; C) $200; D) $500 or E) $1,000. Use promo code CASH2017RSP when signing up. As an added bonus, Credential Direct will donate an amount equivalent to 10% of the bonus paid out to United Way. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $15,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $149,999 C) $150,000 – $499,999 D) $500,000 – $999,999 E) 1,000,000+ A) $75 B) $125 C) $200 D) $500 E) $1,000 Cash back will be deposited week of October 9, 2017. Credential Direct Cash Back Promotion March 16, 2017
Open and fund a new account by March 31st with at least A) $20,000 or B) $100,00+ and you may qualify to receive up to either A) $500 or B) $1000 in commission reimbursements. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full offer details. A) $20,000 – $99,999 B) $100,000+ A) up to $500 commission reimbursements B) up to $1000 commission reimbursements 90 days National Bank Direct Brokerage Cash Back Promotion March 31, 2017
Open and fund a new account with Qtrade Investor with a deposit of at least A) $25,000; B) $50,000; C) $100,000; D) $250,000; E) $500,000 or F) $1,000,000 or more and you may be eligible to receive a cash back bonus of A) $25; B) $50; C) $100; D) $250; E) $500 or F) $1,000. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $25,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $99,999 C) $100,000 – $249,999 D) $250,000 – $499,999 E) $500,000 – $999,999 F) $1,000,000+ A) $25 B) $50 C) $100 D) $250 E) $500 F) $1,000 Cash back will be deposited by July 31, 2017. Qtrade Investor Cash Back Bonus February 28, 2017
Open and fund a new account at TD Direct Investing with at least A) $25,000; B) $50,000 or C) $100,000+ and you may be eligible to receive A) 50; B) 100 or C) 200 commission-free trades. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full offer details A) $25,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $99,999 C) $100,000+ A) 50 commission-free trades (max value: $500) B) 100 commission-free trades (max value: $1000) C) 200 commission-free trades (max value: $2000) April 28th, 2017 Commission charges will be credited the month following when the charge was incurred. TD Direct Investing 200 Commission-free Trade Offer March 31, 2017
Open and fund a new account with Scotia iTRADE with at least A) $25,000; B) $50,000; C) $100,000 or D) $250,000+ and you may be eligible to receive A) 75; B) 150; C) 200 or D) $250,000+ in commission-free trades. In addition, new clients will also receive FlightDesk active trading platform free for 90 days. Use promo code W17FT when signing up to be eligible. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $25,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $99,999 C) $100,000 – $249,999 D) $250,000+ A) 75 (max value: $749.25) B) 150 (max value: $1498.50) C) 200 (max value: $1,998) D) 250 (max value: $2,497.50) 90 days Winter 2017 Free Trade Offer March 31, 2017
CIBC Investors Edge Open and fund a new account at CIBC Investor’s Edge with at least A) $50,000 or B) $100,000 and you may be eligible to receive A) $200 or B) $400 in cash back. Also, individuals who setup a regular investment plan may also be eligible to receive 50 commission-free equity trades. Be sure to read terms and conditions for more information. A) $50,000 – $99,999 B) $100,000+ A) $200 B) $400 +Bonus 50 commission-free trades for setting up Regular Investment Plan. Cash back will be deposited within 30 business days after account funding. Commission-free equity trades good for 60 days after setup of Regular Investment Plan. Cash Back & Free Trade Offer March 31, 2017
BMO InvestorLine Open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine, and fund it with at least A) $100,000; B) $200,000 or C) $300,000+ in net new assets and you may be eligible to receive A) $200; B) $400 or C) $750 cash back. Use promo code PROMO750 when signing up to be eligible. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. A) $100,000 – $199,999 B) $200,000 – $299,999 C) $300,000+ Cash back bonus A) $200 B) $400 C) $750 Cash back will be deposited the week of November 6, 2017. 2017 Winter Campaign April 2, 2017

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Feb. 1, 2017 21:15 PT

Referral Promotions

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Incentive Structure Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer Deposit Details Link Deadline
Refer a friend to Questrade and when they open an account you receive $25 cash back and they receive either A) $25; B) $50; C) $75; D) $100; or E) $250 depending on the amount deposited amount. Enter code: 476104302388759 during account sign up to qualify. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for eligibility and additional bonus payment structure and minimum balance requirements. A) $1,000 – $9,999 B) $10,000 – $24,999 C) $25,000 – $49,999 D) $50,000 -$99,999 E) $100,000+ $25 cash back (for referrer per referral; $50 bonus cash back for every 3rd referral) For referred individuals: A) $25 cash back B) $50 cash back C) $75 cash back D) $100 cash back E) $250 cash back Cash deposited into Questrade billing account within 7 days after funding period ends (90 days) Refer a friend terms and conditions Code Number: 476104302388759 none
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 tbd
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 45 days after minimum 90 day holding period(subject to conditions). BMO InvestorLine Refer-a-Friend June 30, 2017

Expired Offers
Open a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) and receive $50 commission credit . Use promo code: kdkfnbbc $1,000 $50 commission credit 30 days none none
Last Updated: Feb. 1, 2017 21:30 PT

Transfer Fee Promotions

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

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Feb. 1, 2017 21:30PT

Other Promotions

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

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Feb. 17, 2017 21:15 PT
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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – January 6, 2017

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

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

Deal updates

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

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

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

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

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

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

Making a statement

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

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

From the Forums

Dating issues

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

TFSA and Daytrading

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

Into the Close

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

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Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – January 2017

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

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

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

Expired Deals

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

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

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

Extended Deals

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

New Deals

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 a new account with HSBC InvestDirect and you may be eligible to receive up to 50 commission-free North American equity trades. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full offer details. n/a 50 commission-free North American equity trades 60 days HSBC InvestDirect Cash Bonus Promo March 3, 2017
Open and fund a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) with at least $1,000 and you may be eligible to receive 5 commission-free trades. Use promo code 5FREETRADES when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions carefully. $1,000 5 commission-free trades 60 days 5 commission-free trade offer December 31, 2017
Open and fund a new 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
Disnat Desjardins Online Brokerage is offering new clients 1% of assets transferred into the new account in the form of commission credits (to a maximum value of $1,000). Minimum qualifying deposit is $10,000. To qualify, individuals will have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code DisnatFlex or email: [email protected]. See details link for more info. $10,000 1% of assets transferred in the form of commission-credits (max credits: $1,000) 6 months Disnat 1% Commission Credit Promo February 28, 2017
Open and fund a new account or fund an existing account at Credential Direct with at least A) $15,000; B) $50,000; C) $150,000; D) $500,000 or E) $1,000,000+ in new assets and you may be eligible to receive A) $75; B) $125; C) $200; D) $500 or E) $1,000. Use promo code CASH2017RSP when signing up. As an added bonus, Credential Direct will donate an amount equivalent to 10% of the bonus paid out to United Way. A) $15,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $149,999 C) $150,000 – $499,999 D) $500,000 – $999,999 E) 1,000,000+ A) $75 B) $125 C) $200 D) $500 E) $1,000 Cash back will be deposited week of October 9, 2017. Credential Direct Cash Back Promotion March 16, 2017
Open and fund a new account by March 31st with at least A) $20,000 or B) $100,00+ and you may qualify to receive up to either A) $500 or B) $1000 in commission reimbursements. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full offer details. A) $20,000 – $99,999 B) $100,000+ A) up to $500 commission reimbursements B) up to $1000 commission reimbursements 90 days National Bank Direct Brokerage Cash Back Promotion March 31, 2017
Open and fund a new account with Qtrade Investor with a deposit of at least A) $25,000; B) $50,000; C) $100,000; D) $250,000; E) $500,000 or F) $1,000,000 or more and you may be eligible to receive a cash back bonus of A) $25; B) $50; C) $100; D) $250; E) $500 or F) $1,000. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $25,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $99,999 C) $100,000 – $249,999 D) $250,000 – $499,999 E) $500,000 – $999,999 F) $1,000,000+ A) $25 B) $50 C) $100 D) $250 E) $500 F) $1,000 Cash back will be deposited by July 31, 2017. Qtrade Investor Cash Back Bonus February 28, 2017
Open and fund a new account at TD Direct Investing with at least A) $25,000; B) $50,000 or C) $100,000+ and you may be eligible to receive A) 50; B) 100 or C) 200 commission-free trades. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full offer details A) $25,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $99,999 C) $100,000+ A) 50 commission-free trades (max value: $500) B) 100 commission-free trades (max value: $1000) C) 200 commission-free trades (max value: $2000) April 28th, 2017 Commission charges will be credited the month following when the charge was incurred. TD Direct Investing 200 Commission-free Trade Offer March 31, 2017
Open and fund a new account with Scotia iTRADE with at least A) $25,000; B) $50,000; C) $100,000 or D) $250,000+ and you may be eligible to receive A) 75; B) 150; C) 200 or D) $250,000+ in commission-free trades. In addition, new clients will also receive FlightDesk active trading platform free for 90 days. Use promo code W17FT when signing up to be eligible. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $25,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $99,999 C) $100,000 – $249,999 D) $250,000+ A) 75 (max value: $749.25) B) 150 (max value: $1498.50) C) 200 (max value: $1,998) D) 250 (max value: $2,497.50) 90 days Winter 2017 Free Trade Offer March 31, 2017
CIBC Investors Edge Open and fund a new account at CIBC Investor’s Edge with at least A) $50,000 or B) $100,000 and you may be eligible to receive A) $200 or B) $400 in cash back. Also, individuals who setup a regular investment plan may also be eligible to receive 50 commission-free equity trades. Be sure to read terms and conditions for more information. A) $50,000 – $99,999 B) $100,000+ A) $200 B) $400 +Bonus 50 commission-free trades for setting up Regular Investment Plan. Cash back will be deposited within 30 business days after account funding. Commission-free equity trades good for 60 days after setup of Regular Investment Plan. Cash Back & Free Trade Offer March 31, 2017
BMO InvestorLine Open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine, and fund it with at least A) $100,000; B) $200,000 or C) $300,000+ in net new assets and you may be eligible to receive A) $200; B) $400 or C) $750 cash back. Use promo code PROMO750 when signing up to be eligible. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. A) $100,000 – $199,999 B) $200,000 – $299,999 C) $300,000+ Cash back bonus A) $200 B) $400 C) $750 Cash back will be deposited the week of November 6, 2017. 2017 Winter Campaign April 2, 2017

Expired Offers
BMO InvestorLine Open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine, and fund it with at least $100,000 and you may be eligible to receive $200 cash back as well as 20 commission-free equity trades. Use promo code PROMO200 when signing up to be eligible. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. $100,000 $200 cash back + 20 commission-free equity trades Cash back will be deposited the week of August 7, 2017. Fall 2016 Promotion Phase 2 (link no longer active) January 3, 2017
Last Updated: Jan. 17, 2016 10:15 PT

Referral Promotions

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Incentive Structure Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer Deposit Details Link Deadline
Refer a friend to Questrade and when they open an account you receive $25 cash back and they receive either A) $25; B) $50; C) $75; D) $100; or E) $250 depending on the amount deposited amount. Enter code: 476104302388759 during account sign up to qualify. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for eligibility and additional bonus payment structure and minimum balance requirements. A) $1,000 – $9,999 B) $10,000 – $24,999 C) $25,000 – $49,999 D) $50,000 -$99,999 E) $100,000+ $25 cash back (for referrer per referral; $50 bonus cash back for every 3rd referral) For referred individuals: A) $25 cash back B) $50 cash back C) $75 cash back D) $100 cash back E) $250 cash back Cash deposited into Questrade billing account within 7 days after funding period ends (90 days) Refer a friend terms and conditions Code Number: 476104302388759 none
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 tbd
If you (an existing Virtual Brokers client) refer a friend or family member to open a new account with at least $1,000 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) $1,000 – $24,999; B) $25,000 – $49,999 or C) $50,000+ may be eligible to receive A) $25; B) $50 or C) $75 cash back. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions carefully for full details. A) $1,000 – $24,999 B) $25,000 – $49,999 C) $50,000+ Referrer: $25 per referral; $50 bonus for each 3 or more referrals. Referee: A) $25 B) $50 C) $75 Cash to be deposited to VB account by March 31, 2017. Cash Referral Program January 31, 2017
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 45 days after minimum 90 day holding period(subject to conditions). BMO InvestorLine Refer-a-Friend June 30, 2017

Expired Offers
Open a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) and receive $50 commission credit . Use promo code: kdkfnbbc $1,000 $50 commission credit 30 days none none
Last Updated: Jan. 3, 2016 9:00 PT

Transfer Fee Promotions

Company Brief Description Maximum Transfer Fee Coverage Amount Minimum Deposit Amount for Transfer Fee Eligibility Details Link Deadline
Transfer $15,000 or more to RBC Direct Investing and they will pay up to $135 in transfer fees $135 $15,000 Transfer Fee Rebate Details none
Transfer $25,000 or more from another brokerage and Credential Direct will cover up to $150 in transfer fees. Use promo code SWITCHME when signing up to qualify for the transfer promotion. $150 $25,000 Credential Direct Transfer Fee Rebate none
Transfer $25,000 or more to Qtrade Investor from another brokerage and Qtrade Investor may cover up to $150 in transfer fees. See terms and conditions for more details. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee Rebate none
Move your brokerage account to Questrade and they’ll cover the transfer-out fee up to $150. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee Promo none
Transfer at least $25,000 or more in new assets to TD Direct Investing when opening a new account and you may qualify to have transfer fees reimbursed up to $150. Be sure to contact TD Direct Investing for further details. $150 $25,000 Contact client service for more information (1-800-465-5463). none
Transfer $25,000 or more to Virtual Brokers and they may cover up to $150 in transfer fees. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee promo January 31, 2017
Transfer $25,000 or more into a CIBC Investor’s Edge account and they will reimburse up to $135 in brokerage transfer fees. Clients must call customer service to request rebate after transfer made. $135 $25,000 Confirmed with reps. Contact client service for more information (1-800-567-3343). none
Transfer $25,000 or more to a National Bank Direct Brokerage account and they will pay up to $135 plus taxes in transfer fees $135 $25,000 Transfer Fee Rebate none
Disnat Disnat is offering up to $150 to cover the cost of transfer fees from another institution. To be eligible, new/existing clients need to deposit $50,000 into a Disnat account. You’ll have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code DisnatFlex. See details link for more info. $150 $50,000 Disnat 1% Commission Credit Promo February 28, 2017

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Jan. 17, 2017 8:55 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, in conjunction with MoneyTalks, is offering 3 months of the “Inside Edge” investor information service to Desjardins Online Brokerage clients. Use promo code DESJ2016 during checkout to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for more information. n/a MoneyTalks Inside Edge Discount none
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 Virtual Brokers with a deposit of at least $1,000 (for the Classic Commission Account) or $5,000 (for the Commission Free Trading Account) and you may be eligible to receive a one-year subscription to access 5i Research. Use promo code 5iVB2016 when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. $1,000 (Classic Commission Account); $5,000 (Commission Free Trading Account) 5i Research Offer March 31, 2017

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Jan. 3, 2017 9:30 PT
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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – December 16, 2016

If there was any doubt that winter is coming, it’s pretty much been buried at this point underneath a pile of snow. The infamous game of thrones reference seems more appropriate than ever, not just for markets, but also for the tough times to come for Canada’s discount brokerages.

In this week’s roundup, we take a look at the most influential brokerage ranking of the year and what it signals about the Canadian discount brokerage landscape. From there, we’ll take a look at the second roundup of roundups from 2016 and then close out with some interesting tweets from the week and investor forum chatter.

Globe & Mail Online Brokerage Rankings 2016: Evolution or Revolution?

This past week, the 18th (yes that’s right) annual discount brokerage rankings were published by Rob Carrick at the Globe and Mail. It’s an amazing milestone, even more so considering how much of the online world has changed over that span of time. Ironically, change, or lack thereof, happens to be an interesting theme when looking at this year’s results and when evaluating Canadian discount brokerages.

While the results themselves tell an interesting story, perhaps the bigger and more intriguing picture is what the rankings and the accompanying commentary suggest about Canadian online brokerages. Namely, like many 18 year olds, this year’s Canadian online brokerage rankings seem like they’re ‘over it’.

Before looking at the big picture, let’s recap the results.

This year’s results saw Qtrade Investor and Virtual Brokers both achieving the highest letter grade, an A, resulting in a tie for ‘the best’ online brokerage in Canada whereas HSBC InvestDirect once again earned the dubious distinction of coming in last. Interestingly, the results from this year’s rankings are largely the same as past four rankings going back to 2013 (see table below) this despite substantial changes in pricing, features, websites, and trading platforms across the industry.

On a year-over-year basis, letter grades improved for CIBC Investor’s Edge, Desjardins Online Brokerage, Qtrade Investor and RBC Direct Investing. Dipping slightly was Questrade, who fell to a B+ from an A-. Nonetheless, Virtual Brokers and Qtrade Investor have remained the clear favourites for Rob Carrick’s rankings for four years running, owing in large part to the curb appeal for “everyday” investors.

For Qtrade Investor, this has been a big year for awards as they’ve landed top scores with MoneySense’s ranking, Surviscor’s ranking and now the Globe and Mail ranking.

In keeping with years past, there was the combination of commentary on each of the brokerages, much of it colourful and pulling no punches, as well as commentary on the industry as a whole.  In addition, there was also a table containing forty features of a “great” discount brokerage.

While we will be publishing a more detailed analysis on the Globe & Mail online brokerage rankings in the near future, here are several very interesting observations about the latest online brokerage rankings that stood out.

First, for any long-time follower of the rankings, this iteration felt leaner than years past. It’s true that the style of writing has shifted to become more concise and digestible (a deliberate appeal to millennial readers and the tl;dr generation) but there  are a number of features, such as screenshots, extra comparison tables and analysis that were not present this go around.

The second very interesting observation was the tone of this year’s rankings. While it’s generally difficult to get very excited over financial services, this year’s online brokerage rankings felt particularly grim with Carrick stating “The old binary world of full-service and do-it-yourself investing is dead.”

These are very strong words coming from one of the most influential voices in the Canadian personal finance space, and certainly should give pause to Canadian online brokerages. For 17 versions of the rankings things have seemed upbeat and exciting, but for number 18, it seems that the writing is on the wall for Canadian discount brokerages, and the message clear: innovate or become irrelevant.

Of course, as with any ranking or rating, it is important to contextualize the figures and commentary. The letter grades, while based on a system, still reflect a high degree of subjectivity and opinion of the author.

In the case of these online brokerage rankings, it is particularly interesting to note the lack of variance in the rankings over the years and also to compare the 40 attributes of a great online brokerage to the letter grades that were given.

While we will explore these in more depth in a subsequent article, it was noteworthy to observe that the more attributes of a great brokerage a provider has, it doesn’t necessarily translate into a better letter grade, and in fact, in some cases the differences between letter grade and number of features can be substantial. The following table shows, for example, that despite having more “great” features, RBC Direct Investing and Scotia iTRADE (each with 29 out of 40 attributes) received a grade of B while Questrade (with 22 out of 40) received a B+.

Change, and more importantly exciting change, as the tables above show, is hard to come by in this space. Over the past several ranking cycles, at least according to the categories measured by Rob Carrick’s analysis, most Canadian online brokerages are treading water.

With shrinking margins and increasing competition from other investment service providers, innovations in the online brokerage world seem like they’re going to be evolutionary rather than revolutionary. DIY investors, on the other hand, might need to stop asking ‘which online brokerage is best?’ and start asking ‘which online brokerage adapts the best?’

Roundup of Roundups Q2

The quarter was filled with excitement – a Canadian election, wildfires in Alberta and a Brexit all dominated the news cycle. On the discount brokerage front there were also some noteworthy developments heading out of the ‘busy season’.

The first important development noted was the pullback in deals from Questrade. As the dominant promotional offer provider, it was interesting to see them pump the brakes on offering new deals or promotions. This move would come to define the deals space for the remainder of 2016 and it opened up the field to other brokerages, such as Virtual Brokers, who were ramping up in providing incentives and promotions.

Another interesting development was the launch of the MoneySense brokerage rankings in April. These rankings, powered by Surviscor, crowned Qtrade Investor as the best Canadian discount brokerage overall, with numerous awards being the best at something being given out to many other brokerages too.  As we would come to learn later in the year, MoneySense magazine would abandon doing print versions of its magazine and instead publish exclusively online.

Social media starts to show signs of life in May with Scotia iTRADE launching another competition to drive traffic to its investor centre and National Bank Direct Brokerage making a play on LinkedIn to get a foothold there. Interestingly, late spring is when a number of issues and outages were noted with TD Direct Investing’s WebBroker – especially around the Brexit vote aftermath. These issues would continue to persist and irritate investors through the summer and fall.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

Glitches and technical hiccups were the theme of many tweets this week. Mentioned this week were BMO InvestorLine, CIBC Investor’s Edge, Questrade, Scotia iTRADE, TD Direct Investing and Virtual Brokers.

From the Forums

Green and/or Green

In this post from reddit’s Personal Finance Canada section, one investor was considering the pros and cons of choosing betwen a TD e-series account or a DIY investor account at Questrade. Find out what users (and Questrade) had to say.

Into the Close

That’s a wrap on a cold and snowy week. Remember, if you can’t get out of it, you’ve got to learn to get into it. Stay safe and warm this weekend!

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Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – December 1, 2016

*Update: Dec. 23* December is here and the end of 2016 is just a few short weeks away. What a year it has been. As we head into the final month of the year, we expect there to be a gradual decrease in deals & promotion activity at Canadian discount brokerages leading up to Christmas. Nevertheless, we don’t rule out a potential surprise or two before the holidays officially kick in.

There weren’t any new deals that crossed our radar into the turn of the new month. In fact, there was a slight pull back in the number of offers (there are currently 23 at the time of publication) as the promotions scheduled to expire at the end of November by Scotia iTRADE were not renewed – or at least not yet.

December will be another interesting month across the deals & promotions landscape for two reasons. First, there are a number of deals set to expire, notably from HSBC InvestDirect, Disnat and Qtrade Investor. BMO InvestorLine’s deal, while still technically live through December is set to expire at the beginning (January 3rd) of 2017. The second reason that this will be an interesting month to watch for deals & promotions is that once this month is over, there will be a massive push to attract new clients and assets for RRSP season. As such, it might not be surprising to see a couple of savvy brokerages launch through December to get a jump on January. We’ll keep monitoring to see where things go from here.

Expired Deals

The three deals that were scheduled to expire at the end of November were all from Scotia iTRADE. Now retired are the commission-free trades (up to 250 commission free trades) and trades + SCENE points promotional offer (as well as the accompanying transfer fee deal).

Extended

Questrade has extended the deadline to their 5 commission-free trades offer from the end of December 2016 through to the end of December 2017. That’s great news for individual investors just starting out and who need a referral to qualify for a promotional offer with Questrade.

New Offers

*Update: Dec. 23 – National Bank Direct Brokerage has also jumped into the deals & promotions race ahead of the Christmas break with a headline grabbing promotion of their own. They’re offering up to $1000 in commission reimbursements for individuals who either open up a new account or for existing clients who open a new account type. See table below for more information.*

*Update: Dec. 9 – It took some time to get here, but at last there’s a deal from TD Direct Investing. The big green is offering up a tiered commission-free trading offer that is likely to get the attention of DIY investors and, of course, TD Direct Investing’s competition. While this latest deal does help TD Direct Investing get an edge on its bank-owned brokerage peers, what is even more interesting is the timing of the offer. With only a few weeks to go, not only will other bank-owned brokerages have to scramble to respond (if they choose to do so) but they’ll be doing it heading into the holidays. For DIY investors, this a great little gift ahead of the holiday season and the year end. See the table below for more details.*

No new offers to report at this time.

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, 2017
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
Disnat Desjardins Online Brokerage is offering new clients 1% of assets transferred into the new account in the form of commission credits (to a maximum value of $1,000). Minimum qualifying deposit is $10,000. To qualify, individuals will have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code DisnatFlex or email: [email protected]. See details link for more info. $10,000 1% of assets transferred in the form of commission-credits (max credits: $1,000) 6 months Disnat 1% Commission Credit Promo December 31, 2016
Open and fund a new account by March 31st with at least A) $20,000 or B) $100,00+ and you may qualify to receive up to either A) $500 or B) $1000 in commission reimbursements. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full offer details. A) $20,000 – $99,999 B) $100,000+ A) up to $500 commission reimbursements B) up to $1000 commission reimbursements 90 days National Bank Direct Brokerage Cash Back Promotion March 31, 2017
Open and fund a new account with HSBC InvestDirect with at least A) $25,000; B) $50,000; C) $100,000; D) $250,000; E) $500,000 or F) $1,000,000+ and you may be eligible to receive a cash bonus offer of A) $88; B) $188; C) $288; D) $388; E) $688 or F) $988. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full offer details. A) $25,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $99,999 C) $100,000 – $249,999 D) $250,000- $499,999 E) $500,000 – $999,999 F) 1,000,000+ Cash back bonus A) $88 B) $188 C) $288 D) $388 E) $688 F) $988 Bonus will be credited to the qualified accounts by July 31, 2017 HSBC InvestDirect Cash Bonus Promo December 30, 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 A) 50; B) 100 or C) 200 commission-free trades. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full offer details A) $25,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $99,999 C) $100,000+ A) 50 commission-free trades (max value: $500) B) 100 commission-free trades (max value: $1000) C) 200 commission-free trades (max value: $2000) April 28th, 2017 Commission charges will be credited the month following when the charge was incurred. TD Direct Investing 200 Commission-free Trade Offer March 31, 2017
BMO InvestorLine Open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine, and fund it with at least $100,000 and you may be eligible to receive $200 cash back as well as 20 commission-free equity trades. Use promo code PROMO200 when signing up to be eligible. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. $100,000 $200 cash back + 20 commission-free equity trades Cash back will be deposited the week of August 7, 2017. Fall 2016 Promotion Phase 2 January 3, 2017

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Dec. 23, 2016 22:30 PT

Referral Promotions

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Incentive Structure Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer Deposit Details Link Deadline
Refer a friend to Questrade and when they open an account you receive $25 cash back and they receive either A) $25; B) $50; C) $75; D) $100; or E) $250 depending on the amount deposited amount. Enter code: 476104302388759 during account sign up to qualify. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for eligibility and additional bonus payment structure and minimum balance requirements. A) $1,000 – $9,999 B) $10,000 – $24,999 C) $25,000 – $49,999 D) $50,000 -$99,999 E) $100,000+ $25 cash back (for referrer per referral; $50 bonus cash back for every 3rd referral) For referred individuals: A) $25 cash back B) $50 cash back C) $75 cash back D) $100 cash back E) $250 cash back Cash deposited into Questrade billing account within 7 days after funding period ends (90 days) Refer a friend terms and conditions Code Number: 476104302388759 none
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 tbd
If you (an existing Virtual Brokers client) refer a friend or family member to open a new account with at least $1,000 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) $1,000 – $24,999; B) $25,000 – $49,999 or C) $50,000+ may be eligible to receive A) $25; B) $50 or C) $75 cash back. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions carefully for full details. A) $1,000 – $24,999 B) $25,000 – $49,999 C) $50,000+ Referrer: $25 per referral; $50 bonus for each 3 or more referrals. Referee: A) $25 B) $50 C) $75 Cash to be deposited to VB account by March 31, 2017. Cash Referral Program January 31, 2017
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 45 days after minimum 90 day holding period(subject to conditions). BMO InvestorLine Refer-a-Friend June 30, 2017

Expired Offers
Open a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) and receive $50 commission credit . Use promo code: kdkfnbbc $1,000 $50 commission credit 30 days none none
Last Updated: Dec. 1, 2016 22:30 PT

Transfer Fee Promotions

Company Brief Description Maximum Transfer Fee Coverage Amount Minimum Deposit Amount for Transfer Fee Eligibility Details Link Deadline
Transfer $10,000 or more to Qtrade Investor from another brokerage and Qtrade Investor may cover up to $150 in transfer fees. See terms and conditions for more details. $150 $10,000 Transfer Fee Rebate December 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 contact TD Direct Investing for further details. $150 $25,000 Contact client service for more information (1-800-465-5463). none
Transfer $25,000 or more to Virtual Brokers and they may cover up to $150 in transfer fees. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee promo September 30, 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 information (1-800-567-3343). none
Transfer $25,000 or more to a National Bank Direct Brokerage account and they will pay up to $135 plus taxes in transfer fees $135 $25,000 Transfer Fee Rebate none
Disnat Disnat is offering up to $150 to cover the cost of transfer fees from another institution. To be eligible, new/existing clients need to deposit $50,000 into a Disnat account. You’ll have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code Disnat500. See details link for more info. $150 $50,000 Disnat $500 Commission Credit Promo September 30, 2016

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Dec. 1, 2016 22:30 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, in conjunction with MoneyTalks, is offering 3 months of the “Inside Edge” investor information service to Desjardins Online Brokerage clients. Use promo code DESJ2016 during checkout to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for more information. n/a MoneyTalks Inside Edge Discount none
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 Virtual Brokers with a deposit of at least $1,000 (for the Classic Commission Account) or $5,000 (for the Commission Free Trading Account) and you may be eligible to receive a one-year subscription to access 5i Research. Use promo code 5iVB2016 when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. $1,000 (Classic Commission Account); $5,000 (Commission Free Trading Account) 5i Research Offer March 31, 2017

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Dec. 1, 22:30 PT
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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – November 25th, 2016

For investors, every day in the markets feels like Black Friday. From the opening bell through to the close and into the night, there’s no shortage of folks looking to capitalize on a great deal. Fortunately for DIY investors, there’s at least one place that pulls together the deals and promotions from Canadian discount brokerages to make shopping around much easier (shameless plug much?).

This week’s edition of the roundup continues the deals deep dive, looking at part two of the survey we ran on which discount brokerages Canadian DIY investors are considering when hunting around for deals online. In keeping with tradition we’ll also be serving up a healthy dish of social media chatter from Twitter and what investors had on their minds from DIY investor forums.

Let’s Make a Deal

Part two of our in-depth analysis of the deals & promotions offered by Canadian discount brokerages takes a closer look at which online brokerages DIY investors reported looking at while shopping around for an online trading account. Specifically, this post focuses on which brokerages appear high on DIY investors’ list as they peruse the deals & promotions offerings and which brokerages just don’t seem to be hitting the mark.

Pick a number

Starting first with how many brokerages DIY investors have in mind while shopping. The graph below shows that a large segment of respondents indicated that, by the time they’d made it to the deals & promotions section on SparxTrading.com, they had already short-listed a couple of brokerages.

Recall from our previous report that among those visiting the deals and promotions section, there was a significant likelihood that a deal or incentive offer was a part of choosing who to sign up with. Of those who completed the survey, 85% or so were actively in the market for at least one brokerage whereas 15% indicated they were ‘just browsing’ to see what was out there.

For respondents coming through the deals and promotions section, close to 89% of individuals had narrowed the choice down to at least 3 brokerages. Specifically, a large segment of individuals (39%) had one particular brokerage in mind, followed by those who were trying to decide between two brokerages (32%) and three brokerages (18%) respectively.  Although some individuals were really undecided (between four and six choices) this group was relatively small.

Who’s on first

With so much data to explore, there were all kinds of interesting insights to be derived. One of those interesting points was that of the 14 Canadian discount brokerages respondents could have chosen from, there were 12 that were mentioned, albeit to varying degrees.

The two brokerages, interestingly, that were not mentioned as being on the minds of respondents while searching through the deals section were HSBC InvestDirect and Jitneytrade. While the latter may only appeal to specialized or professional traders, HSBC InvestDirect’s absence from the response set was curious since they are bank-owned, conduct some marketing and are currently running a promotion. Traffic data through SparxTrading.com also validates this observation that there is an absence of curiousity about HSBC InvestDirect or Jitneytrade to the same degree that exists with other online brokerages.

At the other end of the spectrum, TD Direct Investing appeared to be on the minds of many DIY investors. Whether it is a function of marketing their DIY investor offering more effectively, their size, pricing or total offering, TD’s self-direct investor services appeared to resonate with respondents of the survey. Ironically, those individuals in the deals and promotions section looking for an incentive from TD weren’t going to find anything beyond the standard transfer fee coverage. There are occasional whispers that in-person visits with an eager rep can land clients with a couple (10) of free trades however this incentive is not widely broadcasted.

Interestingly, of the firms that respondents indicated was their only choice while browsing for an online trading account (i.e. their top choice), TD Direct Investing, CIBC Investor’s Edge and Credential Direct do not have advertised offers that most investors would find appealing (e.g. cash back or commission-free trading).

Another interesting angle on the responses provided was in how respondents were shopping for online brokerages. In particular, how many alternatives (if any) are shoppers considering alongside any given online brokerage. Overall, it appears that on average shoppers are considering between one and two options when browsing through the deals section.

The heat map shown below shows the distribution of alternative choices being considered for each online brokerage.

While sample size suggests some caution with the data, there are nonetheless interesting findings where data appeared to cluster.

For example, shoppers considering Virtual Brokers appear to be consistently considering one other firm. That is to say that 83% of the those who indicated considering Virtual Brokers were doing so with only one other choice in mind.

Another interesting pattern was that Questrade appears to be a strong challenger to bank-owned brokerages. Based on correlation data, Questrade was considered alongside bank-owned brokerages moreso than Interactive Brokers, Qtrade Investor or Virtual Brokers. Another read on that data, however, could be that bank-owned brokerages have successfully managed to change the value perception and have now started to encroach on what has traditionally been the territory of ‘low cost’ brokerages such as Questrade.

Finally, while there are still lots of great data points to explore (let us know if you’re interested in learning more) one of the most interesting competitions appears to be between Scotia iTRADE, who at the time of the survey had several promotions running and TD Direct Investing who at the time of the survey only ran the transfer fee promotion.

Despite their differing profiles, it appears that deal hunters gave particular consideration to either TD Direct Investing or Scotia iTRADE. Curiously, the former does not run as many promotions as the latter while iTRADE has the highest standard commission fee. After Scotia iTRADE, both CIBC Investor’s Edge and, perhaps surprisingly, Desjardins Online Brokerage, also emerged as challengers to TD Direct Investing.

Key Takeaways

While it may not be surprising to hear that those in the market for an online trading account would likely have a favourite, the data from the survey suggests that certain brokerages are being considered more often than others.

The presence of a deal, in and of itself, doesn’t guarantee that DIY investors will pay attention. Conversely, it doesn’t always take a promotion to get the attention of investors online. That said, given the large portion of those in the market for online brokerage services who narrow down their options to about two providers, an onboarding bonus can certainly give a DIY investor a little more incentive and an online brokerage the edge it needs to win at the margins.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

Every so often a little blip on the radar pops up to signal something interesting.

This past week (and month), social media for BMO InvestorLine appears to have sprang to life with a small but growing reference to #BMOInvestorLine from a couple of BMO InvestorLine employees on social media. The move to take a more hands on approach to social media by employees is similar to what TD Direct Investing has done, although BMO InvestorLine has yet to start tweeting from a dedicated InvestorLine account.

Currently, it appears that the push on social media has to do with their “SmartFolio” robo-advisor service. With BMO InvestorLine now showing signs of life on social media, it’s likely going to touch off another race with other bank-owned brokerages (and the non-bank-owned brokerages not on social media) to get their social media strategies up to speed.

And, speaking of other Canadian discount brokerages mentioned on Twitter, it was a week filled with interesting questions, occasional gripes and the rare shout out for good service. Mentioned in this week’s tweets were BMO InvestorLine, CIBC Investor’s Edge, Questrade, RBC Direct Investing, Scotia iTRADE, TD Direct Investing and Virtual Brokers.

From the Forums

Sizzle or Fizzle

With any product or service hype or marketing comes along with the territory. For one DIY investor, however, this post from reddit’s Personal Finance Canada section shows how they’re trying to get a different side of the story for the BMO InvestorLine experience.

ET No Phone

Here’s a question for our time: what happens if you don’t have a phone number? Interestingly, one reddit user from the Personal Finance Canada section created this post since s/he didn’t have a phone number because there’s facebook and google voice apps now. Read on to see how signing up for a Questrade account was a challenge. Nice to see that Questrade also chimed in too!

Into the Close

That’s a wrap on yet another record breaking week in the markets and another head shaking week in politics. Fortunately, there are lots of deals to be found (which some could argue is a sport) as well as actual sports to be enjoyed. Whatever your competition this weekend, best of luck!

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – November 18, 2016

With shipping, tripping and champagne sipping, it was another wild week in the markets. There was volatility galore which always makes for exciting times for both traders and the business news media. And, even though this wacky week has come to a close, another very big week is close at hand with ‘Black Friday’ sales and deals already starting to spring up in advance of the infamous shopping weekend. Of course, while many businesses have wised up to the fact that when consumers are out looking for deals, it may be good to start offering them up, Canadian discount brokerages are definitely holding out.

In this special edition of the roundup we take a deep dive into the results from the latest SparxTrading.com survey.  Part one of this report looks at whether or not deals matter to DIY investors and analyzes what Canadian discount brokerages can do in response. From there we’ll take a look at what DIY investors had to day about Canadian brokerages on social media and what got people talking on the forums.

What’s in a deal?

For many years now, Canadian DIY investors looking to invest online have had to figure out how to choose a Canadian discount brokerage from among the dozen or so options out there. To help them with that exercise there have been numerous “rankings” of brokerages and of course, lots and lots of opinions. In addition to winning hearts and minds, winning wallets has been another strategy that several brokerages have attempted to employ in various shapes and forms.

While many Canadian discount brokerages try to figure out what DIY investors are interested in, at SparxTrading.com we were curious about whether or not many of the deals and promotions that Canadian online brokerages are using are appealing and relevant. With 26 advertised deals currently in play, and with some interesting moves by certain players in the market in the past year, we thought it would be interesting to see the degree to which DIY investors are enthusiastic about getting a deal when looking to sign up for an online brokerage account.

Additionally, we were interested in learning about which Canadian discount brokerages DIY investors seemed to be considering while hunting around for a deal. With lots of money that goes into marketing, it was interesting to see whether or not those efforts are paying off with DIY investors.

In part one of this analysis, we review the numbers and the story behind whether or not deals and promotions matter to DIY investors when shopping for an online trading account.

Do deals matter to online investors?

In a word, yes.

In the data collected by visitors to SparxTrading.com deals & promotions section in the month of October, we found that the overwhelming majority – 84% of visitors who completed the survey – stated that getting a deal helps to determine which online brokerage they ultimately end up selecting.

While it stands to reason that somebody who has made their way to the deals and promotions section would naturally be interested in or curious about a deal or promotion, it is nonetheless a number that warrants consideration. Those that are in the market for an offer or who are deciding between a short list of candidate online brokerages might just use the deal as a deciding factor.

Looking at the breakdown of deals and promotions, there are currently 26 advertised offers from Canadian discount brokerages.  Unpacking that number a bit further shows that not all brokerages are offering the same kind of incentives or promotions. Further, as we reported previously, it shows that there is a disconnect between the offers that the vast majority of DIY investors are looking for and the ones being offered up by brokerages.

Previously we reported that close to two thirds of respondents indicated that cash back promotions were the preferred offer but looking at the deals currently being advertised, only 5 brokerages are offering this to clients. Specifically, BMO InvestorLine, HSBC InvestDirect, Questrade, Scotia iTRADE and Virtual Brokers are offering cash back promotions, however only BMO InvestorLine and HSBC Investdirect do so directly, the remaining firms only offer a cash back incentive via referral offers (which we covered in last week’s roundup).

After cash back offerings, the next most popular were commission credits. These are much more popular for online brokerages to offer because the what consumers pay to execute a trade is not the same as what a brokerage may pay to execute and clear it. Thus getting $100 in trading credits is a win for consumers and a win for brokerages who might only pay a fraction of the face value of the trading commission.

The findings of this survey were quite revealing, in part, because they highlight the gap between what many DIY investors are looking for and what the online brokerage marketplace is prepared to offer. At least at most firms.

DIY investors are constantly looking at and for the next big thing, which means that innovation is always on the minds of investors. So, stepping into trading interface or an online experience that doesn’t convey “innovative” communicates that an online company either doesn’t get it or doesn’t care to. Incentives, such as deals, can help sweeten the deal or focus investors’ attention on price rather than features.

Which online brokerages are DIY investors shopping for?

There’s a saying in marketing, ‘half the money spent on advertising is wasted, we just don’t know which half.’

The results of who online shoppers were looking for certainly got our attention. What they reveal is that marketing dollars or strategies might not be working the way they could at certain online brokerages.

Stay tuned for part 2 of this post in which we report on which Canadian online brokerages DIY investors are actively looking at and which ones they’re looking past.

What can Canadian discount brokerages do?

Data points such as these help to illustrate that the best way to win market share is to listen to the market. Incentive programs are one powerful lever to get individual investors to pay attention or shortlist a brokerage – even to the point of helping to tip the scales in favour of a brokerage. Canadian discount brokerages who aren’t offering a promotion that is widely sought after need to start if they would like to appeal to a broader client base. More specifically, pushing out a cash-back offer appears to be what most DIY investors would find interesting. It should come as no surprise that when it comes to DIY investors, money talks.

Where are brokerages heading next?

Just over a month ago, trading software provider Recognia, organized their 8th Online Broker Summit in Chicago in which many online brokerages from both Canada and the US gathered to discuss trends and developments in the North America online brokerage industry.

One of the major focal points of this summit was on understanding how to navigate the ever changing world of online user experience as well as trends in what DIY investors are looking for.

Below is a quick video highlight reel prepared by Recognia to showcase what online brokerages are thinking about heading into the year ahead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-Etqjj9dCY

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

It was a choppy week in the markets but surprisingly only a handful of DIY investors ran into technical issues. Mentioned this week were Credential Direct, Questrade, Scotia iTRADE, TD Direct Investing and Virtual Brokers.

From the Forums

Betting Big

With the recent surge in marijuana stocks, penny stock chatter has picked up. In this post on reddit’s Personal Finance Canada section, one investor is looking to take a big gamble on penny stocks in a TFSA and is wondering what they need to know before taking the plunge.

A fistful of dollars

Is it possible to get a better trading commission rate at TD Direct Investing? One user on reddit seemed to suggest it’s possible in this post however there are some important caveats pointed out by other readers.

Into the close

That’s is for another crazy week. 2016 still has a few weeks left in it but by the looks of things it won’t be going quietly. For those in need of some laughter as a break to the week that was, here are some hashtags from Twitter that will give you a chuckle. Have a great weekend!

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Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – November 1, 2016

*Updated Nov. 23* Nothin’ lasts forever, even cold November rain. It seems odd yet appropriate to reference a Guns & Roses song as we head into a new month of deals and promotions coverage of Canada’s discount brokerages. Like the band, however, deals & promotions are still rocking on even as we head into the last two months of 2016.

While it may feel a bit gloomy heading into a new month with no new offers to report, in reality there are still 23 26 active offers for DIY investors interested in opening an online trading account to take advantage of. Also, several sources from across the online brokerage space have hinted that a number of deals are in the pipeline, some of which may be launching this month. No need to sing the blues after all.

Another interesting piece of news on the discount brokerage deals front, which was reported in the weekly roundup from October 14th, reveals that there is a substantial mismatch between what online brokerages are and have been offering, and what it seems that DIY investors want.

Based on our survey from September, it is clear that DIY investors on the hunt for an incentive are much more inclined towards cash-back offers instead of commission-free trades. Other than those two types of offers, there really was little to no interest in other types of discount brokerage deals.

When compared against what is being pitched to investors, however, this might explain why so many DIY investors might be feeling ‘underwhelmed’ by the offers being pitched thus far.

The results from our most recent survey will also be published soon and they promise to have some very intriguing findings.  In the meantime, check out our latest quick survey below.

New Deals

*Update Nov. 11: Virtual Brokers has relaunched their cash-back referral offer with a slight upgrade. Their latest cash-back referral offering now has three deposit tiers starting at a minimum of $5,000 $1,000 and going up to $50,000+ and they’ve increased the maximum cash-back amount from $50 to $75. See table below for more details.

Qtrade Investor has also launched an upgrade to their transfer-fee rebate offer. The threshold to qualify for this offer has been reduced from $25,000 down to $10,000 making switching to Qtrade much more accessible. See table below for details.*

Nothing to report at the moment.

Extended Deals

Two offers from BMO InvestorLine that were scheduled to conclude at the end of October have been renewed and extended. BMO InvestorLine’s commission-free/cash-back offer has been extended into January whereas their refer-a-friend program has been extended well out into 2017, ending in June. See tables below for more information.

Expired deals

Qtrade Investor promotion in which DIY investors could purchase ETFs commission-free in October officially concluded at the end of the month. That said, it appears that Qtrade has also added 40 new commission-free ETFs into its lineup bringing the total number of commission free ETFs to 100.

Survey

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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
Disnat Desjardins Online Brokerage is offering new clients 1% of assets transferred into the new account in the form of commission credits (to a maximum value of $1,000). Minimum qualifying deposit is $10,000. To qualify, individuals will have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code DisnatFlex or email: [email protected]. See details link for more info. $10,000 1% of assets transferred in the form of commission-credits (max credits: $1,000) 6 months Disnat 1% Commission Credit Promo December 31, 2016
Open and fund a new account with HSBC InvestDirect with at least A) $25,000; B) $50,000; C) $100,000; D) $250,000; E) $500,000 or F) $1,000,000+ and you may be eligible to receive a cash bonus offer of A) $88; B) $188; C) $288; D) $388; E) $688 or F) $988. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full offer details. A) $25,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $99,999 C) $100,000 – $249,999 D) $250,000- $499,999 E) $500,000 – $999,999 F) 1,000,000+ Cash back bonus A) $88 B) $188 C) $288 D) $388 E) $688 F) $988 Bonus will be credited to the qualified accounts by July 31, 2017 HSBC InvestDirect Cash Bonus Promo December 30, 2016
Scotia iTrade Open and fund a new account with Scotia iTRADE with at least A) $25,000; B) $50,000; C) $100,00 or D) $250,000+ and you may be eligible to receive A) 75; B) 150; C) 200 or D) 250 commission-free trades. Use promo code F16FT when signing up. 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+ Commission-free trades 90 days 250 free trade offer November 30, 2016
Scotia iTrade Open and fund a new account with Scotia iTRADE with at least A) $25,000; B) $50,000; C) $100,00 or D) $250,000; E) $500,000 or F) $1,000,000+ and you may be eligible to receive 50 commission free trades plus A) 5,000; B) 7,500; C) 20,000; D) 35,000; E) 50,000 or F) 100,000 SCENE points. Use promo code F16SC when signing up to qualify. Be sure to read terms & conditions for full details. A) $25,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $99,999 C) $100,000 – $249,999 D) $250,000- $499,999 E) $500,000 – $999,999 F) 1,000,000+ A) Commission-free trades + B) SCENE reward points 90 days (for trades) SCENE points will be awarded by June 30, 2017. Free trade + SCENE points offer November 30, 2016
BMO InvestorLine Open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine, and fund it with at least $100,000 and you may be eligible to receive $200 cash back as well as 20 commission-free equity trades. Use promo code PROMO200 when signing up to be eligible. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. $100,000 $200 cash back + 20 commission-free equity trades Cash back will be deposited the week of August 7, 2017. Fall 2016 Promotion Phase 2 January 3, 2017

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Nov. 1, 2016 13:30 PT

Referral Promotions

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Incentive Structure Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer Deposit Details Link Deadline
Refer a friend to Questrade and when they open an account you receive $25 cash back and they receive either A) $25; B) $50; C) $75; D) $100; or E) $250 depending on the amount deposited amount. Enter code: 476104302388759 during account sign up to qualify. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for eligibility and additional bonus payment structure and minimum balance requirements. A) $1,000 – $9,999 B) $10,000 – $24,999 C) $25,000 – $49,999 D) $50,000 -$99,999 E) $100,000+ $25 cash back (for referrer per referral; $50 bonus cash back for every 3rd referral) For referred individuals: A) $25 cash back B) $50 cash back C) $75 cash back D) $100 cash back E) $250 cash back Cash deposited into Questrade billing account within 7 days after funding period ends (90 days) Refer a friend terms and conditions Code Number: 476104302388759 none
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 tbd
If you (an existing Virtual Brokers client) refer a friend or family member to open a new account with at least $1,000 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) $1,000 – $24,999; B) $25,000 – $49,999 or C) $50,000+ may be eligible to receive A) $25; B) $50 or C) $75 cash back. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions carefully for full details. A) $1,000 – $24,999 B) $25,000 – $49,999 C) $50,000+ Referrer: $25 per referral; $50 bonus for each 3 or more referrals. Referee: A) $25 B) $50 C) $75 Cash to be deposited to VB account by March 31, 2017. Cash Referral Program January 31, 2017
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 45 days after minimum 90 day holding period(subject to conditions). BMO InvestorLine Refer-a-Friend June 30, 2017

Expired Offers
Open a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) and receive $50 commission credit . Use promo code: kdkfnbbc $1,000 $50 commission credit 30 days none none
Last Updated: Nov. 23, 2016 08:30 PT

Transfer Fee Promotions

Company Brief Description Maximum Transfer Fee Coverage Amount Minimum Deposit Amount for Transfer Fee Eligibility Details Link Deadline
Transfer $10,000 or more to Qtrade Investor from another brokerage and Qtrade Investor may cover up to $150 in transfer fees. See terms and conditions for more details. $150 $10,000 Transfer Fee Rebate December 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 contact TD Direct Investing for further details. $150 $25,000 Contact client service for more information (1-800-465-5463). none
Transfer $25,000 or more to Virtual Brokers and they may cover up to $150 in transfer fees. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee promo September 30, 2016
Scotia iTrade Transfer $25,000 or more to Scotia iTRADE when opening a new account and they will cover up to $150 in transfer fees. $150 $25,000 Eligible with both offers: Free trade + SCENE points offer and 250 free trade offer November 30, 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 information (1-800-567-3343). none
Transfer $25,000 or more to a National Bank Direct Brokerage account and they will pay up to $135 plus taxes in transfer fees $135 $25,000 Transfer Fee Rebate none
Disnat Disnat is offering up to $150 to cover the cost of transfer fees from another institution. To be eligible, new/existing clients need to deposit $50,000 into a Disnat account. You’ll have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code Disnat500. See details link for more info. $150 $50,000 Disnat $500 Commission Credit Promo September 30, 2016

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Nov. 16, 2016 12:30 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, in conjunction with MoneyTalks, is offering 3 months of the “Inside Edge” investor information service to Desjardins Online Brokerage clients. Use promo code DESJ2016 during checkout to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for more information. n/a MoneyTalks Inside Edge Discount none
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 Virtual Brokers with a deposit of at least $1,000 (for the Classic Commission Account) or $5,000 (for the Commission Free Trading Account) and you may be eligible to receive a one-year subscription to access 5i Research. Use promo code 5iVB2016 when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. $1,000 (Classic Commission Account); $5,000 (Commission Free Trading Account) 5i Research Offer March 31, 2017

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Nov. 1, 13:30 PT