Tag: Qtrade

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – Oct. 26th 2012

Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup

This week provided an interesting lesson in activity fees handed out to one RBC Direct Investing client, covered via Global News here.  If you’ve got an account open that you’ve forgotten about, you may want to look closely at what you’re being charged by keeping the account open (you can check out our fee comparison page here).  We looked at the latest news story evolving in markets, complicated orders, and the bigger issue of ‘fairness’ to all players the market.  An interesting twist to this comes from the exchange traded fund (ETF) industry and how major stock exchanges, such as the NASDAQ, are considering allowing a particular order type specifically for ETFs.  This latest turn might be an effort to restore waning investor confidence in stock markets and investing.

Lastly, just before press, there was a great piece published by Rob Carrick in the Globe and Mail (Three smart ways to find an online broker) in which SparxTrading.com gets mentioned.  Also included in this article are a couple of other sites to do some of your research on.

Best Canadian Discount Brokerage Tweet of the Week:

The best discount brokerage tweet for this week comes from @Jitneytrade for passing along a colorful article by author Michael Sincere explaining what options are.  You can read the tweet here.

Event Horizon

As mentioned in our last edition of the roundup, this Saturday October 27th (tomorrow) TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage will be putting on its Direct Investing Expo in Vancouver. There will be a number of speakers including Bob Gorman, Chief Portfolio Strategist for TD Waterhouse.  For more details click here.

Also, around the corner are a couple of other investment seminars, including an Evening with Michael Campbell featuring Tyler Bollhorn, taking place in Calgary (October 29th) and Vancouver (October 30th). Tyler will be talking about his new book, The Mindless Investor as well as giving signed copies of the book to attendees. The Small-Cap Conference (November 6th) in Vancouver just announced their speaker list and for those folks who pre-register via SparxTrading.com, they get a great bonus gift! For registration details, click here.

The People Have Spoken

The comments section on the Michael Sincere article mentioned in the Jitneytrade tweet also got some readers to chime in on whether or not options are easy as the article might suggest. Check out all the comments here.

Canadian Discount Brokerage Jobs

On the hiring front, there are a couple of more positions that Canadian discount brokerages are trying to fill. Sometimes the hiring pools can be indicative of things to come, as we see from the job positions popping up this week.

Qtrade recently announced that they’re looking to hire a Content Strategist and writer.  Qtrade has been  a bit quieter in the social media arena, but it looks like they’re prepping to step into it along with these other discount brokerages.

Questrade is looking for some extra hands in the form of New Accounts Specialists to help for the upcoming RSP rush (yup it’s around the corner).  If you’ve ever been curious to know what it’s like to work as a service agent for Questrade or what it is that they are tasked to do for you as a client, check out the posting we found here.

RBC Direct Investing is also looking to add an Assistant Manager to their Investor Centre staff in downtown.  Interestingly, according to the posting, “main objectives of this position and all activities conducted within the Investor Centres are to drive new client acquisition, consolidate assets from existing clients, and to increase the profitability of each client.”

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Questrade Inactivity Fees Take Effect

Halloween isn’t the only scary event to come along this October.  Beginning this month, Canadian discount broker Questrade officially starts charging for inactivity fees – $19.95 per quarter to be exact. Once billed as the “no fee” discount brokerage, Questrade faced a strong backlash from its client base on Canadian deal site RedFlagDeals.com back in May of this year when Questrade departed from their long held stance against inactivity fees and announced the introduction of these fees. Not long after this announcement, however, it became apparent Questrade’s clients were more than unhappy at the news. In a highly responsive move, Questrade’s Director of Communications Lynn Suderman responded to their customers on the forum with the following statement:

Thank you everyone for your feedback here in RedFlagDeals. We’ve read each of your comments, which led to a passionate discussion among our staff. Our CEO said it best: the real value of Questrade is our clients. Yes, we have to implement pricing changes to reflect the changing nature of this industry. But we have to do it without compromising our promise to you: provide all Canadians with cost-effective brokerage services.

I’d like to address the changing industry first. The costs of maintaining a brokerage account, active or not, are going up. Until now, and unlike the majority of brokerages, we’ve avoided inactivity or maintenance fees to pass on those costs. But this is no longer prudent. We are at the point where our more active clients will be subsidizing inactive clients. (You can find the full statement here)

As a consequence of the client feedback, Questrade moved its original implementation date back to October from July 2012.  In addition, Questrade offered a number of exceptions to the inactivity fee.  Account holders under the age of 25 and charitable organizations are exempt from getting charged the inactivity fees as are  Questrade clients with $5000 or more in combined equity across their accounts as well as those clients who place at least one “commissionable” trade per quarter.  Basically, the client that this fee impacts the most is the 25+ year old who does not make any trades in a quarter AND who has less than $5000 in combined equity across all of their Questrade accounts.  So what options does that person have to avoid the dreaded inactivity fee?

The first option is to top up their account with a deposit so that the total balance (across all accounts combined) equals $5000 or more. If making a deposit isn’t an option, they could place 1 trade per quarter for a year racking up a total bill of  anywhere between $19.80 to $39.80 per year in commission costs (plus what the trade itself costs).  If, however, they are bent on not making any trades whatsoever, that person could choose to pay $79.80 per year ($19.95 x 4) and remain inactive. Of course, as a last resort, they could close their account with Questrade altogether which is free to do.  With an inactivity fee of anywhere between $19.80 and $79.80 per year, however, Questrade could be the cheapest account of inactivity-fee charging brokerages to maintain or if not the cheapest, then certainly not the most expensive.

One silver lining of the Questrade approach to inactivity fees is that if you do happen to incur an inactivity fee in one quarter, Questrade will apply that $19.95 fee as a credit against any trades you make the following quarter. From a strategic perspective, if you have an investment account and you can’t find a trading opportunity (either a reason to buy anything, sell anything or re-balance your portfolio) within 3-6 months and your combined equity across comes in at less than $5000 you still might not be ready to take on investing quite yet.

For those consumers who absolutely must have a no inactivity option, however, there are still three Canadian discount brokerages: Virtual Brokers, Credential Direct and Qtrade who offer no inactivity fee accounts to their customers (optionsXpress is currently not accepting new Canadian accounts otherwise there would be four) , with Virtual Brokers having the cheapest commissions among the three.

While the move on Questrade’s part is a departure from their historical position as the “no fee” brokerage, their move into charging fees is certainly a measured one and they appear to be working hard to preserve the relationship with their customers.  As the Canadian discount brokerage landscape continues to get more competitive, only time will tell if other discount brokerages will lower or eliminate activity fees to grab market share or if other low-cost discount brokerages will start to implement activity fees to keep up.

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Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – October 2012

For the month of October, most of the discount brokerages who are offering deals and promotions are fighting hard to win the business of Canadian retail investors. We’ve made a few changes to the deals section so that information is a little bit easier to find.  We’ve put the discount brokerage promotions that include commission credits, free trades and any other promos in one table.  In a separate table (below) we’ve also listed the Canadian discount brokerages that are offering deals or promos on transfer fees.

First, the big news – Scotia iTrade is offering 100 days of commission free trading (no caps) with a deposit of $50,000 for new account holders and 100 days of FlightDesk™ for free. As far as throwing down the deal gauntlet, Scotia iTrade has certainly sent a message to other Canadian discount brokerages that is going to be hard to beat. Of course if you don’t have $50,000 burning a hole in your pocket or if 100 days of commission-free unlimited trades isn’t your thing, Scotia iTrade is still offering their 100 free trades + 60 days of free FlightDesk™.

*Update (Oct.10/12)* Disnat has also launched a deal this month celebrating their 30th anniversary.  For a deposit of  $50,000, Disnat is offering $300 in commission credits which are good for up to 6 months.  This offer is open to new clients and existing clients.

For more modest deposit sizes, Virtual Brokers has extended (again) its 150 free trades offer with a deposit of $25,000, and Questrade has two 100 free trade offers to choose from with a qualifying balance of $10,000.  National Bank Direct Brokerage is still running its “commission holiday” and refer-a-friend promos.  A much, much more modest promotion is being offered by Credential Direct for clients of North Shore Credit Union – 5 free trades and a credit ($125)for transfer-out fees. If you have $150,000 or more to open an account with, BMO Investorline is still running its 150/150 promotion where you get cash and trade credits, as well as their Refer-a-Friend promotion.

For the active traders, we are still running the exclusive Sparx Trading deal with Jitneytrade which gives you discounted commission pricing and discounts on the Realtick trading platform. For more info on the Jitneytrade promotion you can click here

Discount Brokerage Deals & Promos

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Commission/Cash Offer 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
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
Credential Direct If you are a client of North Shore Credit Union, you can qualify for 5 free trades as well as a $125 transfer fee credit to cover transfer fees from another discount brokerage ($10,000 minimum transfer in value). To qualify, you must enter NSCU-05Trades on your application. $10,000 5 free trades must use trades by Feb. 28/2013 North Shore Credit Union Promo December 31, 2012
Get up to 100 free trades when you fund an account with a minimum of $10,000. You must open this account by October 30, 2012 and fund it with $10 000 within 30 days of account activation to qualify. You must enter promo code “100FREEQ”. There are quite a few other details, including a minimum balance requirement, so be sure to check the details link. $10,000 100 free trades ($495 value @ cheapest commission rate) 60 days 100 Free Trades October 30, 2012
As part of the Questrade Advantage program, deposit $10,000 into a new account by October 30th, 2012 and you can get 100 free trades. Enter the promo code “100ADVL” in the application online. Note that the advantage program requires you to sign up for a data package (currently $89.95/month) the fees for which vary according to trading activity. See details link for terms and conditions on pricing. $10,000 100 free trades ($495 value @ cheapest commission rate) 60 days Questrade Advantage Promo October 30, 2012
TD Waterhouse Open an account with $25,000 or more and receive 10 free trades. This offer is only valid at the downtown Vancouver TD Waterhouse Investor Centre. 10 trades must be completed within 6 months of account opening; reimbursement based on $9.99 commission rate. $25,000 10 free trades 6 months scanned photo of flyer none
Scotia iTrade Open and fund a new Scotia iTRADE account with at least $25,000 before December 31, 2012 and the commissions associated with your first 100 trades placed within 60 days of the date the account is activated and funded. Also, the new FlightDesk platform is being offered for free for 60 days. See details link for further terms and conditions. $25,000 100 free trades ($999 value @ $9.99 commission rate) 60 days Scotia iTrade 100 free trades + FlightDesk December 31, 2012
Open a new account with $25,000 before December 31, 2012 and receive 150 trades free. (Applies to the first 150 trades placed within 60 days of account opening at a maximum of $6.49 per trade with a total maximum value of $973) $25,000 150 free trades ($973 value @ $6.49 commission rate) 60 days New Account Promo December 31, 2012
Open and fund a new account with National Bank Direct Brokerage with $25 000 or more, and you can receive up to $750 in commission reimbursements. To qualify you must use the promo code “REGISTERED2012” in the general information section of the application form. Reimbursements will be paid in either January or April 2013 depending on date account is opened. See the terms & conditions link for more information. $25,000 $750 commission credit 90 days Commission Holiday Promo October 31, 2012
If you are an existing National Bank Direct Brokerage client and you refer someone to join, you each get $100. To qualify, the referred account must transfer at least $25,000 from another financial institution. If at least $25,000 is transferred, up to $135 of the transfer fee is covered. Use the promo code “FRIEND” when opening the account $25,000 $100 (friend) $100 (referrer bonus) n/a Refer a Friend October 31, 2012
Open an account with either: A) $25,000 or more and receive a $100 cash credit and 25 free equity trades. or B) $50,000 or more to receive $200 cash back and 50 free equity trades. A) $25,000 B) $50,000+ A) $100 cash credit + 25 free equity trades ($823.75 (min)total value @ standard equity rate $28.95) B) $200 Cash credit +50 free equity trades ($697.50 total value @ active trader rate $9.95) 60 days Cash back offer December 31, 2012
BMO InvestorLine Existing BMO Investorline clients who refer a ‘friend’ who then opens an account, (and the “friend” too) can qualify for a cash bonus, depending on the deposit amount. For deposits of between $50,000 and $249,999, the referral bonus is $200 and the “friend” receives $50; for deposits of over $250,000 the referral bonus is $300 the “friend” receives $100. To qualify for the deal, the referral reference code needs to be included in the application – see the details link for terms and conditions. $50,000 $50 cash (friend) $200 cash (referrer bonus) 60 days (see details) Refer a Friend Promo December 31, 2012
Scotia iTrade Open one or more new Scotia iTrade account(s) by November 16, 2012 with at least $50,000 in cash or net equity and receive 100 days of commission free trades. Also, you get to try FlightDesk free for100 days. To qualify you must enter promo code ” F’12 OFFER” when submitting new account application. See details link for more information. $50,000 unlimited free trades 100 days 100 Days Commission-Free November 16, 2012
Disnat Disnat is celebrating its 30th anniversary by offering new & existing clients $300 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 1 800 268-8471 and mention promo code Disnat30. See details link for more info. $50,000 $300 commission credit 6 months Disnat 30th Anniversary Promo December 31, 2012
BMO InvestorLine Open a new account with $150,000 or more (or for existing clients make a deposit of $150,000 or more) and get $150 cash back and 150 free trades. Use the promo code BONUS when opening a new account (or when making a new deposit of $150,000 or more). See the details link for qualifying account types and conditions. $150,000 $150 cash 150 free trades ($1492.50 value 60 days 150/150 Promotion October 31, 2012

Transfer Fee Deals

Below are the discount brokerages that are offering deals that cover transfer out fees from other discount brokerages.

Company Brief Description Maximum Transfer Fee Coverage Amount Deposit Amount for Transfer Fee Eligibility Details Link Deadline
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 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
Virtual Brokers will cover transfer fees from your transferring institution to a maximum of $150 per account. This offer is only applicable to accounts opened with at least $25,000 in equity before December 31, 2012. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee Promo December 31, 2012
Qtrade Investor Qtrade Investor will reimburse your transfer fee up to $125 when transferring a balance of $25,000 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. $125 $25,000 Transfer Fee Promo none
Disnat Disnat is celebrating its 30th anniversary by 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 1 800 268-8471 and mention promo code Disnat30. See details link for more info. $150 $50,000 Disnat 30th Anniversary Promo December 31, 2012
Credential Direct If you are a client of North Shore Credit Union, you can qualify for a $125 transfer fee credit to cover transfer fees from another discount brokerage ($10,000 minimum transfer in value). To qualify, you must enter NSCU-05Trades on your application. $125 $10,000 North Shore Credit Union Promo December 31, 2012
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Brokerages Gone Social

Social Discount BrokeragesEven though discount brokerages haven’t traditionally portrayed the most “fun and friendly” image, more and more of them are starting to become visible on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. While you (hopefully) won’t find those embarrassing pictures of a drunken night gone wild or an angry rant about a horrible boss, plugging into the news feeds of a discount brokerage can be an interesting way to get insight into the organization, follow any promotions that may be underway as well as get a glimpse at the conversations they’re having with their customers.

While some Canadian discount brokers, such as Interactive Brokers, Jitneytrade, Questrade, Scotia iTrade and Virtual Brokers, have their own dedicated twitter and Facebook pages, others such as Disnat Direct, TD Waterhouse and BMO InvestorLine bundle messages about their other financial products and services along with discount brokerage news.

Social media sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, are tricky territory for companies (especially financial services companies) because these channels are public and interactions between the company and customers are visible for everyone to see.  On the other hand these social media sites offer the opportunity for you to share what you love, or love to hate about your brokerage, giving straight feedback and having your voice heard as a client.

One handy feature of being plugged into something like a discount brokerage’s Twitter feed is that it offers a fast way of seeing what other investors or traders are experiencing. If a website is down or there is an outage of service, one of the best places to check (outside of the trading platform itself) and see what’s going on is via the ‘twittersphere’.  Active traders especially are among the first to let others know if something is amiss.

Our table below has those Canadian discount brokerages that are currently on either Facebook and/or Twitter as well as links to their respective feeds.

Brokerage Name Twitter Facebook
BMO Investorline part of @BMO part of “BMO Community Facebook Page
CIBC Investors Edge
Credential Direct
Disnat Direct @DesjardinsGroup Disnat Direct Facebook Page
HSBC InvestDirect
Interactive Brokers @IBGroupLLC Interactive Brokers Facebook Page
Jitneytrade @Jitneytrade
National Bank Direct Brokerage part of @nationalbank
Options Express
Qtrade
Questrade @Questrade Questrade Facebook Page
RBC Direct Investing
Scotia iTrade @Scotia_iTRADE
TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage part of @TD_Canada Part of the TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage Facebook Page
Virtual Brokers @Virtual_Brokers Virtual Brokers Facebook Page
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Online Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – September 2012

The arrival of September is generally when markets shake off the quiet days of summer and start to come back to life.  Across the landscape of discount brokerages, it looks like the major deal offerings that were around in August are standing firm or are being extended out.  For example, Questrade’s 100 free trades offer has been extended until the end of October 30th, 2012.

The major offerings of free trades/trade commission rebates continue to be a favourite amongst the discount brokerages with Virtual Brokers, Questrade, Scotia iTrade, National Bank Direct Brokerage all continuing to “give in order to get” investors’ business.  An interesting catch is the 10 free trades promotion being offered by TD Waterhouse discount brokerage for downtown Vancouver clients.

Still going strong is the Sparx Trading deal offered by Jitneytrade where you can get exclusive discounts on commission costs and the Realtick trading platform. For more info on the Jitneytrade promotion you can click here. Below you’ll find more online discount brokerage deals and promotions.

Company Brief Description 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. For more details click here none
Open a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) and receive $50 commission credit . Use promo code: kdkfnbbc none none
Move your brokerage account to Questrade and they’ll cover the transfer-out fee up to $150. Transfer Fee Promo 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. Refer a friend none
Get up to 100 free trades when you fund an account with a minimum of $10 000. You must open this account by October 30, 2012 and fund it with $10 000 within 30 days of account activation to qualify. You must enter promo code “100FREEQ”. There are quite a few other details, including a minimum balance requirement, so be sure to check the details link. 100 Free Trades October 30th, 2012
Transfer $25,000 or more to a National Bank Direct Brokerage account and they will pay up to $135 plus taxes in transfer fees Transfer Fee Rebate none
If you are an existing National Bank Direct Brokerage client and you refer someone to join, you each get $100. To qualify, the referred account must transfer at least $25,000 from another financial institution. If at least $25,000 is transferred, up to $135 of the transfer fee is covered. Use the promo code “FRIEND” when opening the account Refer a Friend October 31, 2012
Holders of National Bank Platinum, Ovation Gold, Allure or Escapade Mastercard or a card identified by a professional association can now redeem À la carte reward points for a contribution to your National Bank Direct Brokerage RRSP or Spousal RRSP account, or the new TFSA (Tax-free savings account). As the principal cardholder you can exchange your points, either partly or entirely, for one or more 100 $ contributions (100 $ = 11,000 points). contact one of National Bank Direct Brokerage’s Investor Services representatives (514-866-6755 or 1-800-363-3511). Mastercard points transfer none
Open and fund a new account with National Bank Direct Brokerage with $25 000 or more, and you can receive up to $750 in commission reimbursements. To qualify you must use the promo code “REGISTERED2012” in the general information section of the application form. Reimbursements will be paid in either January or April 2013 depending on date account is opened. See the terms & conditions link for more information. Commission Holiday Promo October 31, 2012
Virtual Brokers will cover transfer fees from your transferring institution to a maximum of $150 per account. This offer is only applicable to accounts opened with at least $25,000 in equity before September 30, 2012. Transfer Fee Promo September 30th, 2012
Open a new account with $25,000 before September 30, 2012 and receive 150 trades free. (Applies to the first 150 trades placed within 60 days of account opening at a maximum of $6.49 per trade with a total maximum value of $973) New Account Promo September 30th, 2012
Scotia iTrade Open and fund a new Scotia iTRADE account with at least $25,000 before September 30, 2012 and the commissions associated with your first 100 trades placed within 60 days of the date the account is activated and funded. Also, the new FlightDesk platform is being offered for free for 60 days. See details link for further terms and conditions. Scotia iTrade 100 free trades + FlightDesk September 30th, 2012
BMO InvestorLine Existing BMO Investorline clients who refer a ‘friend’ who then opens an account, (and the “friend” too) can qualify for a cash bonus, depending on the deposit amount. For deposits of between $50,000 and $249,999, the referral bonus is $200 and the “friend” receives $50; for deposits of over $250,000 the referral bonus is $300 the “friend” receives $100. To qualify for the deal, the referral reference code needs to be included in the application – see the details link for terms and conditions. Refer a Friend Promo December 31, 2012
BMO InvestorLine Open a new account with $150,000 or more (or for existing clients make a deposit of $150,000 or more) and get $150 cash back and 150 free trades. Use the promo code BONUS when opening a new account (or when making a new deposit of $150,000 or more). See the details link for qualifying account types and conditions. 150/150 Promotion October 31, 2012
TD Waterhouse Open an account with $25,000 or more and receive 10 free trades. This offer is only valid at the downtown Vancouver TD Waterhouse Investor Centre. 10 trades must be completed within 6 months of account opening; reimbursement based on $9.99 commission rate. scanned photo of flyer none
Qtrade Investor Qtrade Investor will reimburse your transfer fee up to $125 when transferring a balance of $25,000 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. Transfer Fee Promo none
Credential Direct Switch over your brokerage account to Credential Direct and they will cover the transfer fees up to $125 of the charge from another brokerage. If you are not satisfied within 90 days, you can also switch out of Credential Direct for free. To qualify you need to transfer at least $5000 and use the code “Switch Me”. Switch Me Promo September 30, 2012

 

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Online Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – August 2012

As both investors and markets slow down in the tail end of summer, the discount brokerage deals and incentives have also gotten a bit quieter.  Still, for those of you looking for a deal on a discount brokerage account, there are some hefty commission rebate discounts being offered up this August.

BMO Investorline has upped the competition ante by offering $150 cash back as well as 150 trades when you deposit $150,000 or more into an Investorline account.  What’s interesting about this deal (the 150/150 promotion) is that it is open to existing clients as well as new clients, and it can also be combined with their refer a friend offer.

For those with less money to be depositing, Virtual Brokers is offering 150 free trades with a $25,000 deposit, and Questrade, as part of their new Questrade Advantage program will give you 100 free trades for a deposit of at least $10,000. Scotia iTrade continues to offer 100 free trades for a deposit of $25,000 for new accounts and will also let you try their new FlightDesk™ platform free for 60 days. A deal launched mid-month in July by National Bank Direct Brokerage called the “Commission Holiday Promo” gives new clients a $750 commission rebate with a deposit of at least $25,000.

For very active and pro-level traders as well as platform-savvy traders, you’ll want to check out the exclusive SparxTrading.com offer with Jitneytrade to take advantage of Realtick Platform discounts as well as trading volume discounts.

We also know from the deal rumour mill that there are some exciting promos being put together from a few Canadian discount brokerages for this September so be sure to check our deals section if you’re not quite ready to open your trading account.

Company Brief Description 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. For more details click here none
Open a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) and receive $50 commission credit . Use promo code: kdkfnbbc none none
Move your brokerage account to Questrade and they’ll cover the transfer-out fee up to $150. Transfer Fee Promo 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. Refer a friend none
As part of the Questrade Advantage program, deposit $10,000 into a new account by August 31st, 2012 and you can get 100 free trades. Enter the promo code “100AVDL” in the application online. Note that the advantage program requires you to sign up for a data package (currently $89.95/month) the fees for which vary according to trading activity. See details link for terms and conditions on pricing. Questrade Advantage Promo August 31st, 2012
Get up to 100 free trades when you fund an account with a minimum of $10 000. You must open this account by August 31st 2012 and fund it with $10 000 within 30 days of account activation to qualify. You must enter promo code “100FREEQ”. There are quite a few other details, including a minimum balance requirement, so be sure to check the details link. 100 Free Trades August 31st, 2012
Transfer $25,000 or more to a National Bank Direct Brokerage account and they will pay up to $135 plus taxes in transfer fees Transfer Fee Rebate none
If you are an existing National Bank Direct Brokerage client and you refer someone to join, you each get $100. To qualify, the referred account must transfer at least $25,000 from another financial institution. If at least $25,000 is transferred, up to $135 of the transfer fee is covered. Use the promo code “FRIEND” when opening the account Refer a Friend October 31, 2012
Holders of National Bank Platinum, Ovation Gold, Allure or Escapade Mastercard or a card identified by a professional association can now redeem À la carte reward points for a contribution to your National Bank Direct Brokerage RRSP or Spousal RRSP account, or the new TFSA (Tax-free savings account). As the principal cardholder you can exchange your points, either partly or entirely, for one or more 100 $ contributions (100 $ = 11,000 points). contact one of National Bank Direct Brokerage’s Investor Services representatives (514-866-6755 or 1-800-363-3511). Mastercard points transfer none
Open and fund a new account with National Bank Direct Brokerage with $25 000 or more, and you can receive up to $750 in commission reimbursements. To qualify you must use the promo code “REGISTERED2012” in the general information section of the application form. Reimbursements will be paid in either January or April 2013 depending on date account is opened. See the terms & conditions link for more information. Commission Holiday Promo October 31, 2012
Virtual Brokers will cover transfer fees from your transferring institution to a maximum of $150 per account. This offer is only applicable to accounts opened with at least $25,000 in equity before September 30, 2012. Transfer Fee Promo September 30th, 2012
Open a new account with $25,000 before September 30, 2012 and receive 150 trades free. (Applies to the first 150 trades placed within 60 days of account opening at a maximum of $6.49 per trade with a total maximum value of $973) New Account Promo September 30th, 2012
Scotia iTrade Open and fund a new Scotia iTRADE account with at least $25,000 before September 30, 2012 and the commissions associated with your first 100 trades placed within 60 days of the date the account is activated and funded. Also, the new FlightDesk platform is being offered for free for 60 days. See details link for further terms and conditions. Scotia iTrade 100 free trades + FlightDesk September 30th, 2012
BMO InvestorLine Existing BMO Investorline clients who refer a ‘friend’ who then opens an account, (and the “friend” too) can qualify for a cash bonus, depending on the deposit amount. For deposits of between $50,000 and $249,999, the referral bonus is $200 and the “friend” receives $50; for deposits of over $250,000 the referral bonus is $300 the “friend” receives $100. To qualify for the deal, the referral reference code needs to be included in the application – see the details link for terms and conditions. Refer a Friend Promo December 31, 2012
BMO InvestorLine Open a new account with $150,000 or more (or for existing clients make a deposit of $150,000 or more) and get $150 cash back and 150 free trades. Use the promo code BONUS when opening a new account (or when making a new deposit of $150,000 or more). See the details link for qualifying account types and conditions. 150/150 Promotion October 31, 2012
TD Waterhouse Open an account with $25,000 or more and receive 10 free trades. This offer is only valid at the downtown Vancouver TD Waterhouse Investor Centre. 10 trades must be completed within 6 months of account opening; reimbursement based on $9.99 commission rate. scanned photo of flyer none
Qtrade Investor Qtrade Investor will reimburse your transfer fee up to $125 when transferring a balance of $25,000 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. Transfer Fee Promo none
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Online Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – July 2012

Summer is officially here and with it are a few major league offers that Canadian online discount brokerages have going.  It seems like this month, the four big promos are from Virtual Brokers, Questrade, Scotia iTrade and Disnat Direct. We’ve also got a special discount brokerage deal offering from Jitneytrade now officially launched!

It seems like lots of free trades is all the rage this summer. Virtual Brokers has extended their offer of 150 free trades to September 30th when you open an account with at least $25 000. From Questrade, a chance to get 100 free trades when you open and fund an account with $10 000.  Questrade also has a “refer a friend” deal that looks like an interesting win-win promo. Scotia iTrade has extended their 100 trade credit offer out to Sept 30th, but to get that deal you’ll have to pony up at least $25 000.  Disnat Direct’s Active 5 offer is still in full effect – definitely one to take notice of if you’re an active trader or are thinking about becoming one, 50 trades commission credit and 5 months of best rate trading along with 5 months of their active trading platforms with data make it definitely worth considering – you’ll need $10 000 to land that deal. National Bank Direct Investing also just joined in on the giveaway front with their $750 commission reimbursement when you deposit $25 000 into a new account – make sure to read the fine print on this one though because reimbursements will get paid out in either January 2013 or April 2013 depending on when you open your account.

The official SparxTrading deal with Jitneytrade is now officially launched. If you’re a very active trader, you’ll want to check out the details below on this amazing offer of discounted commissions and a huge discount on the RealTick active trader platform.

Enjoy the rest of this month’s deals!

Company Brief Description 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. For more details click here none
Open a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) and receive $50 commission credit . Use promo code: kdkfnbbc none none
Move your brokerage account to Questrade and they’ll cover the transfer-out fee. Transfer Fee Promo 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. Refer a friend none
Maximize your returns. Get up to 1% (or more) of your mutual fund value rebated back to you. Mutual Fund Rebate Promo none
Get up to 100 free trades when you fund an account with a minimum of $10 000. You must open this account by August 31st 2012 and fund it with $10 000 within 30 days of account activation to qualify. You must enter promo code “100FREEQ”. There are quite a few other details, including a minimum balance requirement, so be sure to check the details link. 100 Free Trades August 31st, 2012
Get $150 in cash for opening a Disnat Classic account worth at least $25,000 from a financial institution other than Desjardins. Call Disnat at 1-800-268-8471 and mention the promo code “Reference 150”. [Note this offer applies to Disnat Classic not Disnat Direct] Disnat Refer a Friend Promo July 31st 2012
Disnat has created the Active5 offer so that active traders can test drive their services. New Disnat Direct clients get a package of: 5 months of free real-time trading platform, 5 months of theirlowest commissions (starting at $5), 5 months of free Stockscores newsletter and 50 free trades ($ 250 commissions credit). You can hear Tyler Bollhorn of Stockscores talking about the Active 5 offer here. Disnat Direct Active 5 Offer July 31st 2012
Transfer $25,000 or more to a National Bank Direct Brokerage account and they will pay up to $135 plus taxes in transfer fees Transfer Fee Rebate none
If you are an existing National Bank Direct Brokerage client and you refer someone to join, you each get $100. To qualify, the referred account must transfer at least $25,000 from another financial institution. If at least $25,000 is transferred, up to $135 of the transfer fee is covered. Use the promo code “FRIEND” when opening the account Refer a Friend October 31, 2012
Holders of National Bank Platinum, Ovation Gold, Allure or Escapade Mastercard or a card identified by a professional association can now redeem À la carte reward points for a contribution to your National Bank Direct Brokerage RRSP or Spousal RRSP account, or the new TFSA (Tax-free savings account). As the principal cardholder you can exchange your points, either partly or entirely, for one or more 100 $ contributions (100 $ = 11,000 points). contact one of National Bank Direct Brokerage’s Investor Services representatives (514-866-6755 or 1-800-363-3511). Mastercard points transfer none
Open and fund a new account with National Bank Direct Brokerage with $25 000 or more, and you can receive up to $750 in commission reimbursements. To qualify you must use the promo code “REGISTERED2012” in the general information section of the application form. Reimbursements will be paid in either January or April 2013 depending on date account is opened. See the terms & conditions link for more information. Commission Holiday Promo” October 31, 2012
Virtual Brokers will cover transfer fees from your transferring institution to a maximum of $150 per account. This offer is only applicable to accounts opened with at least $25,000 in equity before September 30, 2012. Transfer Fee Promo September 30th, 2012
Open a new account with $25,000 before September 30, 2012 and receive 150 trades free. (Applies to the first 150 trades placed within 60 days of account opening at a maximum of $6.49 per trade with a total maximum value of $973) New Account Promo September 30th, 2012
Scotia iTrade Open and fund a new Scotia iTRADE account with at least $25,000 (cheque deposit or transfer of assets) before September 30, 2012 and the commissions associated with your first 100 trades placed within 60 days of the date the account is activated and funded with at least $25,000 in the account, will be credited back to your account within 30 days of each order fill, to a maximum of $9.99 per trade in the currency of the account (maximum total cash rebate from this offer is $999). Offer valid only for the first Scotia iTRADE account opened by new Scotia iTRADE clients who do not have an account with ScotiaMcLeod Direct Investing or TradeFreedom. Free trade credits and other Scotia iTRADE offers have no cash redemption value. This offer cannot be combined with any other promotional offer. Scotia iTrade $100 in free trades September 30th, 2012
Scotia iTrade Open a new iTrade account before July 31, 2012 and receive either: $100 cash and 25 trades free for a deposit of between $25,000-$49,999 or $150 and 50 trades free for a deposit of $50,000 or more. You must use the code SPRING-MA when signing up. Springaccount opening bonus July 31st, 2012
Qtrade Investor Qtrade Investor will reimburse your transfer fee up to $125 when transferring a balance of $25,000 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. Transfer Fee Promo none
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Online Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – June 2012

This month’s discount brokerage deals and promotions from Canadian online discount brokerages still includes some substantial offerings, such as the Disnat Active 5 offer and the Scotia iTrade 100 free trades offer. Some new promos this month include the ‘one free trade’ offer from Scotia iTrade to download and try their mobile trading app (for which you qualify for 1 free equity trade and one free options trade) and the ‘refer a friend’ offer from National Bank Direct Brokerage.  Scotia iTrade also added another promotion that can give you either $100 or $150 plus 25 or 50 trades free (respectively) depending on your deposit – the fine print is a bit tricky so make sure to read it on this one as the promo code is buried in that fine print. Questrade has extended their “stick it to your broker” 10 free trade offer until the end of June.  Lastly there are some exciting whispers floating around that Jitneytrade may be announcing a deal soon and that National Bank Direct Brokerage is working on another promo for release sometime in June. Stay tuned!

Company Brief Description Details Link Deadline
Open a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) and receive $50 commission credit . Use promo code: kdkfnbbc none none
Move your brokerage account to Questrade and they’ll cover the transfer-out fee. Transfer Fee Promo none
Open and fund your account with a minimum of CAD $1,000 before May 31st, 2012 and you’ll get 10 commission-free trades. Use your 10 stock trades within the first 30 days. Buy or sell, one at a time or all at once. Stick12 additional terms here June 30 2012
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. Refer a friend none
Maximize your returns. Get up to 1% (or more) of your mutual fund value rebated back to you. Mutual Fund Rebate Promo none
Get up to 100 free trades when you fund an account with a minimum of $10 000. You must open this account by August 31st 2012 and fund it with $10 000 within 30 days of account activation to qualify. You must enter promo code “100FREEQ”. There are quite a few other details, including a minimum balance requirement, so be sure to check the details link. 100 Free Trades August 31st, 2012
Get $150 in cash for opening a Disnat Classic account worth at least $25,000 from a financial institution other than Desjardins. Call Disnat at 1-800-268-8471 and mention the promo code “Reference 150”. [Note this offer applies to Disnat Classic not Disnat Direct] Disnat Refer a Friend Promo July 31st 2012
Disnat has created the Active5 offer so that active traders can test drive their services. New Disnat Direct clients get a package of: 5 months of free real-time trading platform, 5 months of theirlowest commissions (starting at $5), 5 months of free Stockscores newsletter and 50 free trades ($ 250 commissions credit). You can hear Tyler Bollhorn of Stockscores talking about the Active 5 offer here. Disnat Direct Active 5 Offer July 31st 2012
Credential Direct Switch your account to Credential Direct and they’ll pay up to $125 of the transfer fees your online broker charges. If after 90 days you’re not completely satisfied, Credential Direct will waive the $125 transfer out fee. To qualify, you must deposit at least $5000 within 30 days of opening a Credential Direct account. Promo code “SWITCH ME” Switch Me Offer June 30th, 2012
Transfer $25,000 or more to a National Bank Direct Brokerage account and they will pay up to $135 plus taxes in transfer fees Transfer Fee Rebate none
Become a new National Bank Direct Brokerage Client before June 30, 2012 and receive a fixed rate commission of $6.95 for 6 months. Minimum deposit not specified. Promo code “TRADE2012”. Call customer service: 1-800-363-3511 – Available to Western Canada Customers only (BC/Alberta) June 30th, 2012
If you are an existing National Bank Direct Brokerage client and you refer someone to join, you each get $100. To qualify, the referred account must transfer at least $25,000 from another financial institution. If at least $25,000 is transferred, up to $135 of the transfer fee is covered. Use the promo code “FRIEND” when opening the account Refer a Friend October 31, 2012
Holders of National Bank Platinum, Ovation Gold, Allure or Escapade Mastercard or a card identified by a professional association can now redeem À la carte reward points for a contribution to your National Bank Direct Brokerage RRSP or Spousal RRSP account, or the new TFSA (Tax-free savings account). As the principal cardholder you can exchange your points, either partly or entirely, for one or more 100 $ contributions (100 $ = 11,000 points). contact one of National Bank Direct Brokerage’s Investor Services representatives (514-866-6755 or 1-800-363-3511). Mastercard points transfer none
Virtual Brokers will cover transfer fees from your transferring institution to a maximum of $150 per account. This offer is only applicable to accounts opened with at least $25,000 in equity before September 30, 2012. Transfer Fee Promo September 30th, 2012
Open a new account with $25,000 before September 30, 2012 and receive 150 trades free. (Applies to the first 150 trades placed within 60 days of account opening at a maximum of $6.49 per trade with a total maximum value of $973) New Account Promo September 30th, 2012
Scotia iTrade Open and fund a new Scotia iTRADE account with at least $25,000 (cheque deposit or transfer of assets) before June 30, 2012 and the commissions associated with your first 100 trades placed within 60 days of the date the account is activated and funded with at least $25,000 in the account, will be credited back to your account within 30 days of each order fill, to a maximum of $9.99 per trade in the currency of the account (maximum total cash rebate from this offer is $999). Offer valid only for the first Scotia iTRADE account opened by new Scotia iTRADE clients who do not have an account with ScotiaMcLeod Direct Investing or TradeFreedom. Free trade credits and other Scotia iTRADE offers have no cash redemption value. This offer cannot be combined with any other promotional offer. Scotia iTrade $100 in free trades June 30th, 2012
Scotia iTrade Download the new Scotia iTrade mobile app and get one trade free (one equity and one option). Trade must be placed on the mobile app. Scotia iTrade 1 free trade June 30th, 2012
Scotia iTrade Open a new iTrade account before July 31, 2012 and receive either: $100 cash and 25 trades free for a deposit of between $25,000-$49,999 or $150 and 50 trades free for a deposit of $50,000 or more. You must use the code SPRING-MA when signing up. Springaccount opening bonus July 31st, 2012
Qtrade Investor Qtrade Investor will reimburse your transfer fee up to $125 when transferring a balance of $25,000 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. Transfer Fee Promo none
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How to Choose an Online Discount Broker – Part 4 – Commission Pricing I

One of the first places that retail investors look to when thinking about choosing a discount brokerage firm is commission pricing. Pricing, however, isn’t as straight forward as the lowest price commission per trade.  When thinking about pricing, value is really what you as a potential or existing client are seeking.  After all, if you need or want timely service, fast order execution time, a great trading platform or educational resources, all of those components change what you would be willing to pay.   With all of the options in a very crowded discount brokerage market, how can you meaningfully compare apples to apples?

Even though there are many different parts to consider when choosing the best online discount broker for you, this series of articles focuses on understanding commission pricing as that is one of the major marketing messages sent to consumers.

One helpful way is to understand that being a brokerage firm is a business, and like any other business, brokerages are in it to make money.  Their “business” is providing access to the stock market – they facilitate investors/traders being able to exchange financial products in a market.  As such , discount brokerages make their money on trading activity, and do so in one of the following three ways:

  1. a fee per order (regardless of the number shares traded per order) or a
  2. fee per volume of shares traded, or a
  3. hybrid of fee per order and fee per volume

The fee that you get charged per order or per volume can also depend on the price of the stock – i.e. is the price above or below a certain level.  Currently that ‘threshold’ is a stock price of between $1-$2, depending on the discount broker.  So, to summarize, the way in which commission price is determined can be: the number of orders you make, the size of the orders (in shares) you make and/or the price of the stock you are buying/selling.

Therefore when thinking of pricing it makes sense to really understand your trading/investing style and level.  To make matters tricky, there is no set “definition” of an “active” trader. Each discount broker has a different threshold of what constitutes active or not.  The current range to qualify for “active” trader status (and therefore discounted pricing) goes from a minimum of 9 trades per quarter (OptionsXpress) to 150 (iTrade, TD Waterhouse, Qtrade, RBC Direct Investing).   If it sounds a bit complicated, it can be. Luckily our broker comparison table helps to compare discount brokerages a snap because we’ve put all of those pieces side by side.

In the next section on pricing, we will take a closer look at the commission pricing options of “flat-fee” pricing, standard pricing and “range pricing”.  We’ll also share some tips on ways to get the best commission pricing.

Read the previous article in this series.

Read the next article in this series.

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Discount Broker Deals & Promotions – As of March 1st 2012

Here are the latest discount broker deals and promotions offered by Canada’s online discount brokerages.  While we strive for accuracy in our reporting we cannot guarantee that the information presented below will not have changed or be altered without notice. Please ensure to check the brokerage’s website directly for full details.

Company Brief Description Details Link Deadline
Open a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) and receive $50 commission credit . Use promo code: kdkfnbbc none none
Move your brokerage account to Questrade and they’ll cover the transfer-out fee. Transfer Fee Promo none
Maximize your returns. Get up to 1% (or more) of your mutual fund value rebated back to you. Mutual Fund Rebate Promo none
Transfer your account to Qtrade Investor before March 31, 2012 and they will pay you up to $125 to cover your transfer fees*. New Account Promo Mar. 31, 2012
Open a new account with $25,000 before March 31, 2012 and receive 150 trades free. (Applies to the first 150 trades placed within 60 days of account opening at a maximum of $6.49 per trade with a total maximum value of $973) New Account Promo Mar. 31, 2012
Virtual Brokers will cover transfer fees from your transferring institution to a maximum of $150 per account. This offer is only applicable to accounts opened with at least $25,000 in equity before March 31, 2012. Transfer Fee Promo Mar. 31, 2012
Transfer a value of $50,000 or more in assets to Disnat Direct (from a non Desjardins account) and receive a $500 credit (valid for 3 months) which can be applied to regular commissions or account transfer fees $500 Credit May 1st, 2012
Transfer a value of $50,000 or more to your Disnat account (from a non Desjardins account) and receive $300 and free access to their GPS portfolio management tool for a year. Money will be deposited to your account within 30 days of your completed transfer. They will reimburse any transfer fees charged by the transferring firm (up to $150 per account). GPS Promo Limited Time Offer
For new clients: Transfer a value of $100 000 to National Bank Direct Brokerage and reference code: NBDB25 on signup form (section 13). For existing clients: call customer service to let them know you want the deal. The Deal: Get 250 trades for $0.25 each Lots of fine print to read for this deal – click on the link to find out details 25 years. 25 cents deal April 30, 2012
Transfer $25,000 or more to a National Bank Direct Brokerage account and they will pay up to $135 plus taxes in transfer fees Transfer Fee Rebate none