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Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – October 2015

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

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

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

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

Expired Deals

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

Extended Deals

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

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

New Deals

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

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

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

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

Discount Brokerage Deals

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Commission/Cash Offer/Promotion Type Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer Details Link Deadline
Jitney Trade A Sparx Trading exclusive offer! Use the promo code “Sparx Trading” when signing up for a new account with Jitney and receive access to their preferred pricing package and a massive 45% discount on the Real Tick trading platform. n/a Discounted Commission Rates none For more details click here none
BMO InvestorLine Individuals between 18 and 35 years of age who open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine, may be eligible to receive 35 commission-free trades, an eBook on investing, $50 cash back and potentially waived account minimum fees. Use promo code “YOUNG” when signing up. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. A) for commission free trades: n/a B) for cash back: $25,000 A) 35 commission-free trades (rebate for free trades to be applied week of March 28/2016) B) $50 cash back + 35 commission-free trades (cash back bonus to be applied week of March 28/2016) 90 days Youth Promotion October 31, 2015
For students and recent graduates (within the past 2 years), open a new account with Virtual Brokers with at least $1,000 and you may be eligible to receive $50 cash back. Use promo code UN332015 when registering to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions. $1,000 $50 cash back Cash deposited shortly after Dec. 31/15 Student Promo October 31, 2015
Open a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) and receive $50 commission credit . Use promo code: kdkfnbbc $1,000 $50 commission credit none none none
Refer a friend to Questrade and when they open an account you receive $25 cash back and they receive either A) $25; B) $50; C) $75; D) $100; or E) $250 depending on the amount deposited amount. Enter code: 476104302388759 during account sign up to qualify. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for eligibility and additional bonus payment structure and minimum balance requirements. A) $1,000 – $9,999 B) $10,000 – $24,999 C) $25,000 – $49,999 D) $50,000 -$99,999 E) $100,000+ $25 cash back (for referrer per referral; $50 bonus cash back for every 3rd referral) For referred individuals: A) $25 cash back B) $50 cash back C) $75 cash back D) $100 cash back E) $250 cash back Cash deposited into Questrade billing account within 7 days after funding period ends (90 days) Refer a friend terms and conditions; Code Number: 476104302388759 none
Open and fund a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) with at least $1,000 and you may be eligible to receive 5 commission-free trades. Use promo code 5FREETRADES when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions carefully. $1,000 5 commission-free trades 60 days 5 commission-free trade offer December 31, 2016
Open and fund a new online trading account with Questrade with at least A)$1,000 or B)$10,000 and you could be eligible to receive either A)10 or B) 100 commission-free trades. Use promo code 100LOWCOM2015 when applying to be eligible for this offer. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions for this promotion. A)$1,000 B)$10,000 A) 10 commission-free trades B) 100 commission-free trades 60 days Commission-free Trade Promotion December 31, 2015
Open a new online trading account (registered, margin or FX and CFD) with Questrade and deposit at least $5,000 in order to be eligible to qualify for a $50 prepaid Visa gift card. Clients must also place at least one commission-generating trade within 60 days. Use promo code VISA502015 when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. $5,000 $50 prepaid Visa card Prepaid Visa cards will be mailed after clients complete eligibility requirements. Prepaid Visa Promotion October 30, 2015
Open and fund a new account at Virtual Brokers with at least $5,000 and you could be eligible to receive up to 25 commission-free stock or ETF trades good for use for up to one year. Use promo code “TRADEFREE2015” when signing up to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions carefully. $5,000 25 commission-free trades 365 days 25 commission-free trades December 31, 2015
Open a new online trading account with National Bank Direct Brokerage and deposit either A) $5000 – $24,999; B) $25,000 – $49,999 or C) $50,000 and you may be eligible to receive either A) 25; B) 50 or C) 100 commission-free trades. Use promo code “Trade” when applying to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions carefully. A) $5,000 – $24,999 B) $25,000 – $49,999 C) $50,000+ A) 25 commission-free trades B) 50 commission-free trades C) 100 commission-free trades 90 days Commission-free Trades Offer November 30, 2015
Scotia iTrade If you refer a friend/family member who is not already a Scotia iTrade account holder to them, both you and your friend get a bonus of either cash or free trades. You have to use the referral form to pass along your info as well as your friend/family members’ contact info in order to qualify. There are lots of details/conditions to this deal so be sure to read the details link. A)$10,000 B)$50,000+ A) You(referrer): $50 or 10 free trades; Your “Friend”: $50 or 10 free trades (max total value:$99.90) B) You(referrer): $100 cash or 50 free trades; Your “Friend”: $100 cash or 50 free trades (max total value: $499.50) 60 days Refer A Friend to Scotia iTrade December 31, 2015
Scotia iTrade Open and fund a new Scotia iTRADE account with at least A) $15,000 – $49,999; B) $50,000 -$99,999; C)$100,000 – $249,999; or D)$250,000+ and you may be eligible to receive a corresponding cash back or commission rebate. For commission-free trades use code: FTN-F15 or for cash rebates use code: NC-F15. Be sure to read the terms and conditions carefully for rebate and cash back eligibility. Contact Scotia iTrade for full details on this offer. A) $15,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 -$99,999 C) $100,000 – $249,999 D) $250,000+ A) 75 commission-free trades OR $75 cash back B) 125 commission-free trades OR $125 cash back C) 250 commission free trades OR $250 cash back D) 500 commission-free trades OR $500 cash back 120 days for commission-free trades; Cash for the cash back offer will be deposited directly by September 30, 2016. 500 free trade or $500 cash back promo December 31, 2015
Open and fund an eligible TD Direct Investing account with at least a) $25,000 b) $50,000 or c) $100,000 in new (to TD) assets and you could be eligible to receive a) 50 b) 100 or c) 200 commission-free trades. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions for this offer. A) $25,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $99,999 C) $100,000+ A) 50 commission-free trades B) 100 commission-free trades C) 200 commission-free trades 45 days; commission-rebates will be paid by June 3, 2016 200 Free Trades Promo November 30, 2015
Disnat Disnat is offering new & existing clients $500 in commission credits which can be used for up to 6 months. To be eligible, new/existing clients need to deposit $50,000 into a Disnat account. You’ll have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code Disnat500. See details link for more info. $50,000 $500 commission credit 6 months Disnat $500 Commission Credit Promo December 31, 2015
BMO InvestorLine If you refer a new client to BMO InvestorLine and they open an account with a)$50,000 – $249,999 or b)$250,000+ the referrer and the referee will both receive cash. The new account must be opened with the referral code specific to the referrer. A) $50,000 – $249,999 B) $250,000+ A) You(referrer): $200; Your Friend(referee): $50 B) You(referrer): $300; Your Friend: $100 Payout occurs after 60 days (subject to conditions). BMO InvestorLine Refer-a-Friend October 30, 2015
Open and fund a new online trading account with Questrade with at least A)$50,000 to $99,999 or B)$100,000+ and you could be eligible to receive either A)$100 or B) $250 cash back. Use promo code CASHBACK2015 when applying to be eligible for this offer. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions for this promotion. A) $50,000 -$99,999 B) $100,000+ A) $100 cash back B) $250 cash back Cash will be deposited within 30 days of account being properly funded. $250 Cash Back Promo October 30, 2015
BMO InvestorLine Open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine, and fund it with at least $100,000 in net new assets and you may be eligible to receive either A)$200 cash back plus 20 commission-free equity trades. Use promo code FALL2015 when signing up to be eligible. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. $100,000 $200 + 20 commission-free equity trades Cash award will be paid the week of June 6, 2016. Trades are good for 1 year from signing up for promotional offer. Fall 2015 Promotion October 31, 2015

Expired Offers
Last Updated: October 9, 17:05 PST

Transfer Fee Deals

Company Brief Description Maximum Transfer Fee Coverage Amount Minimum Deposit Amount for Transfer Fee Eligibility Details Link Deadline
Scotia iTrade Transfer $15,000 or more to Scotia iTrade from another Canadian brokerage, and iTrade may pay up to $150 in transfer fees. $150 $15,000 500 Free Trade or $500 Cash Back Offer December 31, 2015
Transfer $15,000 or more to RBC Direct Investing and they will pay up to $135 in transfer fees $135 $15,000 Transfer Fee Rebate Details none
Transfer $25,000 or more from another brokerage and Credential Direct will cover up to $150 in transfer fees. Use promo code SWITCHME when signing up to qualify for the transfer promotion. $150 $25,000 Credential Direct Transfer Fee Rebate none
Qtrade Investor Qtrade Investor will reimburse your transfer fee up to $150 when transferring a balance of $10,000 or more. For reimbursement, please mail or fax a copy of your statement from the transferring institution that shows the transfer charge to Qtrade Investor at 604.484.2627 and indicate your Qtrade Investor account number. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee Rebate none
Move your brokerage account to Questrade and they’ll cover the transfer-out fee up to $150. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee Promo none
Transfer $25,000 or more from another brokerage and TD Direct Investing will cover up to $150 in transfer fees. $150 $25,000 200 commission-free trades November 30, 2015
Transfer $25,000 or more into a CIBC Investor’s Edge account and they will reimburse up to $135 in brokerage transfer fees. Clients must call customer service to request rebate after transfer made. $135 $25,000 confirmed with reps. Contact client service for more info (1-800-567-3343) none
Transfer $25,000 or more to a National Bank Direct Brokerage account and they will pay up to $135 plus taxes in transfer fees $135 $25,000 Transfer Fee Rebate none
Disnat Disnat is offering up to $150 to cover the cost of transfer fees from another institution. To be eligible, new/existing clients need to deposit $50,000 into a Disnat account. You’ll have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code Disnat500. See details link for more info. $150 $50,000 Disnat $500 Commission Credit Promo December 31, 2015
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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – September 18, 2015

This past week, as all eyes were on movie stars in Toronto and on the US for direction on where the “Rate Race” will take interest rates. Of course DIY investors aren’t the only ones caught in the wheel of misfortune. The longer the uncertainty hangs over the market, the harder Canadian discount brokerages are going to have to work to encourage investors to step in.

In this week’s roundup we take a look at how one Canadian discount brokerage took the drastic step of lowering its standard commission fees and what it means for the other bank-owned brokerages who have or haven’t lowered theirs. Next we take a look at the strategies of a number of brokerages attempting to use promotions to get the attention of investors. In the discount brokerage tweets, we see some interesting flare ups from DIY investors over technology glitches. Finally we round off with investor education events and interesting chatter about cross border trading in the forums.

HSBC InvestDirect Lowers Standard Commission Fees

Earlier this week, HSBC InvestDirect officially joined the club of Canadian discount brokerages that have lowered their standard commission rates to the sub-$10 level. As of this month, HSBC InvestDirect clients can now look forward to standard commission rates of $9.88, a definite reprieve from the $28.88+ commissions which preceded the drop.

For regular observers of the Canadian brokerage marketplace, HSBC InvestDirect is not a name that often comes up for features, pricing or promotions. With this latest move, however, DIY investors as well as certain Canadian online brokerages are bound to take notice.

As a bank-owned online brokerage, HSBC InvestDirect enjoys the “safety factor” and somewhat of the “convenience” element that consumers look to as selling points when choosing an online broker. Even so, the reality of the Canadian discount brokerage landscape is that there are just too many other compelling lower-priced alternatives. To get attention, HSBC InvestDirect had to make a bold move.

CIBC Investor’s Edge clearly understood this when they almost literally turned the new $9 anchor price prefix introduced by RBC Direct Investing in January of 2014 upside down to $6. Even if CIBC’s commission pricing is $6.95, it’s that first number people tend to notice.

Ironically, it is the same strategy Scotia iTrade employs with their active trader pricing of $4.99. Unfortunately for Scotia iTrade, they are also the lone holdout for lowering their standard commission pricing from the $24.99+ level down to where the rest of the market is.

For HSBC InvestDirect, the options were somewhat limited in terms of a move that would competitively position them with their peers while simultaneously giving them visibility in strategic markets (such as Western Canada). Without flashy platforms or a strong educational/feature offering, a shift in pricing was a potent option. That said, the move to undercut the majority of other brokerages by charging $9.88 vs. the $9.95 gives HSBC InvestDirect additional visibility with price sensitive consumers.

The true coup, however, is for clients that have $50,000+ in assets. Clients at this asset tier can qualify for the HSBC InvestDirect Advanced commission pricing that takes the cost per North American equity trade down to $8.88 – substantially undercutting many other bank-owned brokerages.

Be sure to check out the in-depth breakdown on the latest commission pricing at Canadian bank-owned discount brokerages to see just where the largest players now sit with one another.

Deals Get into Gear

Although September got off to a slow start when it came to discount brokerage deals and promotions, this past week, the deals and promotions section has been hotter than the Toronto TIFF red carpets.

With BMO InvestorLine updating their special offers page, the extension once again of their popular youth-oriented deal was confirmed. It was, however, the fact that three other offers from three different brokerages that showed up throughout the week that really signaled that the promotional war may once again be heating up.

While National Bank Direct Brokerage, Questrade and Scotia iTrade all launched new offers, it was interesting to see National Bank Direct Brokerage step back into the deals and promotions ring after their absence.

Although it is just speculation, with the JD Power discount brokerage rankings right around the corner and the fact that National Bank Direct Brokerage has traditionally performed well in this particular ranking, the timing of NBDB’s set of commission-credit offers may be no coincidence.

Another interesting observation is how the value of Scotia iTrade’s latest cashback/commission-free trade offer is starting to creep up.

Specifically, Scotia iTrade just launched (or relaunched) their $500 cash back or 500 commission free trade promotion after just retiring the $1000 cash back or 1000 free trade promotion. In the case of their latest offer, the minimum deposit to qualify for the offer ($15,000) can net a new client a $75 cash back bonus. In the offer that just expired, however, the minimum tier of $15,000 would have only netted a $50 cash back bonus.

Clearly Scotia iTrade is looking to step up its efforts at attracting clients in by offering them more and the fact that iTrade has posted this deal through the end of the year means that they’re banking that it will be tough for other brokerages to come up with a better offer to beat it.

Tweets of the Week

This past week, technology glitches resurfaced as a reminder that trading online and now “on the go online”, is not without its potential mishaps. The brokerage at the centre of it all was Scotia iTrade, who experienced a server glitch that meant some users went offline temporarily (or in the users minds far too long). Other brokerages on the hot seat this week were BMO InvestorLine and Questrade. Virtual Brokers was spotted yet again on their campus tour, this time at U of T Scarborough.

Event Horizon

This week’s line-up of discount brokerage-sponsored investor education events include upcoming sessions that may be of interest to those intrigued by RRIFs, trading psychology, and options. Short selling and trading strategies round out this week’s selection.

September 19 – September 25

Scotia iTRADE – Trading Psychology Part 1 with Stefanie Kammerman

Scotia iTRADE – RRIF Accounts with Scotia iTRADE

TD Direct Investing – Options as an Income Strategy

Scotia iTRADE – Options as an Income Strategy Using Calls with Montreal Exchange

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

TD Direct Investing – Understanding Margin & Short Selling

 September 21st

Scotia iTRADE – Trading Psychology Part 1 with Stefanie Kammerman

September 22nd

Scotia iTRADE – RRIF Accounts with Scotia iTRADE

September 23rd

TD Direct Investing – Options as an Income Strategy

Scotia iTRADE – Options as an Income Strategy Using Calls with Montreal Exchange

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

September 24th

TD Direct Investing – Understanding Margin & Short Selling

Questrade – Energy Market Outlook

From the Forums

A Heated Exchange

One of the biggest thorns in the sides of Canadian investors is the exchange rate they typically have to pay when converting between Canadian and US dollars when trading US listed stocks. Clever investors have figured out creative ways to minimize those conversions however this post from RedFlagDeals shows that one user has stumbled on a conversion rate from CIBC Investor’s Edge that is bound to make more than a few other discount brokerages nervous.

Stuck at the Border

In this post, also from RedFlagDeals, a DIY investor client of Questrade looks to have run into some delays in getting access to dividend payments. Interestingly, the Questrade support engine did not (yet) jump in to address the issue. Either way, it’s worth a read for those interested in how sometimes dividend investing can get derailed.

Into the Close

That’s a wrap for this week’s roundup. However you are gearing up or gearing down, have a great final weekend-of-summer. For those celebrating Oktoberfest, have a safe and uber-fun weekend!

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – September 11, 2015

For such a short week, there was certainly a lot of activity to go around. Many students started school; Apple launched its latest set of toys, Tom Brady laced up for the official start of the new NFL season. Even volatility seemed to be, well, volatile. Yes, for better or worse change is the market’s only constant. To borrow from the launch of the latest iPhone: The only thing that’s changed is everything.

In this week’s roundup we take a look at the ‘back to school’ themed activities that permeated across the discount brokerage and DIY investor landscape. Next, we take a look at the current contests being run by Canadian brokerages as a slightly different approach to get the attention of investors. This week’s discount brokerage tweets also reveal an interesting mix of conversations. Finally we’ll showcase some of the upcoming investor education events and close out with the latest forum chatter from Canadian investors.

Kicking it Old School

This past week there were a number of very interesting moves made by several Canadian discount brokerages that all had a distinctive ‘back to school’ theme to them.

Starting first with Virtual Brokers who was literally going back to schools to do some promotional activity. As spotted on their Twitter account, Virtual Brokers visited the campuses of three universities this week: Ryerson, University of Toronto Mississauga and McMaster.

While post-secondary students typically don’t have lots of extra funds to invest, there are a number of strategic sub-groups within the university crowd that make sense for a discount brokerage to build awareness with.

Like several other brokerages, Virtual Brokers has younger, cost-conscious investors on their wish list. To that end, Virtual Brokers has developed student oriented products, such as the Kick Start Investment Program which are directly being pitched to students and recent graduates.

So, while it may be tough to command the attention of undergrads between pub crawls and frosh week nuttiness, Virtual Brokers looks like they’re putting a more personal approach into their online brokerage image.

Putting Energy into Education

Another non- bank-owned brokerage, Questrade, was also up to some creative education-themed marketing. Coming up later this month Questrade is holding an investor education webinar on a popular investment area for many Canadian investors: the energy sector.

The session, entitled the 2015 energy investing outlook webinar, is being presented by the OTC Markets Group in association with Canadian Oil Sands Limited, Canadian Energy Services and Technology Corp and McMillan LLP. The agenda for Questrade’s upcoming webinar is an interesting one.

Topics to be covered include an introduction to the energy sector, strategies energy company executives use to manage capital and preserve dividends, the impact of currency fluctuations on energy companies and how to read financial statements from energy companies.

Unlike other discount brokerages such as Scotia iTrade or TD Direct Investing who tend to hold frequent investor education events, Questrade appears to be leaning towards doing less frequent but bigger events. Earlier this year, Questrade also ran an event that featured key speakers from the Canadian financial media that looked at investing trends for 2015.

The session is scheduled to take 75 minutes with 60 minutes for the presentation and 15 minutes for the question/answer period. For more information on this webinar, click here.

Intuition to Win Tuition

Taking a different approach to the back-to-school season, BMO InvestorLine is banking on promotions and contests to win over younger investors. Specifically, BMO InvestorLine has decided to extend their commission-free trade youth promotion into the fall.

At the outset of September the InvestorLine website did not have the updated dates and offer, however the information eventually made its way up there.

As an extra incentive, BMO is also running a contest with a top prize of $10,000 towards tuition at a post-secondary institution as well as $500.00 towards books. Eligible individuals who open an InvestorLine ‘Young Investor Account’ can qualify for this prize draw.

For those who prefer to go the ‘no purchase necessary’ route or who have a light course load, there is an option to submit a (legibly) handwritten 500-800 word essay on “why students should plan their financial future.”

Un-Contested

With interest in investing and trading picking back up again as we head into the fall, Canadian discount brokerages are definitely looking to get the attention of DIY investors. In addition to the regular slate of cash-back or commission-free trade offers, some brokerages also use contests strategically to get the attention (and contact information) of investors.

As mentioned above, BMO InvestorLine in conjunction with their parent bank, BMO, are running the ‘win tuition’ contest. Like most things in the discount brokerage world, however, BMO InvestorLine is not alone in using contests. RBC Direct Investing and Questrade both have contests themed around education/learning.

In the case of RBC Direct Investing, their current contest offers three chances per month to win $1,000. The contest, which began in April and runs until December 27th, is open only to members of the RBC Direct Investing Community. One of the features of the RBC Direct Investing platform is that there is a robust practice account feature as well as a large community of investors to learn and benchmark personal performance against (anonymously).

Finally, Questrade has a contest currently underway geared towards the ‘back-to-school’ sentiment. The contest offers the chance for individuals to win $5,000 toward a professionally managed RESP using Portfolio IQ.

When it comes to contests, it is actually quite interesting to see the amount of resource (in dollar terms) that RBC Direct Investing is contributing towards their investor community feature relative to what other brokerages are spending on these type of efforts. The only other big bank-owned brokerage offering a major prize contest is BMO InvestorLine and even then, the contest is actually being run by the parent BMO and spread across many different business units to qualify.

Also, for comparison, the selfie contest that Scotia iTrade ran this past summer for the prize of a movie pass shows the magnitude of difference between what RBC is putting forward and how other brokerages are responding. At a time when competition is forcing discount brokerages to look for cost efficiency, RBC is once again raising the ante for the other bank-owned brokerages to come up with a compelling incentive.

Tweets of the Week

This week on Twitter was an interesting one. While there was a good diversity of participation and topics covered, it was particularly noteworthy to see Virtual Brokers’ social media efforts restart. Prior to this past week, their Twitter account was dormant through a good chunk of the summer. Mentioned this week were CIBC Investor’s Edge, Questrade, Scotia iTrade and Virtual Brokers.

 

Event Horizon

This week’s discount brokerage-sponsored investor education events include upcoming sessions that may be of interest to mutual funds enthusiasts, and those curious about options and ETFs. Introduction to investing, trading strategies, and fundamental analysis round out this week’s selection.

September 12 – September 18

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Investing

TD Direct Investing – D-Series | Mutual Funds for the Self-Directed Investor

Scotia iTRADE – Getting Started with Stocks with Pro Market Advisors

TD Direct Investing – Options as an Income Strategy

NBDB – Option Trading Training Program 3rd Edition – [Fr]

Desjardins Online Brokerage (Disnat) – Trading ETFs with Desjardins Online Brokerage

TD Direct Investing – Options as an Income Strategy

Scotia iTRADE – Equity Strategies with iShares

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Fundamental Analysis

Scotia iTRADE – The Call Option with AJ Monte

From the Forums

Mutually E-xclusive

In this post from reddit Personal Finance Canada, a beginner investor is looking to get started with some simple TD e-series mutual funds in a TFSA. It definitely generated a lot of interesting comments and instructive perspectives on how to get started with investing and is worth a read for beginners.

Optional Options

In this quick thread, on Canadian Money Forum a user is curious about how to go about trading options in their TD direct investing account. What’s also interesting is how some DIY investors can turn to fellow forum posters ahead of or in lieu of brokerages directly.

Scalp Message

In this post from another reddit forum on investing, the Canadian Investor, one user is looking for some perspective on which discount brokerage may be best penny stock trading. Though the forum isn’t as big as the other forums, it is an interesting perspective on a trading strategy.

Into the Close

That’s a wrap for this week’s roundup. There’s been a lot of chatter about two dirty four letter words in the news: rate hike. Not all hikes are bad though. If you’re the outdoorsy type, take the chance to enjoy a late summer hike; if you’re a football fan, then there’s also another type of hike you might enjoy. Of course, everyone is still waiting and worrying about that “other” hike, but until it comes, hopefully there are still some chances to take advantage of the fun kinds. Have a great weekend!

 

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – September 4, 2015

source: Giphy

Just a few more days until school begins but from the looks of things, investors are already enrolled in the school of hard knocks. Unlike Tom Brady, however, many DIY investors are not going to get away without a few bumps and bruises to their portfolio.

For Canada’s discount brokerages, the volatility is a double-edged sword. Trading tends to go up when markets whipsaw which, of course, is great for generating trading commissions. Unfortunately, crashing markets tend to keep the fearful away from opening up new accounts.

In this week’s discount brokerage roundup, we’ll take a look at volatility in the deals and promotions section for the new crop of offers. Next we preview the upcoming season Canadian brokerages love and loathe followed by a ‘big bank’ theory that showed up in this week’s discount brokerage tweets. Finally, we cap off the roundup with some upcoming investor education events and a couple of very interesting forum posts.

Fall Selection

Coming into September, the deals and promotions activity at Canada’s discount brokerages mirrored the markets by pulling back significantly. Seven deals expired at the end of August and only two showed up to replace them leaving a grand total of 11.

Fall is typically a busy season for online brokerages so there is likely a ramp up for deals and promotions on the near horizon. Of particular interest is the fact that several online brokerage rankings are just around the corner. In years past there have been some incentives or promotions that are timed around announcements from the ranking results.

Questrade still dominates the online brokerage promotions space when it comes to the number and diversity of promotional offers with 5 deals currently in play. And, although BMO InvestorLine and Scotia iTrade both technically have two offers each, it’s clear that there aren’t many concurrent offerings from the other online brokerages heading into the fall (at least not yet).

Another noteworthy observation from this month’s deals activity was that several firms (big bank and independent) did not take down the expired deals from their websites, even well into the new month. Given that expired offers can create confusion for site visitors or convey the impression that an online brokerage is not tending to its online image, it was interesting to see these offers continue to be visible. In such a competitive field, these seemingly minor elements can end up tipping the balance in favour of those brokerages that appear to be perceived as more responsive.

With market volatility making headlines, it is going to be a challenging time for Canadian brokerages to get noticed and to provide incentive for DIY investors to step into the market. Those who are up for the challenge, however, will have to be able to be a little bolder than what’s currently posted in order to make investors pay attention.

Best Online Brokerage Award Season

It’s almost that time of year again for the crown of ‘best Canadian online brokerage’ to be handed out, again and again and again and again.

Between September and December there are four different rankings of Canada’s online brokerages that typically get released: the J.D. Power Investor Satisfaction Survey, the Globe and Mail Discount Brokerage Rankings, Surviscor’s Discount Brokerage Rankings and the Morningstar Best Online Brokerage Awards.

The J.D. Power awards for Canadian online brokerages are expected later this month while Rob Carrick’s online brokerage rankings for the Globe and Mail usually land somewhere in mid to late November. Surviscor’s awards are slated to arrive sometime in October or November and the Morningstar Canada Award winners are announced at an evening gala event which takes place this year in Toronto on November 25th.

As a lead up to the upcoming online brokerage awards season, this past week, Morningstar Canada tweeted the nomination form for the best online brokerage award – which is a submission based award.

What this means is that brokerages can, for a $1,000 entrance fee (the fee goes to the charitable partner for this event MusiCounts), submit their firm for consideration for the best online brokerage award. The submission form covers three main areas: online presence, customer service and costs. A panel of several jurors, typically made up of professionals within the online brokerage industry assess the submissions and then select the firm they think provided the best submission. What all of these different awards point out, however, is that there are many different ways to define who the ‘best online brokerage’ in Canada is. For DIY investors and online brokerages alike, this is an unfortunate reality. Since so many firms use the term “best” its meaning has now lost the weight it once carried. Ironically, what having these different measurements points out is that no one system is best when it comes to evaluating which Canadian online brokerage is the best.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

This week’s volatility in trading markets provided an interesting backdrop to what DIY investors were commenting about on Twitter. Specifically it wasn’t what they were saying so much as who they were saying it to and when the conversations were happening. In this week’s discount brokerage tweets, the big bank owned brokerages were getting quite a bit of attention. Another interesting observation: Scotia iTRADE’s twitter account was getting coverage on the weekend. Over the past several weeks we’ve seen tweets that show up late Friday or across the weekend get answered on the Monday. This past week, however, it was noteworthy to see Scotia iTRADE provide extended coverage. For the other bank-owned brokerages and independent brokerages, simply providing the scheduled tweets on the weekend looks like it isn’t going to cut it anymore.

Event Horizon

It’s back-to-school with this week’s discount brokerage-sponsored investor education events. Here are some upcoming educational sessions that may be of interest to technical and fundamental analysis enthusiasts. Trading strategies, ETFs, and options round out this week’s selection.

September 8th

Scotia iTRADE – Cash Management Using ETFs with Horizons ETFs

TD Direct Investing – Chart Smart | The Relative Strength Index (aka “The RSI”)

September 9th

Scotia iTRADE – Long-term Liabilities are the Real Benchmark to Beat with Purpose Investments

TD Direct Investing – Options as an Income Strategy

September 10th

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Fundamental Analysis

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

From the Forums

In keeping with the theme noticed on Twitter, there were a couple of interesting posts about bank-owned online brokerages that surfaced in the Canadian investor forums.

Taking off the Trading Wheels

In this first post from the Personal Finance Canada community on reddit, one mid 30’s user had some questions about getting started with their new RBC Direct Investing account, including setting up order types and ETF purchase strategies.

A Convenient Coincidence

Meanwhile, in a separate thread on RedFlagDeals’ investing forum, a similar scenario emerged for a user considering either BMO InvestorLine or Questrade for a TFSA. Interestingly, the convenience factor is a definite pull for some DIY investors. This post was also really interesting because Questrade’s reps did not hesitate to jump on the chance to explain the value of their offer. Well played Team Questrade. Well played.

Into the Close

That does it for this edition of the roundup. Enjoy the long weekend and remember that markets in the US and Canada are closed Monday for the Labour (or Labor) Day holiday. For those longing for volatility anyway, from the PNE to the CNE to Canada’s Wonderland to La Ronde, there are at least a few ways to get your roller-coaster fix. In the meanwhile, here are 10 roller coaster rides that might or might accurately capture the sentiment for the last few trading days.

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Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – September 2015

*Updated September 26*

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

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

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

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

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

Expired Deals

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

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

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

Extended Deals

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

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

New Deals

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Discount Brokerage Deals

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Commission/Cash Offer/Promotion Type Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer Details Link Deadline
Jitney Trade A Sparx Trading exclusive offer! Use the promo code “Sparx Trading” when signing up for a new account with Jitney and receive access to their preferred pricing package and a massive 45% discount on the Real Tick trading platform. n/a Discounted Commission Rates none For more details click here none
BMO InvestorLine Individuals between 18 and 35 years of age who open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine, may be eligible to receive 35 commission-free trades, an eBook on investing, $50 cash back and potentially waived account minimum fees. Use promo code “YOUNG” when signing up. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. A) for commission free trades: n/a B) for cash back: $25,000 A) 35 commission-free trades (rebate for free trades to be applied week of March 28/2016) B) $50 cash back + 35 commission-free trades (cash back bonus to be applied week of March 28/2016) 90 days Youth Promotion October 31, 2015
For students and recent graduates (within the past 2 years), open a new account with Virtual Brokers with at least $1,000 and you may be eligible to receive $50 cash back. Use promo code UN332015 when registering to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions. $1,000 $50 cash back Cash deposited shortly after Dec. 31/15 Student Promo October 31, 2015
Open a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) and receive $50 commission credit . Use promo code: kdkfnbbc $1,000 $50 commission credit none none none
Refer a friend to Questrade and when they open an account you receive $25 cash back and they receive either A) $25; B) $50; C) $75; D) $100; or E) $250 depending on the amount deposited amount. Enter code: 476104302388759 during account sign up to qualify. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for eligibility and additional bonus payment structure and minimum balance requirements. A) $1,000 – $9,999 B) $10,000 – $24,999 C) $25,000 – $49,999 D) $50,000 -$99,999 E) $100,000+ $25 cash back (for referrer per referral; $50 bonus cash back for every 3rd referral) For referred individuals: A) $25 cash back B) $50 cash back C) $75 cash back D) $100 cash back E) $250 cash back Cash deposited into Questrade billing account within 7 days after funding period ends (90 days) Refer a friend terms and conditions; Code Number: 476104302388759 none
Open and fund a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) with at least $1,000 and you may be eligible to receive 5 commission-free trades. Use promo code 5FREETRADES when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions carefully. $1,000 5 commission-free trades 60 days 5 commission-free trade offer December 31, 2016
Open and fund a new online trading account with Questrade with at least A)$1,000 or B)$10,000 and you could be eligible to receive either A)10 or B) 100 commission-free trades. Use promo code 100LOWCOM2015 when applying to be eligible for this offer. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions for this promotion. A)$1,000 B)$10,000 A) 10 commission-free trades B) 100 commission-free trades 60 days Commission-free Trade Promotion December 31, 2015
Open a new online trading account (registered, margin or FX and CFD) with Questrade and deposit at least $5,000 in order to be eligible to qualify for a $50 prepaid Visa gift card. Clients must also place at least one commission-generating trade within 60 days. Use promo code VISA502015 when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. $5,000 $50 prepaid Visa card Prepaid Visa cards will be mailed after clients complete eligibility requirements. Prepaid Visa Promotion October 30, 2015
Open a new online trading account with National Bank Direct Brokerage and deposit either A) $5000 – $24,999; B) $25,000 – $49,999 or C) $50,000 and you may be eligible to receive either A) 25; B) 50 or C) 100 commission-free trades. Use promo code “Trade” when applying to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions carefully. A) $5,000 – $24,999 B) $25,000 – $49,999 C) $50,000+ A) 25 commission-free trades B) 50 commission-free trades C) 100 commission-free trades 90 days Commission-free Trades Offer November 30, 2015
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 September 30, 2015
Scotia iTrade Open and fund a new Scotia iTRADE account with at least A) $15,000 – $49,999; B) $50,000 -$99,999; C)$100,000 – $249,999; or D)$250,000+ and you may be eligible to receive a corresponding cash back or commission rebate. For commission-free trades use code: FTN-F15 or for cash rebates use code: NC-F15. Be sure to read the terms and conditions carefully for rebate and cash back eligibility. Contact Scotia iTrade for full details on this offer. A) $15,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 -$99,999 C) $100,000 – $249,999 D) $250,000+ A) 75 commission-free trades OR $75 cash back B) 125 commission-free trades OR $125 cash back C) 250 commission free trades OR $250 cash back D) 500 commission-free trades OR $500 cash back 120 days for commission-free trades; Cash for the cash back offer will be deposited directly by September 30, 2016. 500 free trade or $500 cash back promo December 31, 2015
Disnat Disnat is offering new & existing clients $500 in commission credits which can be used for up to 6 months. To be eligible, new/existing clients need to deposit $50,000 into a Disnat account. You’ll have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code Disnat500. See details link for more info. $50,000 $500 commission credit 6 months Disnat $500 Commission Credit Promo September 30, 2015
BMO InvestorLine If you refer a new client to BMO InvestorLine and they open an account with a)$50,000 – $249,999 or b)$250,000+ the referrer and the referee will both receive cash. The new account must be opened with the referral code specific to the referrer. A) $50,000 – $249,999 B) $250,000+ A) You(referrer): $200; Your Friend(referee): $50 B) You(referrer): $300; Your Friend: $100 Payout occurs after 60 days (subject to conditions). BMO InvestorLine Refer-a-Friend October 30, 2015
Open and fund a new online trading account with Questrade with at least A)$50,000 to $99,999 or B)$100,000+ and you could be eligible to receive either A)$100 or B) $250 cash back. Use promo code CASHBACK2015 when applying to be eligible for this offer. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions for this promotion. A) $50,000 -$99,999 B) $100,000+ A) $100 cash back B) $250 cash back Cash will be deposited within 30 days of account being properly funded. $250 Cash Back Promo October 30, 2015
BMO InvestorLine Open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine, and fund it with at least $100,000 in net new assets and you may be eligible to receive either A)$200 cash back plus 20 commission-free equity trades. Use promo code FALL2015 when signing up to be eligible. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. $100,000 $200 + 20 commission-free equity trades Cash award will be paid the week of June 6, 2016. Trades are good for 1 year from signing up for promotional offer. Fall 2015 Promotion October 31, 2015

Expired Offers
Scotia iTrade Open and fund a new Scotia iTRADE account with at least A) $15,000 – $49,999; B) $50,000 -$99,999; C)$100,000 – $249,999; D)$250,000 – $499,999; E) $500,000 – $999,999 or F)$1,000,000+ you may be eligible to receive a corresponding cash back or commission rebate. For commission-free trades use code: THSP15 or for cash rebates use code: RNYDMN. Be sure to read the terms and conditions carefully for rebate and cash back eligibility. Contact Scotia iTRADE for full details on this offer. A) $15,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 -$99,999 C) $100,000 – $249,999 D) $250,000 – $499,999 E) $500,000 – $999,999 F) $1,000,000+ A) 50 commission-free trades OR $50 cash back B) 100 commission-free trades OR $100 cash back C) 250 commission free trades OR $250 cash back + KeeneOnTheMarket Subscription D) 350 commission-free trades OR $350 cash back + KeeneOnTheMarket Subscription E) 500 commission-free trades OR $500 cash back + KeeneOnTheMarket Subscription F) 1000 commission-free trades OR $1,000 cash back + KeeneOnTheMarket Subscription 120 days for commission-free trades Cash back to be deposited by February 13, 2016. $1000 or 1000 free trade offer September 13, 2015
Last Updated: September 26, 2015 1:30am PT

Transfer Fee Deals

Company Brief Description Maximum Transfer Fee Coverage Amount Minimum Deposit Amount for Transfer Fee Eligibility Details Link Deadline
Scotia iTrade Transfer $15,000 or more to Scotia iTrade from another Canadian brokerage, and iTrade may pay up to $150 in transfer fees. $150 $15,000 1000 Free Trade or $1000 Cash Back Offer September 13, 2015
Transfer $15,000 or more to RBC Direct Investing and they will pay up to $135 in transfer fees $135 $15,000 Transfer Fee Rebate Details none
Transfer $25,000 or more from another brokerage and Credential Direct will cover up to $150 in transfer fees. Use promo code SWITCHME when signing up to qualify for the transfer promotion. $150 $25,000 Credential Direct Transfer Fee Rebate none
Qtrade Investor Qtrade Investor will reimburse your transfer fee up to $150 when transferring a balance of $10,000 or more. For reimbursement, please mail or fax a copy of your statement from the transferring institution that shows the transfer charge to Qtrade Investor at 604.484.2627 and indicate your Qtrade Investor account number. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee Rebate none
Move your brokerage account to Questrade and they’ll cover the transfer-out fee up to $150. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee Promo none
Transfer $25,000 or more into a CIBC Investor’s Edge account and they will reimburse up to $135 in brokerage transfer fees. Clients must call customer service to request rebate after transfer made. $135 $25,000 confirmed with reps. Contact client service for more info (1-800-567-3343) none
Transfer $25,000 or more to a National Bank Direct Brokerage account and they will pay up to $135 plus taxes in transfer fees $135 $25,000 Transfer Fee Rebate none
Disnat Disnat is offering up to $150 to cover the cost of transfer fees from another institution. To be eligible, new/existing clients need to deposit $50,000 into a Disnat account. You’ll have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code Disnat500. See details link for more info. $150 $50,000 Disnat $500 Commission Credit Promo September 30, 2015
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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – August 28, 2015

Source: Giphy

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

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

Back to School Battles

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fig. 1 Annual RESP account fees at Canadian discount brokerages
Fig. 2 Minimum assets or account balance required to waive RESP fees at Canadian discount brokerages

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Deals on a Roll

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tweets of the Week

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

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

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

Event Horizon

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

September 1st

Scotia iTRADE – Getting Started with Options with Pro Market Advisors

September 2nd

NBDB – Short Selling – [Fr]

September 3rd

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

September 4th

Scotia iTrade – Combining Technical and Fundamental Analysis with AJ Monte

From the Forums

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

Byte the Hand that Feeds

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

A Better Option?

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

Into the Close

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

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – August 14, 2015

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

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

Fear Factor

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pros & Quants

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

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

Event Horizon

August 17

Scotia iTRADE – Bonds Investment Strategies

August 18

Scotia iTRADE – Day Trading with Pro Market Advisors

NBDB – Take Advantage of Margin Accounts – [Fr]

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Fixed Income

August 19

Desjardins Online Brokerage (Disnat) – Trading ETFs

TD Direct Investing – Top 10 Retirement Mistakes

Scotia iTRADE – Taking Your Portfolio Around The World with iShares

August 20

TD Direct Investing – Building a Fixed Income Strategy

Scotia iTRADE – Combining Technical and Fundamental Analysis with AJ Monte

From the Forums

Refreshing Problem

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

Importer Exporter

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

Into the Close

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

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Discount Brokerage Deals and Promotions – August 2015

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

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

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

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

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

Expired Deals

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

Extended Deals

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

New Deals

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

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

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

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

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

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

*Updated August 8, 2015

Questrade has relaunched its $50 Visa gift card promotion, which was last seen in May of this year. To qualify for the $50 Visa gift card, individuals must deposit a minimum of $5,000 of net new assets into a new online trading account (registered, margin or FX and CFD are eligible) and make at least one commission-generating trade within 60 days.  This offer is currently set to expire at the end of October. Read the table below for additional details.*

Discount Brokerage Deals

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Commission/Cash Offer/Promotion Type Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer Details Link Deadline
Jitney Trade A Sparx Trading exclusive offer! Use the promo code “Sparx Trading” when signing up for a new account with Jitney and receive access to their preferred pricing package and a massive 45% discount on the Real Tick trading platform. n/a Discounted Commission Rates none For more details click here none
BMO InvestorLine For individuals between 18 and 35 who open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine, they may be eligible to receive 35 commission-free trades, an eBook on investing, $50 cash back and potentially waived account minimum fees. Use promo code “YOUNG” when signing up. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. A) for commission free trades: n/a B) for cash back: $25,000 A) 35 commission-free trades B) $50 cash back + 35 commission-free trades 90 days Youth Promotion August 31, 2015
Open a new account with HSBC InvestDirect and you may be eligible to receive up to 30 equity trades (North American listed equities only) commission free. Only trades placed within the first 60 days of account opening will be eligible. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for full details on this offer. n/a 30 commission-free trades (commission will be rebated within 90 days after 60 day trading period) 60 days HSBC InvestDirect Summer Promotion Terms & Conditions August 31, 2015
Open a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) and receive $50 commission credit . Use promo code: kdkfnbbc $1,000 $50 commission credit none none none
Refer a friend to Questrade and when they open an account you receive $25 cash back and they receive either A) $25; B) $50; C) $75; D) $100; or E) $250 depending on the amount deposited amount. Enter code: 476104302388759 during account sign up to qualify. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for eligibility and additional bonus payment structure and minimum balance requirements. A) $1,000 – $9,999 B) $10,000 – $24,999 C) $25,000 – $49,999 D) $50,000 -$99,999 E) $100,000+ $25 cash back (for referrer per referral; $50 bonus cash back for every 3rd referral) For referred individuals: A) $25 cash back B) $50 cash back C) $75 cash back D) $100 cash back E) $250 cash back Cash deposited into Questrade billing account within 7 days after funding period ends (90 days) Refer a friend terms and conditions; Code Number: 476104302388759 none
Open and fund a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) with at least $1,000 and you may be eligible to receive 5 commission-free trades. Use promo code 5FREETRADES when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions carefully. $1,000 5 commission-free trades 60 days 5 commission-free trade offer August 31, 2015
Open and fund a new account at Questrade with at least A)$1,000, B)$25,000 or C)$50,000+ and you could be eligible to receive either A)1 month, B) 2 months or C)3 months of commission-free trading. Use offer code UNLIMITED2015 when opening an application to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions on this offer. A)$1,000 B)$25,000 C)$50,000 A) 1 month commission-free trading B) 2 months commission-free trading C) 3 months commission-free trading (*note trading commissions will be rebated within 10 business days of trade execution) A) 1 month B) 2 months C) 3 months Unlimited Trading Promotion August 31, 2015
Open a new online trading account (registered, margin or FX and CFD) with Questrade and deposit at least $5,000 in order to be eligible to qualify for a $50 prepaid Visa gift card. Clients must also place at least one commission-generating trade within 60 days. Use promo code VISA502015 when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. $5,000 $50 prepaid Visa card Prepaid Visa cards will be mailed after clients complete eligibility requirements. Prepaid Visa Promotion October 30, 2015
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 September 30, 2015
Scotia iTrade Open and fund a new Scotia iTRADE account with at least A) $15,000 – $49,999; B) $50,000 -$99,999; C)$100,000 – $249,999; D)$250,000 – $499,999; E) $500,000 – $999,999 or F)$1,000,000+ you may be eligible to receive a corresponding cash back or commission rebate. For commission-free trades use code: THSP15 or for cash rebates use code: RNYDMN. Be sure to read the terms and conditions carefully for rebate and cash back eligibility. Contact Scotia iTRADE for full details on this offer. A) $15,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 -$99,999 C) $100,000 – $249,999 D) $250,000 – $499,999 E) $500,000 – $999,999 F) $1,000,000+ A) 50 commission-free trades OR $50 cash back B) 100 commission-free trades OR $100 cash back C) 250 commission free trades OR $250 cash back + KeeneOnTheMarket Subscription D) 350 commission-free trades OR $350 cash back + KeeneOnTheMarket Subscription E) 500 commission-free trades OR $500 cash back + KeeneOnTheMarket Subscription F) 1000 commission-free trades OR $1,000 cash back + KeeneOnTheMarket Subscription 120 days for commission-free trades Cash back to be deposited by February 13, 2016. $1000 or 1000 free trade offer September 13, 2015
Open and fund a new account at Virtual Brokers with at least $15,000 and you could be eligible to receive up to 25 commission-free stock or ETF trades good for use for up to one year. Use promo code “TRYUS2015” when signing up to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions carefully. $15,000 25 commission-free trades 365 days Free trades for one year promotion August 31, 2015
Disnat Disnat is offering new & existing clients $500 in commission credits which can be used for up to 6 months. To be eligible, new/existing clients need to deposit $50,000 into a Disnat account. You’ll have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code Disnat500. See details link for more info. $50,000 $500 commission credit 6 months Disnat $500 Commission Credit Promo September 30, 2015
National Bank Direct Brokerage is offering either A) a 16GB iPad Mini or B) $300 cash back to new clients who sign up for the InvestCube service and deposit at least $50,000. Use either promo code “Mini2015” for the iPad or “Cash2015” when signing up to be eligible for this offer. Be sure to read the terms and conditions of this promotion carefully. $50,000 A) iPad Mini (16GB) B) $300 cash back Within 45 days of the eligibility date either A) the order for the tablet will be processed or B) cash back will be credited to the account. InvestCube Tablet or Cash Back Promotion August 31, 2015
BMO InvestorLine If you refer a new client to BMO InvestorLine and they open an account with a)$50,000 – $249,999 or b)$250,000+ the referrer and the referee will both receive cash. The new account must be opened with the referral code specific to the referrer. A) $50,000 – $249,999 B) $250,000+ A) You(referrer): $200; Your Friend(referee): $50 B) You(referrer): $300; Your Friend: $100 Payout occurs after 60 days (subject to conditions). BMO InvestorLine Refer-a-Friend October 30, 2015
Open a new account (registered, margin, or FX & CFD) with at least $100,000 in new assets and execute at least one commission-generating trade and you may be eligible to receive an Apple Gift Card worth $500.00. Use promo code APPLEWATCH2015 when registering. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions on this offer. $100,000 $500 Apple Store gift card Apple Store gift card will be emailed within 30 days of eligibility requirements being met. Apple Gift Card Promo August 31, 2015
BMO InvestorLine Open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine, and fund it with either A)$100,000 – $249,999; B)$250,000 – $499,999; C)$500,000 – $999,999 or D)$1 million+ in net new assets and you may be eligible to receive either A)$200; B)$500; C)$750 or D)$1,000 cash back. Be sure to use the appropriate promotion code for the corresponding cash back tier when signing up. For the $200 cash back use DISC200; for $500 cash back use DISC500; for $750 cash back use DISC750 and for $1000 cash back use DISC1000.Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. A) $100,000 – $249,999 B) $250,000 – $499,999 C) $500,000 – $999,999 D) $1,000,000+ A) $200 B) $500 C) $750 D) $1000 Cash award will be paid the week of April 11, 2016. Summer Offer Promotion August 31, 2015
Last Updated: August 8, 2015 17:40 PT

Transfer Fee Deals

Company Brief Description Maximum Transfer Fee Coverage Amount Minimum Deposit Amount for Transfer Fee Eligibility Details Link Deadline
Scotia iTrade Transfer $15,000 or more to Scotia iTrade from another Canadian brokerage, and iTrade may pay up to $150 in transfer fees. $150 $15,000 1000 Free Trade or $1000 Cash Back Offer September 13, 2015
Transfer $15,000 or more to RBC Direct Investing and they will pay up to $135 in transfer fees $135 $15,000 Transfer Fee Rebate Details none
Transfer $25,000 or more from another brokerage and Credential Direct will cover up to $150 in transfer fees. Use promo code SWITCHME when signing up to qualify for the transfer promotion. $150 $25,000 Credential Direct Transfer Fee Rebate none
Qtrade Investor Qtrade Investor will reimburse your transfer fee up to $150 when transferring a balance of $10,000 or more. For reimbursement, please mail or fax a copy of your statement from the transferring institution that shows the transfer charge to Qtrade Investor at 604.484.2627 and indicate your Qtrade Investor account number. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee Rebate none
Move your brokerage account to Questrade and they’ll cover the transfer-out fee up to $150. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee Promo none
Transfer $25,000 or more into a CIBC Investor’s Edge account and they will reimburse up to $135 in brokerage transfer fees. Clients must call customer service to request rebate after transfer made. $135 $25,000 confirmed with reps. Contact client service for more info (1-800-567-3343) none
Transfer $25,000 or more to a National Bank Direct Brokerage account and they will pay up to $135 plus taxes in transfer fees $135 $25,000 Transfer Fee Rebate none
Disnat Disnat is offering up to $150 to cover the cost of transfer fees from another institution. To be eligible, new/existing clients need to deposit $50,000 into a Disnat account. You’ll have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code Disnat500. See details link for more info. $150 $50,000 Disnat $500 Commission Credit Promo September 30, 2015
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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – July 31, 2015

Regardless of where you happen to be in Canada, it’s clear that the dog days of summer are here. The heat outside, however, pales in comparison to the heat felt by Canadian online brokerages to compete with one another.

With it being so close to the beginning of a new month, this edition of the roundup puts a heavy focus on just how competition is impacting the race to win over new clients with a deep dive on a newly launched promotion from one major online brokerage. Following that we take a look at a tactical move by another online brokerage to continue pushing into investor education and then review one discount brokerage’s strategy of taking advantage of low interest rates (while they’re still available). Finally we take a look at the discount brokerage tweets of the week and close out with a pair of fascinating conversations from the investor forums.

Let’s Make a Better Deal

As July winds down, the discount brokerage deals and promotions activity saw a slight uptick from two brokerages – BMO InvestorLine and Virtual Brokers.

Starting first with the latter, Virtual Brokers has decided to revive the deal that had technically expired at the end of June and extend it through to the end of August. The offer is for 25 commission-free trades that are good for use for up to one year.

At the other end of the deposit spectrum is the offer from BMO InvestorLine. In keeping with their nautical themed campaign imagery, BMO InvestorLine’s latest cash-back offer is a shot across the bow at the two other discount brokerages currently jockeying for clients with deposits of at least $100,000: Scotia iTrade and Questrade.

There’s a lot about BMO InvestorLine’s latest cash-back promotion that clearly signals they’re actively courting clients who have larger deposits/assets. First, the minimum deposit to qualify for this promotion is $100,000. The only other brokerage with an offer exclusively geared towards this deposit level is Questrade with their Apple Watch promo. That said, one of Scotia iTrade’s current cash-back promotions also has minimum qualifying tiers that match BMO InvestorLine’s almost exactly for deposits at or above $100,000. For that reason and because Scotia iTrade is a bank-owned brokerage, it is likely that the offer from BMO InvestorLine is going to compete with Scotia iTrade’s cash back offering rather than the Apple Watch .

With that in mind, comparing the BMO InvestorLine deal to the Scotia iTrade deal reveals that each discount brokerage seems to be trying to win particular segments of the marketplace (see table below).

While both are offering $1,000 cash back for deposits of $1 million or more, it appears that Scotia iTrade is offering a greater cash back offering at the $100,000 – $249,999 tier than BMO InvestorLine but at deposits between $250,000 and $999,999, BMO InvestorLine looks to be outbidding Scotia iTrade.

Cash Back Amount
Minimum Deposit Amount Scotia iTRADE BMO InvestorLine
$15,000 $50
$50,000 $100
$100,000 $250 $200
$250,000 $350 $500
$500,000 $500 $750
$1,000,000 $1,000 $1,000

Curiously, both bank-owned brokerages seem to have created an incentive structure with diminishing returns. That is, the more that an individual deposits in absolute terms, the less the individual investor actually gets back in proportional terms. Here is a graph that compares the relationship between deposit size to cash back. As the graph clearly shows, the more an individual deposits, the lower the percentage cash-back they receive.

It begs the question as to why the incentive structure was built this way, especially if brokerages want to attract deposits (in industry lingo – to increase their share of wallet). Usually consumers are given extra incentive to purchase at volume, not less. Under the current structure of these offers, DIY investors have greater financial incentive to move their business across several brokerages instead of consolidating assets at one in order to maximize their return. Here’s how.

Within the current promotions being offered, if an individual wants to maximize their incentive, and they had the assets (and desire) to do so, opening an account with Scotia iTrade AND BMO InvestorLine would net them more than opening an account with just one.

For example, individuals with $200,000 or more in assets who open an account at only one of these brokerages would net $250 (at Scotia iTrade) or $200 (at BMO InvestorLine). If, however, they split that deposit into two $100,000 deposits at each of BMO InvestorLine and Scotia iTrade, they would receive $450. For those keeping score, that’s 0.225% on $200,000 instead of either 0.13% (Scotia iTrade) or 0.1% (BMO InvestorLine).

For those looking to have their $1 million dollars go further, the following table shows that settling for $1,000 cash back at one brokerage is leaving serious money on the table.

Hypothetically, splitting the $1 million deposit across the following current cash back deals (from BMO InvestorLine, National Bank Direct Brokerage, Questrade AND Scotia iTrade simultaneously) would actually only require $900,000 and net $1650 back resulting in a return of 0.18% (in aggregate) as opposed to the 0.1% from either of the top tier offers from Scotia iTrade or BMO InvestorLine.

Discount Brokerage Deposit Amount Cash Back Rate of Return
Scotia iTRADE $500,000 $750.00 0.15%
BMO InvestorLine $250,000 $350.00 0.14%
NBDB $50,000 $300.00 0.60%
Questrade $100,000 $250.00 0.25%
Total $900,000 $1,650.00 0.18%

While dealing with multiple providers/brokerages might be an inconvenience for some, others look at spreading assets across multiple providers as a risk management strategy and as a way to get access to exclusive features each brokerage offers. There’s also nothing preventing consolidating those accounts at a particular brokerage in the future for additional benefit (once the mandatory balance holding period is complete).

Of course, moving accounts around to get incentives isn’t necessarily as lucrative as certain fixed income low-risk strategies. That said, for those in the market for a discount brokerage and who don’t mind being more transient, shuffling between providers can actually work out to being more lucrative than parking in one place.

Most discount brokerages will not be thrilled about clients constantly turning over however the fix seems somewhat straightforward – value the clients with higher deposits equal to or greater (on a proportionate basis) than smaller deposits.

Exploring Options

With exciting initiatives planned for this fall (more on that as we draw closer to September) Desjardins Online Brokerage is once again playing the investor education card to reach out to DIY investors.

In their latest offer, Desjardins Online Brokerage has teamed up with investor education firm Learn to Trade Global to offer discounted options education training. The team at Learn to Trade Global may be familiar to anyone attending the options education seminars from the Montreal Exchange (including options education day) as both Jason Ayres and Patrick Ceresna conduct seminars on behalf the exchange.

In this latest offering from Desjardins Online Brokerage, individuals who are clients (or become clients) of Desjardins Online Brokerage receive a heavily discounted (90% off) price for options education training. For $99 individuals are eligible to receive 3 months access to a number of educational materials related to options investing as well as model portfolios and trading ideas. In addition there are six live online “strategy labs” that clients can access live or watch archived versions of.

A strong focus on investor education has paid off in years past for Desjardins Online Brokerage especially in their partnership with Tyler Bollhorn from Stockscores. With this latest venture with Learn to Trade Global, it should be an interesting proposition for DIY investors looking for a structured approach to learning more about options trading from two very recognizable figures in this space.

Questrade Refinancing Debt

While low interest rates have been a headwind to the online brokerages in many respects, one Canadian online brokerage has taken the opportunity to refinance some of their higher interest debt to presumably better terms.

In an article published earlier this week in the Globe and Mail (for subscribers only), it was reported that Questrade had raised $10 million dollars at an annual interest rate of 10% and has recently repaid the original lender, Crown Capital Partners. According to the article Questrade’s CEO, Edward Kholodenko mentioned that the loan has been mostly refinanced to more favourable terms.

Questrade, however, is no stranger when it comes to accessing capital at rather hefty interest rates. Additional research on some publicly listed entities that have provided capital to Questrade reveal that Questrade has financed several million dollars at rates as high as 16%.

Given that Questrade is a private corporation, it is difficult to get a specific and transparent understanding of its financials. That said, some indirect indicators, such as these financing figures, their continued aggressive expansion into wealth management, their low client acquisition costs and building out service capacity in their online brokerage segment means that Questrade continues to push forward in becoming a contender in the Canadian wealth management industry, regardless of the short-term cost.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

This week’s tweets show once again how Twitter is increasingly becoming a medium on which individual investors are addressing customer service issues with Canadian discount brokerages. Questrade and Scotia iTrade were on the hot seat for a number of reasons whereas many of the other brokerages were largely inactive or not mentioned at all.

From the Forums

We Interrupt This Program

In this interesting thread about TD Direct Investing’s maintenance schedule, several users from the Financial Wisdom Forum voice their collective discontent with not being able to get online when they feel they should be able to, especially when looking at overseas markets.

Too Good To Be Free?

While many DIY investors are enjoying the benefits of fierce competition between online brokerages, there comes the point where it becomes natural to wonder how or if companies can afford to make money – especially when giving things away for free. In this post, one reddit user wonders aloud whether Questrade’s free ETF purchases are too good to be true.

Into the Close

That’s a wrap for this week’s roundup. After all that data it’ll be great to kick back and indulge in some regression of the non-spreadsheet variety. Have a great weekend and here’s a brief reminder of what we’re missing while beating the heat!

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – July 24, 2015

(source: giphy)

From spiking share prices of tech giants such as Google and Amazon to gold losing its luster with investors, this week showed that expectations about the future are what drive the rapid moves up and down in share pricing. Arguably, reputation is its own kind of currency and this week we saw examples of how Canadian discount brokerages are having to learn to navigate expectations of online investors via social media.

In this edition of the roundup, we continue with the lighter summer format by taking a look at some sneak peeks at what a couple of discount brokerages are up to over the summer. Next we look at who is facing the heat and why in the discount brokerage tweets of the week. From there we’ll take a look at the upcoming investor education opportunities on the horizon and cap the roundup off with some interesting forum chatter from the past week.

Trading Places

This past week, spent some time with several Canadian online brokerages in Toronto discussing what’s coming around the corner for this fall. Here’s a hint: there’s going to be more than a few big announcements that will get the attention of DIY investors.

Some of what can be shared comes a result of doing a walkthrough of the offices of two close competitors in the low-commission cost segment: Questrade and Virtual Brokers.

What was interesting about being able to go behind the scenes was the level of activity at each of the brokerages and the fact that they are both growing and planning for continued growth. Offices of both brokerages continue to expand and improve which is a testament to the interest these two firms have been receiving from commission-sensitive DIY investors.

As any good summer teaser would do, stay tuned in the upcoming weeks for more interesting content related to these latest adventures.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

The summer heat was definitely bearing down on social media this week as a couple of discount brokerages found themselves having to cool the nerves of some frustrated investors. In particular it was the bank-owned brokerages that seemed to end up in detailed back-and-forth conversations for issues such as delayed account openings and platform glitches.

This week’s tweets offer a unique and instructive read for anyone interested in what challenges online trading can present and how online brokerages (including the big bank-owned brokerages) respond on Twitter.

Mentioned in this week’s tweets were Questrade, RBC Direct Investing, Scotia iTrade and TD Direct Investing.

Event Horizon

Despite it being near the end of July, there is a lot of activity for those interested in learning about investing. Check out some of the interesting sessions below:

July 27

TD Direct Investing – Planning Your Retirement | Tips for Winding Down Your RSP

July 29

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Investing in Options

TD Direct Investing – Advanced Options

TD Direct Investing – Options as an Income Strategy

Scotia iTRADE – Concepts in Technical Analysis with Recognia

July 30

NBDB – Learn About Investment Basics – [Fr]

From the Forums

Wading Poll

Discount brokerages were on the minds of a few DIY investors this past week in the RedFlagDeals.com investing forum. An informal poll of users of the site asking them which discount brokerage they used provided the following results (based on 78 respondents). Interestingly, but perhaps not surprisingly, TD Direct Investing was the dominant online brokerage that voters mentioned (29.49% or 23 of 78 visitors) followed by Questrade (17.95% or 14 out of 78 visitors) and then BMO InvestorLine in third place (12.82% or 10 out of 78).

With small numbers of respondents, there are obvious limits to the kinds of conclusions that can be drawn. It was, however, noteworthy that Questrade was the second most popular answer and that other fairly well-known brokerages, such as Interactive Brokers, were not mentioned. User comments below the survey results also pointed out some of the gaps and interesting observations.

(source: redflagdeals.com)

Upside vs Downside

The decision to become an independent or self-directed investor is definitely an important one. Aside from the usual conversations regarding how much effort is involved, or even which online brokerage is best, the following post from the Financial Wisdom Forum on the downsides of using discount brokerages was a really interesting look at some perspectives of DIY investors on the downsides of the discount brokerages.

Into the Close

That does it for this edition of the roundup. Have a great weekend wherever you happen to be and congrats to the Canadian athletes for the strong Canadian showing at this year’s Pan Am games.

(source: giphy)