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National Bank Direct Brokerage

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – June 19, 2015

As June quickly draws to an end, there is something that a lot of the little kids out there may be celebrating or dreading. No, it’s definitely not dinosaurs nor is it Donald Trump announcing his candidacy for US President. Nope, if there’s something that discount brokerages and students can commiserate about at this time of year it is getting report cards.

In this week’s roundup we take a look at some the interesting moves being made by two online brokerages in separate social media spaces. Following that we take a look at a recent report card on mobile trading platforms that was less than flattering for almost all Canadian discount brokerages. Of course, with all the fun that summer entails, we close out the roundup with a quick spin through the upcoming investor education events, discount brokerage tweets of the week (there are some interesting ones in there) and of course the forum chatter. Oh and a cute animal video just for kicks at the end.

The Missing Link

Over the past several weeks, we’ve been tracking some of the interesting developments of brokerages on social media. This past week, social media was again on the radar with two discount brokerages making some important moves on LinkedIn and YouTube respectively.

Earlier in the week, Scotia iTrade announced on LinkedIn that they are winding down their company page on July 6, 2015 and instead publishing company updates and content on their showcase page.

Screenshot from Scotia iTrade LinkedIn page.

For most self-directed investors, there will likely be no noticeable difference between the two however, for Scotia iTrade, the switch may be a lot more noticeable.

With three weeks to go before they switch over, the difference in follower count between the two different pages is almost ten-fold. Scotia iTrade’s soon to be shuttered company page has amassed 1767 followers (at the time of writing) whereas their new showcase page has 143. As a financial services provider, building a community of followers online, especially on social media, is no easy feat.

There are several active competitors on LinkedIn which each have similar content strategies. BMO Wealth Management, Credential, National Bank Direct Brokerage, Qtrade Financial and Questrade are also actively producing and sharing investor focused content. As in the ‘real world’ the social media space is a lot more crowded than it was just a few years ago.

I Screen, You Screen

The other online brokerage ramping up production of investor-focused content is Qtrade Investor. Just this week they officially launched a YouTube account and published their first video – an investor education piece on ‘how to diversify your portfolio beyond Canada.’

While Qtrade Investor is not the only discount brokerage to have a YouTube channel (see table below), their choice to focus on investor education out of the gate is an interesting one. Typically, other online brokerages have been using YouTube to share information about their services, post commercials and a few have actually provided education-only videos.

As with other social media sites, the table below shows that Questrade is out in front by a wide margin on YouTube. They have been on the medium longer, have a larger subscriber base and have more views that the other brokerages combined. That said, they have also produced and released more videos than their peers.

One of the most interesting observations for the data shown in the table is that for the amount of time and resources spent, there aren’t a lot of folks eagerly waiting and watching to see what a brokerage puts out next. And that’s basically the challenge confronting most brokerages when it comes to building content. Most discount brokerages, and financial services providers, are much better at focusing on providing brokerage services than they are at consistently producing content that investors are drawn to.

While Qtrade Investor is likely not the last to step into the social media pool, especially on YouTube, the challenge in front of them will to be to keep things fresh, frequent and most importantly, interesting.

Select Canadian Online Brokerages on YouTube
Brokerage Subscribers Total Views Year Joined # Videos
Questrade 2788 1140720 2007 150+
Scotia iTrade 312 61594 2010 39
Qtrade 2 14 2015 1
Virtual Brokers 70 40518 2010 24

A Platform for Change

This past week BMO InvestorLine’s mobile (i.e. tablet and smartphone) platforms were recognized by financial service rating firm Surviscor as being ‘the best’ amongst the Canadian discount brokerages.

As this was the first year this analysis was performed, it was interesting to note just how far apart first place was from everybody else.

BMO InvestorLine scored a 91% on the ranking whereas 2nd place Scotia iTrade was given a 57%. The company that fared the worst in this ranking was National Bank Direct Brokerage which Surviscor rated at 14%. In fact, the average score for the 11 discount brokerages measured worked out to 42% with a standard deviation of about 22%. For the stats keeners, there’s definitely something strange in the mobile trading neighbourhood.

Surviscor Canadian Discount Brokerage Mobile Trading Ratings
Brokerage iPhone iPad Android SmartPhone Android Tablet BlackBerry Touchscreen Score Rank
BMO InvestorLine B+ A B+ B+ B+ 91% 1
Scotia iTrade C+ B- C+ C+ C+ 57% 2
Questrade C+ C+ C+ B- C+ 54% 3
RBC Direct Investing C+ C+ C+ C+ C+ 51% 4
Qtrade Investor B- C+ B- D B- 49% 5
TD Direct Investing C+ C C C+ C 43% 6
CIBC Investor’s Edge C C C C C 33% 7
Credential Direct B- N/A C+ N/A C+ 25% 8
Virtual Brokers C- C- C- C- C- 25% 8
Desjardins Online Brokerage C+ D- C+ D C+ 21% 10
National Bank Direct Brokerage C D- C D C 14% 11
source: Surviscor

As we’ve mentioned on several occasions with all brokerage rankings and ratings, the importance of understanding what is being measured and the method by which it is measured is key to really understanding what these numbers mean.

In the case of these latest rankings & ratings, it is the presence or absence of certain features and functionality on smartphones and tablets. Exactly what those features were was not elaborated on in the press release or Surviscor site, however, the following “categories” were assessed:

  • Getting Connected
  • Application Design
  • Customer Support
  • Market Intelligence
  • Mobile Transactions
  • Mobile Resources

According to the figures presented, BMO InvestorLine’s app is somewhat of a black swan in the pond of other mobile trading apps. An alternative interpretation would be that there’s something particular about the test construction that is rendering these results. In fact, it may be a combination of the two.

BMO InvestorLine may have a feature-rich app, however individual investors may not consider having all of the features important – especially if the app becomes an intensive user of device resources (i.e. battery life). Surviscor’s assessment, on the other hand, bases the scoring of the mobile experience in large part on what’s available on a brokerage’s full website. As such, some brokerages may be designing their mobile experience to be intentionally different than the full web experience which would, in turn, help account for some of the differences observed between the mobile and desktop website.

In reality, some discount brokerages and DIY investors may believe there are certain features that are better suited to bigger screens. There is only so much filtering, charting or technical analysis one can effectively do with ones thumbs or with swiping. Thus, a distinction should be made between having a feature (which is a yes or no question) and having it work effectively (which is matter of degree).

While it is undeniable that many DIY investors are embracing the ability to stay on top of their investments ‘on the go’ or simply without having to power up a laptop or desktop, exactly what makes for a quality mobile experience, especially for DIY investors, is still a moving target.

Given how fast the definition and technologies associated with “mobile” are changing, it will likely be the responsiveness of brokerages’ IT departments as well as their websites or apps that determines who will lead the pack.

Event Horizon

June 23

Scotia iTRADE – Introduction to Bonds with Scotia McLeod

TD Direct Investing – Understanding Margin & Short Selling

TD Direct Investing – Generating Income in a Low Rate Environment

June 24

Scotia iTRADE – Options Fundamentals with Montreal Exchange

June 25

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Technical Analysis

#DiscountBrokerage Tweets of the Week

The chatter about and to discount brokerages on Twitter this week featured BMO InvestorLine, Questrade, RBC Direct Investing, Scotia iTrade and brief mention of TD Direct Investing.

From the Forums

Taking an Interest in GICs

With talks of interest rates rising on the horizon, it will be ‘interesting’ to see if/when more folks start asking about GICs. In this post from RedFlagDeals’ forum, one user wants to find out whether a big bank-owned online brokerage or independent brokerage offers direct access.

For Better or Worse

Now that summer is here, RRSP season may be in the rear view mirror but for a lot of folks it also happens to be ‘wedding season’. In this post, from Canadian Money Forum, spousal RRSP contributions are the focal point at one bank-owned online brokerage.

Into the Close

That’s a wrap for this week’s roundup. For all the dads out there, here’s to a very happy Father’s day filled with tools, ties, socks and stocks! (ok maybe not that last one). Have a great weekend – although perhaps not as great as this little rascal.

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – June 12, 2015

It happened in Toronto. It happened in Vancouver. Transit ground to a halt at the worst possible moments. And, if you read the tweets and forum posts from active investors and traders, it occasionally happens to discount brokerages, major data providers and stock exchanges across the information superhighway. When technology that carries people or financial information goes offline, it seems that the new normal is for people to turn online (are you taking notes #SnoopforCEO?). For many discount brokerages, the issue of how to navigate this tech-fueled new normal filled with hyperconnected ‘millennials’ as well as their expectations of how things ought to run is an all too familiar challenge. Alas, there is no turning back.

In this week’s roundup we try to get things ‘on track’ by first looking at one discount brokerage-sponsored investor challenge that wrapped up and what it means for investors looking to learn about investing. Next, we take a look at an important announcement from the Federal Government on their strategy for improving financial literacy. Following that, we report on the quick scan of the small screen that yielded some interesting segments on ‘guys chatting about investing’ followed by the conversations about DIY investing in the discount brokerage tweets of the week. Finally we close out with the upcoming investor education events, forum chatter and one very cool internet video that highlights the importance of paying attention to the big picture.

And it was supposed to be a slow month…

It Pays to Play

Successfully timing the market has always been met with some degree of skepticism. That’s real life. Still it is a fascinating exercise to observe what happens when contestants using ‘virtual money’ are challenged to perform as best as they can.

This past week, the “Biggest Winner 5” trading competition from Horizons ETFs and National Bank Direct Brokerage announced that Calgarian Daniel Tsang was crowned the champ for netting a 20.99% return over the course of the six-week contest. First prize in this ETF-only virtual stock market challenge was $7,500 followed by the second prize of $2,500 which went to Nancy Kelly of Cobourg, Ontario who reached a healthy 18.68% return.

So what was the secret to scoring the quick wins? According to Howard Atkinson, President of Horizons ETFs, it was the “effective use of leveraged ETFs.” Indeed, when the focus is short term, it is the combination of luck, timing, volatility and leverage that many professional traders recognize govern their fortunes. Of course it also helped that junior’s university fund was not on the line when making some of the big directional bets on oil and natural gas that provided a large portion of the results.

While the prize money and recognition were potent incentives, it was great to see that over 1600 individuals took part, including a continuing trend of increased participation by women investors.

It would have been interesting to see what the average performance was over that time, especially considering the performance of various benchmark indices, as well as what the distribution was of the 20,000 or so trades that were made.

Regardless of the outcome, the good news for DIY investors is that paper trading is a great way to learn and practice different investment strategies. Several discount brokerages such as Interactive Brokers, RBC Direct Investing, and TD Direct Investing (specifically the US Trading Platform aka ThinkOrSwim) even offer practice accounts which can be used to test and learn. That said, the Biggest Winner contest offers up a number of cash prizes which just makes getting it right that much more fun. Congrats to the winners and participants!

Making Financial Literacy Count With #CountMeInCA

This past week the Federal Government formally announced the launch of their National Strategy for Financial Literacy called “Count Me In”.

As has increasingly been the case since 2009, resources are continuing to be committed to improving financial literacy across the general population and specifically to vulnerable populations. While the formal commitment by government agencies has taken time to mobilize, other organizations and individuals have been filling the void.

Fortunately many of the resources have been organized into a database on financial literacy (explained also in the following video).

For quite some time and to this day, however, DIY investors have relied upon Canadian investor forums such as the personal finance section of Reddit, RedFlagDeals, Canadian Investor Forum or the Financial Wisdom Forum as well as sites such as GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca and a host of independent personal finance writers to help navigate the world of investing online.

Discount brokerages have also recognized the need and opportunity in providing investor education on specific areas of interest related to investing. Four of the biggest providers of investor education include Desjardins Online Brokerage, National Bank Direct Brokerage, Scotia iTrade and TD Direct Investing.

Fortunately, the number of resources for learning about investing (as a component to personal financial literacy) continues to grow and with the appointment of a Financial Literacy Leader and the formation of a concrete strategy, it appears even more resources will be mobilized and coordinated to bring the awareness of personal financial literacy into the everyday purview of most Canadians.

Given the high levels of personal debt, irrational housing prices and demographical shifts there is clearly a need and urgency to better educate and empower Canadians to manage their finances wisely.

It comes as little surprise, therefore, that the three primary goals of the National Strategy on Financial Literacy are to help Canadians:

  1. Manage money & debt wisely
  2. Plan & save for the future
  3. Prevent & protect against fraud and financial abuse

For those beginning on their journey into learning about personal finance and investing, or for those who get asked by beginners about some good resources, it is encouraging that in addition to the good books about investing, forums and websites that there are now going to be some better resources to turn to.

To keep track of the latest developments of the “Count me in” strategy, follow the hashtag #CountMeInCA or visit the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada website here.

Channel Surfing

There’s just something about two guys talking about investing – or so it seems that it was the case with a pair of video clips that caught our attention.

The first is a commercial for Interactive Brokers’ new ‘marketplace’ which we mentioned in last week’s roundup. In the commercial there’s an amusingly scenic moment of two guys fishing in a river set to some wholesome ‘folky’ music.

Getting back to the theme of financial literacy, the second clip is from a BNN interview featuring Doce Tomic, President & CEO, Credential Financial discussing financial literacy tips for millennials.

Over the past few years and increasingly over the last few months it seems that “millennials” has become the buzzword of choice to describe a new category of being. Like the Gen Y’s, Gen X’s and Baby Boomers, the millennials have become a talking point, especially in the world of finance, where there has been lots of energy expended trying to understand, cater to and capture the business of this demographic cohort.

The Google Trends graph below shows just how ‘hot’ a topic millennials have become. Interestingly, the stock charts of several companies that cater well to this demographic also seem to follow a similar trend, which may help explain why the discount brokerages and financial services firms are hoping to find the right recipe for connecting to this group very quickly.

#DiscountBrokerage Tweets of the Week

In this week’s tweets, there was an interesting shift in the pattern of the past few weeks. While there were definitely a handful of questions relating to customer service issues, there were a number of not so flattering conversations that Scotia iTrade found themselves the center of. While the social media representative handled the exchanges professionally, it was revealing to see what some of the concerns were with this online brokerage.

Event Horizon

Here are the upcoming investor education seminars and webinars for the week ahead:

June 16

Scotia iTRADE – Volatility – Friend or Foe with Pro Market Advisors

June 17

TD Direct Investing – Technical Analysis – Candlestick Charting

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Fundamental Analysis

Scotia iTRADE – Building Diversified Portfolios Using ETFs with iShares

June 18

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Investing in Options

Scotia iTRADE – Charts and Patterns 101

From the Forums

Shorts Weather

In this post from the Canadian Money Forum, one user highlights some of the challenges encountered with going short on a stock at Scotia iTrade. Check out what the community had to say about some of the other alternative discount brokerages mentioned and why having a brokerage that has a big inventory can make the difference on a quick trade.

Interesting Gambit

One of the more popular techniques for exchanging Canadian funds into US funds is via Norbert’s Gambit. This past week there were a couple of interesting threads concerning the importance of keeping track of any interest charges that may be incurred as well as the shift that might be taking place with one bank-owned brokerage now potentially charging a little more to get that done.

Into the Close

That does it for this edition of the roundup. Hard to believe that the middle of June is almost here but with it come the (gasp) finale of Game of Thrones for another season. Of course, there’s lots to do outside but for those that would rather watch other people outside do entertaining things, this tribute to television theme songs is good training for that day you end up on Jeopardy. Have a great weekend!

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – June 5, 2015

Even though summer is technically still coming, for Game of Thrones fans, winter looks like it’s finally arrived. While Canadian discount brokerages may not have to worry about a horde of the undead or flying dragons, they do have to keep an eye out on each other.

In this week’s discount brokerage roundup, we take a look at the latest battleground for brokerages – deals and promotions – and the newest challenger that has stepped on the field. Next we take an in-depth look at one independent online brokerage that happens to be crushing their account growth numbers and what that might mean for DIY investors in Canada. Following the trend from the last several roundups, we’ll take a look at the latest discount brokerage tweets to see what was lighting up social media before closing out with upcoming investor education events and some enlightening chatter from the investor forums.

Deals updates

With a new month, it’s that time again to check on the deals and promotions being offered by Canadian discount brokerages. While the deal activity seemed like it was going to quiet down heading into summer, June was barely a few days old when the deals and promotions space took an interesting turn.

At the outset of the month there were 15 deals we spotted, with one new offer by Questrade included in that count. By the end of the first week, however, two more deals had joined the list: one from Questrade as well as one from HSBC InvestDirect.

Those offering promotions included the ‘usual suspects’ of Questrade, Scotia iTrade, BMO InvestorLine and Desjardins Online Brokerage, however it was HSBC InvestDirect’s offer that got our attention.

The deal itself is not groundbreaking – it is 30 commission-free (equity) trades that are good for 60 days, something that is similar to what other brokerages have offered. What is noteworthy is the lack of required minimum deposit to qualify and the fact that HSBC InvestDirect has decided run this offer from June through to the end of August as a “summer” promotion, perhaps hinting at deals that may be coming in future seasons.

In terms of activity level for promotions, HSBC InvestDirect has run/advertised very few. Aside from offers that were timed around their win of various Dalbar client service awards, HSBC InvestDirect has largely been on the sidelines with promotions. Clearly something has prompted a change.

Alongside the launch of HSBC InvestDirect’s latest promotion was Questrade’s revival of their Amazon gift certificate offer. Questrade’s addition of yet another promotion means that of all the Canadian brokerages, Questrade is offering the largest number of promotions (7 out 17 that we’re tracking).

Another noteworthy observation was that Virtual Brokers extended their commission-free trade offer until the end of June.

June should prove to be an exciting moment for promotions/deals as just about half of the 17 offers have expiry dates scheduled for the end of this month. If the rest of this month continues at this pace, it seems like a little bit of volatility might be in order – something that may play out in the favour of DIY investors in the market for an online trading account. Stay tuned.

IBKR kicking butt and taking names

As we do from time to time, we keep an eye out as to what is happening in the US space and in particular with what’s happening at Interactive Brokers (since they have a Canadian subsidiary as well).

This past week, it was interesting to see what the US discount brokerages were up to at the recent Sandler O’Neill Global Exchange and Brokerage Conference that took place in New York.

Although there were interesting presentations from E*Trade and TD Ameritrade, as well as some pot shots at the Toronto Maple Leafs making the Stanley Cup finals (apparently even Americans know that factoid about Canada even if they don’t really know our geography ) it was the presentation from Interactive Brokers’ founder & CEO Thomas Peterffy that caught our attention. For those diehard fans/followers of the online brokerage space – the session can be accessed here.

One of the biggest takeaways is that Interactive Brokers has experienced a blistering pace of account and asset growth, and, show no real signs of slowing down. According to their CEO it was a series of long-term commitments to automation that have enabled them to compete so effectively on pricing. Their ambitions extend well beyond the US markets and so it is interesting to see the moves taking place within Canada that will enable them to compete against brokerages here.

Coinciding with their appearance at the Sandler O’Neill Global Exchange and Brokerage Conference was the announcement by Interactive Brokers of the launch of their investor marketplace – something that shows once again that they are looking ahead of the curve. In case you missed it, here’s a commercial from earlier this year, which comically points out how this new feature would speak to investors or advisors.

While it is hard to know what from the US will make its way to Canadian DIY investors, it’s hard to argue with the growth figures of Interactive Brokers.

Within Canada, it appears that Interactive Brokers is chipping away at the DIY investor market. With their recent introduction of registered accounts, it should be interesting to see them start to appear on the major discount brokerage rankings now that this qualifying feature is in place.

On the horizon, however, their new marketplace may offer an integrated way to access advisors, or even robo-advisors, that have captured so much interest of late. All this while staying under the “Interactive Brokers” umbrella.

As the momentum with Interactive Brokers continues to pick up in the US, there is a strong chance that Canadians will start to hear and see them being talked about if not through commercials, then by the growing crowd of traders from the US and internationally who are clearly flocking to Interactive Brokers.

#DiscountBrokerage Tweets of the Week

In this week’s discount brokerage tweets of the week, there were an assortment of vents, apologies and pointed remarks that make the world of DIY investing such a colourful one to follow.

As has been the case over the past several weeks, Questrade continues to be the most active on Twitter amongst the Canadian discount brokerages. Other online brokerages may be online, but as the tweets below show, few of them capture much attention other than when things go awry for clients.

 

Event Horizon

June 8

Scotia iTRADE – Trading Psychology Part 2 with Stefanie Kammerman

June 9

Scotia iTRADE – Sources of Income and Yield Using ETFs with Horizons ETFs

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Investing in Options

June 10

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Investing

TD Direct Investing – Options as an Income Strategy

NBDB – International Investing – [Fr]

June 11

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Technical Analysis 

From the Forums

When is a TFSA not a TFSA

From time to time there have been stories of fabled, almost mythological, balances of TFSAs. The news that the CRA is looking into a limited number of individuals’ “very high” TFSA balances is concerning to DIY investors on a number of levels. In this post from the reddit Personal Finance Canada section, a fascinating discussion of how these balances may have gotten so big and what the CRA may or may not be able to do highlights how important getting clarity on the rules about TFSAs are.

Breaking up is Easy to Do

For many Canadian investors, having a financial advisor is one way to help manage and navigate the complex world of investments and investment products. For the DIY investor crowd, however, there is very little love for the ‘typical’ financial advisory. In this post from the Canadian Money Forum, readers chime in on one individual’s question as to how to go about breaking things of with an advisor they’re just not that into.

Questrade VS RBC Direct Investing

An independent brokerage that advertises low commission prices or a big bank that kicked of the ‘fee-asco’ of falling commission rates. It’s a question many investors wrestle with. In this post from reddit’s personal finance Canada section, there was an interesting debate about the merits and drawbacks of picking one brokerage over the other.

Into the Close

That does it for this week’s roundup. Whether it’s Game of Thrones, the Stanley Cup or a frosty beverage on a patio (or all of the above), however the ice makes its way into your weekend, we hope it keeps you cool!

For those of us who hate to pay fees for seemingly small requests, this is an entertaining real-life example of some batman like drive and applied math in action to beat one airline’s administrative fees.

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Discount Brokerage Deals and Promotions – June 2015

*Updated June 16*

With summer now just around the corner, June should prove to be an interesting month for discount brokerage deals and promotions.

On the one hand there has been a pullback in the number of deals as we head into the summer, however the same core group of discount brokerages continue to run active promotions. In particular, BMO InvestorLine, Questrade and Scotia iTrade each have multiple offers, with Questrade aggressively putting forward 6 of the 15 offers at the outset of June.

What is interesting to observe is that 50% of the current offers are timed to expire at the end of June. This signals that DIY investors can expect some deal turnover to happen through and towards the end of this month.

Another interesting observation is that the latest offers from Questrade and Scotia iTrade have deadline dates well into the end of August or mid-September.

We’ll definitely be monitoring June closely to see what’s going to unfold.

Expired Deals

There were five noteworthy discount brokerage deals that expired at the end of May. In particular there were three concurrent offers from Scotia iTrade that consisted of cash back and/or free trades that expired and were replaced by the deal referenced below.

Questrade also saw their $250 prepaid Visa offer expire as well as one of their 100 free trade offers.

Extended Deals

Not wanting to be excluded from the deal pack, Virtual Brokers extended the deadline for their “25 commission-free trade for a year” from the end of May through to the end of June.

New Deals

*Updated June 16:

After taking a bit of a break, National Bank Direct Brokerage has stepped back into the deals & promotion pool with a new offer linked to their ‘InvestCube’ service. Until August 31st, NBDB is offering up either a 16gb iPad Mini (estimated value $329 CAD) or $300 cash back for a minimum deposit of $50,000 into a new InvestCube account. See table below for additional details.*

*Updated June 3:

There are sometimes in life when a Ron Burgundy quote seems entirely appropriate. In this case, it’s that things ‘escalated quickly’ with regards to deals and promotions at discount brokerages in June. Although it was quiet to start off June, barely 3 days into the month there are two new offers that have launched.

The first is from a very unlikely candidate – HSBC InvestDirect, who has kicked off the summer with a commission-free trading promotion. This offer is for 30 commission free trades that are good for use within 60 days. Check out the table below for full details.

The second offer is yet another promotion being launched by Questrade. In their latest promo, Questrade has revived the Amazon gift certificate deal although this time it is aimed at smaller depositors than their previous one. Questrade is now offering a $50 Amazon gift certificate for deposits of at least $5,000. More details below.*

In keeping with their ongoing strategy of offering up multiple promotions, Questrade launched a smart(watch) offer in May and has resurrected another headline grabbing deal for June.

Midway through May, Questrade made a timely decision to capitalize on the interest in the Apple Watch by launching a promotion with the smartwatch as a theme.

Digging into the fine print, the offer was actually for a $500 Apple Store gift card for deposits of at least $100,000. While it is technically just enough to land the base model of the Apple Watch, the $500 Gift Card offer is still a pretty substantial offering for the $100,000 deposit.

There were more than a handful of tweets and forum posts that highlighted that Questrade has their fingers on the pulse of what their key demographic of clients is hungry for.

In addition to their new shiny promotion, starting this month Questrade is bringing back their “3 month unlimited trading” offer. Specifically, this promotion offers individuals one, two or three months of unlimited commission-free trading based on deposits of at least $1,000; $25,000 or $50,000. As a note, commissions are charged at the time of trading and then reimbursed within 10 business days. See table below for more details.

Finally, Questrade has recently changed their refer-a-friend offer away from commission credits and replacing it with a substantially lower cash back offering. We’ve updated the table below with the new referral code info. For individuals interested in using this promotion, be sure to read the terms and conditions as there are requirements for minimum balance amounts to held for minimum periods of time.

Discount Brokerage Deals

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Commission/Cash Offer/Promotion Type Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer Details Link Deadline
Jitney Trade A Sparx Trading exclusive offer! Use the promo code “Sparx Trading” when signing up for a new account with Jitney and receive access to their preferred pricing package and a massive 45% discount on the Real Tick trading platform. n/a Discounted Commission Rates none For more details click here none
BMO InvestorLine For individuals between 18 and 35 who open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine, they may be eligible to receive 35 commission-free trades, an eBook on investing, $50 cash back and potentially waived account minimum fees. Use promo code “YOUNG” when signing up. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. A) for commission free trades: n/a B) for cash back: $25,000 A) 35 commission-free trades B) $50 cash back + 35 commission-free trades 90 days Youth Promotion June 30, 2015
Open a new account with HSBC InvestDirect and you may be eligible to receive up to 30 equity trades (North American listed equities only) commission free. Only trades placed within the first 60 days of account opening will be eligible. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for full details on this offer. n/a 30 commission-free trades (commission will be rebated within 90 days after 60 day trading period) 60 days HSBC InvestDirect Summer Promotion Terms & Conditions August 31, 2015
Open a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) and receive $50 commission credit . Use promo code: kdkfnbbc $1,000 $50 commission credit none none none
Refer a friend to Questrade and when they open an account you receive $25 cash back and they receive either A) $25; B) $50; C) $75; D) $100; or E) $250 depending on the amount deposited amount. Enter code: 476104302388759 during account sign up to qualify. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for eligibility and additional bonus payment structure and minimum balance requirements. A) $1,000 – $9,999 B) $10,000 – $24,999 C) $25,000 – $49,999 D) $50,000 -$99,999 E) $100,000+ $25 cash back (for referrer per referral; $50 bonus cash back for every 3rd referral) For referred individuals: A) $25 cash back B) $50 cash back C) $75 cash back D) $100 cash back E) $250 cash back Cash deposited into Questrade billing account within 7 days after funding period ends (90 days) Refer a friend terms and conditions; Code Number: 476104302388759 none
Open a new account (margin or registered account) with Questrade and deposit at least A)$1,000 or B)$10,000 and you may be eligible to receive A)10 commission-free trades or B)100 commission-free trades. Use promo code 100FREEML15Q3 when registering. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions for this offer. A)$1,000 B)$10,000 A) 10 commission-free trades B) 100 commission-free trades 60 days 100 free trades/multileg offer June 30, 2015
Open and fund a new account at Questrade with at least A)$1,000, B)$25,000 or C)$50,000+ and you could be eligible to receive either A)1 month, B) 2 months or C)3 months of commission-free trading. Use offer code UNLIMITED2015 when opening an application to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions on this offer. A)$1,000 B)$25,000 C)$50,000 A) 1 month commission-free trading B) 2 months commission-free trading C) 3 months commission-free trading (*note trading commissions will be rebated within 10 business days of trade execution) A) 1 month B) 2 months C) 3 months Unlimited Trading Promotion August 31, 2015
Open and fund a new account at Questrade with at least $5,000 and complete at least one commission-generating trade and you may be eligible to receive a $50 gift certificate from Amazon. Use promo code AMAZON2015 when signing up to qualify. Be sure to read the terms and conditions associated with this offer. $5,000 $50 Amazon gift certificate Gift certificate emailed within 30 days of eligibility requirements being met. Amazon gift certificate promotion July 30, 2015
Open a new account with Questrade and deposit at least A)$5,000 or B)$25,000 and you may be eligible to receive A)$50 cash back or B) $75 cash back. At least one commission-generating trade must be executed in order for cash back to apply. Use code TFSA2015 when registering to qualify. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions for this offer. A)$5,000 B)$25,000 A)$50 B)$75 Cash rebates applied within 60 days of funding eligibility and trade execution confirmation. 100 free trades offer June 30, 2015
Scotia iTrade If you refer a friend/family member who is not already a Scotia iTrade account holder to them, both you and your friend get a bonus of either cash or free trades. You have to use the referral form to pass along your info as well as your friend/family members’ contact info in order to qualify. There are lots of details/conditions to this deal so be sure to read the details link. A)$10,000 B)$50,000+ A) You(referrer): $50 or 10 free trades; Your “Friend”: $50 or 10 free trades (max total value:$99.90) B) You(referrer): $100 cash or 50 free trades; Your “Friend”: $100 cash or 50 free trades (max total value: $499.50) 60 days Refer A Friend to Scotia iTrade June 30, 2015
Open and fund a new account at Virtual Brokers with at least $15,000 and you could be eligible to receive up to 25 commission-free stock or ETF trades good for use for up to one year. Use promo code “TRYUS2015” when signing up to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions carefully. $15,000 25 commission-free trades 365 days Free trades for one year promotion June 30, 2015
Scotia iTrade Open and fund a new Scotia iTRADE account with at least A) $15,000 – $49,999; B) $50,000 -$99,999; C)$100,000 – $249,999; D)$250,000 – $499,999; E) $500,000 – $999,999 or F)$1,000,000+ you may be eligible to receive a corresponding cash back or commission rebate. For commission-free trades use code: THSP15 or for cash rebates use code: RNYDMN. Be sure to read the terms and conditions carefully for rebate and cash back eligibility. Contact Scotia iTRADE for full details on this offer. A) $15,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 -$99,999 C) $100,000 – $249,999 D) $250,000 – $499,999 E) $500,000 – $999,999 F) $1,000,000+ A) 50 commission-free trades OR $50 cash back B) 100 commission-free trades OR $100 cash back C) 250 commission free trades OR $250 cash back + KeeneOnTheMarket Subscription D) 350 commission-free trades OR $350 cash back + KeeneOnTheMarket Subscription E) 500 commission-free trades OR $500 cash back + KeeneOnTheMarket Subscription F) 1000 commission-free trades OR $1,000 cash back + KeeneOnTheMarket Subscription 120 days for commission-free trades Cash back to be deposited by February 13, 2016. $1000 or 1000 free trade offer September 13, 2015
Scotia iTrade Open a new Scotia iTRADE account with at least $15,000 by June 30, 2015 and you could be eligible to receive up to 100 online trades commission-free (equities, options, ETFs). Use promo code HUN-SP when registering to qualify. Be sure to carefully read full terms and conditions. $15,000 100 commission-free trades (+ free trial of FightDesk platform for 60 days) 60 days 100 Free Trades Offer June 30, 2015
Disnat Disnat is offering new & existing clients $500 in commission credits which can be used for up to 6 months. To be eligible, new/existing clients need to deposit $50,000 into a Disnat account. You’ll have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code Disnat500. See details link for more info. $50,000 $500 commission credit 6 months Disnat $500 Commission Credit Promo June 30, 2015
National Bank Direct Brokerage is offering either A) a 16GB iPad Mini or B) $300 cash back to new clients who sign up for the InvestCube service and deposit at least $50,000. Use either promo code “Mini2015” for the iPad or “Cash2015” when signing up to be eligible for this offer. Be sure to read the terms and conditions of this promotion carefully. $50,000 A) iPad Mini (16GB) B) $300 cash back Within 45 days of the eligibility date either A) the order for the tablet will be processed or B) cash back will be credited to the account. InvestCube Tablet or Cash Back Promotion August 31, 2015
BMO InvestorLine If you refer a new client to BMO InvestorLine and they open an account with a)$50,000 – $249,999 or b)$250,000+ the referrer and the referee will both receive cash. The new account must be opened with the referral code specific to the referrer. A) $50,000 – $249,999 B) $250,000+ A) You(referrer): $200; Your Friend(referee): $50 B) You(referrer): $300; Your Friend: $100 Payout occurs after 60 days (subject to conditions). BMO InvestorLine Refer-a-Friend October 30, 2015
Open a new account (registered, margin, or FX & CFD) with at least $100,000 in new assets and execute at least one commission-generating trade and you may be eligible to receive an Apple Gift Card worth $500.00. Use promo code APPLEWATCH2015 when registering. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions on this offer. $100,000 $500 Apple Store gift card Apple Store gift card will be emailed within 30 days of eligibility requirements being met. Apple Gift Card Promo August 31, 2015
BMO InvestorLine Open and fund a new qualifying account at BMO InvestorLine with at least A)$100,000 – $249,999; B)$250,000 – $499,999 or C)$500,000+ in net new assets and you may be eligible to receive either: A)$250 cash back OR 125 commission-free trades; B) $500 cash back OR 250 commission-free trades; C)$1000 or 500 commission-free trades. Use promo code 5CASH for cash back promotion or 5TRADE for commission-free trade promo. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for eligibility and further details. A) $100,000 – $249,999 B) $250,000 – $499,999 C) $500,000+ A) $250 cash back OR 125 commission-free trades B) $500 cash back OR 250 commission-free trades C) $1000 or 500 commission-free trades. Cash back: 6 months – 7.5 months Commission-free trades: 90 days (note: commission fees rebated within 45 days after 6 month credit period) Five Star Promotion June 30, 2015
Last Updated: June 3, 2015 10:00 PT

Transfer Fee Deals

Company Brief Description Maximum Transfer Fee Coverage Amount Minimum Deposit Amount for Transfer Fee Eligibility Details Link Deadline
Scotia iTrade Transfer $15,000 or more to Scotia iTrade from another Canadian brokerage, and iTrade may pay up to $150 in transfer fees. $150 $15,000 1000 Free Trade or $1000 Cash Back Offer September 13, 2015
Transfer $15,000 or more to RBC Direct Investing and they will pay up to $135 in transfer fees $135 $15,000 Transfer Fee Rebate Details none
Transfer $25,000 or more from another brokerage and Credential Direct will cover up to $150 in transfer fees. Use promo code SWITCHME when signing up to qualify for the transfer promotion. $150 $25,000 Credential Direct Transfer Fee Rebate none
Qtrade Investor Qtrade Investor will reimburse your transfer fee up to $150 when transferring a balance of $10,000 or more. For reimbursement, please mail or fax a copy of your statement from the transferring institution that shows the transfer charge to Qtrade Investor at 604.484.2627 and indicate your Qtrade Investor account number. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee Rebate none
Move your brokerage account to Questrade and they’ll cover the transfer-out fee up to $150. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee Promo none
Transfer $25,000 or more into a CIBC Investor’s Edge account and they will reimburse up to $135 in brokerage transfer fees. Clients must call customer service to request rebate after transfer made. $135 $25,000 confirmed with reps. Contact client service for more info (1-800-567-3343) none
Transfer $25,000 or more to a National Bank Direct Brokerage account and they will pay up to $135 plus taxes in transfer fees $135 $25,000 Transfer Fee Rebate none
Disnat Disnat is offering up to $150 to cover the cost of transfer fees from another institution. To be eligible, new/existing clients need to deposit $50,000 into a Disnat account. You’ll have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code Disnat500. See details link for more info. $150 $50,000 Disnat $500 Commission Credit Promo June 30, 2015
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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – May 22, 2015

Like some kind of odd celestial alignment, the convergence of shorts weather on a short work week just as the S&P 500 hits a new high and causes yet another squeeze on the shorts. Yup, seems like shorts are the theme for this week’s roundup, and as such, this discount brokerage roundup will try to, um, keep it short.

In this edition of the roundup we take a look at the latest deal launched by one bank-owned online brokerage and why it might be a signal for the upcoming summer discount brokerage deals season. Next we gaze into the tea leaves with some interesting signals from one brokerage’s activity patterns as well as look at one looming threat to brokerages that may turn out to be more sizzle than steak. We’ll also take a look at what the chatter about discount brokerages was like on social media with our new #TweetsOfTheWeek. Finally we’ll take a look at the upcoming investor education events and some very interesting chatter from the investor forums.

Cash (or Free Trade) Me if You Can

Just in time for summer, Scotia iTrade has resurrected their 1,000 free trade/$1,000 cash back offer once again albeit with several twists.

When it first launched in January of 2015, it was the only offer that offered a specific promotion for deposits over $500,000 as well as the largest headline number for a cash back or free trade promotion. At the time the offer consisted of either cash back or commission free trades, and included a trial of the Scotia iTrade platform FlightDesk.

In its latest incarnation, the $1,000 cash back or 1,000 free trade offer now includes a 6 month subscription to the US based KeeneOnTheMarket.com trade alert service for individuals who deposit more than $100,000. As was the case in January, it appears that Scotia iTrade is looking to distinguish its promotions from other brokerages with bigger, bolder numbers of deposits sizes, free trades or cash back and now a stockpicker’s subscription service.

Interestingly, through the remainder of May, they will have several concurrent offers which could offer deal hunters a narrow window to pick the best one of the bunch.

Another noteworthy component to the latest deal from Scotia iTrade is that the offer expires well into September. Many other offers from bank-owned brokerages aren’t set to go that long but it looks like Scotia iTrade has firmly placed their bets on this flagship offer for the rest of the summer.

Finally, there is clearly an interesting spin on this offer that is geared towards active traders of US equities/options. Scotia iTrade continues to court this highly prized segment with their $4.99 active trader commission pricing, platform, service offering and now promotions.

It will be interesting to see if any other bank-owned online brokerage steps up to challenge Scotia iTrade in the active trader segment. The recent fee hikes from the major Canadian banks likely saw long-term investment accounts take some collateral damage with disgruntled clients jumping ship. The priority will likely therefore be on winning back those clients with incentives rather than chasing active traders. Whatever the case, Scotia iTrade has opted step into summer swinging with big headlines that other bank-owned brokerages will have to seriously ante up to beat. Should be an interesting summer.

Starting to Sizzle

Between the major news announcements, there are always some minor blips on the radar that indicate that the Canadian online brokerages are working away on something.

One bank-owned brokerage in particular seems to be finding its way back on to the radar more regularly. CIBC Investor’s Edge has been mentioned several times in recent roundups and stories for rolling out new pricing, promotions and seminars this year – something that was distinctly different from most of 2014. This past week they have yet again changed their homepage imaging and seized upon a timely trend by pitching visitors to their website the benefits of TFSA – something that up until now only Questrade had really picked up the ball on.

source: screenshot from CIBC Investor’s Edge Homepage

While it is still early, it appears that there is a trend amongst Canadian discount brokerages to increasingly focus on the content and design of their sites.

Recently CIBC Investor’s Edge and BMO InvestorLine have been building their respective benches in these areas by looking to hire designers and user experience specialists. BMO InvestorLine recently rolled out their new website front-end along with Desjardins Online Brokerage earlier this year and we’ve had confirmation from several other brokerages they are poised to do the same within the next 6 months. CIBC Investor’s Edge looks like they might be gearing up for some substantial design changes in the not too distant future.

CIBC Investor’s Edge bold commission pricing drop has put them back into minds of many DIY investors as well as their competitors, however their most recent maneuvers might signal that competition on user experience between bank-owned brokerages is going to get even hotter.

Don’t Believe the Hype?

For many DIY investors, the recent spike in attention given to robo-advisors has got more than a few feathers ruffled.

In an interesting story from International Adviser, however, one of the groups singled out as being threatened by the robo-advisor trend may breathe a sigh of relief. The reason: profitability.

While there has been lots of interest on the part of retail investors in these robo-advisors, the article points out the numerous challenges to successfully growing to scale where they can threaten the discount brokerage space. The point, as it is in many industries, is that only the strong will end up surviving. It’s a familiar refrain for discount brokerages who know all too well that success hinges on having a critical mass of clients AND being able to stick out from their competitors. For robo-advisors, the fight is only just beginning and it’s likely to expect discount brokerages won’t be letting them advance unchallenged for much longer.

#DiscountBrokerage Tweets of the Week

This week it looks like Twitter users from Questrade were again having trouble sourcing stocks to short. Given that certain markets are pushing all-time highs, it’s interesting to see a) that so many traders are attempting shorts and b) that Questrade users are encountering challenges shorting. While tweets to and from Questrade dominated the news feed, one user vented about the customer service experience at Virtual Brokers – something that has also been getting attention from other users posting to our forum.

Event Horizon

May 26

NBDB – Introduction to Call Options – [Fr]

TD Direct Investing – Understanding Margin & Short Selling – [Mandarin]

Scotia iTRADE – Options Trading For Beginners with Sarah Potter

May 27

Scotia iTRADE – Options Trading – Building A Collar with Montreal Exchange

TD Direct Investing – Advanced Options

TD Direct Investing – Understanding Margin & Short Selling

From the Forums

Keeping count

There are many reasons individuals may decide to open multiple accounts with discount brokerages. Chief among them are risk management (think eggs in baskets), CIPF protection and special features, one of the drawbacks is keeping them all straight. In this post from the financial wisdom forum, it was pretty interesting to see just how many discount brokerage and banking accounts certain individuals admitted to using.

Small Potatoes

It’s becoming trickier for smaller, inactive investors to park their money at a discount brokerage. In this post from Red Flag Deals, the inactivity fee took one investor at Qtrade by surprise. Check out what the community had to say about their options.

At the Close

That’s a wrap for this week. Remember that US markets will be closed on Monday for Memorial Day so for the US traders it will be a short week. Wherever you happen to be this weekend, hopefully you are blessed with great weather or some wildly entertaining stuff to watch. To help launch you into the weekend on a high note, here’s more great footage of people flying – a Canadian in shorts no less!

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – May 15, 2015

source: geekalerts.com

When it comes to DIY investing – or any investing, emotion is a lever best-not pulled. For discount brokerages, however, being boring doesn’t get attention and not getting attention means being left out.

In this long weekend edition of the roundup, we’re excited to add a new feature into the mix. First, we take a look at the latest attempts by discount brokerages to get attention, then highlight an upcoming learning event. Next, we roll out something new that will shine a light on something lots of people want to know about Canadian discount brokerages. Following our surprise new piece we’ll take a look at the upcoming investor education events and close out with the investor chatter from the forums and very cool video for the rocketeer enthusiasts.

A better toaster

What happens to an industry where it’s tough to tell one provider apart from another? Toss in a toaster.

Odd as it may sound, toasters and financial services go way back. The idea of tossing in a free toaster to attract new bank clients was popular hook in the 1950’s and, while the idea of attaching an incentive to draw in new business is not new, it’s interesting to see what discount brokerages and banks are doing in 2015.

This past week, promotional juggernaut Questrade launched their latest deal of advertising an Apple Watch to individuals signing up for an account and depositing at least $100,000. For those keeping score at home, this brings the consecutive mentions of the Apple Watch in the weekly roundup to three and the number of deals Questrade runs to more than everybody else.

Of course, digging deeper into the fine print, it appears the offer is actually not for an Apple watch, but rather for an Apple Store gift card worth $500.00. A quick check of the Apple store found the following models of Apple watches:

  • Apple Watch Sport (ranges between $449 and $519 +tax)
  • Apple Watch (ranges between $699 and $1459 +tax)
  • Apple Watch Edition (ranges between $13,000 and $22,000 +tax)

Thus, the clever marketers at Questrade have managed to grab headlines and attention with an item that ranges in price between $449 and $22,000, but really refers to the most basic (but still cool) model of the Apple Watch Sport.

Questrade has largely gone unchallenged by other Canadian online brokerages in offering up Apple products as incentives for new account openings. Recall that Questrade has run with the iPad mini promotion multiple times over the past two years.

In the financial services market, and in the online discount brokerage segment in particular, this is one of those moments where someone has done their marketing homework on “differentiation” and the “halo effect”. So what has Questrade done to make themselves stand out?

The answer is just about everything, and it seems to be working.

Did we notice? (Yep); are we talking about it here (earned media: check), are other DIY investors are talking about it on forums and social media? (more earned media: check) and of course co-branding an online brokerage alongside a brand like Apple with their most buzzworthy product right now probably doesn’t hurt either.

Relative to the other Canadian discount brokerages, Questrade appears to be putting on a little bit of a marketing clinic online. Although the tactics aren’t necessarily new, they are nonetheless effective in attracting attention and, importantly, appealing to emotion.

For DIY investors, especially those looking for online trading accounts for the first time, there is only going to be more marketing coming their way. Competition between brokerages in Canada is fierce and if one brokerage is doing something right, others are sure to follow suit. Where could it end? A look at the Chinese banking sector’s approach is a window into how extreme this incentive game gets with iPhone 6s and Mercedes’ being offered.

It’s important, therefore, to see past the incentives and to reign in the emotion. The most important component of picking a service provider is whether they are a good fit. A good set of questions to always keep asking are:

  1. Do they do what you need them to do?
  2. How well do they do it?
  3. How much are they charging for it?

Through the marketing efforts, all businesses (big and small) hope that a promotion or deal can change how you value their offering. That’s simply a business reality for buyers and sellers.

That said, most folks probably need another screen to look at as much as they need another toaster. The art of marketing, however, is more about want rather than need. And, it is exactly why DIY investors should know what they need before they get something they don’t want.

Options Education Day Returns to Vancouver

If you happen to be in Vancouver at the end of May and are interested in learning about options, the Options Education Day tour is coming to town once again.

The topics on the agenda for this session include:

  • Options fundamentals
  • Four ways to hedge against risk
  • Managing the effects of volatility
  • Understanding put-call parity
  • The road ahead: What’s next for Canadian investors?

A number of discount brokerages will also be on hand as sponsors for this event including:

This event typically sells out ahead of the session so be sure to RSVP early to avoid disappointment. The cost for the day-long session is $45 and includes breakfast, lunch and training materials. Click the following link for more information on Options Education Day Vancouver.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

As part of our ongoing effort to bring together the fuller picture of what’s going on in and around the Canadian discount brokerage landscape, we are excited to (re)release the discount brokerage tweets of the week.

The format of the tweets of the week has changed somewhat from its earlier incarnation. Instead of featuring what online brokerages themselves are saying, we’ve included the conversations, comments and perspectives of both DIY investors and the brokerages who are on Twitter. The brokerages may be on Twitter directly or as part of their parent company’s customer service team. Several of the bank owned brokerages, in particular TD Direct Investing, RBC Direct Investing, BMO InvestorLine and CIBC Investor’s Edge, handle incoming tweets via their parent bank Twitter accounts.

In this first week, it was interesting to see that brokerages big and small encounter issues with account opening and delays getting things up and running. Of course, what’s equally informative is how fast and how helpful client service teams are on Twitter. This week there are tweets about or to the following discount brokerages:

  • BMO InvestorLine
  • Credential Direct
  • Questrade
  • RBC Direct Investing
  • Scotia iTrade
  • TD Direct Investing

Noticeably absent from the list this week was Virtual Brokers, who’ve been quiet on Twitter since early April.

So, as another first we’ve brought to the Canadian discount brokerage space, here are the curated discount brokerage tweets of the week. #Enjoy!

Event Horizon

May 19

NBDB – Take Advantage of Margin Accounts – [Fr]

Scotia iTRADE – How And When To Use The MACD with Pro Market Adivsors

May 20

TD Direct Investing – Technical Analysis – Advanced Indicators

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Technical Analysis

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Investing in Options

TD Direct Investing – Market Outlook

Scotia iTRADE – Getting Started With ETFs with iShares

May 21

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Fixed Income

Scotia iTRADE – Short Selling with AJ Monte

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Fundamental Analysis

May 22

Scotia iTRADE – Trading Psychology Part 1 with Stefanie Kammerman

From the Forums

Getting the Party Started Right

Opening an online trading account is still a somewhat involved process. In this post from reddit’s Personal Finance Canada section, one user asks about the initial funding requirements for a Questrade account. Fortunately both the community and a Questrade rep provide a detailed answer.

Leftovers

With many parties slated to take place this Victoria Day weekend, there’s the fun part and then there’s what happens after the party’s over. For most there’s some cleanup involved. In this post, again from reddit’s Personal Finance Canada section, when the party was over for one stock in an investors portfolio there were still two laggard shares left in their account. Check out how the community explained the process of getting rid of them.

Discount on the Potato

It seems fitting heading into a long weekend that the infamous ‘take it easy’ approach of the Canadian couch potato portfolio strategy came up this past week. Specifically, in the RedFlagDeals investing forum, one user asked about whether the couch potato portfolio is something that can be used with Virtual Brokers.

The Closing Bell

That does it for this edition of the weekly roundup. A quick reminder that Canadian markets will be closed on Monday for Victoria Day and will reopen for Tuesday. Here’s some spectacular footage of some awesome technology to propel you into the weekend – cue the rocketman! Have a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend.

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – May 8, 2015

What a week of wacky data to digest. From May the Fourth being with us, to Cinco de Mayo to the NDP landslide win in Alberta to Deflategate to stocks being called out for being overvalued and the markets going up anyway. It was definitely one of those stranger-than-fiction-headscratchers kind of weeks. Not to be left out, Canadian discount brokerages and DIY investors have a bit of headscratching to do with the release of yet another discount brokerage ranking.

In this week’s roundup, we take a look at the latest MoneySense discount brokerage rankings and attempt to glean what they mean. Next, we shine a light on one discount brokerage that is springing to life with more activity. From there we take a look at some notable developments in the US that are bound to have Canadian discount brokerages starting to be a little bit nervous and giving DIY investors a reason to cheer. As usual, we’ll close out with the upcoming investor education events and some interesting chatter from the forums, including the whisper of a new deal from one bank-owned brokerage.

Because this week’s roundup is a bit longer than usual, here’s the TL;DR version up top:

  • There were lots of discount brokerages crowned as the best discount brokerage in this year’s MoneySense discount brokerage rankings. With so many rankings and ratings providing conflicting signals, consumers should take the title of ‘best discount brokerage’ or ‘best online brokerage’ with several grains of salt.
  • CIBC Investor’s Edge is more active this year. It will be interesting to see what’s coming as they are definitely working on doing more for DIY investors than years past.
  • Commission-free trading might be coming to Canada. US discount brokerage Robinhood just announced they’re going global meaning it’s likely not a question of if so much as when commission-free trading shows up in Canada.

The Latest Best Discount Brokerage Rankings

While the theme song ‘Everything is Awesome’ is both awesome and catchy, it’s not that useful as a decision making tool – especially when trying to choose an online brokerage.

With rankings from the Globe and Mail, JD Power, Dalbar, Surviscor, Morningstar and MoneySense, there is no shortage of ranking information out there. For many DIY investors, and even for discount brokerages too, when so many Canadian discount brokerages are being crowned the ‘best discount brokerage’ the meaning of the word best really becomes challenging to pin down.

This week MoneySense’s latest discount brokerage rankings were spotted, and in them were 7 different winners of different categories, including the title of best overall (the bestest?).

Here are the results according to their latest rankings:

Best Online Brokerage Category Winner Runner Up
Ease of Use BMO InvestorLine Scotia iTRADE
Customer Service Scotia iTRADE Qtrade Investor
Fees and Commissions CIBC Investor’s Edge Credential Direct
Account Information & Reporting BMO InvestorLine Questrade
Educational Resources Desjardins Online Brokerage TD Direct Investing
Market Intelligence TD Direct Investing Scotia iTRADE
Best Overall BMO InvestorLine Scotia iTRADE
source: Surviscor

For consumers, it is important to take a step back and put the results into context to understand what the title of ‘best discount brokerage’ really means from the source that is using it.

One of the first things that stands out with these results is the weight/preference on certain categories.

In this latest series of results, BMO InvestorLine was declared as ‘best overall’ with Scotia iTrade coming in as runner up overall. Looking more closely, BMO InvestorLine took first place in “ease of use” and “Account Information and Reporting”. Scotia iTrade, ranked best at customer service and runner up with “ease of use” and “market intelligence”.

Based on these results, the best overall means that ease of use and account information would likely have to far outweigh customer service and market intelligence, and each of those would have to outweigh the importance of fees and commissions, and educational resources.

Without getting into too much of the logic puzzle, the takeaway is that DIY investors will attach different priorities to different categories as well as define those categories differently than those who composed the rankings. Who decides, after all, what ‘ease of use’ quantifiably means, how to measure it and how much a percentage point of ‘ease of useness’ really amounts to for every DIY investor?

Another thing for consumers to keep in mind is how quickly the rankings can and do change.

Data for the MoneySense rankings were gathered in March and April of 2015 by Surviscor and so it is interesting to compare the customer service category scores in the MoneySense ranking against the results published earlier this year in the customer assessment to see the differences.

In the 2014 Canadian Brokerage Service Level Rankings, Credential Direct (91%) was awarded the top honours followed by Qtrade Investor (90%) and Desjardins Online Brokerage (73%). In that ranking BMO InvestorLine was ranked 8th (with a score of 31%) and Scotia iTrade 4th (with a score of 71%). It is therefore interesting to see Scotia iTrade’s customer service response score in the latest MoneySense rankings surpass Desjardins Online Brokerage, Qtrade Investor AND Credential Direct in that narrow window of time.

And then there are the surprises.

One of the biggest of those surprises was in the cost category in which CIBC Investor’s Edge took top spot followed by Credential Direct. Neither Virtual Brokers, Questrade, Qtrade nor Interactive Brokers appeared at the top of this category which again highlights the importance of the way ‘cost’ is measured and calculated when determining the “winners”.

For DIY investors looking for an online trading account, the bottom line is to take the term “best discount brokerage” with a grain (or several) of salt. There are many different ways to define and measure what that actually means. While the rankings themselves might have a systematic and defined process, the details and motives of that process are what’s most important in establishing the degree to which they are reliable and, ultimately, meaningful.

Where There’s Smoke

After a long winter (especially for the folks east of the Rockies), it’s reassuring to see signs of spring. It’s a fitting metaphor for one bank-owned discount brokerage that may be sprouting back to life. Although it is not a big move, the announcement on CIBC Investor’s Edge’s website about an upcoming webinar from Morningstar Research is the kind of thing that signals that something different is happening.

To put it into context, after a relatively quiet first portion of 2014, CIBC Investor’s Edge has been steadily and more frequently surfacing with pricing changes or promotions.

No doubt they have started to see the increased interest in their online brokerage offering ever since they dropped their standard commission price to one of the lowest amongst their bank-owned peers. That was October. Earlier this year they ran a promotion for commission-free ETF trading. Now they are offering up an investor education webinar.

Even though it is too soon to draw definitive conclusions, it is becoming clear that CIBC Investor’s Edge is stirring. And, that being the case, we won’t be the only ones watching to see what’s going to come next.

Commission-Free Trading in Canada?

For Canadian DIY investors, the entry of online brokerages such as Questrade, Interactive Brokers and Virtual Brokers (and TradeFreedom way back when) offered the first glimpse of a world in which DIY investing could happen at an affordable level.

Fast forward to 2015 and the new normal is a world in which commissions for equity trading has fallen to just under $10 for most brokerages and ETFs are capable of being bought (and sometimes sold) completely commission-free. For DIY investors, it’s a wonderful world. But could it be better?

It’s hard to imagine the race to the bottom on commissions hitting zero however US-based online brokerage Robinhood has promised and delivered on doing just that. While they have been restricting use to the US, something significant happened this week when they announced not only that they received additional investment to the tune of $50M but also that they were going global. Specifically, they’re looking to roll out in Australia.

There are many parallels drawn between the markets here and in Australia. It stands to reason, therefore, that how they roll-out in Australia will definitely be an interesting test-bed for Canada. One this is for certain: nobody likes to see their money go down the drain, no matter which way it spins on the way down.

In addition to landing a hard right hook on pricing, Robinhood appears to be taking a serious jab at established discount brokerages when it comes to user experience.

Last week we noted how other brokerages in the US have Apple watch apps that enable users to review their investments – even TD Direct Investing offers the ability to get an update on balances and stocks. Robinhood, however, has made the leap of building a transactional Apple watch trading app.

One look at their Apple Watch trading app basically summarizes not only how nimble they are within their niche but also that they “get it” when it comes to usability. To paraphrase a bad clickbait headline: this online brokerage designed an app and they totally nailed it.

Although it took the better part of 15 years for pricing to come down meaningfully, many investors are watching a world where zero-commission trading and robo-investing is happening and spreading. And, as it turns out, they are lining up in droves to get it. Recall, this is not unlike how Facebook and every other social phenomenon got traction. A bunch of young people chomping at the bit to use it. Suddenly commission-free trading in Canada doesn’t seem so silly.

Event Horizon

Here are the upcoming investor education events from Canadian discount brokerages:

May 9

Desjardins Online Brokerage (Disnat) – The Secret to Finding Hot Stocks

May 12

TD Direct Investing – Options as an Income Strategy

Scotia iTRADE – Trading Tips Using Active Investing and ETFs with Horizons

TD Direct Investing – Discovering Leveraged and Inverse-Leveraged ETFs, with Horizon ETFs

Desjardins Online Brokerage (Disnat) – Investing With the Stockscores Approach

NBDB – Discover ETFs – [Fr]

May 13

NBDB – Swing Trading Course with Michel Carignan – [Fr] (Paid)

Desjardins Online Brokerage (Disnat) – The Stockscores Approach to Active Trading

NBDB – Stop Orders: A Winning Solution Worth Knowing – [Fr]

From the Forums

Deal Whisperer

With a number of discount brokerage deals and promotions in play, one of the popular promotional offerings is the “refer a friend” promotion. In this post from the Financial Wisdom Forum, there are whispers of an improved refer-a-friend deal from BMO InvestorLine that might be on the horizon.

Which brokerage to use for ETFs?

The popularity of ETFs with Canadian investors shows no sign of slowing down. In this post from reddit’s Personal Finance Canada section, it is interesting to review what the thoughts are of different users on which discount brokerage would be best for ETFs.

That’s a wrap for this edition of the roundup. Thankfully it looks like a fantastic weekend to say thanks to all the mom’s out there (including Mother Nature!) and to raise one last toast to Don Draper for many smoke-filled seasons of thought.

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – May 1, 2015

Getting to the top is one thing, but staying there is another. Heading into the weekend US stock markets, which were previously at new highs, faltered slightly. Elsewhere, hockey fans are watching the good, bad and ugly unfold on the road to the Stanley cup and for boxing fans, the long awaited fight between two of boxing’s biggest names will test whether one will go undefeated or just walk away incredibly wealthy. For Canadian discount brokerages, however, the fight will not be a short one and the competition not so willing to roll over just because summer is coming.

In this week’s roundup, we take a look at which online brokerages continue the slugfest for new clients with the latest discount brokerage deals and promotions. Next, we take a look at one brokerage that has enabled early birds to be able to trade the pre-market. Following that, we take a look at the Apple Watch and whether one online brokerage is really ahead of the curve or just at the party a bit too soon. Finally we cruise through the investor education events and take a look at some interesting DIY investor chatter from the investor forums.

New Deals

Stock markets weren’t the only places to have a pullback going into May. The volume of deals offered by discount brokerages has also dropped off.

At the start of this month, there are 16 deals or promotions being offered by 6 Canadian discount brokerages. Interestingly, 13 of those deals come from just three brokerages: BMO InvestorLine, Questrade and Scotia iTrade.

Compared to February when there were over 25 offers, there is a clear sense that that the ‘rush’ to have a promotion has subsided. That said, those brokerages mentioned above that are offering multiple, concurrent promotions are not likely to slow down their marketing efforts across the summer months. With the MoneySense/Surviscor discount brokerage rankings due out soon and the new TFSA contribution limits recently announced, there are still plenty of reasons for brokerages to be actively campaigning during the late spring/early summer.

Questrade has been the first out of the gate with regards to pushing a TFSA themed promotion however it is unlikely that they will be the only ones doing so for too long. Check out the discount brokerage deals & promotions section for the full details.

Premarket Trading at Questrade

This past week Questrade announced that they will be enabling clients to trade the pre-market sessions as early as 7:30am ET on select US exchanges. With many earnings announcements taking place both before and after the official market hours (9:30am – 4pm), getting into or out of positions at these extended hours can sometimes give traders a jump on the action.

That said, trading in extended market hours is incredibly risky.

The absence of many traders at those times means that pricing on securities is much more volatile and that bid/ask spreads are typically wider. Likely for that reason, Questrade has restricted the eligible order types to “limit orders” with at Good Till Extended Market (GTEM) duration.

Just remember that while the early bird may get the worm, it’s the second mouse that gets the cheese.

Watch and Wait

While CIBC was reported to be the first of the big Canadian banks to release an app for the Apple Watch, TD was able to go one step further and offer their clients the ability to monitor watchlists and get updates on their TD Direct Investing account balance levels. Unfortunately for Canadian DIY investors, that’s as far as functionality goes for now.

With the Apple Watch still on back order and with bugs still being discovered and worked out, it may not be of too much consequence to wait for the dust to settle before seeing the impact of the ultra-small screen on monitoring and managing trading on the go.

Screenshot of TD app for Apple Watch (source iTunes)

In the US, brokerages are still cautiously venturing forward with the Apple Watch technology. A recent piece from Forbes goes through what some of the interfaces look like at larger brokerages in the US such as Schwab and Fidelity. Early feedback seems to be neutral/unimpressed as functionality for trading seems to be tethered to the iPhone, begging the question “why have the watch?” Of course, as any Apple fanatic will testify, “why not” seems to be the more appropriate question.

Event Horizon

May 5

Scotia iTRADE – Playing Both Sides of the Market with Options Straddles and Strangles

TD Direct Investing – Do-It-Yourself Investing for Women

May 6

Desjardins Online Brokerage (Disnat) – How I Day and Swing Trade the Market

Scotia iTRADE – Avoiding Home Country Bias – Constructing Globally Diversified Portfolios With Smart Beta ETFs

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Investing in Options

NBDB – Tools and Technical Analysis with Michel Carignan – [Fr]

From the Forums

Tax Break

Like that student who prays for a deadline extension around finals, it seems that many last minute tax return filers caught a break as tax filing deadlines were extended for a few more days. That said, this past week there were still comments across the investor forums for individuals expressing frustration at not having the proper documentation from their discount brokerage in a timely fashion.

Peace of Minds

The reality of an increasingly digital world is that convenience often comes at the expense of security. In this post from Red Flag Deals’ investing forum, security measures at different brokerages are put under the spotlight, with only one brokerage standing out as having a robust option in place.

That does it for this week’s roundup. It’s a full weekend for sports fans and a great weekend for the non-sports fans to let the TV do the babysitting. In either case, enjoy the May weather or the Mayweather. Here’s a fun look at the hype behind the great (and most expensive) battle between two boxing legends.

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Discount Brokerage Deals and Promotions – May 2015

*Updated May 19* May is finally upon us. For some investors, this is time of year to be looking to exit the markets for the summer. For others, the ongoing uncertainty of the markets is just too alluring to walk away from, especially with speculation around interest rate hikes. Canadian discount brokerages are mindful of the coming summer slowdown which explains the pullback in the number of deals currently being offered and why this month is off to a slow start for promotions – at least with some providers.

The discount brokerage deals landscape going into May shows that a small core of brokerages are likely to be battling it out for new clients. Of the 16 open offers at the outset of the May, 13 of them come from just three online brokerages: BMO InvestorLine (3), Questrade (5) and Scotia iTrade (5).

While it is well established that Questrade is among the most likely to be offering multiple promotions, this month Scotia iTrade suprisingly happens to also have five promotions running concurrently. In particular, the promotion attached to the opening of their new investor centre in downtown Toronto as one of the biggest offers they’ve put out to date.

As for the other discount brokerages currently offering deals, Desjardins Online Brokerage’s offer lasts until the end of June and Virtual Brokers’ offer through the end of May. Whether or not another online brokerage steps into the pool at this point remains to be seen, however it would be an opportune moment for one of them to make a very visible splash.

Expired Deals

There were four offers that ended last month, two during the middle and two and the end. Notably, Credential Direct opted to let their cash-back + free trade offer expire mid-month and Qtrade Investor’s transfer fee promotion was not renewed. The other promotions that expired were the BMO InvestorLine RSP-linked promotion and Questrade’s Motley Fool Canada offer.

Extended Deals

BMO InvestorLine was the only online brokerage to extend an offer from last month. The BMO InvestorLine Youth Promotion aimed at investors between the ages of 18-35 (or now as they’re pitching it those “under 36”) is being extended once again this time until the end of June. See updated details in the table below.

New Deals

*Updated May 19:

Scotia iTrade has relaunched its headline grabbing “$1000 or 1000 trade” offer once again – and this time it looks to be a while before it goes away.  The latest promotion by Scotia iTrade replaces the now expired $500 OR $500 free trade offer. In their latest offer, Scotia iTrade has 6 tiers of deposit category, with deposits of $100,000 or more qualifying for an added bonus of a 6 month subscription to KeeneOnTheMarket.com. Check the table below for additional information.

*Updated May 15:

Questrade has added two new promotions this week.  The first is a replica deal of the 10/100 trade offer in which individuals can receive either 10 or 100 commission free trades (good for up to 60 days) for deposits of either $1,000 or $10,000 or more. It is interesting to see two identical offers running concurrently however this latest offer expires at the end of June whereas the earlier offer expires at the end of May. The second promotion is one that is certainly more headline worthy.  Questrade is pitching the offer as their “Apple Watch” promotion however the fine print on the deal reveals that they are offering an Apple gift card worth $500 – the approximate value of the base model Apple Watch sport.  This promotion is open to individuals depositing at least $100,000 or more in net new assets with Questrade.  See the table below for additional information.*

While it did not technically commence at the beginning of May, the new TFSA-linked offer from Questrade is the only ‘new’ deal heading into the new month. On the heels of the Federal Budget announcement to raise the limit of the TFSA to $10,000, Questrade responded quickly with a cash-back offer of $50 for a deposit of $5,000 or more and $75 for a deposit of $25,000 or more. We suspect that Questrade won’t be the only online brokerage to jump onto the new TFSA limit story with a promotion, however for the time being they’re uncontested by the other brokerages in this key area.

As always, we’ll be on the lookout throughout the month however if there are discount brokerage deals that we’ve missed or that you want to share with other DIY investors, simply drop us a note or post in the forum and we’ll take a look.

Discount Brokerage Deals

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Commission/Cash Offer/Promotion Type Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer Details Link Deadline
Jitney Trade A Sparx Trading exclusive offer! Use the promo code “Sparx Trading” when signing up for a new account with Jitney and receive access to their preferred pricing package and a massive 45% discount on the Real Tick trading platform. n/a Discounted Commission Rates none For more details click here none
BMO InvestorLine For individuals between 18 and 35 who open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine, they may be eligible to receive 35 commission-free trades, an eBook on investing, $50 cash back and potentially waived account minimum fees. Use promo code “YOUNG” when signing up. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. A) for commission free trades: n/a B) for cash back: $25,000 A) 35 commission-free trades B) $50 cash back + 35 commission-free trades 90 days Youth Promotion June 30, 2015
Open a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) and receive $50 commission credit . Use promo code: kdkfnbbc $1,000 $50 commission credit none none none
Refer a friend to Questrade and when they open an account you receive $100 and they receive $50. To receive this deal you must be an existing client with an equity account and refer a person that does not reside with you and who has not previously opened a Questrade account. $1,000 $50 commission credit (friend) $100 commission credit (referrer bonus) 60 days Refer a friend none
Open a new account (TFSA, margin or registered account) with Questrade and deposit at least A)$1,000 or B)$10,000 and you may be eligible to receive A)10 commission-free trades or B)100 commission-free trades. Use promo code 100LOWCOM15Q3 when registering. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions for this offer. A)$1,000 B)$10,000 A) 10 commission-free trades B) 100 commission-free trades 60 days 100 free trades offer May 29, 2015
Open a new account (margin or registered account) with Questrade and deposit at least A)$1,000 or B)$10,000 and you may be eligible to receive A)10 commission-free trades or B)100 commission-free trades. Use promo code 100FREEML15Q3 when registering. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions for this offer. A)$1,000 B)$10,000 A) 10 commission-free trades B) 100 commission-free trades 60 days 100 free trades/multileg offer June 30, 2015
Open a new account (TFSA, margin or registered account) with Questrade and deposit at least A)$1,000 or B)$10,000 and you may be eligible to receive A)10 commission-free trades or B)100 commission-free trades. Use promo code 100FREEML15Q3 when registering. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions for this offer. A)$5,000 B)$25,000 A)$50 B)$75 Cash rebates applied up to 60 days after eligibility confirmed 100 free trades offer June 30, 2015
Open a new account (TFSA, margin or registered account) with Questrade and deposit at least A)$5,000; B)$25,000; C)$50,000 or D)$100,000 in order to be eligible to qualify for a Visa gift card in the amount of A) $50; B) $75; C)$100 or D)$250. Clients must also place at least one commission-generating trade within 60 days. Use promo code VISA250 when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. A)$5,000 B)$25,000 C)$50,000 D)$100,000 A) $50 prepaid Visa card B) $75 prepaid Visa card C) $100 prepaid Visa card D) $250 prepaid Visa card Prepaid Visa cards may be issued up to 40 days after eligibility confirmed Prepaid Visa Promotion May 29, 2015
Scotia iTrade If you refer a friend/family member who is not already a Scotia iTrade account holder to them, both you and your friend get a bonus of either cash or free trades. You have to use the referral form to pass along your info as well as your friend/family members’ contact info in order to qualify. There are lots of details/conditions to this deal so be sure to read the details link. A)$10,000 B)$50,000+ A) You(referrer): $50 or 10 free trades; Your “Friend”: $50 or 10 free trades (max total value:$99.90) B) You(referrer): $100 cash or 50 free trades; Your “Friend”: $100 cash or 50 free trades (max total value: $499.50) 60 days Refer A Friend to Scotia iTrade June 30, 2015
Scotia iTrade Open and fund a new Scotia iTRADE account with at least A) $15,000 – $49,999; B)$50,000 – $99,999 C)$100,000 – $249,999; or D)$250,000+ and you may be eligible to receive a corresponding cash-back AND commission rebate. New clients use code GO15 when opening the account. Note: Only accounts opened at one of the three downtown Toronto locations specified can qualify for this promotion. Be sure to read the terms and conditions carefully for rebate and cash back eligibility. A)$15,000 – $49,999 B)$50,000 – $99,999 C)$100,000 – $249,000 D)$250,000+ A) $75 cash back AND 75 commission-free trades B) $125 cash back AND 1255 commission-free trades C) $250 cash back AND 250 commission-free trades D) $500 cash back AND 500 commission-free trades 90 days for commission-free trades. Cash back to be deposited by August 31, 2015. Cash back AND commission-free trade offer May 31, 2015
Open and fund a new account at Virtual Brokers with at least $15,000 and you could be eligible to receive up to 25 commission-free stock or ETF trades good for use for up to one year. Use promo code “TRYUS2015” when signing up to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions carefully. $15,000 25 commission-free trades 365 days Free trades for one year promotion May 31, 2015
Scotia iTrade Open and fund a new Scotia iTRADE account with at least A) $15,000 – $49,999; B) $50,000 -$99,999; C)$100,000 – $249,999; D)$250,000 – $499,999; E) $500,000 – $999,999 or F)$1,000,000+ you may be eligible to receive a corresponding cash back or commission rebate. For commission-free trades use code: LBS15FT or for cash rebates use code: LBS15C. Be sure to read the terms and conditions carefully for rebate and cash back eligibility. Contact Scotia iTRADE for full details on this offer. A) $15,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 -$99,999 C) $100,000 – $249,999 D) $250,000 – $499,999 E) $500,000 – $999,999 F) $1,000,000+ A) 50 commission-free trades OR $50 cash back B) 100 commission-free trades OR $100 cash back C) 250 commission free trades OR $250 cash back D) 350 commission-free trades OR $350 cash back E) 500 commission-free trades OR $500 cash back F) 1000 commission-free trades OR $1,000 cash back 180 days for commission-free trades Cash back to be deposited by January 31, 2016. Larry Berman Seminar Offer – Front and Terms & Conditions May 31, 2015
Scotia iTrade Open and fund a new Scotia iTRADE account with at least A) $15,000 – $49,999; B) $50,000 -$99,999; C)$100,000 – $249,999; D)$250,000 – $499,999; E) $500,000 – $999,999 or F)$1,000,000+ you may be eligible to receive a corresponding cash back or commission rebate. For commission-free trades use code: THSP15 or for cash rebates use code: RNYDMN. Be sure to read the terms and conditions carefully for rebate and cash back eligibility. Contact Scotia iTRADE for full details on this offer. A) $15,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 -$99,999 C) $100,000 – $249,999 D) $250,000 – $499,999 E) $500,000 – $999,999 F) $1,000,000+ A) 50 commission-free trades OR $50 cash back B) 100 commission-free trades OR $100 cash back C) 250 commission free trades OR $250 cash back + KeeneOnTheMarket Subscription D) 350 commission-free trades OR $350 cash back + KeeneOnTheMarket Subscription E) 500 commission-free trades OR $500 cash back + KeeneOnTheMarket Subscription F) 1000 commission-free trades OR $1,000 cash back + KeeneOnTheMarket Subscription 120 days for commission-free trades Cash back to be deposited by February 13, 2016. $1000 or 1000 free trade offer September 13, 2015
Scotia iTrade Open a new Scotia iTRADE account with at least $15,000 by June 30, 2015 and you could be eligible to receive up to 100 online trades commission-free (equities, options, ETFs). Use promo code HUN-SP when registering to qualify. Be sure to carefully read full terms and conditions. $15,000 100 commission-free trades (+ free trial of FightDesk platform for 60 days) 60 days 100 Free Trades Offer June 30, 2015
Disnat Disnat is offering new & existing clients $500 in commission credits which can be used for up to 6 months. To be eligible, new/existing clients need to deposit $50,000 into a Disnat account. You’ll have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code Disnat500. See details link for more info. $50,000 $500 commission credit 6 months Disnat $500 Commission Credit Promo June 30, 2015
BMO InvestorLine If you refer a new client to BMO InvestorLine and they open an account with a)$50,000 – $249,999 or b)$250,000+ the referrer and the referee will both receive cash. The new account must be opened with the referral code specific to the referrer. A) $50,000 – $249,999 B) $250,000+ A) You(referrer): $200; Your Friend(referee): $50 B) You(referrer): $300; Your Friend: $100 Payout occurs after 60 days (subject to conditions). BMO InvestorLine Refer-a-Friend October 30, 2015
Open a new account (registered, margin, or FX & CFD) with at least $100,000 in new assets and execute at least one commission generating trade and you may be eligible to receive an Apple Gift Card worth $500.00. Use promo code APPLEWATCH2015 when registering. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions on this offer. $100,000 $500 Apple Gift Card n/a Apple Gift Card Promo August 31, 2015
BMO InvestorLine Open and fund a new qualifying account at BMO InvestorLine with at least A)$100,000 – $249,999; B)$250,000 – $499,999 or C)$500,000+ in net new assets and you may be eligible to receive either: A)$250 cash back OR 125 commission-free trades; B) $500 cash back OR 250 commission-free trades; C)$1000 or 500 commission-free trades. Use promo code 5CASH for cash back promotion or 5TRADE for commission-free trade promo. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for eligibility and further details. A) $100,000 – $249,999 B) $250,000 – $499,999 C) $500,000+ A) $250 cash back OR 125 commission-free trades B) $500 cash back OR 250 commission-free trades C) $1000 or 500 commission-free trades. Cash back: 6 months – 7.5 months Commission-free trades: 90 days (note: commission fees rebated within 45 days after 6 month credit period) Five Star Promotion June 30, 2015

Expired Offers

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Scotia iTrade Open and fund a new Scotia iTRADE account with at least A) $15,000 – $99,999, B)$100,000 – $499,999, C)$500,000+ and you may be eligible to receive a corresponding cash-back or commission rebate. For commission-free trades use code: PST15 or for cash rebates use code: CSINE. Be sure to read the terms and conditions carefully for rebate and cash back eligibility. A)$15,000 – $99,999 B)$100,000 – $499,999 C)$500,000+ A) 100 commission-free trades OR $50 cash B) 250 commission-free trades OR $250 cash C) 500 commission-free trades or $500 cash 180 days for commission-free trades Cash back to be deposited by February 17, 2016. 500 Free Trade or $500 Cash Back Offer May 17, 2015
Last Updated: May 29, 2015 7:00pm PT

Transfer Fee Deals

Company Brief Description Maximum Transfer Fee Coverage Amount Minimum Deposit Amount for Transfer Fee Eligibility Details Link Deadline
Scotia iTrade Transfer $15,000 or more to Scotia iTrade from another Canadian brokerage, and iTrade may pay up to $150 in transfer fees. $150 $15,000 500 Free Trade or $500 Cash Back Offer September 13, 2015
Transfer $15,000 or more to RBC Direct Investing and they will pay up to $135 in transfer fees $135 $15,000 Transfer Fee Rebate Details none
Transfer $25,000 or more from another brokerage and Credential Direct will cover up to $150 in transfer fees. Use promo code SWITCHME when signing up to qualify for the transfer promotion. $150 $25,000 Credential Direct Transfer Fee Rebate none
Qtrade Investor Qtrade Investor will reimburse your transfer fee up to $150 when transferring a balance of $10,000 or more. For reimbursement, please mail or fax a copy of your statement from the transferring institution that shows the transfer charge to Qtrade Investor at 604.484.2627 and indicate your Qtrade Investor account number. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee Rebate none
Move your brokerage account to Questrade and they’ll cover the transfer-out fee up to $150. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee Promo none
Transfer $25,000 or more into a CIBC Investor’s Edge account and they will reimburse up to $135 in brokerage transfer fees. Clients must call customer service to request rebate after transfer made. $135 $25,000 confirmed with reps. Contact client service for more info (1-800-567-3343) none
Transfer $25,000 or more to a National Bank Direct Brokerage account and they will pay up to $135 plus taxes in transfer fees $135 $25,000 Transfer Fee Rebate none
Disnat Disnat is offering up to $150 to cover the cost of transfer fees from another institution. To be eligible, new/existing clients need to deposit $50,000 into a Disnat account. You’ll have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code Disnat500. See details link for more info. $150 $50,000 Disnat $500 Commission Credit Promo June 30, 2015
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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – April 24, 2015

From parcel delivery to vacuum cleaners to financial management, it seems like robots are here to stay. With the NASDAQ finally breaching its previous all-time high, led there of course by the technology giants, there’s no doubt that robots and gadgets are powering the drive. For many online discount brokerages confronting this brave new world, their choices seem to be either join the party or step off the dance floor. For the moment, at least, it looks like several discount brokerages are willing to dance.

In this week’s roundup we take a look at the latest online brokerage to get connected to a fast growing stock exchange followed by one online brokerage that’s looking to add to its stable of registered account offerings. Following that, we quickly look at the raising of the TFSA contribution limit followed by some interesting action and numbers behind the robo-advisors and what they mean for online brokerages. We cap off the round up with a tour through the upcoming investor education events followed by some interesting lessons from the investor forums.

BMO InvestorLine Connects to the CSE

This past week the Canadian Securities Exchange announced the addition of another Canadian online brokerage, BMO InvestorLine, to its list of brokerages allowing direct trading access and real-time quotes. The list of online brokerages now offering direct trading and real-time quotes to the CSE has now expanded to include all bank-owned Canadian discount brokerages as well as most of the independent Canadian brokerages. Earlier this year, TD Direct Investing became a major addition to that list as well. According to the CSE, Desjardins Online Brokerage is in the process of getting on board. Not yet hooked up to the CSE are Interactive Brokers as well as Jitneytrade. For more information on the brokerages enabling direct online trading and real-time quotes to the CSE, click here.

RDSP Now Available at National Bank Direct Brokerage

Earlier this week, National Bank Direct Brokerage became one of only two Canadian online brokerages (the other is TD Direct Investing) to offer the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP). The RDSP is a registered account that enables individuals who are eligible for the Disability Tax Credit to grow investment income within the plan on a tax-deferred basis.

The information pages for the RDSP on NBDB’s website offers valuable information on the plan, how it works as well as hyperlinks to official government resources on the RDSP.

TFSA Limit Raised

Another registered account that is popular with DIY investors made headlines this week. The Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA) got a big boost by having the maximum contribution amount per year raised to $10,000 from $5500. While there was a substantial hike telegraphed a few weeks ago, the confirmation came in the official budget announcement earlier this week. From a practical standpoint, it appears that financial institutions are already allowing TFSA contributions from Canadians looking to top up their contribution even though the budget has not officially passed through Parliament. For DIY investors, expect to see more in the way of marketing from financial institutions (Questrade is already on it) and media coverage on the TFSA in the weeks to come.

source: Twitter

 

Money Machines

With earnings season in full swing, it was an interesting week looking at the performance of the US online brokerages. While Canadian discount brokerages will almost always lag what the US brokerages are up to, in at least one respect they are not that far behind their counterparts in the US.

While normally we might focus on trading metrics or asset growth, the bigger story emerging out of the financial results has been the impact of robo-advisors to the earnings of Charles Schwab. According to their latest earnings report, Schwab’s ‘robo-advisory’ unit has attracted a staggering $1.5B after just six weeks. And they’re not the only online brokerage taking advantage of the popularity of these robo-advisory models. Interactive Brokers also recently announced their acquisition of Covestor, a firm who lets individuals mirror the trades of other investors actively or passively.

The activity in this space isn’t limited just to the US, however. Already there are signs in Canada that this space is about to explode. Earlier this month it was reported that Power Financial Corp is agreeing to ante up to $30M into Wealth Simple. Interestingly, one Canadian discount brokerage appears to be capitalizing strategically on the robo-advisor trend. Robo-advisor firms WealthSimple and Wealthbar both appear to have relationships with Virtual Brokers. Virtual Brokers’ direct competitor Questrade, chose a slightly different strategy by building their own robo-advisory known as Portfolio IQ.

Given how fast technology is moving in the financial services sector, waiting and seeing is no longer something brokerages can afford to do for too long. As the influx of client assets into robo-advisors clearly demonstrates, the market is talking, the only question is how long will it take for the larger online brokerages to respond.

Event Horizon

April 26

Scotia iTRADE – Top Global Investment Themes for 2015 – Larry Berman Roadshow Edmonton, AB

April 28

NBDB – Introduction to Technical Analysis – Moving averages – [Fr]

Desjardins Online Brokerage (Disnat) – The Stockscores Approach to Active Trading

April 29

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Investing

TD Direct Investing – Understanding Margin & Short Selling

NBDB – Tools and Technical Analysis with Michel Carignan – [Fr]

April 30

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

RBC Direct Investing – Getting Started with ETFs – Vancouver

Desjardins Online Brokerage (Disnat) – Investing With the Stockscores Approach

From the Forums:

Heading into the Close

Heading into the tax filing deadline, there are many DIY investors who are aware of or about to learn a hard lesson about the importance of record keeping. In this post from the Financial Wisdom Forum, there is a particularly instructive lesson about making sure to regularly collect/download/store transaction histories – especially when closing down accounts.

At Least the Chairs Are Comfy

There are probably no shortage of classic internet memes that could capture the experience from this post of an individual attempting to open an online trading account with TD Direct Investing in an offline setting. More and more, consumers are expecting online interactions to be easy however as online brokerages of all sizes have shown, competing IT demands tend to mean some features get priority over others. Perhaps the most interesting thing was that another online brokerage didn’t chime in to showcase their online account opening abilities.

That does it for this week’s roundup. For most folks there will be lots of hockey and/or relaxation on the menu – not so for the DIY trader at the centre of a scandal involving the great ‘flash crash’ of 2010. If you’re a Vancouverite, you might appreciate the effect that ‘spoofing’ can have (am I right Mother Nature?) with the wicked “Spring” weather going into the weekend. So, for those who choose not to venture outside, check out this interesting read on whether or not the lone trader Navinder Singh Sarao is a hero or villain.

source: Twitter