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National Bank Direct Brokerage

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – April 27, 2018

For traders of Canadian securities listed on the TSX/TSX-V and Montreal Exchange, the weekend showed up a little earlier than anyone expected. With trading on these markets halted, it was an opportune time for the Toronto crowd to tune into the wizardry of the Toronto Raptors. Of course, online brokerages in Canada are used to throwing a few surprises at the DIY investing space and this week, some pleasant surprises came to market that spell interesting times for active traders.

In this edition of the roundup, we take a look at an acquisition deal that beefs up one online brokerage’s war chest and is part of a new and exciting chapter for Canadian online brokerages. From there we’ll review some interesting developments with a bank-owned online brokerage that’s turning its efforts to Western Canada. Also, we’ll report on a new active trader feature that offers an interesting approach to short-selling at one independent online brokerage. Speaking of surprise developments, this will be the final week we roll out tweets of the week in the current format – we’ll be switching things up and putting this feature on pause. Not on pause though will be chatter from DIY investors which will close out this edition of the roundup.

Jitneytrade to be acquired by Canaccord

After years of treading water, it appears the Canadian online brokerage market is now on the move. This week, a big name in Canadian wealth management, Canaccord Genuity, made a very interesting play by initiating an acquisition of Jitneytrade, a Canadian online brokerage that caters primarily to active traders.

The deal, which was announced by press release, will see Canaccord Genuity acquire both Jitneytrade as well as FinlogiK, the parent to Jitneytrade.

According to the press release Jitneytrade will continue to operate independently however the release also states that the acquisition “serves to support Canaccord Genuity’s mid-market share of equities trading and providing access to new areas of growth through accelerating its development of an enhanced fintech product offering.”

There’s certainly a hint in there that Canaccord, with its strong book of deals and deep client base, could present a genuine challenge to other Canadian online brokerages who cater to active trading clients – in particular options trading clients. Of course, there’s also the fact that through Jitneytrade, Canaccord clients may now be inclined to reconsider which online brokerage they want to actively invest with.

What makes this deal between Jitneytrade and Canaccord all the more interesting is that it is yet another example of smaller Canadian online brokerages integrating with larger financial services players in Canada.

In September 2017, for example, CI Financial announced that it was acquiring BBS Securities, parent to Virtual Brokers. And, in December of 2017, Qtrade Investor and Credential Direct announced they would be merging under the umbrella of wealth management firm Aviso.

Clearly the days of the smaller online brokerage players in Canada are numbered.

“Smaller” non-bank-owned online brokerages are now better capitalized to take on bank-owned online brokerages’ dominance of the wealth management space which should make things even more competitive for DIY investors going forward.

On a more speculative note, Questrade is now the only independent online brokerage to be standing on its own two feet – and given the recent activity in online brokerage space in Canada, one wonders if it too will become acquisition target.

National Bank Direct Brokerage looking west

Sometimes it’s the little things that actually turn out to be interesting signals of things to come in the online brokerage space in Canada.

This past week, a sponsorship by National Bank Direct Brokerage of a conference in Vancouver crossed our radar.  Specifically National Bank Direct Brokerage is a sponsor of the “Investment in Innovation – GCFF Vancouver Conference” which caters to Vancouver’s Chinese investor community. Included in the conference are companies from a number of headline-making sectors, including blockchain, fintech, medical marijuana and more.

Event sponsorships for online brokerages have become increasingly rare, so it was telling that NBDB would be reaching out to this particular event. The combination of a number of small-cap companies as well as connecting with a critical mass of investors from the Chinese community is an interesting choice for a bank-owned online brokerage that is much better known in Quebec and Ontario and is likely a clear signal of greater intentions to explore how to make inroads in Western Canada, specifically in BC. It’ll be interesting to see how other brokerages with deeper footprints in BC respond and whether the critical mass of Chinese investors represents a compelling niche to stir up competition amongst Canadian online brokerages interested in connecting with this market demographic.

Questrade enhances short-selling experience

Based on an announcement made at the end of last week in Questrade’s community blog, enhancements to its IQ Edge trading platform that include an automated way to determine the cost of selling shares short took effect.

According to the feature announcement, the borrowing rate (and therefore cost) of short selling will be a floating one which will vary based on a security’s value, demand and available inventory. For traders interested in maintaining a short position, Questrade’s platform will be able to display what that carrying cost will look like as long as the trade is live.

When it comes to short-selling, one of the recurring comments from active traders is the challenge obtaining securities – however with this new program in place there might be an interesting mechanism for Questrade to monetize interest in short-selling and/or moderate the availability of shares to short.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

After just about three years and close to 150 weekly stories of DIY investor reactions on Twitter, this is the last edition of the tweets of the week in the current format. Our platform provider as acquired by Adobe and as a result the platform that we used to curate and deliver these tweets has been decommissioned.

We’re hoping we can continue to bring interesting insights about the online brokerage space to you from Twitter and are looking forward to being able to start publishing this segment again soon.

Mentioned this week were CIBC Investor’s Edge, Questrade, Scotia iTRADE, and TD Direct Investing.

From the Forums

Fine Print

For DIY investors contemplating being an active investor, there’s an important set of requirements you ought to be aware of. In this post, from RedFlagDeals.com’s investing thread, one user points out the fine print at a big online brokerage that shows how vulnerable traders can be when it comes trading on margin.

Pay for Parking

When it comes to parking cash in an online investing account, there’s a limited number of choices for safely growing your investment. In this post from reddit’s personal finance thread, one user gets an interesting reply to a question about low fee options.

Into the Close

With this week now in the books, it’s one that Canadians and Torontonians won’t soon forget. Another week and another terrible tragedy. To the victims, their families and loved ones as well as to all Canadians impacted by the horrendous van attack that took place in Toronto, the SparxTrading team offers our deepest condolences.

 

 

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – April 20, 2018

For many sports fans, playoffs are the time of year when things get really exciting. Fortunately, sports fans aren’t the only ones being treated to contests as DIY investors and online brokerages have contests of their own making headlines. Of course some games take longer than others to win and require some creativity to get ahead (amirite Westworld fans?).

In this edition of the weekly roundup, we look at the return of a popular online trading competition that one Canadian online brokerage is putting up big prize money for. Next, we take a look at some recent earnings from a popular online brokerage and what an earnings call revealed about DIY investor sentiment in Q1 as well as some hints to how the online brokerage space is poised to change this year. As usual we’ll be taking the pulse of DIY investors on Twitter and in the investor forums, so be sure to check out what folks were talking about this week.

Biggest Winner Competition is Back

Just in time for the playoff season (and perhaps the end of season), the Biggest Winner competition from Horizons ETFs and National Bank Direct Brokerage is back. Fun fact, Horizons ETFs also is the exclusive ETF sponsor of the Toronto Raptors.

Officially kicking off on May 7th, this popular contest features healthy cash prizes for top performing participants. The grand prize is $7,500 while the runner up prize is $2,500. There are also six weekly prizes of $500 each which will keep things exciting from week to week over the course of the challenge.

Contestants will have a fantasy balance of $100,000 to start off with and can only trade Canadian ETFs trading on the TSX. The contest runs between May 7th and June 15th so the ‘buy and hold’ strategies may not fare as well as those who take a more active approach.

Of course, with market volatility levels being as high as they are, this could make for a very interesting competition – especially given the performance of leveraged ETFs in these conditions.

To keep things interesting, the competition does have some important limits. For example, the maximum allocation of a portfolio in any one ETF is 25% and investors will be charged fantasy commissions at the rate of $9.95 per trade. Also, the maximum limit of trades over the competition is 5,000 which is still a pretty high bar for scalp traders. Of course, it’s fairly onerous to generate that many orders manually but trader types are known to be competitive, so someone just might be able to max out.

Another fun fact, the sponsor of the competition, National Bank Direct Brokerage, actually allows for totally commission free trading (with some conditions) of Canadian and American ETFs, so in this case, reality has an edge over the fantasy world.

For DIY investors looking to have a little fun and learn about investing, this is a great way to do both. And, who knows, it might be possible to win big with a volatile market and lots of ways to play it.

Volatility Rules for Interactive Brokers in Q1

There’s an old farmer’s saying that goes ‘make hay while the sun shines.’ For many investors, the stock market volatility over the start of 2018 has been anything but sunny, however like anything in the markets, there’s always another side to the story. In this case that other side is that with all of this volatility, traders in the US have come back into the market in a big way.

This past week, US online brokerage Interactive Brokers held their quarterly conference call to review and discuss the results from Q1 of 2018. As with most conference calls, there were certainly more than a few nuggets of information that showed how the online brokerage business in faring for Interactive Brokers, but more importantly, where they are looking to next for opportunities and what this means for both investors and Interactive Brokers’ competition.

First things first, the numbers. Compared to the same quarter last year, Interactive Brokers crushed it when it came to revenue, earnings and trading metrics. Suffice it to say that with year over year growth in accounts of 27% (to 517,000), growth in customer equity of 33% (to $129B) and pretax income for brokerage this quarter was 291 million, up 57%. Importantly, both trading commissions and net interest revenue were significant contributors to earnings and the rise in interest rates helped to bolster earnings.

In addition to the strong numbers, there were two other noteworthy observations from the conference call.

First, there appears to be an interesting marketing strategy that looks to be directed to shareholders or stock watchers to become clients of Interactive Brokers. It is something we noted in previous roundup, but the direct nature of pointing out the benefits to being a shareholder as well as a client mean that Interactive Brokers is tapping into an already attentive audience to mobilize more clients.

A second, and perhaps most interesting observation is that Interactive Brokers continues to move towards offering traditional banking services in an effort to encourage clients to bring more assets into Interactive Brokers. Not only did they launch a trading-account-linked Mastercard, they also offer interest on cash balances (over $100,000) of 1.19% which is huge for people who like to keep their powder dry. The biggest reveal in the conference call, however, was when CEO and founder, Thomas Peterffy mentioned that Interactive Brokers would soon be rolling out a direct deposit (through payroll) feature and the ability to pay bills from a client’s trading account. This last feature is significant because it is a direct play on the convenience of having access to trading funds to do everyday financial management without having to transfer money to another institution.

Based on their latest numbers, the combination of Interactive Brokers’ efforts to chase profits but also to mitigate risks has helped them skate through an exceptionally volatile quarter with lots of profits to show for it.

In a world moving quickly towards technologies that are seeking to disintermediate, being an online brokerage is a tricky proposition. To succeed in the online brokerage market of the future, firms will require scale and critical mass – otherwise as Peterffy astutely remarked – other brokerages will turn to Interactive Brokers to handle the order execution and technology while those firms focus on client service and acquisition.

The latest financial results for Interactive Brokers show that the writing is on the wall for all online brokerages – and for the broader financial services sector – that pulling ahead of the pack requires technology and a trading experience that gets clients excited. Interactive Brokers has demonstrated that it can do that while passing on savings to clients, which in turn results in their pockets getting pretty full in the process.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

An interesting mix of tweets this week. There were the regular client service and technical difficulty tweets, but there were also some interesting hints dropped by Questrade on future features and some great coverage of a financial literacy event (also featuring Questrade). Mentioned this week were BMO InvestorLine, CIBC Investor’s Edge, Questrade, RBC Direct Investing, Scotia iTRADE, and TD Direct Investing.

From the Forums

Feed Up

Before opening an online brokerage, it’s important to understand how much it will cost to trade there. Unfortunately, for one eager beaver, the FOMO of getting into a hot sector won out over reading through the details of trading costs. This post from reddit’s Personal Finance Canada thread shows how one Scotia iTRADE user is looking for a way to minimize fees on the way out.

The drop on DRIPs

Maintaining healthy skepticism is important to surviving the investing world long term. So, one thoughtful forum user in this post from the RedFlagDeals Investing thread posed a question about the downside to using DRIP investing at Questrade. The responses offered a variety of interesting perspectives.

Into the Close

Seeing that it’s 4/20, it only seems appropriate to end the week on a high note (ba-dum-tsh). Yes there were many green puns today but with recreational marijuana legalization just around the corner here in Canada, investors were also weighing in on prospects for this sector. Of course, once all the smoke finally clears on Friday, there’s a whole weekend of hoping and cheering to get to. Good luck Raptors (and even the Leafs) – it’s a great weekend to get on a roll. Ok I’ll stop. Have a great weekend!!

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Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – April 2018

*Updated April 2* Spring is officially here and for DIY investor’s it’s already off to a great start. To begin with, there was a bullish sign heading into April as two online brokerages, Desjardins Online Brokerage and HSBC InvestDirect, elected to extend offers that were scheduled to expire at the end of March.

Discount Brokerage Deals Quick Nav

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

In fact, of the four deals set to expire at the end of March, two have already been extended and at least one more, from BMO InvestorLine, is on the way to replace the deal that officially expires on April 1st (it is still live at the time of publication). The only offer that is officially expired at the time of publication is from Virtual Brokers, however there is a strong likelihood that they will not be out of the promotions section for very long.

So, at the kick off to April, there are still two cash back offers on the board, and if the referral promotions are included in there, technically there are five offers on the deals board that DIY investors could use to get a cash bonus upon getting into a new account.

The category with the most offers, by far, is transfer fee coverage offers. As we observed last month, Qtrade Investor lowered the required minimum for investors to qualify from $25,000 to $15,000 and as such, are one of the most competitive offers of the group.

Investors looking for a trading commission-related offer – such as commission free trades or a discounted commission rate, have seven offers to choose from (not including referral offers) so there’s a healthy mix of bank-owned or independent brokerages to choose from in this category.

As always, if there are any other offers that we’ve not listed that might be of interest to other readers, feel free to leave a comment below.

Top cash back promotions at Canadian discount brokerages - April 2018
Top cash back promotions at Canadian discount brokerages – April 2018

Expired Offers

At the time of publication, Virtual Brokers’ discounted commission promotion offer expired.

Extended Offers

HSBC InvestDirect, which is normally somewhat selective in timing offers through the year, elected to extend their cash-back promotion making it and BMO InvestorLine the only two cash-back offers available to all investors.

Also extended was Desjardins Online Brokerage’s popular 1% commission credit offer. The timing coincides with the launch of their new logo as well – a positive sign they’re positioning for interesting activities to come.

New Offers

*Updated April 2: BMO InvestorLine just launched their latest promotion and it is an interesting one! Starting today (April 2nd) and going until May 31st, BMO InvestorLine is offering a cash back and commission-free trade combination promotion. This tiered deposit promotion offers between $50 and $500 for deposits ranging from $50,000 to $300,000+ as well as up to 20 additional commission-free trades which are good for 2 months. Combo offers are rare and the relatively close expiry date signal something very interesting for DIY investors looking for an online trading account to consider. See table below for more details.*

There were no new offers to report at the time of publication, however we’re on the lookout for possible offers coming soon from BMO InvestorLine.

Discount Brokerage Deals

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

Cash Back/Free Trade/Product Offer Promotions

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Commission/Cash Offer/Promotion Type Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer Details Link Deadline
Jitney Trade A Sparx Trading exclusive offer! Use the promo code “Sparx Trading” when signing up for a new account with Jitneytrade and receive access to their preferred pricing package. n/a Discounted Commission Rates none For more details click here none
Open and fund a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) with at least $1,000 and you may be eligible to receive $88 in commission credits (up to 17 commission-free trades). Use promo code SPARX88 when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions carefully. $1,000 $88 commission credit 60 days Access this offer by clicking here: $88 commission-credit offer . For full terms and conditions, click here. none
Open and fund a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) with at least $1,000 and you may be eligible to receive 5 commission-free trades. Use promo code 5FREETRADES when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions carefully. $1,000 5 commission-free trades 60 days 5 commission-free trade offer December 31, 2018
Open and fund a new account with Virtual Brokers with at least $5,000 and you may be eligible to receive up to two months of trading at $4.99 per trade (maximum of 15 trades per month). Use promo code 499COM2017 when signing up to qualify. See terms and conditions for full details. $5,000 Up to 2 months of trading at $4.99 per trade (max 15 trades per month) Commissions will be reimbursed after June 30, 2018. For more details, click here March 31, 2018
Disnat Desjardins Online Brokerage is offering new clients 1% of assets transferred into the new account in the form of commission credits (to a maximum value of $1,000). Minimum qualifying deposit is $10,000. To qualify, individuals will have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code DisnatTransfer or email: [email protected]. See details link for more info. $10,000 1% of assets transferred in the form of commission-credits (max credits: $1,000) 6 months Disnat 1% Commission Credit Promo May 31, 2018
Open a new account at National Bank Direct Brokerage with at least a) $10,000 or B) $20,000+, and you may be eligible to receive up to A) 10 or B) 25 commission-free trades. For the 10 free trades offer, enter promo code FREE10 and for the 25 free trades offer enter promo code FREE25. This offer is also available to existing clients. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $10,000 B) $20,000+ A) 10 commission-free trades B) 25 commission-free trades 12 months Free Trades Campaign April 30, 2018
Open a new account with HSBC InvestDirect by transferring in at least A) $25,000; B) $100,000; C) $250,000; D) $500,000 or E) $1,000,000 or more from another Canadian financial institution and execute at least three commission-generating trades by April 30th, 2018, and you may be eligible to receive a cash bonus of up to A) $88; B) $188; C) $288; D) $688 or E) $988. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $25,000 B) $100,000 C) $250,000 D) $500,000 E) $1M+ A) $88 B) $188 C) $288 D) $688 E) $988 Transfer-in bonus will be deposited by November 30, 2018. Winter Offer – Transfer-In Bonus April 30, 2018
Open and fund a new qualifying account with at least $25,000 and you may qualify for one month of unlimited commission-free trades and up to one month free of an advanced data package. Use promo code ADVANTAGE14 when opening a new account. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. $25,000 commission-free trades for 1 month + 1 month of advanced data. 1 month Active Trader Program December 31, 2018
BMO InvestorLine Open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine or fund a qualifying existing account, with at least A) $50,000; B) $100,000 or C) $300,000+ in net new assets and you may be eligible to receive up to 20 commission-free equity trades plus A) $50 cash back; B) $150 cash back or C) $500 cash back. Commission-free trades are good for up to two months. In addition, eligible individuals can receive an extra $50 as part of the refer a friend program. Use promo code SPRING when signing up. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. A) $50,000 B) $100,000 C) $300,000 20 commission-free equity trades AND A) $50; B) $150 C) $500. Commission-free equity trades are good for up to two months. Cash back will be deposited the week of January 21, 2019. BMO InvestorLine Spring 2018 Campaign May 31, 2018

Expired Offers
BMO InvestorLine Open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine or fund a qualifying existing account, with at least A) $100,000; B) $200,000 or C) $300,000+ in net new assets and you may be eligible to receive up to A) $200 or 20 commission-free equity trades; B) $400 or 40 commission-free equity trades; or C) $750 cash back or 75 commission-free equity trades. Commission-free trades are good for up to two months. In addition, eligible individuals can receive an extra $50 as part of the refer a friend program. Use promo code SPARXCASH when signing up for the cash back offer or SPARXTRADES when signing up for the commission-free equity trade bonus. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. A) $100,000 B) $200,000 C) $300,000 A) $200 or 20 commission-free equity trades. B) $400 or 40 commission-free equity trades. C) $750 or 75 commission-free equity trades. Cash back will be deposited the week of Nov. 12, 2018. Commission-free equity trades are good for up to two months. BMO InvestorLine Winter 2018 Campaign April 1, 2018
Last Updated: Apr. 2, 2018 21:45 PT

Referral Promotions

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Incentive Structure Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer Deposit Details Link Deadline
Refer a friend to Questrade and when they open an account you receive $25 cash back and they receive either A) $25; B) $50; C) $75; D) $100; or E) $250 depending on the amount deposited amount. Enter code: 476104302388759 during account sign up to qualify. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for eligibility and additional bonus payment structure and minimum balance requirements. A) $1,000 B) $10,000 C) $25,000 D) $50,000 E) $100,000+ $25 cash back (for referrer per referral; $50 bonus cash back for every 3rd referral) For referred individuals: A) $25 cash back B) $50 cash back C) $75 cash back D) $100 cash back E) $250 cash back Cash deposited into Questrade billing account within 7 days after funding period ends (90 days) Refer a friend terms and conditions Code Number: 476104302388759 none
Scotia iTrade If you refer a friend/family member who is not already a Scotia iTRADE account holder to them, both you and your friend get a bonus of either cash or free trades. You have to use the referral form to pass along your info as well as your friend/family members’ contact info in order to qualify. There are lots of details/conditions to this deal so be sure to read the details link. A) $10,000 B) $50,000+ A) You(referrer): $50 or 10 free trades; Your “Friend”: $50 or 10 free trades (max total value:$99.90) B) You(referrer): $100 cash or 50 free trades; Your “Friend”: $100 cash or 50 free trades (max total value: $499.50) 60 days Refer A Friend to Scotia iTrade tbd
BMO InvestorLine If you (an existing BMO InvestorLine client) refer a new client to BMO InvestorLine and they open an account with at least $50,000 the referrer and the referee may both be eligible to receive $50 cash. To qualify the referee must use the email of the referrer that is linked to their BMO InvestorLine account. See terms and conditions for full details. $50,000 You(referrer): $50; Your Friend(referee): $50 Payout occurs 45 days after minimum 90 day holding period(subject to conditions). BMO InvestorLine Refer-a-Friend October 31, 2018

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Apr. 1, 2018 18:45 PT

Transfer Fee Promotions

Company Brief Description Maximum Transfer Fee Coverage Amount Minimum Deposit Amount for Transfer Fee Eligibility Details Link Deadline
Transfer $15,000 or more to Qtrade Investor from another brokerage and Qtrade Investor may cover up to $150 in transfer fees. See terms and conditions for more details. $150 $15,000 Transfer Fee Rebate none
Transfer $15,000 or more to HSBC InvestDirect, and they will pay up to $150 in transfer fees. $150 $15,000 2018 Winter Offer – Transfer-In Bonus April 30, 2018
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 $20,000 or more to a National Bank Direct Brokerage account and they will pay up to $135 plus taxes in transfer fees. $135 $20,000 Transfer Fee Rebate none
Transfer $25,000 or more from another brokerage and Credential Direct will cover up to $150 in transfer fees. Use promo code SWITCHME when signing up to qualify for the transfer promotion. $150 $25,000 Credential Direct Transfer Fee Rebate none
Move your brokerage account to Questrade and they’ll cover the transfer-out fee up to $150. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee Promo none
Transfer at least $25,000 or more in new assets to TD Direct Investing when opening a new account and you may qualify to have transfer fees reimbursed up to $150. Be sure to contact TD Direct Investing for further details. $150 $25,000 Contact client service for more information (1-800-465-5463). none
Transfer $25,000 or more to Virtual Brokers and they may cover up to $150 in transfer fees. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee promo April 30, 2018
Transfer $25,000 or more into a CIBC Investor’s Edge account and they will reimburse up to $135 in brokerage transfer fees. Clients must call customer service to request rebate after transfer made. $135 $25,000 Confirmed with reps. Contact client service for more information (1-800-567-3343). none
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 DisnatTransfer. See details link for more info. $150 $50,000 Disnat 1% Commission Credit Promo May 31, 2018
BMO InvestorLine Open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine or fund a qualifying existing account, by transferring in at least $200,000+ in net new assets and you may be eligible to have transfer fees covered up to $200. Use promo code SPARXCASH when signing up to also be eligible for cash back offer or SPARXTRADES to be eligible for the commission-free trade offer. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. $200 $200,000 BMO InvestorLine Winter 2018 Campaign April 1, 2018

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Apr. 1, 18:45 PT

Other Promotions

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Required Details Link Deadline
Disnat Desjardins Online Brokerage, in conjunction with MoneyTalks, is offering 3 months of the “Inside Edge” investor information service to Desjardins Online Brokerage clients. Use promo code DESJ2016 during checkout to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for more information. n/a MoneyTalks Inside Edge Discount none
Disnat Desjardins Online Brokerage is offering $50 in commission credits for new Disnat Classic clients depositing at least $1,000. See terms and conditions for full details. $1,000 Broker@ge 18-30 Promotion none
Scotia iTrade Scotiabank StartRight customers can receive 10 commission-free trades when investing $1,000 or more in a new Scotia iTrade account. Trades are good for use for up to 1 year from the date the account is funded. Use promo code SRPE15 when applying (in English) or SRPF15 when applying in French. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for full details. $1,000 StartRight Free Trade offer none

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Apr. 1, 2018 18:45 PT

Digital Advice + Roboadvisor Promotions

Robo-advisor / Digital advisor Offer Type Offer Description Min. Deposit Reward / Promotion Promo Code Expiry Date Link
Discounted Management Open and fund a new Questrade Portfolio IQ account with a deposit of at least $1,000 and the first month of management will be free. For more information on Portfolio IQ, click the product link. $1000 1st month no management fees KDKFNBBC None Questrade Portfolio IQ Promo Offer
Discounted Management Open a new account with BMO SmartFolio and receive one year of management of up to $15,000 free. See offer terms and conditions for more details. $1,000 1 year no management fees STSF April 1, 2018 SmartFolio New Account Promotion
Cash Back – Referral BMO SmartFolio clients will receive $50 cash back for every friend or family member who opens and funds a new SmartFolio account. Friends and family referred to SmartFolio will receive $50 cash back for opening and funding an account, plus automatic enrollment into SmartFolio’s mass offer in market at the time. See offer terms and conditions for more details. $1,000 $50 cash back (referrer) $50 cash back (referee) Unique link generated from SmartFolio required. None SmartFolio Website
Transfer Fee Coverage Transfer at least $25,000 into Virtual Wealth when opening a new account and you may be eligible to have up to $150 in transfer fees covered by Virtual Wealth. $25,000 up to $150 in transfer fees covered None None Contact customer service directly for more information.
Last Updated: Apr. 1, 2018 18:45 PT
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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – March 23, 2018

Now that spring has sprung, it’s time to dive right into the next season head first. For online brokerages, after RRSP season comes tax return season. Judging by the response so far to the next busiest time of the year after RSPs, it seems like most Canadian discount brokerages are now shifting gears to figure out their next moves.

We kick off this edition of the roundup with a review of the deals and promotions scheduled to expire at the end of the month. From there we highlight some interesting email newsletters from a pair of online brokerages that prove that e-mail can still hold its own in a social media world. Next, we profile an important strategy document released by one of Canada’s regulators that maps out how to better protect senior investors. Finally, we close out the roundup with a review of the buzz on Twitter and in the DIY investor forums.

Deals Melting Away

The end of March is just around the corner. And, while it signals a positive sign for warmer weather, it won’t only be snow that’s melting away. At the end of March, there are three discount brokerage promotions that are set to expire as well as one from BMO InvestorLine at the beginning of April. Desjardins Online Brokerage did have their commission-free trade credit offer set to expire at the end of March however it has been extended out to May 31st.

That will take the total number of advertised offers down to 19 if there are no replacement offers planned.

Here’s a list of deals that are set to expire at the end of March:

  • HSBC InvestDirect Cash Bonus & Transfer Fee Coverage (expires March 30)
  • Virtual Brokers Discounted Commissions (expires March 31)
  • BMO InvestorLine Cash Bonus & Transfer Fee Coverage (offer expires April 1)

Interestingly, our internal data reveal that online investors are very interested in offers from Canada’s bank-owned online brokerages.  The two bank-owned online brokerages with current offers that are attracting attention from visitors are BMO InvestorLine and National Bank Direct Brokerage.

We’ll be watching to see what, if any, offers are replaced or extended heading into April.

It’s a good sign for DIY investors that Desjardins Online Brokerage has already extended their signature commission-free trade offer through to the end of May and, based on the data from early 2018, there’s a good chance that more extensions and new offers will not be far behind next month.

Trade the News-letter

Interactive Brokers Mines Shareholders for Clients

This week there were two interesting email newsletters from online brokerages that proved email marketing is still a viable method of reaching out to online investors, even in a world cluttered by social media feeds and fragmented sources of information.

The first interesting development was observed in a shareholder letter/newsletter from Interactive Brokers in which a letter from founder and CEO, Thomas Peterffy, provided some unique insight into why Interactive Brokers sought to go public.

According to the letter, Peterffy stated “We went public to raise our profile and as an adjunct to our marketing efforts, in the hope of gaining more customers who would help us become better at servicing them.” It does take quite a bit of effort and consumes resources to go public as well as maintain a listing – reasons perhaps why some of Canada’s non-bank-owned brokerages never saw the need to follow suit. What was particularly noteworthy about this e-mail, however is the direct appeal to become a client before considering to be a shareholder – which is a particularly bold move and perhaps very savvy marketing move.

Source: Excerpt from Interactive Brokers shareholder letter

For all sorts of reasons, the ability to reach out to shareholders is a clever marketing tactic that appeals, likely, to individuals who invest, who know the brand, who are willing to read the notice and who stand to benefit themselves if they also become clients. In terms of marketing and sales, this is a huge coup since the cost of trying to reach, let alone convert, online investors in the US market is quite high. So, not only did Interactive Brokers benefit from being able to raise their profile by being in public markets as a publicly traded firm, this also enabled them the opportunity to market directly to shareholders – many of whom would be ideal target clients and users of their service.

And, whatever Interactive Brokers is doing, seems to be paying off as they were also just crowned the best online brokerage in the US by Barron’s annual ranking of US online brokers.

As with all developments in the US online brokerage space, we often wonder whether something similar could happen with an online brokerage here in Canada.

Could an independent online brokerage like Questrade, for example, simultaneously tap the public markets by going public themselves and open up an entirely new and low-cost marketing channel by advertising directly to shareholders?

Whether or not they need or could efficiently deploy any capital raised from public markets is a separate question altogether, but the benefit of the capital would certainly help fund the scale required to compete against larger peers. And, if Interactive Brokers is any indicator, being public has enabled them to transparently showcase their success quarter after quarter which is the kind of marketing that investors of all stripes can get behind.

Scotia iTRADE Pushes Education

Also spotted in our inboxes this week was a newsletter from Scotia iTRADE which highlighted their shift to focusing more attention on their help/support and educational resources. In the world of DIY investor education, we typically break things down into two major categories of investor education, so it has been interesting to observe Scotia iTRADE build resource and capacity in the ‘education’ space.

The first type of ‘education’ is product orientation, which, simply put, helps clients understand how to use the tools, platforms and features of a particular online brokerage’s service offering. The second category is information about investing itself. So, this latter category refers to topics such as technical analysis, how ETFs or options trading might work etc.

In last week’s roundup, we mentioned that there has been a shift in the way DIY investor education has been delivered by Canada’s online brokerages. In many respects, there’s been a pullback in the resources online brokerages are allocating to orientation and education, and the kind of resources now available are typically video recordings or documents rather than live help sessions or in-person seminars.

As such, it was interesting to see Scotia iTRADE’s latest newsletter on investor education as it is a clear signal that unlike many of their peers, they are continuing to invest in marketing their educational offering as a cornerstone feature to their brand.

In both instances with Interactive Brokers and Scotia iTRADE, it’s clear that email communication with clients is still very much alive and well as a channel to choose from however (and this applies to social media too) being consistent and reliable with producing this content isn’t easy. Scotia iTRADE is making strides in the right direction when it comes to marketing itself and highlighting some of their key differentiators. For their existing clients, this is an important thing to do to keep clients from peering over the fence at what other brokerages are doing. More interesting for Scotia iTRADE, however, is for those clients who do have additional accounts elsewhere to see how competent and interesting Scotia iTRADE might be at delivering updates and talking about feature enhancements.

Strategy for Senior Investors

This past week, the Ontario Securities Commission published its Seniors Strategy (OSC Staff Notice 11-779) that outlines the securities regulator’s vision for evolving the regulatory landscape to better service a growing segment of the Ontario (and Canadian) population – older adults.

The strategy document is fairly comprehensive in its approach, drawing on extensive research of literature and best practices from countries around the world, as well as from research conducted in Canada on the financial profile of older and aging Canadians and by consulting with many experts and seniors advocacy groups. The result of this work is a lengthy but important document that will help to inform the approach of securities regulators and the financial services sector in Canada in doing more to provide important safeguards for older investors.

Some of the concrete steps recommended in this report include:

  1. Requiring that registered firms and their representatives make reasonable efforts to obtain the name and contact information for a client’s trusted contact person if there’s a concern about a client’s behaviour or transactions in a client’s account;
  2. Enabling registered firms and their representatives to place a temporary hold on disbursements from a client’s account.
  3. Enhancing outreach activities to provide tools and resources for older investors, their families and caregivers who support them.

Importantly the report recognized that labels such as ‘seniors’ aren’t reflective of a homogeneous set of attributes and there is a lot of complexity that accompanies the intersection of aging and financial well-being.

It was an interesting week for this report to get published as this week also saw the publication of a somewhat scathing report from the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) regarding the lack of sufficient controls at Canada’s biggest banks to ensure clients are getting their best interests served ahead of the banks that the front line employees represent.

This is especially important given some of the data published in the report, in particular that:

“Low financial knowledge makes the roles of registered firms and their representatives even more important to helping older Canadians meet their financial goals. Investing As We Age found that a majority of investors aged 65 and older work with at least one registered firm; research has also found that registered firms and their representatives have a significant influence on their clients’ investment choices, and that investors working with a registered firm place significant trust and confidence in that firm and its representatives.” P17

For Canada’s online brokerages, it is an interesting prospect to consider how they can more effectively and appropriately consider serving older adult clients.

For starters, understanding that clients have differing needs means that the attributes of a clients will factor more prominently into how services are delivered and potentially what kinds of products or services individuals may have sent to them (e.g. via marketing emails).  Additionally, how materials are prepared, the user experience in the online platforms, the statements and account performance summaries and potentially even the stock screeners, picks and trades that individuals can execute (or allow to be executed on their behalf) could see changes made based, in part, on the findings and recommendations from this study. Could ‘safety’ settings, for example, be in place on stock screeners or cautionary labels be put in place that would apply specifically to older investors?

For DIY investors, the strongest recommendation still continues to be caveat emptor when it comes to choosing an online brokerage. While some folks take the position that there isn’t that big of a difference between online brokerages to entail worrying over which one is the best, the data show that the ‘right’ brokerage is one that meets an investor’s needs rather than one that tries to sell a client on features they do not.

As such, an important step in the DIY investor journey is to determine what those needs are prior to signing up for an account. The forum post below provides an interesting example of this for one DIY investor looking to switch online brokers. For observers, the difference between online brokerages might not be important today, however as this report outlines, as needs change, it is important to be with a service provider that can keep up and keep the client in mind.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

With tax season now upon us, there was an uptick in tweets about getting accounts and documentation in order. Mentioned this week by Canadian DIY investors were BMO InvestorLine, CIBC Investor’s Edge, Questrade, RBC Direct Investing, Scotia iTRADE, TD Direct Investing and Virtual Brokers.

From the Forums

Market Order

Many investors firmly believe that buying the basket of stocks listed on major indices, such the S&P 500, is an easier approach than trying to pick individual stocks. Of course, picking individual brokerages might not be as easy. One way to figure out which one discount brokerage to choose when attempting this strategy is to crowdsource. This post, from reddit’s Personal Finance Canada thread, highlights several discount brokerages online investors use to keep fees low when buying the market.

Investor Scorned

There are threads about choosing an online brokerage, and then there are threads about choosing an online brokerage. This post, from the Financial Wisdom Forum, offers a fascinating look at how experienced and knowledgeable DIY investors undertake the process of moving brokerages. There’s actually so much information in this post that it is well worth the time to read. It’s especially informative to see that even long-time service providers can fumble the ball to the point that a client wants to try something different.

Into the Close

So, with all that’s going on in the news and markets now trying to price in a number of different, challenging scenarios, Friday really couldn’t come fast enough. That said, there’s really no rhyme or reason for the Trump media train to stop or slow down. It is already turning into another incendiary weekend so don’t forget to ignore the doom and gloom and try to enjoy the weekend. Spring is here after all.

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – March 9, 2018

From real war to trade war, what are either good for? Attention apparently. As provinces and countries trade barbs, online brokerages battling one another have turned to toasting rather than roasting.

It was a very full week for Canada’s discount brokerages so there’s lots to get to in this week’s roundup. First, we dive in with a look at the response to the Globe and Mail online brokerage rankings and how Canada’s online brokers have cleverly found ways to shine a light on their perceived strengths. From there we’ll take a quick look at several important developments that took place this week, including the celebration of International Women’s Day and the possible ramp up to online account openings at one of Canada’s largest online brokers. Also on deck this week is an interview we spotted with an online brokerage CEO. As usual we’ll round out the week with a look at DIY investor tweets as well as comments from the investor forums.

Rank & File

One of the greatest boxers of all times, Muhammad Ali, said ‘it ain’t bragging if you can back it up’. While Ali was certainly no stranger to clever marketing, marketing teams at Canadian online brokerages are no light weights either when it comes to trumpeting their achievements.

Following the release of the Globe and Mail’s Canadian online brokerage rankings, several Canadian discount brokerages have ramped up their marketing efforts, highlighting in particular their status as the best Canadian online brokerage. So, how can everyone be Canada’s best online brokerage?

The short answer is that there are enough different measurements of online brokerages that savvy marketing teams can cherry pick which specific category strength best suits their objectives. Below is a compilation of the online brokerage websites and some display ads that we reviewed this week that had some element of claiming to be ‘the best’ online brokerage in Canada.

Discount Brokerage Website Source of Ranking
BMO InvestorLine 2017 Best Mobile Customer Experience Surviscor, Nov. 2017
CIBC Investor’s Edge MoneySense ranks us #1 in Fees and Commissions Moneysense (powered by Surviscor), Jun. 2017
Desjardins Online Brokerage “Highest in investor satisfaction with self-directed brokerage firms” in Canada according to J.D. Power J.D. Power & Associates, Sep. 2017
National Bank Direct Brokerage A study conducted by Surviscor has concluded that we offer the most competitive pricing among direct brokerage firms Surviscor (date not specified)
Qtrade Investor The Globe and Mail’s best online broker in Canada 2018 Globe and Mail, Feb. 2018
Questrade Canada’s leading non-bank online brokerage Not specified
Scotia iTRADE Top Bank-Owned Firm

19th annual review of Canada’s online brokerages by Rob Carrick of The Globe and Mail

 Globe and Mail, Feb. 2018
Virtual Brokers Virtual Brokers takes the #1 spot again in the 18th Annual Globe and Mail Online Brokerage Ranking of 2016 Globe and Mail, Dec. 2016

 

As readers will note from the table above, there are at least 8 online brokerages who are making the claim to be the best in some fashion, which brings us back to a topic that we’ve covered extensively at SparxTrading.com – how does one really define what makes an online brokerage the best?

On the front end of an online brokerage’s website, however, recognition awards look great. And, while the details of those awards may not be fully explained or revealed, some DIY investors who may quickly glance at the messaging might consider it enough to see that something has been won even if that award might be out of date.

For example, Virtual Brokers’ website still has the material stating that it came in first in the Globe and Mail ratings from 2016, but does not mention the 2017/18 rankings at all. Conversely, Qtrade Investor has the current rankings specified in the titling and even includes a version of the full Globe and Mail article.

Of course, while text can be highly specific, it is even more interesting to compare the ‘best online brokerage’ award communication visually.

Take the example of a very well-designed graphic for Scotia iTRADE which appeared on their website this past week. The artwork simply states “Top Bank-Owned Firm” and the 19th Annual Online Broker Ranking however it actually doesn’t specify the source. So, while it looks official, it is not an actual seal issued by the Globe and Mail the way that Surviscor or J.D. Power might award a seal.

By comparison, the badge used on CIBC Investor’s Edge website for the MoneySense rankings has a very visible #1 Best Online Brokerages but doesn’t specify that it’s for pricing – that comes later in the text. Interestingly, because CIBC Investor’s Edge and Questrade were both tied for the ‘best pricing’ recognition, Questrade could verbatim claim the same thing.

For DIY investors the takeaway remains: it is important to understand how the results of online brokerage rankings are measured and what they are actually measuring. Clearly, online brokerages are keen on showcasing results and recognition when they do well – and for some brokerages this might be easier to do than others. Nonetheless consumers need to be mindful of looking at the online brokerage provider’s marketing language closely. Ultimately, brands that make bold promises set expectations high and, as a result, they have to back up the hype with follow through.

Financial Firms Celebrate International Women’s Day

This week, International Women’s Day was recognized the world over and a much-needed spotlight was shone on the progress achieved for equality and challenges that still lie ahead. Encouragingly, recognition and participation in this event continues to grow.

To mark the occasion many Canadian financial service firms put together customized content that spoke to the experiences of women in business as well as delivered perspectives on investing. A couple of noteworthy pieces came from BMO as well as from RBC.

BMO had a few items in place for International Women’s Day. Earlier in the week, BMO Wealth Management along with media personality Lena Almeida (@Listen2Lena) teamed up once again for another Twitter session on investing. This session was specifically geared towards highlighting issues and perspectives related to women and investing. As with the sessions previous, this was a very informative and insightful hour-long session that enabled lots of discussion (and featured lots of gifs) on some very interesting questions. We’ve pulled the questions and answers for those who missed it.


In another piece by BMO, which was shared via Twitter, Joanna Rotenberg, Group Head of Wealth Management shared her perspectives on International Women’s Day and where the challenges and opportunities exist for women in a professional setting.

As part of their Inspired Investor content series, RBC Direct Investing also compiled a very interesting collection of perspectives on investing by women investors.

Having women share their own experiences and impressions of investing first-hand provides a powerful and hopefully engaging way in which to make investing – and DIY investing – more accessible to women.

Read the full article here.

Interview with Questrade’s CEO

This past week, CEO of Questrade appeared on a podcast by Kornel Szrejber of BuildWealthCanada.ca to discuss the world of investing online and where Questrade fits into the Canadian landscape of investment service providers. It was an interesting interview with a broad range of topics covered, however of particular interest to DIY investing followers, was Kholodenko’s perspectives on the competitiveness of the Canadian discount brokerage market. At about the 13-minute mark, he provides his view that competition between Canadian online brokerages is incredibly fierce and that all firms, including Questrade, will be continuously tested to deliver great trading experiences.

TD Direct Investing Rolls Out Online Account Opening

It looks like news of the online account opening feature at TD Direct Investing is starting to percolate. After a bumpy start to 2018, TD Direct Investing appears to be prepping for a larger spotlight to be cast on its online account opening feature.

This week we spotted an article on the TD newsroom site that linked to a sponsored post from a personal finance blogger, David Carlson, who caters specifically to millennials on primarily US-focused content. Carlson’s article provided a walk-through of the account opening process and highlighted some of the noteworthy features, the most important one being the speed with which signups for a TD Direct Investing account can now happen online.

Stay tuned on this story as online account opening will no doubt be an important feature for 2018 that will be the focus of several online brokerages who do not already have this in place yet.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

Tweets from DIY investors were an interesting mix of technical and user issues as well as a handful of compliments. Mentioned this week were BMO InvestorLine, Questrade, RBC Direct Investing, Scotia iTRADE and TD Direct Investing.

From the Forums

Off to a Balanced Start

Passive investing is very popular with many Canadian investors. It is also a major selling point for robo-advisors. This post, from reddit’s Canadian Investor thread highlights a possible threat to robo-advisors and opportunity for online brokerages who can deliver a ‘robo’ like performance to clients without having them switch.

On the Record

Now that tax time is here, there inevitably questions about when forms and documentation arrive. This interesting post from one online investor highlights the timing that TFSA contributions may take to show up in the CRA’s system. As a result, it is a good reminder that part of the reality of online investing entails keeping organized records.

Into the Close

That’s a wrap on another week. Somehow it seems like sanity is going to prevail, with the pharma-bro getting his comeuppance, diplomacy resurfacing and the Cleveland Browns getting a capable quarter back. Of course, things are still stormy in the weather, the White House and between Alberta and BC so there’s still no shortage of drama to tune into this weekend – just a shortage of an hour. Wherever you happen to find yourself, have a great weekend and don’t forget to “spring forward”!

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – March 2, 2018

Whether or not we like it, we can’t seem to avoid politics drifting into markets. One thing there is no shortage of, however, is controversy. This week is no exception. With uncertainty creeping into markets, how online brokerages are navigating their way through a very dynamic situation is both exciting and, at times, nerve wracking.

With the start of a new month, we kick off this week’s roundup with a look at the latest action on the deals front and what one Canadian online brokerage appears to be doing to stand out from the crowd. Next we take a look at the return of volatility to the trading markets as well as the return, in a big way, of DIY investors. Also on the docket, a very interesting article that once again raises the specter or hope of a world in which DIY investors don’t pay any trading commissions. We’ll cap off the roundup with a look at what DIY investors were saying on Twitter and in the investor forums.

Deals March On

With the rush of the RSP contribution deadline now behind everyone, Canadian online brokerages are taking a bit of a pause to crunch the numbers on their efforts to attract new clients and deposits into RRSP accounts.

While we wait for the dust to settle on February, early action from the deals and promotions side heading into March point to a pullback in the number of cash back offers as well as an interesting maneuver by Qtrade Investor to incentivize DIY investors to consider making a switch.

Starting first with a quick overview, in this month’s deals & promotions, we noted that with the expiry of cash back offers from Qtrade Investor, TD Direct Investing, CIBC Investor’s Edge and Scotia iTRADE, the field of providers who currently offer the most cash back bonus at a given deposit tier is very diverse.

As the chart above shows, Questrade’s referral cash bonus offer stands out in the <$10K range and surfaces again in the $100K to $200K deposit level. BMO InvestorLine, whose offer does not apply to TFSA accounts, dominates between $200K and $999K. Perhaps a bit of a surprise name on this list is Credential Direct whose offer at the $1M+ level is currently the highest, but also at the $15K to $25K level and between $50K and $100K. Another surprising name is HSBC InvestDirect which happens to have the top offer in the $25K to $50K deposit range however to qualify for that offer, investors need to execute at least three commissionable trades.

Fortunately, there are still many commission-free trade offers which aren’t scheduled to expire just yet, so for some investors, there’s still some value to be had on the way into a new brokerage account.

Of course, making the switch to Qtrade Investor just became a little easier this week. Their new transfer fee reimbursement threshold has been moved down from $25,000 to $15,000. Historically this has been a limited time option and part of a special promotional offer however the website offer details (see below) don’t attach a timeframe to the offer. They do state that the offer can be revoked at any time, however this seems like it might be the new normal. If it is, then Qtrade Investor’s transfer fee coverage becomes one of the most competitive currently in the market.

It’s remarkable how consistent the transfer fee reimbursement is across brokerages. The minimum deposit of $25,000 is pretty much par for the course and for the handful of brokerages (National Bank Direct Brokerage, RBC Direct Investing, HSBC InvestDirect) whose deposit requirements are under $25,000, it is very interesting to observe that Qtrade Investor is the only non-bank-owned brokerage of that bunch.  Strategically, this helps Qtrade Investor stand out quite prominently – they stand out against almost everyone else, and they stand out against bank-owned online brokerages. In addition, the recent Globe and Mail online brokerage rankings will also help amplify their position in the market place.

The good news for DIY investors, in spite of the cash back retracement, is that there are still a number of competitive offers out there. The next big push will be for the tax refund pool before things potentially either taper off for the summer or ratchet up significantly as marijuana legalization comes back into the spotlight, and with it, attention on the cannabis stocks. Of course, volatility in either direction is usually a boon for online brokerages, which just so happens to be a great segue  into the trading stats reported by Interactive Brokers for February.

Guess Who’s Back?

The big V in February this year was not Valentine’s but rather Volatility. After all but disappearing for the better part of five years, uncertainty has crept back into the markets. What the catalyst was is itself the cause of speculation however the bet against volatility seems to be on its way out.

An interesting interview that Chairman and CEO of Interactive Brokers, Thomas Peterffy, had with CNBC pointed to a storm brewing as traders look to unwind bets and are largely at the mercy of the market to do so. Why this matters for investors is because it represents a shift in trading strategies – certainly for options traders – that will no doubt take time to adjust to. Secondarily however, volatility is great for traders and even more beneficial for online brokerages.

The stats from Interactive Brokers’ February 2018 trading metrics also clearly point to volatility pushing up trading activity. The number of Daily Average Revenue Trades (DARTs) is a whopping 50% higher on a year over year basis and 13% higher than already volatile January.

Another stat that stands out at Interactive Brokers is their continued account growth. It’s genuinely hard to argue with their growth in accounts however as good as they were in February, we’re keen to see what rival E*Trade comes out with. In January, they reported an incredible year over year increase of 149% in net new brokerage accounts (factoring in those who joined and those who left). Whether that momentum, largely driven by a frenzy in cryptocurrency, can serve as a catalyst or if it is just a blip that will revert over the next few months, there is clearly a case for volatility to stick around with many more investors jumping into the markets.

Another Final Countdown

Readers of the roundup will no doubt pick up on the reference to the song which capped off last week’s roundup. Admittedly it may have found its way onto my workout playlist however it deserves mention again this week because of an interesting article that surfaced on Seeking Alpha.

The article, which raised the specter of zero-commission trading, focused on whether Interactive Brokers could survive in the ‘post-apocalyptic’ online trading environment of commission-free trading. It is a great question which is even more interesting to ask of Canadian online brokerages whose primary business is order execution.

As technology becomes increasingly sophisticated, order execution should become frictionless, instant and essentially without cost. That, at least, is the business case of online brokerage Robinhood, which now boasts commission-free trading of stocks and options. Here in Canada, commission-free ETF trading already exists at National Bank Direct Brokerage and it will be an incredibly transformative moment should any of the major online brokerages decide to plumb the depths of sub-$5 per trade as a standard rate. Based on what’s happening in the US, it’s a matter of when, not if.

For DIY investors looking for a break, the catalyst to the move down in pricing may come sooner rather than later. After all, strategically all Canadian brokerages have to confront the same reality. The brokerage with the largest amount of assets under management has the best odds of financially weather the zero-commission reckoning. Whoever does it first in Canada will get the biggest headlines, will likely see a flood of assets and will get a very big head start on firms planning for this (and a very big head start on those who deny it could happen here).

Perhaps that catalyst may come from an unlikely place. The Canadian Securities Exchange is rolling out a blockchain platform for instant clearing and settlement of securities, something that the newest and most ‘buzzworthy’ stocks would conceivably want to take advantage of.

By reducing the time it takes to clear and settle a trade to zero, there’s a lot of friction (and cost) to the transaction of trading a stock that can be eliminated, which again makes the case for commission prices to go lower and for the monetization strategy for online brokerages to shift away from charging such high fees per trade.

So, while patience has definitely been a virtue to investors, it seems like the days of trading commissions are finally numbered, and that is definitely worth waiting for.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

We’ve hit a technical hiccup in grabbing the tweets this week. Stay tuned as we investigate this further. In the meantime, here’s a selection of what we’ve gathered so far.

From the Forums

Connections and Transfers

Getting an effortless investing strategy up and running can sometimes take quite a bit of effort. This post from reddit’s Personal Finance Canada section highlights some account funding issues that cropped up for one investor trying to fund a TFSA.

Art of the Deal

With deals on everyone’s mind, it doesn’t hurt to wonder what kind of pricing improvement could be obtained by bargaining with an online brokerage. Find out the experience of one investor who was interested in bargaining down an online brokerage on commission fees in this reddit post here.

Into the Close

That’s a wrap on a week that featured hypersonic nuclear weapons, trade wars and markets still hanging in there. I guess if there is no market to wake up to then the world has bigger problems. On that rosy note, for Toronto investors interested in the rebounding mining sector, be sure to check out the PDAC convention to get an ‘on the ground’ sense of companies who deal ‘underground’. Yours truly will be there so be sure to tune into the SparxTrading Twitter feed for highlights. #HaveAGreatWeekend

 

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Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – March 2018

*Updated Mar. 19* With so much activity and anticipation leading up to the RSP contribution deadline for the 2017 tax year, the rollover into March 1st feels a little like the start of a new year.

Discount Brokerage Deals Quick Nav

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

This past RSP season was one of the busiest in recent memory with almost all of Canada’s discount brokerages offering up some kind of deal or promotion to open a new account. Not only has the calendar rolled over, but also a few offers from Canada’s online brokerages have also turned a corner.

In the weekly roundup preceding the launch of this deals update, we also broke down how savvy DIY investors can get more mileage out the current discount brokerage deals by considering multiple brokerages instead of just one. Another important point from that post was that the details of the offer also matter, so be sure to understand the terms and conditions of the offer before agreeing to sign up.

So, with the rest of 2018 now ahead of us, the deals crop at the start of March looks healthy, clocking in at least 24 offers for DIY investors to choose from. We’ve crunched the numbers on the current cash back offers to list the ones that offer the biggest rewards at each deposit tier currently being advertised by all online brokerages. With the exit of TD Direct Investing and Scotia iTRADE, the standout cash back bonus offer field now includes Credential Direct and HSBC InvestDirect – at least for a portion of March.

As always, if there are any offers that you know about that other readers might find helpful, please feel free to share them in the comment section below.

Canadian discount brokerage promotions - cash back offers
Cash back bonus offers for Canadian discount brokerages (As of Mar. 19, 2018)

Expired Offers

Starting first with the promotions that expired heading into March. Qtrade Investor’s cash back promotion officially expired at the end of February as did Scotia iTRADE’s cash back bonus and the transfer offer which accompanied it. At the time of writing, offers from TD Direct Investing and CIBC Investor’s Edge are set to expire at 11:59pm ET on March 1st.

Extended Offers

BMO SmartFolio extended its offer of one year with no management fees. The new deadline to take advantage of this offer is now April 1st.

New Deals

The newest offer to cross the tape for DIY investors is from Qtrade Investor. The transfer fee “promotion” lowers the deposit level to qualify for a $150 fee rebate from $25,000 to $15,000. It is not the first time this offer has been run by Qtrade Investor however it is interesting to note that there is no deadline associated with this offer suggesting this might now become a standard offering. Also interesting is the timing given the wave of contributions to RRSPs that has just taken place. The deposit amount looks like it will be friendly to younger investors and beginner investors with modest portfolio sizes as well as those who are looking for an inexpensive way to “try out” Qtrade Investor.

Discount Brokerage Deals

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

Cash Back/Free Trade/Product Offer Promotions

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Commission/Cash Offer/Promotion Type Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer Details Link Deadline
Jitney Trade A Sparx Trading exclusive offer! Use the promo code “Sparx Trading” when signing up for a new account with Jitneytrade and receive access to their preferred pricing package. n/a Discounted Commission Rates none For more details click here none
Open and fund a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) with at least $1,000 and you may be eligible to receive $88 in commission credits (up to 17 commission-free trades). Use promo code SPARX88 when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions carefully. $1,000 $88 commission credit 60 days Access this offer by clicking here: $88 commission-credit offer . For full terms and conditions, click here. none
Open and fund a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) with at least $1,000 and you may be eligible to receive 5 commission-free trades. Use promo code 5FREETRADES when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions carefully. $1,000 5 commission-free trades 60 days 5 commission-free trade offer December 31, 2018
Open and fund a new account with Virtual Brokers with at least $5,000 and you may be eligible to receive up to two months of trading at $4.99 per trade (maximum of 15 trades per month). Use promo code 499COM2017 when signing up to qualify. See terms and conditions for full details. $5,000 Up to 2 months of trading at $4.99 per trade (max 15 trades per month) Commissions will be reimbursed after June 30, 2018. For more details, click here March 31, 2018
Disnat Desjardins Online Brokerage is offering new clients 1% of assets transferred into the new account in the form of commission credits (to a maximum value of $1,000). Minimum qualifying deposit is $10,000. To qualify, individuals will have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code DisnatTransfer or email: [email protected]. See details link for more info. $10,000 1% of assets transferred in the form of commission-credits (max credits: $1,000) 6 months Disnat 1% Commission Credit Promo March 31, 2018
Open a new account at National Bank Direct Brokerage with at least a) $10,000 or B) $20,000+, and you may be eligible to receive up to A) 10 or B) 25 commission-free trades. For the 10 free trades offer, enter promo code FREE10 and for the 25 free trades offer enter promo code FREE25. This offer is also available to existing clients. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $10,000 B) $20,000+ A) 10 commission-free trades B) 25 commission-free trades 12 months Free Trades Campaign April 30, 2018
Open a new account with HSBC InvestDirect by transferring in at least A) $25,000; B) $100,000; C) $250,000; D) $500,000 or E) $1,000,000 or more from another Canadian financial institution and execute at least three commission-generating trades by April 30th, 2018, and you may be eligible to receive a cash bonus of up to A) $88; B) $188; C) $288; D) $688 or E) $988. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $25,000 B) $100,000 C) $250,000 D) $500,000 E) $1M+ A) $88 B) $188 C) $288 D) $688 E) $988 Transfer-in bonus will be deposited by November 30, 2018. Winter Offer – Transfer-In Bonus March 30, 2018
Open and fund a new qualifying account with at least $25,000 and you may qualify for one month of unlimited commission-free trades and up to one month free of an advanced data package. Use promo code ADVANTAGE14 when opening a new account. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. $25,000 commission-free trades for 1 month + 1 month of advanced data. 1 month Active Trader Program December 31, 2018
BMO InvestorLine Open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine or fund a qualifying existing account, with at least A) $100,000; B) $200,000 or C) $300,000+ in net new assets and you may be eligible to receive up to A) $200 or 20 commission-free equity trades; B) $400 or 40 commission-free equity trades; or C) $750 cash back or 75 commission-free equity trades. Commission-free trades are good for up to two months. In addition, eligible individuals can receive an extra $50 as part of the refer a friend program. Use promo code SPARXCASH when signing up for the cash back offer or SPARXTRADES when signing up for the commission-free equity trade bonus. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. A) $100,000 B) $200,000 C) $300,000 A) $200 or 20 commission-free equity trades. B) $400 or 40 commission-free equity trades. C) $750 or 75 commission-free equity trades. Cash back will be deposited the week of Nov. 12, 2018. Commission-free equity trades are good for up to two months. BMO InvestorLine Winter 2018 Campaign April 1, 2018

Expired Offers
Open and fund a qualifying account with TD Direct Investing with at least A) $10,000; B) $50,000; C) $100,000; D) $250,000 or E) $500,000+ and place at least 5 commissionable trades within 90 days of account opening and you may be eligible to receive either A) $100; B) $200; C) $300; D) $500 or E) $1,000 in cash back. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for eligibility for this offer. A) $10,000 B) $50,000 C) $100,000 D) $250,000 E) $500,000+ A) $100 B) $200 C) $300 D) $500 E) $1,000 Cash award will be paid to the client before the last day of the month following the conclusion of the qualification period (90 days). #RetireReady Promotion March 1, 2018
Transfer at least A) $25,000; B) $50,000; or C) $100,000 into a new or existing RRSP, spousal RRSP or TFSA at CIBC Investor’s Edge before March 1, 2018 and you may be eligible for a cash back offer of A) $100; B) $200 or C) $400. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $25,000 B) $50,000 C) $100,000 A) $100 B) $200 C) $400 Cash back will be deposited the week of May 4, 2018 (for transfers received by Dec. 31, 2017) or July 3, 2018 (for transfers received after Dec. 31, 2017). CIBC Investor’s Edge Cash Back Promo March 1, 2018
Open a new account or fund an existing account at Credential Direct with at least A) $15,000; B) $50,000; C) $150,000; D) $500,000 or E) $1M+ and you may be eligible to receive a cash bonus of A) $75; B) $125; C) $200; D) $500 or E) $1,000. For new clients, use promo code CASH2018RSP when applying. Existing clients can access this promotion from the promotions page available on the account backend. A donation equivalent to 10% of the bonus payout will also be made by Credential Direct to Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $15,000 B) $50,000 C) $150,000 D) $500,000 E) $1M+ A) $75 B) $125 C) $200 D) $500 E) $1000 Cash will be credited to qualifying investor accounts the week of August 20, 2018 Winter Offer 2018 March 16, 2018
Last Updated: Mar. 19, 2018 15:50 PT

Referral Promotions

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Incentive Structure Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer Deposit Details Link Deadline
Refer a friend to Questrade and when they open an account you receive $25 cash back and they receive either A) $25; B) $50; C) $75; D) $100; or E) $250 depending on the amount deposited amount. Enter code: 476104302388759 during account sign up to qualify. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for eligibility and additional bonus payment structure and minimum balance requirements. A) $1,000 B) $10,000 C) $25,000 D) $50,000 E) $100,000+ $25 cash back (for referrer per referral; $50 bonus cash back for every 3rd referral) For referred individuals: A) $25 cash back B) $50 cash back C) $75 cash back D) $100 cash back E) $250 cash back Cash deposited into Questrade billing account within 7 days after funding period ends (90 days) Refer a friend terms and conditions Code Number: 476104302388759 none
Scotia iTrade If you refer a friend/family member who is not already a Scotia iTRADE account holder to them, both you and your friend get a bonus of either cash or free trades. You have to use the referral form to pass along your info as well as your friend/family members’ contact info in order to qualify. There are lots of details/conditions to this deal so be sure to read the details link. A) $10,000 B) $50,000+ A) You(referrer): $50 or 10 free trades; Your “Friend”: $50 or 10 free trades (max total value:$99.90) B) You(referrer): $100 cash or 50 free trades; Your “Friend”: $100 cash or 50 free trades (max total value: $499.50) 60 days Refer A Friend to Scotia iTrade tbd
BMO InvestorLine If you (an existing BMO InvestorLine client) refer a new client to BMO InvestorLine and they open an account with at least $50,000 the referrer and the referee may both be eligible to receive $50 cash. To qualify the referee must use the email of the referrer that is linked to their BMO InvestorLine account. See terms and conditions for full details. $50,000 You(referrer): $50; Your Friend(referee): $50 Payout occurs 45 days after minimum 90 day holding period(subject to conditions). BMO InvestorLine Refer-a-Friend October 31, 2018

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Mar. 1, 2018 19:00 PT

Transfer Fee Promotions

Company Brief Description Maximum Transfer Fee Coverage Amount Minimum Deposit Amount for Transfer Fee Eligibility Details Link Deadline
Transfer $15,000 or more to Qtrade Investor from another brokerage and Qtrade Investor may cover up to $150 in transfer fees. See terms and conditions for more details. $150 $15,000 Transfer Fee Rebate none
Transfer $15,000 or more to HSBC InvestDirect, and they will pay up to $150 in transfer fees. $150 $15,000 2018 Winter Offer – Transfer-In Bonus March 30, 2018
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 $20,000 or more to a National Bank Direct Brokerage account and they will pay up to $135 plus taxes in transfer fees. $135 $20,000 Transfer Fee Rebate none
Transfer $25,000 or more from another brokerage and Credential Direct will cover up to $150 in transfer fees. Use promo code SWITCHME when signing up to qualify for the transfer promotion. $150 $25,000 Credential Direct Transfer Fee Rebate none
Move your brokerage account to Questrade and they’ll cover the transfer-out fee up to $150. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee Promo none
Transfer at least $25,000 or more in new assets to TD Direct Investing when opening a new account and you may qualify to have transfer fees reimbursed up to $150. Be sure to contact TD Direct Investing for further details. $150 $25,000 Contact client service for more information (1-800-465-5463). none
Transfer $25,000 or more to Virtual Brokers and they may cover up to $150 in transfer fees. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee promo April 30, 2018
Transfer $25,000 or more into a CIBC Investor’s Edge account and they will reimburse up to $135 in brokerage transfer fees. Clients must call customer service to request rebate after transfer made. $135 $25,000 Confirmed with reps. Contact client service for more information (1-800-567-3343). none
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 DisnatTransfer. See details link for more info. $150 $50,000 Disnat 1% Commission Credit Promo March 31, 2018
BMO InvestorLine Open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine or fund a qualifying existing account, by transferring in at least $200,000+ in net new assets and you may be eligible to have transfer fees covered up to $200. Use promo code SPARXCASH when signing up to also be eligible for cash back offer or SPARXTRADES to be eligible for the commission-free trade offer. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. $200 $200,000 BMO InvestorLine Winter 2018 Campaign April 1, 2018

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Mar. 1, 19:00 PT

Other Promotions

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Required Details Link Deadline
Disnat Desjardins Online Brokerage, in conjunction with MoneyTalks, is offering 3 months of the “Inside Edge” investor information service to Desjardins Online Brokerage clients. Use promo code DESJ2016 during checkout to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for more information. n/a MoneyTalks Inside Edge Discount none
Disnat Desjardins Online Brokerage is offering $50 in commission credits for new Disnat Classic clients depositing at least $1,000. See terms and conditions for full details. $1,000 Broker@ge 18-30 Promotion none
Scotia iTrade Scotiabank StartRight customers can receive 10 commission-free trades when investing $1,000 or more in a new Scotia iTrade account. Trades are good for use for up to 1 year from the date the account is funded. Use promo code SRPE15 when applying (in English) or SRPF15 when applying in French. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for full details. $1,000 StartRight Free Trade offer none

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Mar. 1, 2018 19:00 PT

Digital Advice + Roboadvisor Promotions

Robo-advisor / Digital advisor Offer Type Offer Description Min. Deposit Reward / Promotion Promo Code Expiry Date Link
Discounted Management Open and fund a new Questrade Portfolio IQ account with a deposit of at least $1,000 and the first month of management will be free. For more information on Portfolio IQ, click the product link. $1000 1st month no management fees KDKFNBBC None Questrade Portfolio IQ Promo Offer
Discounted Management Open a new account with BMO SmartFolio and receive one year of management of up to $15,000 free. See offer terms and conditions for more details. $1,000 1 year no management fees STSF April 1, 2018 SmartFolio New Account Promotion
Cash Back – Referral BMO SmartFolio clients will receive $50 cash back for every friend or family member who opens and funds a new SmartFolio account. Friends and family referred to SmartFolio will receive $50 cash back for opening and funding an account, plus automatic enrollment into SmartFolio’s mass offer in market at the time. See offer terms and conditions for more details. $1,000 $50 cash back (referrer) $50 cash back (referee) Unique link generated from SmartFolio required. None SmartFolio Website
Transfer Fee Coverage Transfer at least $25,000 into Virtual Wealth when opening a new account and you may be eligible to have up to $150 in transfer fees covered by Virtual Wealth. $25,000 up to $150 in transfer fees covered None None Contact customer service directly for more information.
Last Updated: Mar. 1, 2018 19:00 PT
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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – February 2, 2018

Welcome to February. Instead of V for Valentine’s it appears that the first V is for volatility. Gravity kicked in very quickly for stock markets this week, as it often does, when supply suddenly outstrips demand. Curiously, for online brokerages, demand continues to be strong, and investor demands continue to increase.

In this Groundhog Day edition of the roundup we recap the week’s developments starting first with the continuing saga of DIY investors trying to navigate outages and client service delays. From there, we shift to happier news, namely the latest deals and promotions to cross the wire from Canadian discount brokerages. Also, we’ll take a look at the latest investor education initiative from a bank-owned online brokerage that may breathe some life into this subdued sector. As always, we’ll scan what DIY investors were talking about on Twitter and in the investor forums.

Deja Queue

It’s somewhat ironic that on Groundhog Day that we’re once again revisiting the news that online brokerages are fumbling in early 2018. As coincidental as the timing is, the movie Groundhog Day has become a popular example of history repeating itself unless things change, and for many DIY investors in Canada, this feels like deja-vu all over again.

For several of Canada’s large bank-owned online brokerages, wait times for phone agents and technical difficulties for trading platforms continue to be high. It has now reached a level that brokerages have taken to posting messages on the front end or the welcome screens on the backend that issues persist.

In monitoring the recent struggles of DIY investors to connect with Canadian online brokerages, one very interesting trend is emerging. Specifically, because online brokerages are either slow to address clients on phone lines or are experiencing multiple platform or feature outages, DIY investors are taking to Twitter to notify members of the media to intervene.

While it’s not without precedent, the pace and magnitude of media personality participation in 2018 is something the Canadian online brokerage industry should be incredibly concerned about. Not only are DIY investors learning to tweet at members of the media about the issues that are occurring, but members of the media are responding.

Last month, the Globe and Mail’s Clare O’Hara published an article that shone a spotlight on the tribulations of DIY investors’ trading platforms going down. Even more intriguing are examples such as an exchange this past week on Twitter between a Scotia iTRADE client and the personal finance writer at the Toronto Star, Ellen Roseman.

From an outsider’s perspective, it appears that escalating client service issues to members of the personal finance media expedited a response.

And this is not an isolated incident. Notifications to anyone and everyone who may listen – including the media, is now something Canadian discount brokerages need to be prepared to handle. If the teams at online brokerages were already overwhelmed, this extra strain certainly doesn’t make things easier.

Of course, the longer it takes the Canadian discount brokerage industry to address response times and stability issues, the louder the complaints will get and inevitably DIY investors will go beyond tagging media and begin approaching regulators to comment or address what’s going on. And, at that point, for online brokerages it may start to feel like a bad dream come true.

Deals and Promotions update

As we profiled last week and in the deals and promotions section, there is a lot of choice when it comes to cash back offers from Canadian discount brokerages. In total, there are eight online brokerages offering a cash back deal and of those, five different online brokerages have the ‘best’ deal (i.e. offer the most cash back) depending on the amount deposited.

For commission-credit offers, however, the field is much smaller and there is a clear difference between the highest offer and everyone else.

Before diving into this month’s top offers, it’s useful to point out that commission credit offers are those for which an online brokerage provides a refund/rebate or credit for the entire trade commission. There are offers from Jitneytrade and Virtual Brokers which do offer discounted commission rates, but those have not been included here.

Another interesting quirk about commission credit offers is that they are generally time-limited. As such, it is important to be clear on how long you have to use the commission credit and when you may receive the rebate/refund for the commissions on those trades if that is the structure of the offer.

Currently there are four online brokerages that offer commission credit promotions. Specifically, BMO InvestorLine, Desjardins Online Brokerage, National Bank Direct Brokerage and Questrade each have offers.

As shown in the table above, when it comes to commission-free trade offers, Desjardins Online Brokerage currently has the most competitive offer for deposits over $10,000.  Although qualifying for Desjardins’ offer begins at deposits of $10,000 (which offers 10 trades), National Bank Direct Brokerage’s offer of 10 commission-free trades is slightly better than Desjardins’ offer of the same amount of trades because the time frame to use the trades is 1 year with NBDB versus 6 months for Desjardins Online Brokerage’s offer.

For deposits of between $1,000 and $10,000, the exclusive Sparx88 offer with Questrade offers up at least 9 commission free trades. Because Questrade has variable pricing, we used the most expensive commission price of 9.95 per trade when estimating the number of commission-free trades available. In the best case of all trades costing $4.95 per trade, however, investors can receive up to 17 commission free trades. Another perk about this specific promotion is that there is a 60-day window to use these trades rather than the standard 30 days.

Whether it is commission-free trades or cold hard cash, the great news for DIY investors is that February 2018 seems to be a fantastic month for promotions when opening up a new online trading account. With close to 30 offers to choose from and a very strong selection, DIY investors are almost certain to get a little something extra for joining a new online brokerage or transferring assets into an existing account.

National Bank Direct Brokerage Offers Options Education

Although investor education has been largely on the backburner for many Canadian online brokerages over the past year, National Bank Direct Brokerage and the Montreal Exchange are putting options education back into the spotlight with a new webinar series.

Starting in mid-February and running through to early June, this six-webinar course will run through the basics of options trading. Topics for this series include:

  • Options fundamentals (Feb. 13th)
  • Option strategies for RRSP & TFSA (Mar. 14th)
  • Options trading: Myths and reality (Apr. 4)
  • Options trading mistakes to avoid (Apr. 25)
  • Options as a hedging strategy (May 16)
  • Options as an income strategy (June 6)

Montreal Exchange also has run options education days in cities across the country for the past few years, as well as provided considerable options education resources so they are seasoned providers of investor education in this space.

For individuals who can’t attend the webinar live, there will be recordings of the session posted to the webpage here.

Even More Passive Investing

This week, Vanguard Investments Canada launched a series of three ETFs that are sure to get the attention of DIY investors interested in simple passive investing strategies. In fact, they already have.

Earlier in the week the Globe and Mail’s Rob Carrick published an article describing the three funds: Vanguard Conservative ETF Portfolio (TSX:VCNS); Vanguard Balanced ETF Portfolio (TSX:VBAL) and Vanguard Growth ETF Portfolio (TSX:VGRO).

With asset allocations baked into a single ETF and with low management costs, the most striking observation made by Carrick was that these products are “simple enough to steal some business away from robo-advisers.”

And, that business, could be stolen by online brokerages. Specifically, online brokerages that offer commission-free ETF trading, such as National Bank Direct Brokerage, or those that offer commission-free ETF buying (Questrade and Virtual Brokers), could stand to benefit the most. The combination of low/no commission fees and simplicity of management mean that online brokerages can market to passive investors with messaging that doesn’t promote someone having to make numerous trades; instead the goal can be asset gathering, which is another way in which online brokerages can generate revenue.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

Mentioned by Canadian DIY investors were BMO InvestorLine, CIBC Investor’s Edge, Questrade, RBC Direct Investing, Scotia iTRADE, and TD Direct Investing.

From the Forums

Gimme a reason

It’s not often that we see a post from a DIY investor who wants to switch but just needs to be sold on why. Interestingly, in this post from reddit’s Personal Finance Canada thread, one investor did just that by asking for a reason to switch away from Credential Direct. Even more interesting, however, were the responses on just how to structure an exit to incur the fewest fees.

Quick start

It’s no secret that DIY investors hoping to open an online trading account have encountered delays in the application process that can last for days. According to this post on reddit’s Personal Finance Canada thread, however, there is one online brokerage that happens to be able to speed up the process considerably. Find out who’s getting ahead of their peers in the race to bring new clients on board digitally.

Into the Close

That’s a wrap for another eventful week. This weekend will also likely be just as eventful (especially for sports fans).  After such a rough week in the markets, probably the best chance for cryptocurrency ‘traders’ and cannabis investors to see green is by tuning into the Super Bowl on Sunday or by reaching for the guacamole. Have a great weekend!

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Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – February 2018

*Update: Feb. 2/18* The deals and promotions activity at Canadian discount brokerages is almost at full throttle this month.With over 30 advertised deals for DIY investors to choose from, there is no shortage of incentives from brokerages big and small, each trying to sweeten the deal for DIY investors.

Discount Brokerage Deals Quick Nav

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

And, while there were no new deals out of the gate in February, January did welcome to the deals stage offers from Credential Direct, HSBC InvestDirect, National Bank Direct Brokerage and Qtrade Investor. Of particular interest for DIY investors, the cash back, commission-free trade and discounted commission deals are the most popular category of deal being put forward.

With so many offers now available, we summarized which online brokerages were offering the most cash back for registered (TFSA or RRSP) accounts at all Canadian online brokerages. It bears repeating however that most of Canada’s largest bank-owned brokerages are offering more, in dollar terms, than the non-bank owned brokerages are.

Also, interesting from looking at the above breakdown, is that although there is considerable overlap, different Canadian bank-owned online brokerages are clearly targeting specific deposit segments of the DIY investor market.

The bottom line, however, is that this month may be the best time for any DIY investor looking to open an online investing account. While a promotion may not be the primary reason for choosing an online brokerage, the good news is that there is likely to be a bit of a bonus no matter where you choose (almost).

As always, if there are offers that we’ve missed that might be of benefit to Canadian DIY investors, please share in the comments section below.

Expired Offers

*Update: Feb. 2/18: Desjardins Online Brokerage’s 1% commission credit offer has been extended to March 31st, 2018.*

There was only one promotional offer that technically did expire at the end of January and for which the terms and conditions page on the website was not updated at the time of publishing of this post. Desjardins Online Brokerage’s long standing 1% commission credit offer technically expired at the beginning of February. We’ll continue to monitor to see if the official terms of this offer are updated or if a new offer appears in its place. Stay tuned.

Extended Offers

*Update: Feb. 2/18: Desjardins Online Brokerage’s 1% commission credit offer has been extended to March 31st, 2018.*

There were no extensions to report at the outset of the month.

New Deals

There were no new promotions at the outset of February, however there were several offers that came to market through the month of January. Credential Direct and Qtrade Investor both launched cash bonus offers for new and existing clients. Also launching a cash back offer was HSBC InvestDirect. National Bank Direct Brokerage joined the promotional race later in the month with an interesting commission-free trade offer, notable because the timeframe to use the free trades is a lengthy one year.

Discount Brokerage Deals

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

Cash Back/Free Trade/Product Offer Promotions

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Commission/Cash Offer/Promotion Type Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer Details Link Deadline
Jitney Trade A Sparx Trading exclusive offer! Use the promo code “Sparx Trading” when signing up for a new account with Jitneytrade and receive access to their preferred pricing package. n/a Discounted Commission Rates none For more details click here none
Open and fund a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) with at least $1,000 and you may be eligible to receive $88 in commission credits (up to 17 commission-free trades). Use promo code SPARX88 when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions carefully. $1,000 $88 commission credit 60 days Access this offer by clicking here: $88 commission-credit offer . For full terms and conditions, click here. none
Open and fund a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) with at least $1,000 and you may be eligible to receive 5 commission-free trades. Use promo code 5FREETRADES when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions carefully. $1,000 5 commission-free trades 60 days 5 commission-free trade offer December 31, 2018
Open and fund a new account with Virtual Brokers with at least $5,000 and you may be eligible to receive up to two months of trading at $4.99 per trade (maximum of 15 trades per month). Use promo code 499COM2017 when signing up to qualify. See terms and conditions for full details. $5,000 Up to 2 months of trading at $4.99 per trade (max 15 trades per month) Commissions will be reimbursed after June 30, 2018. For more details, click here March 31, 2018
Open and fund a qualifying account with TD Direct Investing with at least A) $10,000; B) $50,000; C) $100,000; D) $250,000 or E) $500,000+ and place at least 5 commissionable trades within 90 days of account opening and you may be eligible to receive either A) $100; B) $200; C) $300; D) $500 or E) $1,000 in cash back. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for eligibility for this offer. A) $10,000 B) $50,000 C) $100,000 D) $250,000 E) $500,000+ A) $100 B) $200 C) $300 D) $500 E) $1,000 Cash award will be paid to the client before the last day of the month following the conclusion of the qualification period (90 days). #RetireReady Promotion March 1, 2018
Disnat Desjardins Online Brokerage is offering new clients 1% of assets transferred into the new account in the form of commission credits (to a maximum value of $1,000). Minimum qualifying deposit is $10,000. To qualify, individuals will have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code DisnatTransfer or email: [email protected]. See details link for more info. $10,000 1% of assets transferred in the form of commission-credits (max credits: $1,000) 6 months Disnat 1% Commission Credit Promo March 31, 2018
Open a new account at National Bank Direct Brokerage with at least a) $10,000 or B) $20,000+, and you may be eligible to receive up to A) 10 or B) 25 commission-free trades. For the 10 free trades offer, enter promo code FREE10 and for the 25 free trades offer enter promo code FREE25. This offer is also available to existing clients. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $10,000 B) $20,000+ A) 10 commission-free trades B) 25 commission-free trades 12 months Free Trades Campaign April 30, 2018
Open a new account or fund an existing account at Credential Direct with at least A) $15,000; B) $50,000; C) $150,000; D) $500,000 or E) $1M+ and you may be eligible to receive a cash bonus of A) $75; B) $125; C) $200; D) $500 or E) $1,000. For new clients, use promo code CASH2018RSP when applying. Existing clients can access this promotion from the promotions page available on the account backend. A donation equivalent to 10% of the bonus payout will also be made by Credential Direct to Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $15,000 B) $50,000 C) $150,000 D) $500,000 E) $1M+ A) $75 B) $125 C) $200 D) $500 E) $1000 Cash will be credited to qualifying investor accounts the week of August 20, 2018 Winter Offer 2018 March 16, 2018
Transfer at least A) $25,000; B) $50,000; or C) $100,000 into a new or existing RRSP, spousal RRSP or TFSA at CIBC Investor’s Edge before March 1, 2018 and you may be eligible for a cash back offer of A) $100; B) $200 or C) $400. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $25,000 B) $50,000 C) $100,000 A) $100 B) $200 C) $400 Cash back will be deposited the week of May 4, 2018 (for transfers received by Dec. 31, 2017) or July 3, 2018 (for transfers received after Dec. 31, 2017). CIBC Investor’s Edge Cash Back Promo March 1, 2018
Open a new account with HSBC InvestDirect by transferring in at least A) $25,000; B) $100,000; C) $250,000; D) $500,000 or E) $1,000,000 or more from another Canadian financial institution and execute at least three commission-generating trades by April 30th, 2018, and you may be eligible to receive a cash bonus of up to A) $88; B) $188; C) $288; D) $688 or E) $988. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $25,000 B) $100,000 C) $250,000 D) $500,000 E) $1M+ A) $88 B) $188 C) $288 D) $688 E) $988 Transfer-in bonus will be deposited by November 30, 2018. Winter Offer – Transfer-In Bonus March 30, 2018
Scotia iTrade Open and fund a new account with Scotia iTRADE with at least A) $25,000; B) $50,000; C) $100,000; D) $250,000; E) $500,000 or F) $1M+ and you may be eligible to receive a pre-paid Visa gift card worth A) $50; B) $100, C) $200; D) $300; E) $600 or F) $1200. Use code VISA18 when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $25,000 B) $50,000 C) $100,000 D) $250,000 E) $500,000 F) $1M+ A) $50 B) $100 C) $200 D) $300 E) $600 F) $1200 pre-paid card should arrive by July 31st 2018 Scotia iTRADE offer March 1, 2018
Open and fund a new qualifying account with at least $25,000 and you may qualify for one month of unlimited commission-free trades and up to one month free of an advanced data package. Use promo code ADVANTAGE14 when opening a new account. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. $25,000 commission-free trades for 1 month + 1 month of advanced data. 1 month Active Trader Program December 31, 2018
Open a new account or fund an existing account with Qtrade Investor with at least A) $50,000; B) $100,000; C) $250,000; D) $500,000 or E) $1M+ and you may be eligible to receive A) $50; B) $100; C) $250; D) $500 or E) $1,000. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A) $50,000 B) $100,000 C) $250,000 D) $500,000 E) $1M+ A) $50 B) $100 C) $250 D) $500 E) $1,000 Cash back will be credited by July 31, 2018. Cash back offer February 28, 2018
BMO InvestorLine Open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine or fund a qualifying existing account, with at least A) $100,000; B) $200,000 or C) $300,000+ in net new assets and you may be eligible to receive up to A) $200 or 20 commission-free equity trades; B) $400 or 40 commission-free equity trades; or C) $750 cash back or 75 commission-free equity trades. Commission-free trades are good for up to two months. In addition, eligible individuals can receive an extra $50 as part of the refer a friend program. Use promo code SPARXCASH when signing up for the cash back offer or SPARXTRADES when signing up for the commission-free equity trade bonus. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. A) $100,000 B) $200,000 C) $300,000 A) $200 or 20 commission-free equity trades. B) $400 or 40 commission-free equity trades. C) $750 or 75 commission-free equity trades. Cash back will be deposited the week of Nov. 12, 2018. Commission-free equity trades are good for up to two months. BMO InvestorLine Winter 2018 Campaign April 1, 2018

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Feb. 2, 2018 08:30 PT

Referral Promotions

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Incentive Structure Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer Deposit Details Link Deadline
Refer a friend to Questrade and when they open an account you receive $25 cash back and they receive either A) $25; B) $50; C) $75; D) $100; or E) $250 depending on the amount deposited amount. Enter code: 476104302388759 during account sign up to qualify. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for eligibility and additional bonus payment structure and minimum balance requirements. A) $1,000 B) $10,000 C) $25,000 D) $50,000 E) $100,000+ $25 cash back (for referrer per referral; $50 bonus cash back for every 3rd referral) For referred individuals: A) $25 cash back B) $50 cash back C) $75 cash back D) $100 cash back E) $250 cash back Cash deposited into Questrade billing account within 7 days after funding period ends (90 days) Refer a friend terms and conditions Code Number: 476104302388759 none
Scotia iTrade If you refer a friend/family member who is not already a Scotia iTRADE account holder to them, both you and your friend get a bonus of either cash or free trades. You have to use the referral form to pass along your info as well as your friend/family members’ contact info in order to qualify. There are lots of details/conditions to this deal so be sure to read the details link. A) $10,000 B) $50,000+ A) You(referrer): $50 or 10 free trades; Your “Friend”: $50 or 10 free trades (max total value:$99.90) B) You(referrer): $100 cash or 50 free trades; Your “Friend”: $100 cash or 50 free trades (max total value: $499.50) 60 days Refer A Friend to Scotia iTrade tbd
BMO InvestorLine If you (an existing BMO InvestorLine client) refer a new client to BMO InvestorLine and they open an account with at least $50,000 the referrer and the referee may both be eligible to receive $50 cash. To qualify the referee must use the email of the referrer that is linked to their BMO InvestorLine account. See terms and conditions for full details. $50,000 You(referrer): $50; Your Friend(referee): $50 Payout occurs 45 days after minimum 90 day holding period(subject to conditions). BMO InvestorLine Refer-a-Friend October 31, 2018

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Feb. 17, 2018 18:30 PT

Transfer Fee Promotions

Company Brief Description Maximum Transfer Fee Coverage Amount Minimum Deposit Amount for Transfer Fee Eligibility Details Link Deadline
Transfer $15,000 or more to HSBC InvestDirect, and they will pay up to $150 in transfer fees. $150 $15,000 2018 Winter Offer – Transfer-In Bonus March 30, 2018
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 $20,000 or more to a National Bank Direct Brokerage account and they will pay up to $135 plus taxes in transfer fees. $135 $20,000 Transfer Fee Rebate none
Transfer $25,000 or more from another brokerage and Credential Direct will cover up to $150 in transfer fees. Use promo code SWITCHME when signing up to qualify for the transfer promotion. $150 $25,000 Credential Direct Transfer Fee Rebate none
Transfer $25,000 or more to Qtrade Investor from another brokerage and Qtrade Investor may cover up to $150 in transfer fees. See terms and conditions for more details. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee Rebate none
Move your brokerage account to Questrade and they’ll cover the transfer-out fee up to $150. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee Promo none
Transfer at least $25,000 or more in new assets to TD Direct Investing when opening a new account and you may qualify to have transfer fees reimbursed up to $150. Be sure to contact TD Direct Investing for further details. $150 $25,000 Contact client service for more information (1-800-465-5463). none
Transfer $25,000 or more to Virtual Brokers and they may cover up to $150 in transfer fees. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee promo April 30, 2018
Transfer $25,0000 or more to Scotia iTRADE and they cover up to $150 in transfer fees. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee promo March 1, 2018
Transfer $25,000 or more into a CIBC Investor’s Edge account and they will reimburse up to $135 in brokerage transfer fees. Clients must call customer service to request rebate after transfer made. $135 $25,000 Confirmed with reps. Contact client service for more information (1-800-567-3343). none
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 DisnatTransfer. See details link for more info. $150 $50,000 Disnat 1% Commission Credit Promo March 31, 2018
BMO InvestorLine Open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine or fund a qualifying existing account, by transferring in at least $200,000+ in net new assets and you may be eligible to have transfer fees covered up to $200. Use promo code SPARXCASH when signing up to also be eligible for cash back offer or SPARXTRADES to be eligible for the commission-free trade offer. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. $200 $200,000 BMO InvestorLine Winter 2018 Campaign April 1, 2018

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Feb. 17, 18:40 PT

Other Promotions

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Required Details Link Deadline
Disnat Desjardins Online Brokerage, in conjunction with MoneyTalks, is offering 3 months of the “Inside Edge” investor information service to Desjardins Online Brokerage clients. Use promo code DESJ2016 during checkout to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for more information. n/a MoneyTalks Inside Edge Discount none
Disnat Desjardins Online Brokerage is offering $50 in commission credits for new Disnat Classic clients depositing at least $1,000. See terms and conditions for full details. $1,000 Broker@ge 18-30 Promotion none
Scotia iTrade Scotiabank StartRight customers can receive 10 commission-free trades when investing $1,000 or more in a new Scotia iTrade account. Trades are good for use for up to 1 year from the date the account is funded. Use promo code SRPE15 when applying (in English) or SRPF15 when applying in French. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for full details. $1,000 StartRight Free Trade offer none

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Feb. 1, 2018 22:00 PT

Digital Advice + Roboadvisor Promotions

Robo-advisor / Digital advisor Offer Type Offer Description Min. Deposit Reward / Promotion Promo Code Expiry Date Link
Discounted Management Open and fund a new Questrade Portfolio IQ account with a deposit of at least $1,000 and the first month of management will be free. For more information on Portfolio IQ, click the product link. $1000 1st month no management fees KDKFNBBC None Questrade Portfolio IQ Promo Offer
Discounted Management Open a new account with BMO SmartFolio and receive one year of management of up to $15,000 free. See offer terms and conditions for more details. $1,000 1 year no management fees STSF February 28, 2018 SmartFolio New Account Promotion
Cash Back – Referral BMO SmartFolio clients will receive $50 cash back for every friend or family member who opens and funds a new SmartFolio account. Friends and family referred to SmartFolio will receive $50 cash back for opening and funding an account, plus automatic enrollment into SmartFolio’s mass offer in market at the time. See offer terms and conditions for more details. $1,000 $50 cash back (referrer) $50 cash back (referee) Unique link generated from SmartFolio required. None SmartFolio Website
Transfer Fee Coverage Transfer at least $25,000 into Virtual Wealth when opening a new account and you may be eligible to have up to $150 in transfer fees covered by Virtual Wealth. $25,000 up to $150 in transfer fees covered None None Contact customer service directly for more information.
Last Updated: Feb. 1, 2018 22:00 PT
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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – January 26, 2018

With US markets continuing to push into record territory, everyone appears to revising estimates upwards in terms of where things go from here. Heck, even the folks at Vanity Fair magazine seem to be caught up in the frenzy and were adding digits (and limbs) to superstars. Speaking of new highs and big deals, Canadian discount brokerages are definitely dialed into both, making things very exciting for DIY investors.

In this week’s roundup, we continue coverage of the latest developments on the deals and promotions front with yet another bank-owned online brokerage stepping into the deals melee. From there, we cover one bank’s winning recipe to connect with investors on social media and then look at how one very innovative US online brokerage just changed the game yet again by offering up cryptocurrency trading.

Deals Continue to Roll In

Even as January draws to a close, it appears that deals from Canadian online brokerages are still coming to market. This week, National Bank Direct Brokerage launched a new offer for commission-free trades and took the deal count to 31, with the most popular category of offers now solidly in the cash back or commission-free trade camp.

With so many offers already in the mix, it was interesting to see how NBDB approaches positioning an offer for DIY investors.

The first interesting observation is the long shelf life of the free trades. Unlike many of the free trade promotions, the commission-free trades are good for up to one year from the time the account opened which means that there is no pressure or hurry to use up the trades.

Screenshot from NBDB website

Another interesting angle to this offer is its accessibility. Unlike some of NBDB’s bank-owned competitors, the deposit tiers to qualify for this offer are relatively low. The first deposit tier is $10,000 (which offers 10 free trades) and the top tier is $20,000 (which offers 25 free trades), which is considerably lower than the other bank-owned online brokerages.

Finally, now that National Bank Direct Brokerage has put a promotion forward, the only major bank-owned online brokerage in Canada not advertising a promotional offer is RBC Direct Investing.

2018 it is an interesting time for Canadian online brokerages. Not only is the January through March window the busiest period (arguably) for Canadian online brokerages, this year in particular stands out as “unprecedented” according to a number of bank-owned online brokerages in terms of investor interest and volume.

For DIY investors, the news is great. There are now over 30 offers with a strong selection of cash back and commission-free trade deals to choose from. In fact, with so many offers, now is arguably the best time for a DIY investor to an online investing account as there is a good chance to benefit from one (or more) of these enticing offers.

Talking About #Investing

This past week BMO SmartFolio took to social media as part of a Twitter chat on investing and personal finance organized by BMO and co-hosted with blogger/writer Lena Almeida (@Listen2Lena).

In what appears to be a successful recipe for engaging with Canadian investors online, BMO stuck to a structure it used in September 2017 (for BMO InvestorLine) and in June 2017 (for BMO SmartFolio) for its most recent online chat. As with previous Twitter chats, this inaugural chat of 2018 took place over the span of an hour and featured five main questions about investing and personal finance. To help provide incentive for participation there was also a draw for gift cards (a total of $600) to individuals who responded to the questions posed during the session. Of course, as an added bonus to this format, now that Twitter users have 280 characters to write a response, it was also much easier to share important details in one message.

The angle that this most recent chat took was to challenge audience members to debunk some myths or misconceptions about investing by choosing whether statements/questions were ‘fact or fiction’.  Here were the statements that were posed to audience members this year along with data on the number of replies, retweets and likes for each:

Fact or Fiction Statement Replies Retweets Likes
Most people find investing to be intimidating. 120 37 51
You need to be an expert to invest online like an expert. 103 28 40
You don’t need to have a lot of money to invest it. 118 28 47
You’ve got plenty of time to invest for your goals, you don’t need to think about retirement until your late 40’s 115 36 50
All your investing goals should only be for yourself 139 43 62
Average 119 34 50

 

As it happens, we also collected stats on the previous BMO SmartFolio Twitter chat held in June 2017 (see table below) and so we have an interesting comparison between the two.

Question Replies Retweets Likes
How comfortable are you with online investing? 100 26 41
Why did you start investing? 105 36 43
Do you feel you have to be an expert to invest online? 106 32 39
What are your investment goals for 2017? 66 26 38
Are you an online investor? How is it working out? If not, what’s holding you back 102 33 43
Is online investing the way to go? What else is an #investsmart question mark for you 106 38 43
Average 98 32 42

One of the most interesting observations is that on the questions themselves, the latest Twitter chat got more engagement in terms of replies and slightly more likes and retweets than did the session in June. That, however, only shows part of the story.

For added context, stats shared by BMO stated that this session generated over 9,000 tweets and almost 600,000 people were ‘reached’ during the #investsmart chat which reflects quite a bit of additional interaction between these main questions.

In either case, the participation was solid and indicates that investors and those considering investing, are interested in learning about personal finance online. And, considering the fleeting nature of online attention spans, keeping that many people engaged is no small feat.

In looking at the questions themselves, in this latest Twitter chat, the statement that generated quite a bit of interaction was the final one: “All your investing goals should only be for yourself.” Indeed, in looking through the responses for this Twitter chat there numerous examples of interesting insights shared by attendees about their perspectives on investing.

Overall, it appears that when it comes to promoting awareness and engagement on the topic of investing online, BMO is continuing to strike the right notes with investors. The combination of interesting questions, prize money and solid hosting/moderating means that tuning into chats was a value-added experience for participants – even those that chose to sit on the sidelines.

While the recipe isn’t necessarily a secret, for other Canadian robo-advisors and online brokerages, there’s certainly quite a bit to learn from BMO’s approach to connecting with investors (and would-be investors) online.

Robinhood Gearing Up For Crypto-trading

Perhaps it’s a sign of the times, but it looks like the ability to trade actual cryptocurrencies bitcoin and Ethereum is now coming to US online investors.

Robinhood, the US online brokerage that offers zero-commission trading has dropped yet another zero-commission bombshell by announcing it will offer zero-commission bitcoin and Ethereum trading in the very near future.

Naturally the announcement generated a lot of buzz and, with the recent drop off in bitcoin prices, some skepticism on whether or not Robinhood is late to the party. Clearly things in the crypto world move very quickly.

Despite some Twitter shade, this is undeniably going to force the hand of other online brokerages to consider how they can offer direct trading of these instruments. Meanwhile in Canada, there are still online brokerages still wrestling with online account registration.

It will be interesting to see if any Canadian online brokerages can manage to keep pace with their US counterparts in terms of pricing and speed of innovation.

Already within the span of 2017, many US online brokerages have drastically cut their commission prices to about half the Canadian benchmark of $10 per trade and are still churning out impressive financial results. Robinhood, however, operates at zero commissions for trading and continues to gain momentum in the US.

Since so much of online investing relies on computers, it becomes difficult to defend the position that trade execution should cost what it does here in Canada especially given what the entire industry in the US is now charging. And, with the addition of cryptocurrency trading now in the mix, it seems that the future for Canadian discount brokerages has been very well telegraphed by companies in the US.

The big question now becomes whether a US online brokerage (like Robinhood) will make a move into Canada to leapfrog existing players or will Canadian online brokerages be able to innovate fast enough to defend their market share.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

If you were looking for compliments about Canadian discount brokerages this week, there’s a good chance you wouldn’t have found them on Twitter. Mentioned by Canadian DIY investors were BMO InvestorLine, CIBC Investor’s Edge, Questrade, RBC Direct Investing, Scotia iTRADE, and TD Direct Investing.

From the Forums

Conversion Factor

How much can performing Norbert’s Gambit save a DIY investor? In this post from RedFlagDeals.com’s investing thread, one user with $15K to convert gets some help to figure out just how much the maneuver can save them.

Penny Wise

On the theme of counting the dollars and cents associated with investing fees, one user interested in passive investing strategies looked to the internet in this post from reddit for some guidance on choosing passive investing solutions.

Into the Close

Another week, another record market run, another wacky twist in the Trump saga. So goes the news cycle. Fortunately, there’s lots of other wackiness in the news to offer up some laughs and relax over the weekend. Of course, to keep things trading-themed, enjoy the madness that ensued when Nutella in France went on sale (aka real life FOMO).