Tag: Questrade

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – November 16, 2018

There’s always two sides to a market. While oil prices continue to run out of gas, people are lining up at Tesla dealerships in Norway. Stock markets are always trying to figure out where the next big opportunity will come from and not unlike the online brokerages that enable investors to trade those markets, sometimes the waters can be choppy when trying to figure out a direction.

In this edition of the roundup, we turn the spotlight onto a recent new deal launched by a bank-owned online brokerage and the impact it could have on investors as well as other online brokerages in Canada. From there we look at a long-awaited security feature that went live at another Canadian brokerage and highlight how one online brokerage is taking the lead in investor education going digital. As always, be sure to check out the latest tweets and forum posts from DIY investors this past week.

Big Deals Keep on Turning

After a few months on the deals and promotions sidelines, Scotia iTRADE jumped back into the mix this week with a new promotion offering DIY investors either up to $1500 cash back or up to 300 commission-free trades.

Unlike many of Scotia iTRADE’s previous offers, and split commission-free trade or cash back offers generally, this latest offer from Scotia iTRADE shows that online brokerages can get creative with how they structure promotional offers as they offer a surprising versatility to work with.

In this case, eligibility for commission-free trades starts at deposit levels of $10,000 and goes all the way up to $1M+. For the cashback offer, however, the minimum deposit required to qualify for the $100 base tier is $25,000. The funding requirements and associated rewards are summarized in the table below.

There’s also another interesting feature on the commission-free trade side that shows up for deposits of $250K or more. At this deposit level and higher, the maximum number of free trades an individual can receive is 300. Capping the number of free trades at 300 is an interesting decision seeing as how there is no incentive for anyone who brings in more money to get more free trades.

Of course, with all promotional offers it’s important to read the fine print – and in this case, the very fine print on the terms and conditions state that the window of time to use the commission-free trades is 120 days or about four months. This might help to explain why offering more than 300 commission-free trades might not be that ‘valuable’ to most clients since only a very active trader could possibly use up this offer.

Scotia iTRADE’s latest offer appears to provide a little something for a wide range of investors. But how does it stack up against other cashback promotions from other Canadian online brokerages?

The answer to that question can be looked at from two vantage points – on a relative basis as well as on an absolute basis; both of which provide interesting insights for DIY investors looking for extra value when opening an online investing account.

First, on a relative basis, Scotia iTRADE has positioned their cash back promotion quite aggressively compared to the other two bank-owned online brokerages who have publicly available cash back promotions currently running, BMO InvestorLine and CIBC Investor’s Edge.

According to the table below, Scotia iTRADE appears to be outbidding BMO InvestorLine and CIBC Investor’s Edge on a cash back basis, especially for deposits of $100,000 or greater. It should be stated that BMO InvestorLine’s current offer includes 30 commission-free trades which can be used in February and March of 2019 while Scotia iTRADE and CIBC Investor’s Edge are purely either cash back or commission-free trades.

When weighed against competing offers, Scotia iTRADE’s cash back incentive is more than twice as much as BMO InvestorLine’s at deposits of $250,000 and almost twice as much at the $500,000 deposit level.

On an absolute basis, it is curious that Canadian online brokerages don’t offer the same proportion of cash-back amounts (or even higher amounts) as investors deposit larger asset amounts.

In terms of which deposit tier is the most attractive from Scotia iTRADE’s latest promotion, for example, the highest ROI for cash back is at the $100,000 ($500 works out to 0.5%) deposit tier. At the $1M deposit tier, however, the ROI drops substantially to 0.15%.

At a time when competition for online investors, and in particular their assets, is only increasing, expecting more for less doesn’t seem like a winning strategy. Getting 10 clients at $100,000 a piece is much more expensive (it seems) than 1 client of $1M.

It will be interesting to see how other online brokerages who are not currently running a cash-back offer approach this particular situation. For a bank-owned brokerage looking to step up to the plate, there is clearly an opportunity to offer proportional cash-back incentives that would make for a very compelling offer for deposits greater than $100,000 (assuming the 0.4% or 0.5% rates were matched to that point).

The commission-free trade option of the new Scotia iTRADE offer is also signalling where in the market Scotia iTRADE is looking to compete. Their latest offer is clearly a much pricier proposition than the offer from National Bank Direct Brokerage, whose 50 commission-free trades (which are good for up to one year) for a deposit of $5,000 is in a league of its own against deposits up to $50,000. Even at the $10,000 deposit level, RBC Direct Investing’s offer (which only requires a $5,000 deposit) offers 20 commission-free trades that are good for a year whereas Scotia iTRADE offers up 20 which are good for up to almost four months. That said, for deposits greater than $50,000, Scotia iTRADE sits uncontested with its offer of 100 or more trades.

Scotia iTRADE’s latest offer definitely spices things up between Canadian bank-owned online brokerages and with several other online brokerages still on the sidelines, the end of this year could reveal even more compelling offers for DIY investors heading into the RRSP contribution deadline.

By not creating proportionate incentive offers, the current set of deals might end up creating an unwanted situation – namely without a value-added incentive to add more capital than would be required to qualify for a deal, why would savvy DIY investors do so? Case in point, for DIY investors with a million dollars to move around, splitting their deposit across the three brokerages’ offers instead of pooling it with one would generate a reward bonus of $2200. Combining these offers with a refer-a-friend offer which is possible at both Scotia iTRADE and BMO InvestorLine means that the total cash back obtained could reach $2350 for a total deposit of $950,000.

The bottom line for DIY investors is that there is additional value that can be asked for when signing up for a new online brokerage account. If an online brokerage is willing to compete for greater share of wallet with investors, it appears they are going to have to start opening their own wallets a bit wider.

Questrade Launches Two Factor Authentication, Finally

For anyone who follows the minutia of the Canadian online brokerage, this week has finally brought to an end a very, very, long, public and sometimes dramatic saga to have two-factor authentication enabled for Questrade accounts.

A quick Google search of Questrade and two factor authentication (2FA) turns up a rich trove of entertaining reading which documents the ongoing “wait and see”.

As seen by the sheer number of comments and upvotes on reddit’s personal finance Canada reddit (58 comments and 178 upvotes at the time of writing) this was an itch waiting to be scratched. To help address this spike in the conversation about Questrade, once again the Questrade support account was present and leaving comments in the discussion on the reddit thread.

Questrade’s new 2FA feature enables users to verify access to their online trading account via SMS or email, as well as via password adding an extra layer of security to the login process. While the choice to use SMS is itself not without controversy (again, see the latest reddit thread for this) the consensus appears to be gratitude (and relief) that this feature is in place.

Attendance Optional: TD Direct Investing Takes Options Education Day Digital

The digitization of investor education continues and this past week, something very interesting happened as TD Direct Investing became the title sponsor of the digital version of Options Education Day.

Earlier this month, the traditional ‘in person’ version of the event took place in Montreal with four online brokerages sponsoring this event, however the tweet shown below from TD Direct Investing shows that TD Direct Investing has managed to be the first sponsor of the digital event and the solo sponsor.

Since TD Direct Investing has been holding webinar-style investor education events for several years, this is a uniquely appropriate fit for them to be hosting/sponsoring. On a number of strategic levels, this helps TD Direct Investing get in front of its competitors and gain exposure in a product segment (options) that many online brokerages are hoping to have their client base start trading.

Given the complexity of options trading relative to ‘plain old’ stocks and ETFs, the biggest hurdles for investors are sufficient understanding of and confidence in trading options, so naturally educational content is going to be critical to supporting beginner and intermediate options traders.

This latest move by TD Direct Investing shows that the Canadian online brokerage space is still dynamic and with downward pressure on commission pricing on the horizon, it may be a sign that online brokerages will push even further into making investing make sense.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

From the Forums

Slow Jam

It’s safe to say there are a few hoops to jump through when you’re trying to get started with investing. This unhappy DIY investor took to the Personal Finance Canada Forum this week to ask whether the many bumps in the road of slow progress with their chosen bank were just teething problems or a sign of things to come. See what advice was offered in the forums here.

Side Effects

One new investor posted an interesting question to the Personal Finance Canada forum this week. With the rise of robo-advisors, they outlined their proposed plan – wondering if there is room for self-directed investing on the side and how would this play out with potential market downturns. Read the discussion here. 

Into the Close

Nobody is happier than oil prices that the weekend is finally here – just in time for Black Friday. Not only is this the time of year that folks are out bargain hunting for all sorts of things, but it is also a great opportunity for investors to take advantage of tax loss selling to potentially pick up some portfolio bargains. Whatever you’re shopping for this weekend, stay warm and have fun!

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – November 9, 2018

Midterms are finally over. It’s a phrase that university students and now most of the world are glad to hear. If there’s one thing that both market and political pundits are obsessed with, its speculation. That said, even though the stock market acts like a big voting machine, the favourite candidate of the market is always growth-focused.

In this edition of the roundup, we take a look at the zeitgeist – or spirit of the times – for online investing in Canada. Kicking things off, we start with a look at a slow-moving trend towards socially responsible investing and how there may be a catalyst for online brokerages to quickly adopt and support this style of investment. And, speaking of support, the next story in this week’s roundup looks at a very interesting snapshot of an interaction with customer support that showcases what life is like for a DIY investor actively trading a hot sector. As usual, we’ve got the latest chatter about online brokerages from Twitter and from the DIY investor forums.

Looking for a Win-Win

Trying to figure out “what’s next” taps into our natural human desire for certainty. In that way markets of all sizes are not that different than the people that comprise them. In the case of major financial service providers such as discount brokerages and robo-advisors, they too would like to have some certainty (even if its just less uncertainty) when it comes to figuring out what features or products their rapidly evolving client base will tap into next.

The good news, is that there may already be a hint of what online investors want and what service providers are gearing up to provide.

One interesting example of a trend that appears to be gathering momentum in the Canadian online investing space – both at online brokerages as well as with digital or robo-advisors – is socially responsible investing (SRI). And, over the past several months, we’ve started to observe a few more important names in the online brokerage space start to deploy some kind SRI-related product offering to their client base.

Within the discount brokerage space, one of the biggest (and perhaps earliest) firms to get behind the socially responsible investing theme for DIY investors was Scotia iTRADE. In early 2017, Scotia iTRADE launched their socially responsible investing tool that enabled DIY investors to research and analyze companies based on their environmental, social and governance (ESG) profiles.

Fast forward to the latter half of 2018 and socially responsible investing has now found its way into two important touchpoints for online investors: the homepage of Desjardins Online Brokerage in the form of Desjardins’ Responsible Investing ETFs; and Questrade’s latest managed portfolio product – Questwealth Portfolios – with a new line of socially responsible investment (SRI) portfolios. Also joining in the SRI space is Interactive Brokers who recently added the ability of traders to use their trading platform, TWS, to scan for ESG factors courtesy of a new integration with Thomson Reuters.

A quick scan of other Canadian discount brokerage sites shows that at this point, the SRI conversation has yet to make it into the spotlight, which means that for the time being there are only a very select group of online brokers who are aligned publicly with ESG or SRI-related themes.

Given the length of time its taken for SRI to take root in the online brokerage space, one might ask whether it is something investors actually want i.e. is there a demand for it? Based on some key data points and some strategy (and speculation), to quote a magic 8 ball, the answer points to yes.

First, and perhaps most importantly, if it matters to millennials, then that ought to be enough to put it on the radar of online brokerages. There are a number of research studies of purchasing habits and expectations of millennials that show that having access to purpose-driven products matters and can differentiate between why they would choose one brand over another.

Secondly, in a world where commission pricing is less of a differentiating factor between online brokerages, what they offer and what they stand for will increasingly influence where the DIY investors of the future place their trades.

Of course, the broader picture for socially responsible investing is also bullish.

A 2018 report from the Responsible Investment Association stated that “Responsible investing now makes up a majority of Canada’s investment industry, as RI assets now account for 50.6% of all Canadian AUM – up from 37.8% two years earlier.” With respect to ETFs from 2015 to 2017, it goes on to state “Assets in exchange-traded funds dedicated to RI have more than doubled over the last two years, from $97.9 million to $240.6 million.”

While Scotia iTRADE tends to be a difficult choice for beginner investors, Questrade – and in particular Questwealth, has a much lower barrier to entry to open an account and to ease into SRI investing. Similarly, popular roboadvisor Wealthsimple also offers up easily accessible socially responsible investing options for investors.

For an online investor who wants to “do good” with their investing dollar (and stretch that dollar as far as possible), they can purchase one of many SRI ETFs through any online brokerage, and if they choose to do so through Questrade’s online brokerage or National Bank Direct Brokerage, they can do so while potentially not incurring trading commission fees to purchase these.

Although it has taken quite a bit of time for socially responsible investing to find its way into the spotlight at Canadian online brokerages, the latest moves by Desjardins and Questrade appear to help serve as a catalyst for broader adoption of SRI. The move by Interactive Brokers also opens this style of investment strategy up to more active traders.

Fundamentally, the data is clearly pointing to market demand for consumers wanting to do good and to do business with brands that are purpose-driven. As such, it will be interesting to see which Canadian brokerages also jump into the SRI pool in terms of content as well as products or incentive offers. There’s clearly a win-win-win for DIY investors as well as the online brokerages and of course, the planet as a whole.

Trading Documentation

With so much happening in terms of feature development or deployment at online brokerages here in Canada and the US, there was one fascinating story that we didn’t get the chance to highlight last week.

One of the more interesting realities of the world in 2018 is the impact of social media. While celebrities, such as Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson can command 120 million followers on Instagram, there are examples of the reach ordinary people have too. Case in point, an Instagram post in March 2018 by Judith Kasiama highlighted a lack of diversity in the popular outdoor brand Mountain Equipment Coop’s marketing and advertising campaigns. That one Instagram post then became a catalyst for change in the way in which MEC represents its clients in their marketing and advertising.

According to a U.S. national parks study, only 7 percent of black folks visit national parks. While 78 percent of all parks visitors are white. There seems to be a narrative that BIPOC don’t enjoy the outdoor compare to their white friends. This is not rooted in actual reality but a myth perpetuated by marketing that caters to predominately white audience. If you don’t believe, check out companies such as @mec, @arcteryx @arcteryxcanada @hellyhansen who fail to diversify their adds. Painting a narrative that people like me don’t enjoy the outdoors. I love nature and spending time outside! I hope these companies can diversify their adds. Sadly I couldn’t find any studies in Canada. #truthfultuesday Pc: @neverbadtimeforchanges

A post shared by Juju Milay (@jujumil) on

Having covered what gets said about Canadian online brokerages on social media (and Twitter in particular) over the past four years, it was a tweet that contained a YouTube video last week that caught our attention.

In the following video there is a YouTuber Richard De Sousa from RichTV Live who also is an active trader who documents his frustration and interaction with TD Direct Investing’s client service representative for almost a solid 15 minutes.

This video is fascinating on so many levels. From the consequences of UX decisions in trading platforms to the kinds of communications scenarios that online brokerages have to be prepared for, being any brand in 2018 means being subject to the very public scrutiny that takes place on social media. Mix in an individual with a substantial subscriber base and an incredibly impactful medium like video, and you have what could be a volatile situation.

So why is it worth watching almost 15 minutes of a customer service call? For starters, because it is possible.

Often times there are only angry rants that are summarized in tweet format or in long walls of text in forums or on Facebook. In this case, even though only a portion of the total call is shown, it offers a unique vantage point into the world of DIY investing and what the experience of talking to a rep at TD Direct Investing is like.

Another interesting angle to this video is that for many DIY investors, there is a lot of DIY learning that comes as a result of trial and error as well as from talking to customer service reps. In this case the trader in the video discovered what was essentially a “problem” with the way in which prices that were longer than 2 decimal places were being displayed. The trader learned the hard way that there can be disparities and surprising blindspots when executing a trade – such as getting the detailed information on the exact price of an order fill. Those blindspots can also be internal – without knowing where on a platform to get detailed information on an order fill, for example, the interpretation of events that something went ‘wrong’ is more likely.

This last point highlights the impact of the importance of user experience testing.

As we referenced last week in the roll out of National Bank Direct Brokerage’s website, there can be bugs or oversight of user issues when a piece of technology rolls out (note that National Bank Direct Brokerage has tidied up those issues we flagged last week) however those bugs can result in customer service agents left dealing with irritated (and valuable) clients for large chunks of time. Clearly there’s a business value to doing more time testing.

A third interesting observation of this interaction is that it captured the professionalism of the representative. Yes, the call started with an irate customer however it ended with a conversation and the client stating their general satisfaction with TDDI. Like volatile stocks, so too are the emotions that active traders experience and bring with them onto phone interactions. Being a front-line service representative is no small feat.

Finally, in terms of zeitgeist, the latest enthusiasm for cannabis (and crypto) stocks has gone beyond just traditional investor forums and made the leap into channels like YouTube where it is now easier than ever to ‘watch’ in real time people trade the market. For a generation of investors (and future investors) that are very familiar with watching how-to’s or consuming content on YouTube, this video showcases how relatively simple it is for anyone passionate enough about what they’re doing to chronicle it online and build an audience.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

 

From the Forums

Money across the Miles

A long-term former resident of BC asked the Personal Finance Canada forum this week about options for foreign currency investment in their TFSA. Find out how this tricky request was answered with lots of help from the reddit forum here.

How Safe is a GIC?

It’s always good to learn from the mistakes of others. On that note, this forum user caused a number of responses in this post on the Personal Finance Canada forum on the topic of safety and reliability of GIC’s within large banks. It begs the questions, is anything ever really guaranteed? Check out the advice from the thread here.

Into the Close

That does it for another wild week. In all of the hustle and bustle, please take a few moments to remember and pay tribute to the brave men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice and for those currently serving our country. Have a wonderful weekend.

 

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Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – November 2018

*Update Nov. 17th* If there’s one month of the year known for deals, it’s November. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday, shoppers are getting geared up for some serious savings. For Canadian DIY investors, the fun has already started as Canada’s online brokerages gear up for their busiest shopping season – RRSP season – and offer some compelling promotions in the process.

This month’s crop of discount brokerage deals is numerically close to where things were last month, however within those numbers lies a very interesting development that could touch off a local, if not national, deal battle-royale. The good news for DIY investors is that the new offers that came to market are definitely full of value so for anyone hunting for an online trading account, there are some very tempting offers on the table to choose from.

While they’ll be detailed further below, BMO InvestorLine and National Bank Direct Brokerage both start the month with new promotional offers – each putting an interesting twist on commission-free trading.  In the minus column, Desjardins Online Brokerage, who, as of publication of this deals update on November 1st, have allowed their long-standing 1% commission credit offer to officially expire.

Historically, Desjardins Online Brokerage has almost always extended this long-standing offer prior to the expiry date hitting, so unless there was a major Halloween candy hangover to blame, this would mark the first time in a few years that Desjardins Online Brokerage hasn’t posted a significant commission-free trading offer. While it is just speculation at this point, the move by their close rival National Bank Direct Brokerage, might prompt an even bolder offer to come to market.

Of course, there is still some ambiguity around the RBC Direct Investing commission-free trade offer. This deal, which was mentioned last month in the Weekly Roundup, is being marketed to healthcare workers, however online investors interested in the offer can also take advantage of it. Whether this offer goes mainstream or whether another comes along from RBC Direct Investing, there is nonetheless another offer available from a major bank-owned online brokerage that will get the attention of DIY investors.

With so many offers already in the mix, there’s a good chance we’ll see other discount brokerages come off the sidelines and step up their promotional game. Stock markets aren’t the only place where there’s volatility, so we’ll be very interested to see what the autumn wind will be blowing in with it at the rest of Canada’s online brokerages. As always, if there are any other discount brokerage deals that might be of interest to DIY investors to know about, please let us know.

Expired Deals

As of the publication (on November 1st) of the deals and promotions update, Desjardins Online Brokerage was the lone brokerage to have a deal expire heading into the new month. Their ultra-long-standing offer of 1% commission credit along with their transfer fee bonus have technically expired. We’ll keep an eye out to see if there is a refresh or new offer and update things accordingly.

Extended Deals

BMO SmartFolio has extended their 0.5% cash back offer to the new year. The new expiry date for the cash back promotion is January 2nd, 2019.

New Deals

*Update Nov. 17 – Scotia iTRADE jumped back into the deals pool with a new cash back or commission-free trade promotion. Unlike previous promotions of this kind, there are slightly different offers and requirements for the cash back and commission-free trade components. For example, the minimum deposit required for the commission-free trade reward is $10,000 (which comes with 20 free trades) whereas the minimum deposit to qualify for a cash back reward is $25,000. Also, on the commission-free trade offer the deposit level which maxes out the number of commission free trades (which is 300 trades in this promotion) is $250,000 whereas the upper deposit limit to qualify for a cash back offer is $1M+ (which comes with a $1500 reward). See table below for more details and read an analysis of the cash back promotions in this issue of the Weekly Roundup here.*

Starting first with one of the mainstays of the online brokerage promotions section, BMO InvestorLine who rolled out their new combined cash back and commission-free trade offer at the outset of the month. Their latest promotion offers between $100 and $1,000 cash back for deposits that range from $50,000 to $600,000+. As a bonus offer, there are 30 commission-free trades which are good for use in February and March of 2019, a typically busy season for RSP account openings and purchases of securities. See more information in the table below.

After a long absence from the discount brokerage deals section, National Bank Direct Brokerage came back with a bang. Not only did they roll out a new website but they also published a deal that is sure to ruffle some feathers with cross-town rivals as well as other online brokerages. NBDB’s latest promotion offers up an eye-popping 50 commission free trades that are good for use for one year and all for the ultra-low qualifying threshold of $5,000. Combined with commission free ETF trading, this is a signal that more commission free trading is likely on the horizon.

Discount Brokerage Deals

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

Cash Back/Free Trade/Product Offer Promotions

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Commission/Cash Offer/Promotion Type Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer Details Link Deadline
Jitney Trade A Sparx Trading exclusive offer! Use the promo code “Sparx Trading” when signing up for a new account with Jitneytrade and receive access to their preferred pricing package. n/a Discounted Commission Rates none For more details click here none
Open and fund a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) with at least $1,000 and you may be eligible to receive $88 in commission credits (up to 17 commission-free trades). Use promo code SPARX88 when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions carefully. $1,000 $88 commission credit 60 days Access this offer by clicking here: $88 commission-credit offer . For full terms and conditions, click here. none
Open and fund a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) with at least $1,000 and you may be eligible to receive 5 commission-free trades. Use promo code 5FREETRADES when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions carefully. $1,000 5 commission-free trades 60 days 5 commission-free trade offer December 31, 2018
Open and fund a new account with at least $5,000 at National Bank Direct Brokerage and you may be eligible to receive up to 50 commission free equity trades, which are good for up to one year. Use promo code: FREE50 when applying. Be sure to read offer terms and conditions for full details. $5,000 50 commission-free trades 12 months National Bank Direct Brokerage 50 Free Trade Offer April 30, 2019
Scotia iTrade Open a new account or fund an existing account with A) $10,000; B) $25,000; C) $50,000; D) $100,000 E) $250,000; F) $500,000 or G) $1M+ and you may be eligible to receive either A)20; B) 50; C) 100; D) 200; or E), F), G) 300 commission free trades; or B) $100; C) $200; D) $500; E) $800; F) $1100 or G) $1500. Use promo code 19CA for the cash back or 19FT for the free trades offers. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for full details. A) $10,000 B) $25,000 C) $50,000 D) $100,000 E) $250,000 F) $500,000 G) $1M+ For cash back: A) $0 B) $100 C) $200 D) $500 E) $800 F) $1100 G) $1500 For commission-free trades: A) 20 B) 50 C) 100 D) 200 E) 300 F) 300 G) 300 For cash back: Cash will be deposited by July, 2019. For commission free trades: 120 days to use trades from date of account funding. iTRADE commission-free trade + cash back offer March 31, 2019
Disnat Desjardins Online Brokerage is offering new clients 1% of assets transferred into the new account in the form of commission credits (to a maximum value of $1,000). Minimum qualifying deposit is $10,000. To qualify, individuals will have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code DisnatTransfer or email: [email protected]. See details link for more info. $10,000 1% of assets transferred in the form of commission-credits (max credits: $1,000) 6 months Disnat 1% Commission Credit Promo October 31, 2018
Open and fund a new qualifying account with CIBC Investor’s Edge with a deposit of at least A) $25,000; B) $50,000 or C) $100,00+ and you may be eligible to receive a cash back bonus of A) $100; B) $200 or C) $400. This offer is open to both new and existing clients. Use offer code SPARX18 when opening the account to obtain this offer. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for complete details. A) $25,000 B) $50,000 C) $100,000 A) $100 B) $200 C) $400 Cash back will be deposited on the week of March 24, 2019 for transfers received by December 31, 2018; transfers received after December 31, 2018 but before May 1, 2019 will receive cash back on the week of July 1, 2019. CIBC Investor’s Edge Cash Back Promo March 24, 2019
Open and fund a new qualifying account with at least $25,000 and you may qualify for one month of unlimited commission-free trades and up to one month free of an advanced data package. Use promo code ADVANTAGE14 when opening a new account. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. $25,000 commission-free trades for 1 month + 1 month of advanced data. 1 month Active Trader Program December 31, 2018
BMO InvestorLine Open a new account or fund an existing account at BMO InvestorLine with new assets worth at least A) $50,000; B) $200,000; C) $400,000 or D) $600,000+ and you may be eligible to receive 30 commission-free equity trades AND a cash back reward of up to A) $100; B) $300; C) $600 or D) $1000. Use promo code SPARXCASH when registering to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions. A) $50,000 B) $200,000 C) $400,000 D) $600,000+ 30 commission-free equity trades plus: A) $100 B) $300 C) $600 D) $1000 commission-free equity trades can be used in February & March of 2019. Cash back will be deposited the week of July 15, 2019. BMO InvestorLine Summer 2018 Campaign January 2, 2019

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Nov. 17, 2018 00:45 PT

Referral Promotions

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Incentive Structure Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer Deposit Details Link Deadline
Refer a friend to Questrade and when they open an account you receive $25 cash back and they receive either A) $25; B) $50; C) $75; D) $100; or E) $250 depending on the amount deposited amount. Enter code: 476104302388759 during account sign up to qualify. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for eligibility and additional bonus payment structure and minimum balance requirements. A) $1,000 B) $10,000 C) $25,000 D) $50,000 E) $100,000+ $25 cash back (for referrer per referral; $50 bonus cash back for every 3rd referral) For referred individuals: A) $25 cash back B) $50 cash back C) $75 cash back D) $100 cash back E) $250 cash back Cash deposited into Questrade billing account within 7 days after funding period ends (90 days) Refer a friend terms and conditions Code Number: 476104302388759 none
If you (an existing Qtrade Investor client) refer a new client to Qtrade Investor and they open an account with at least $1,000 the referrer and the referee may both be eligible to receive $25 cash. See terms and conditions for full details. $1,000 $25 cash back (for both referrer and referee) Cash deposited at the end of the month in which referee’s account funded Refer A Friend to Qtrade Investor none
Scotia iTrade If you refer a friend/family member who is not already a Scotia iTRADE account holder to them, both you and your friend get a bonus of either cash or free trades. You have to use the referral form to pass along your info as well as your friend/family members’ contact info in order to qualify. There are lots of details/conditions to this deal so be sure to read the details link. A) $10,000 B) $50,000+ A) You(referrer): $50 or 10 free trades; Your “Friend”: $50 or 10 free trades (max total value:$99.90) B) You(referrer): $100 cash or 50 free trades; Your “Friend”: $100 cash or 50 free trades (max total value: $499.50) 60 days Refer A Friend to Scotia iTrade tbd
BMO InvestorLine If you (an existing BMO InvestorLine client) refer a new client to BMO InvestorLine and they open an account with at least $5,000 the referrer and the referee may both be eligible to receive $50 cash. To qualify the referee must use the email of the referrer that is linked to their BMO InvestorLine account. See terms and conditions for full details. $5,000 You(referrer): $50; Your Friend(referee): $50 Payout occurs 45 days after minimum 90 day holding period (subject to conditions). BMO InvestorLine Refer-a-Friend January 2, 2019

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Nov. 1, 2018 22:55 PT

Transfer Fee Promotions

Company Brief Description Maximum Transfer Fee Coverage Amount Minimum Deposit Amount for Transfer Fee Eligibility Details Link Deadline
Transfer $15,000 or more into a new HSBC InvestDirect account and you may be eligible to have up to $152.55 in transfer fees covered. 152.55 $15,000 Confirmed via email contact with HSBC InvestDirect Rep. Contact client service for more information. none
Transfer $15,000 or more to Qtrade Investor from another brokerage and Qtrade Investor may cover up to $150 in transfer fees. See terms and conditions for more details. $150 $15,000 Transfer Fee Rebate none
Transfer $15,000 or more to RBC Direct Investing and they will pay up to $135 in transfer fees. $135 $15,000 Transfer Fee Rebate Details none
Transfer $20,000 or more to a National Bank Direct Brokerage account and they will pay up to $135 plus taxes in transfer fees. $135 $20,000 Transfer Fee Rebate none
Move your brokerage account to Questrade and they’ll cover the transfer-out fee up to $150. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee Promo none
Transfer at least $25,000 or more in new assets to TD Direct Investing when opening a new account and you may qualify to have transfer fees reimbursed up to $150. Be sure to contact TD Direct Investing for further details. $150 $25,000 Contact client service for more information (1-800-465-5463). none
Transfer $25,000 or more into a CIBC Investor’s Edge account and they will reimburse up to $135 in brokerage transfer fees. Clients must call customer service to request rebate after transfer made. $135 $25,000 Confirmed with reps. Contact client service for more information (1-800-567-3343). none
Disnat Disnat is offering up to $150 to cover the cost of transfer fees from another institution. To be eligible, new/existing clients need to deposit $50,000 into a Disnat account. You’ll have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code DisnatTransfer. See details link for more info. $150 $50,000 Disnat 1% Commission Credit Promo October 31, 2018
BMO InvestorLine Open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine or fund a qualifying existing account, by transferring in at least $200,000+ in net new assets and you may be eligible to have transfer fees covered up to $200. Use promo code SPARXCASH when signing up. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. $200 $200,000 BMO InvestorLine Summer 2018 Campaign September 3, 2018

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Nov. 1, 2018 22:55 PT

Other Promotions

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Required Details Link Deadline
Disnat Desjardins Online Brokerage, in conjunction with MoneyTalks, is offering 3 months of the “Inside Edge” investor information service to Desjardins Online Brokerage clients. Use promo code DESJ2016 during checkout to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for more information. n/a MoneyTalks Inside Edge Discount none
Disnat Desjardins Online Brokerage is offering $50 in commission credits for new Disnat Classic clients depositing at least $1,000. See terms and conditions for full details. $1,000 Broker@ge 18-30 Promotion none
Scotia iTrade Scotiabank StartRight customers can receive 10 commission-free trades when investing $1,000 or more in a new Scotia iTrade account. Trades are good for use for up to 1 year from the date the account is funded. Use promo code SRPE15 when applying (in English) or SRPF15 when applying in French. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for full details. $1,000 StartRight Free Trade offer none
Open and fund a new qualifying account with at least $5,000 at RBC Direct Investing and you may be eligible to receive up to 20 commission-free trades, which are good for up to one year. Use promo code MDFT8 to qualify. This promotion is being marketed towards healthcare workers, so be sure to review terms and conditions or speak to an RBC Direct Investing representative for full details. $5,000 RBC Direct Investing 20 Free Trade Offer Feb. 28, 2019

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Nov. 1, 2018 22:55 PT

Digital Advice + Roboadvisor Promotions

Robo-advisor / Digital advisor Offer Type Offer Description Min. Deposit Reward / Promotion Promo Code Expiry Date Link
Discounted Management Open and fund a new Questrade Portfolio IQ account with a deposit of at least $1,000 and the first month of management will be free. For more information on Portfolio IQ, click the product link. $1,000 1st month no management fees KDKFNBBC None Questrade Portfolio IQ Promo Offer
Cash Back Open and fund a new or existing SmartFolio account with at least $1,000 and you could receive 0.5% cash back up to $1000. Use promo code PROMO1000 when opening a new account. See terms and conditions for full details. This offer can be combined with the refer-a-friend promotion. $1,000 0.5% cash back to a maximum of $1000. PROMO1000 January 2, 2019 SmartFolio Cash Back Promo
Discounted Management Open a new account with BMO SmartFolio and receive one year of management of up to $15,000 free. See offer terms and conditions for more details. $1,000 1 year no management fees STSF April 30, 2019 SmartFolio New Account Promotion
Cash Back – Referral BMO SmartFolio clients will receive $50 cash back for every friend or family member who opens and funds a new SmartFolio account. Friends and family referred to SmartFolio will receive $50 cash back for opening and funding an account, plus automatic enrollment into SmartFolio’s mass offer in market at the time. See offer terms and conditions for more details. $1,000 $50 cash back (referrer) $50 cash back (referee) Unique link generated from SmartFolio required. None SmartFolio Website
Transfer Fee Coverage Transfer at least $25,000 into Virtual Wealth when opening a new account and you may be eligible to have up to $150 in transfer fees covered by Virtual Wealth. $25,000 up to $150 in transfer fees covered None None Contact customer service directly for more information.
Last Updated: Nov. 1, 2018 22:55 PT
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Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – October 2018

Now that October is here, there are some unbe-leaf-able deals for DIY investors. Corny puns aside, the fall crop of Canadian discount brokerage deals is packed with a great selection of cash back and commission-free trading offers. With the entry of a popular bank-owned brokerage into the deals race, other online brokerages are certain to take notice.

To kick things off for the new month, the official start to the month came with a couple of important deal extensions from BMO InvestorLine, SmartFolio and Desjardins Online Brokerage. Also on the welcome manifest, a cash back promotion from CIBC Investor’s Edge exclusively for SparxTrading.com readers.

Overall, transfer offers and commission-free trade promotions are still the most popular choice for online brokerages. With two very noteworthy names now offering cash back promos, DIY investors looking for a deal will have a couple of strong options to consider from the 20+ deals listed. As with all things related to trading, be sure to look over the fine print and terms of the offers being consider.

Expired Deals

With summer officially in the books, HSBC InvestDirect also packed up and put away their summer commission-free trade promo. Unfortunately for HSBC InvestDirect, this promotion was seriously overshadowed by the announcement from Wealthsimple Trade that commission-free trading was going to launch in Canada. In fact, most commission-free offers are going to have a harder time stacking up against the full commission-free experience being promoted by WealthSimple trade.

Extended Deals

BMO InvestorLine’s cash back promotion has been extended out for yet another month. This past September marks the 30th anniversary of the launch of InvestorLine so we’re glad to see that their cash back promotion also got a chance to enjoy the party just a little bit longer. The new expiry date for BMO InvestorLine’s cash back promotion is October 31st.

Also extended from BMO is the SmartFolio 0.5% cash back promotional offer. Like the BMO InvestorLine extension, the new expiry date for SmartFolio’s promotion is October 31st.

Desjardins Online Brokerage kept its long-running commission credit offer going for one more month. The new deadline for this popular promotion is now October 31st, 2018.

New deals

CIBC Investor’s Edge stepped onto the deals and promotions field in a big way at the end of September by launching an exclusive cash back promotion for SparxTrading.com readers. This offer, which comes with a custom Sparx Trading promo code, is the first major bank-owned online brokerage promotion to carry on well into the new year – a sign that CIBC Investor’s Edge is quite confident in the competitiveness of this cash back offer.

Discount Brokerage Deals

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

Cash Back/Free Trade/Product Offer Promotions

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Commission/Cash Offer/Promotion Type Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer Details Link Deadline
Jitney Trade A Sparx Trading exclusive offer! Use the promo code “Sparx Trading” when signing up for a new account with Jitneytrade and receive access to their preferred pricing package. n/a Discounted Commission Rates none For more details click here none
Open and fund a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) with at least $1,000 and you may be eligible to receive $88 in commission credits (up to 17 commission-free trades). Use promo code SPARX88 when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions carefully. $1,000 $88 commission credit 60 days Access this offer by clicking here: $88 commission-credit offer . For full terms and conditions, click here. none
Open and fund a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) with at least $1,000 and you may be eligible to receive 5 commission-free trades. Use promo code 5FREETRADES when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions carefully. $1,000 5 commission-free trades 60 days 5 commission-free trade offer December 31, 2018
Disnat Desjardins Online Brokerage is offering new clients 1% of assets transferred into the new account in the form of commission credits (to a maximum value of $1,000). Minimum qualifying deposit is $10,000. To qualify, individuals will have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code DisnatTransfer or email: [email protected]. See details link for more info. $10,000 1% of assets transferred in the form of commission-credits (max credits: $1,000) 6 months Disnat 1% Commission Credit Promo October 31, 2018
Open and fund a new qualifying account with CIBC Investor’s Edge with a deposit of at least A) $25,000; B) $50,000 or C) $100,00+ and you may be eligible to receive a cash back bonus of A) $100; B) $200 or C) $400. This offer is open to both new and existing clients. Use offer code SPARX18 when opening the account to obtain this offer. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for complete details. A) $25,000 B) $50,000 C) $100,000 A) $100 B) $200 C) $400 Cash back will be deposited on the week of March 24, 2019 for transfers received by December 31, 2018; transfers received after December 31, 2018 but before May 1, 2019 will receive cash back on the week of July 1, 2019. CIBC Investor’s Edge Cash Back Promo March 24, 2019
Open and fund a new qualifying account with at least $25,000 and you may qualify for one month of unlimited commission-free trades and up to one month free of an advanced data package. Use promo code ADVANTAGE14 when opening a new account. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. $25,000 commission-free trades for 1 month + 1 month of advanced data. 1 month Active Trader Program December 31, 2018
BMO InvestorLine Open a new account or fund an existing account at BMO InvestorLine with new assets worth at least A) $50,000; B) $100,000; C) $300,000 or D) $500,000+ and you may be eligible to receive a cash back reward of up to A) $75; B) $200; C) $500 or D) $1000. Use promo code SPARXCASH when registering to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions. A) $50,000 B) $100,000 C) $300,000 D) $500,000+ A) $75 B) $200 C) $500 D) $1000 Cash back will be deposited the week of April 15, 2019. BMO InvestorLine Summer 2018 Campaign October 31, 2018

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

Referral Promotions

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Incentive Structure Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer Deposit Details Link Deadline
Refer a friend to Questrade and when they open an account you receive $25 cash back and they receive either A) $25; B) $50; C) $75; D) $100; or E) $250 depending on the amount deposited amount. Enter code: 476104302388759 during account sign up to qualify. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for eligibility and additional bonus payment structure and minimum balance requirements. A) $1,000 B) $10,000 C) $25,000 D) $50,000 E) $100,000+ $25 cash back (for referrer per referral; $50 bonus cash back for every 3rd referral) For referred individuals: A) $25 cash back B) $50 cash back C) $75 cash back D) $100 cash back E) $250 cash back Cash deposited into Questrade billing account within 7 days after funding period ends (90 days) Refer a friend terms and conditions Code Number: 476104302388759 none
If you (an existing Qtrade Investor client) refer a new client to Qtrade Investor and they open an account with at least $1,000 the referrer and the referee may both be eligible to receive $25 cash. See terms and conditions for full details. $1,000 $25 cash back (for both referrer and referee) Cash deposited at the end of the month in which referee’s account funded Refer A Friend to Qtrade Investor none
Scotia iTrade If you refer a friend/family member who is not already a Scotia iTRADE account holder to them, both you and your friend get a bonus of either cash or free trades. You have to use the referral form to pass along your info as well as your friend/family members’ contact info in order to qualify. There are lots of details/conditions to this deal so be sure to read the details link. A) $10,000 B) $50,000+ A) You(referrer): $50 or 10 free trades; Your “Friend”: $50 or 10 free trades (max total value:$99.90) B) You(referrer): $100 cash or 50 free trades; Your “Friend”: $100 cash or 50 free trades (max total value: $499.50) 60 days Refer A Friend to Scotia iTrade tbd
BMO InvestorLine If you (an existing BMO InvestorLine client) refer a new client to BMO InvestorLine and they open an account with at least $5,000 the referrer and the referee may both be eligible to receive $50 cash. To qualify the referee must use the email of the referrer that is linked to their BMO InvestorLine account. See terms and conditions for full details. $5,000 You(referrer): $50; Your Friend(referee): $50 Payout occurs 45 days after minimum 90 day holding period (subject to conditions). BMO InvestorLine Refer-a-Friend January 2, 2019

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Oct. 1, 2018 22:15 PT

Transfer Fee Promotions

Company Brief Description Maximum Transfer Fee Coverage Amount Minimum Deposit Amount for Transfer Fee Eligibility Details Link Deadline
Transfer $15,000 or more into a new HSBC InvestDirect account and you may be eligible to have up to $152.55 in transfer fees covered. 152.55 $15,000 Confirmed via email contact with HSBC InvestDirect Rep. Contact client service for more information. none
Transfer $15,000 or more to Qtrade Investor from another brokerage and Qtrade Investor may cover up to $150 in transfer fees. See terms and conditions for more details. $150 $15,000 Transfer Fee Rebate none
Transfer $15,000 or more to RBC Direct Investing and they will pay up to $135 in transfer fees. $135 $15,000 Transfer Fee Rebate Details none
Transfer $20,000 or more to a National Bank Direct Brokerage account and they will pay up to $135 plus taxes in transfer fees. $135 $20,000 Transfer Fee Rebate none
Move your brokerage account to Questrade and they’ll cover the transfer-out fee up to $150. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee Promo none
Transfer at least $25,000 or more in new assets to TD Direct Investing when opening a new account and you may qualify to have transfer fees reimbursed up to $150. Be sure to contact TD Direct Investing for further details. $150 $25,000 Contact client service for more information (1-800-465-5463). none
Transfer $25,000 or more into a CIBC Investor’s Edge account and they will reimburse up to $135 in brokerage transfer fees. Clients must call customer service to request rebate after transfer made. $135 $25,000 Confirmed with reps. Contact client service for more information (1-800-567-3343). none
Disnat Disnat is offering up to $150 to cover the cost of transfer fees from another institution. To be eligible, new/existing clients need to deposit $50,000 into a Disnat account. You’ll have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code DisnatTransfer. See details link for more info. $150 $50,000 Disnat 1% Commission Credit Promo October 31, 2018
BMO InvestorLine Open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine or fund a qualifying existing account, by transferring in at least $200,000+ in net new assets and you may be eligible to have transfer fees covered up to $200. Use promo code SPARXCASH when signing up. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. $200 $200,000 BMO InvestorLine Summer 2018 Campaign September 3, 2018

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Oct. 5, 2018 17:15 PT

Other Promotions

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

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Oct. 1, 2018 22:15 PT

Digital Advice + Roboadvisor Promotions

Robo-advisor / Digital advisor Offer Type Offer Description Min. Deposit Reward / Promotion Promo Code Expiry Date Link
Discounted Management Open and fund a new Questrade Portfolio IQ account with a deposit of at least $1,000 and the first month of management will be free. For more information on Portfolio IQ, click the product link. $1,000 1st month no management fees KDKFNBBC None Questrade Portfolio IQ Promo Offer
Cash Back Open and fund a new or existing SmartFolio account with at least $1,000 and you could receive 0.5% cash back up to $1000. Use promo code PROMO1000 when opening a new account. See terms and conditions for full details. This offer can be combined with the refer-a-friend promotion. $1,000 0.5% cash back to a maximum of $1000. PROMO1000 October 31, 2018 SmartFolio Cash Back Promo
Discounted Management Open a new account with BMO SmartFolio and receive one year of management of up to $15,000 free. See offer terms and conditions for more details. $1,000 1 year no management fees STSF April 30, 2019 SmartFolio New Account Promotion
Cash Back – Referral BMO SmartFolio clients will receive $50 cash back for every friend or family member who opens and funds a new SmartFolio account. Friends and family referred to SmartFolio will receive $50 cash back for opening and funding an account, plus automatic enrollment into SmartFolio’s mass offer in market at the time. See offer terms and conditions for more details. $1,000 $50 cash back (referrer) $50 cash back (referee) Unique link generated from SmartFolio required. None SmartFolio Website
Transfer Fee Coverage Transfer at least $25,000 into Virtual Wealth when opening a new account and you may be eligible to have up to $150 in transfer fees covered by Virtual Wealth. $25,000 up to $150 in transfer fees covered None None Contact customer service directly for more information.
Last Updated: Oct. 1, 2018 22:15 PT
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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – September 14, 2018

There’s no doubt that when big weather events happen, people pay attention. With announcements of feature releases and new offers at Canadian and US online brokerages happening at a greater frequency and intensity, it appears as if a significant storm of activity is brewing into the tail end of 2018.

In this edition of the roundup we take a look at some very big moves being telegraphed by one of Canada’s largest online brokerages and what that means for all the players on the online brokerage field heading into 2019. Next, we review the latest Canadian online brokerage rankings from a popular rating agency and unpack a surprising turn of events in the industry this past year. As always, we’ll close out the roundup with a healthy dose of tweets and forum posts from Canadian DIY investors.

Let’s get digital: TD Direct Investing continues to invest in digitization of wealth management

This past week, one of Canada’s largest online brokerages, TD Direct Investing, announced that they are planning to launch some bold digital initiatives in 2019.  In doing so, TD’s online brokerage arm has doled out a healthy dose of market moving news that is bound to get the attention of DIY investors and competitors across the online trading spectrum. In a space where most of the moves are incremental, TD Direct Investing’s latest announcement feels more like a step change in the industry rather than just another small step forward.

In a week peppered with interesting stories and developments about discount brokerages, there are a number of reasons why TD Direct Investing’s announcement, which was published on September 12th, was exceptionally interesting and relevant to the online brokerage space in Canada.

The first and undeniably the most important was what the news release said.

The content of the release laid out a vision for the digital wealth management experience that TD Direct Investing clients can expect to see unfold in 2019. Included in that digital experience is the mention of digital wealth planning tools in the early part of the year as well as TD’s own robo-advisor platform that will also include TD’s own ETFs which is set to launch in the latter portion of next year.

While we don’t want to gloss over the enormity of what it means to the online brokerage space in Canada to have robo-advice hit this kind of scale, there are so many angles to this move that for this roundup, we’ll focus on some of the important details that are also worth mentioning.  As this story continues to unfold, we’ll be exploring more of what the details of the services will include, especially what a “complete, end-to-end digital investing experience” refers to.

Aside from the release of new features, another very important angle to the news release this week is that TD Direct Investing is announcing what their intentions are for some very ambitious projects. The story here is that like most other online brokerages, TD Direct Investing has historically played their cards very close to their vest. That they would not only announce multiple technology features but also put even a general timeline on those features going live signals their confidence in those programs hitting the launch windows and it signals that TD might be taking a different approach on sharing what’s in the TDDI workshop.

As technology companies are well aware of, a little bit of prelaunch buzz is what gets people curious and excited to see what actually rolls out. Historically, however, services or features in development at Canada’s discount brokerages tended not to get much of a spotlight, let alone a news release and a coordinated social media publication. So, it is clear that something has shifted with regards to ‘sharing’ information relating to development of new features.

On that note, it was particularly interesting to see a senior executive at BMO Wealth Management ‘like’ a post made by the President of TD Direct Investing (Paul Clark) about the launch of these new services on LinkedIn.

Perhaps this move by TD Direct Investing is signaling a shift in identity from being a “financial services” firm towards more of a technology firm, thus fitting more naturally into a ‘fintech’ way of operating.

A third important implication of this news release is the fact that the technology stack TD Direct Investing is choosing to integrate into their own technology stack appears to be future-proofing to some degree.

The technology provider TD Direct Investing announced they’d be working with, Hydrogen Technology Corporation, a platform that enables APIs to be developed as well as blockchain connectivity/support and uses AI/machine learning to garner insights on client behaviour. That very potent combination of technologies means TD Direct Investing can learn more about their clients’ financial services needs and, with the breadth of services under the TD umbrella, find a way to connect the right product to the right people at the right time – at least that appears to be the plan.

For clients, it means a feature-rich platform with analytics and a user experience suited for younger investors who are particular about the look, feel and function of technology platforms.

Of course, then there’s the option in the future to readily connect to blockchain-powered financial instruments, something that might come to market sooner than anyone can really predict. As such, TD Direct Investing appears to have an edge in equipping themselves with a technology layer geared towards ensuring they can connect to the technologies of tomorrow with the WebBroker interface.

Aside from the abovementioned key points, there are still numerous implications and interesting angles to this announcement.

Without question, TD Direct Investing’s latest move is a big deal and will command the attention of the rest of the Canadian online brokerage market. And, it seems like TD Direct Investing’s competitors will have their work cut out for them.

According to an article published in the Globe and Mail this week, TD has invested $125 million into its WebBroker trading platform in preparation for new trading features and capabilities. By comparison, the acquisition of the entirety of BBS Securities (including subsidiary Virtual Brokers) last year by CI Financial (coincidentally another client of Hydrogen Technology Corp) cost about $38 million. Simply put, smaller online brokerages or those without deep technology budgets or talented tech teams are up against a formidable competitor in TD Direct Investing.

Prudently, TD Direct Investing has mentioned that these changes will take place in phases and, since approximate timetables have been given, there is enough slack and wiggle room to accommodate the surprise delays that inevitably accompany any technology project. Even so, there is little doubt that this move by TD Direct Investing, regardless of what the final products looks or functions like, will have competitors scrambling to mobilize and DIY investors (clients especially) eager to take TD Direct Investing’s new digital platforms for a test drive.

BMO InvestorLine Ranked #1 by J.D. Power for 2018

With 2018 heading into its final stretch, the annual discount brokerage “rankings season” starts to kick things up a notch. This past week, J.D. Power released the results of their latest rankings of Canadian discount brokers (based on investor satisfaction) with BMO InvestorLine coming out on top of the field in terms of investor satisfaction.

While the Investor Satisfaction study provides a snapshot in the current year of how the field of online brokerages compare to one another, we’ve been tracking results from this survey data since 2013 and as such, this year’s results present a very interesting picture both in terms of 2018 as well as how 2018 compares to previous years.

Included in this year’s rankings are 8 of Canada’s most popular online brokerages:

Curiously, neither Qtrade Investor nor HSBC InvestDirect made it into the published rankings for this year, something that has not happened since 2014. Also not present were Virtual Brokers or Interactive Brokers, neither of whom have made it into the published results.

The big story for the 2018 online brokerage rankings from J.D. Power is the relative underperformance of Canada’s online brokerages compared to previous years. In fact, this year’s average score of 723 is the lowest since we’ve measured, beating out 2013’s score of 724 and clearly snaps an uptrend that was in place since 2015.

To unpack why that might be the case, there are also some additional observations worth noting.

First, two firms that have consistently battled for podium finishes over the past five years, National Bank Direct Brokerage and Desjardins Online Brokerage, finished uncharacteristically lower than “usual”.  Granted, Desjardins Online did tie for second place this year, however, when looking at both of these firms’ average scores since 2013, Desjardins Online Brokerage and National Bank Direct Brokerage are virtually tied at 752 and 753 points respectively. Most years one or both of these firms have handily beat their competitors and their average scores far outpace just about everyone else except BMO InvestorLine, whose 6-year average score ranks third overall at 746.

Data sourced from J.D. Power Website

Digging a little deeper into the numbers, the standard deviation of those scores, a measure of how variable those scores have been over that time period, reveals that BMO InvestorLine is actually one of the most consistent firms in terms of investor satisfaction scores with a standard deviation of 13 points. TD Direct Investing, who was ranked second last in 2018, was also tied with BMO InvestorLine in terms of volatility of investor satisfaction scores over that same timeframe. The firm with the highest variation in satisfaction scores over the same period was Qtrade Investor (28 points) because of their strong uptick in 2017 followed by Desjardins Online Brokerage (24 points).

As such, even though BMO InvestorLine’s investor satisfaction scores decreased compared to last year, they were, on a relative basis, higher than their peers in 2018. Finishing behind BMO InvestorLine this year were CIBC Investor’s Edge and Desjardins Online Brokerage. And, at the other end of the list, Scotia iTRADE finished last in terms of investor satisfaction with a score of 717.

Another interesting trend with regards to the performance of online brokerages in terms of investor satisfaction is that the range between the highest and lowest scores continues to narrow. In 2013 and 2014, for example, the range between the top and bottom scores was 64 points however in 2018 that range has compressed to just 22 points.

As was referenced in the roundup a couple of weeks ago for the Kiplinger rankings of US online brokerages, for Canadian online brokerages it appears that on the whole, the differences between online brokerages is diminishing – in this case when it comes to investors being satisfied with the full set of attributes measured.

For Canada’s online brokerages, the message is pretty clear: there needs to be strong differentiators in place to prevent them from becoming viewed as a ‘commoditized’ service. In other words, there needs to be greater emphasis on what makes being a client of one online brokerage feel more ‘special’ (read: valuable) than another.

To BMO InvestorLine’s credit, their consistency has paid off. With relatively strong investor satisfaction scores in the past, in a year when the competition stumbled, and investor satisfaction waned, their current mix of services still holds currency with their clients. At least for 2018, slow and steady has won the race.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

From the Forums

Function Over Form

With so many online brokerages out there these days, it can be tricky to keep up with who offers which feature and who doesn’t. In the end, getting a user from A to B reliably appears to be the driving force. This forum thread from reddit’s Personal Finance Canada section highlighted the mobile experiences between CIBC Investor’s Edge and TD Direct Investing. See what interesting feedback others had to offer.

A Head Start

From robo-advisors, to couch potatoes to plain old mutual funds, choices for ‘passive’ investing are easier than ever, which, ironically might make choosing more challenging. One young investor looking to grow their TFSA asked about these options in this post in reddit’s Personal Finance Canada forum. The questions were met with a wealth of knowledge and advice on navigating student loan repayments, interest fees as well as useful information on robo-advisors and ETF fees. Worth a read.

Into the Close

That’s a wrap on another wild week inside and outside of the markets. Optimistically, there’s lots to look forward to heading into the weekend, including news that there will be the first ever Space tourist and, of course, that NFL football is back. Wherever your adventures boldly take you, we hope you have a great weekend.

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – September 7, 2018

Even though it was technically a short week, it most certainly didn’t feel that way for anyone watching or reporting the news. While none of the online brokerages have pulled many of the stunts on Twitter that this past week has provided, they are doing their fair share of generating headlines, buzz and making a splash online.

In this edition of the roundup, we ring in September with an overview of some very interesting deals and promotions activity from Canadian discount brokerages as well as a look at new areas where brokerages are battling for DIY investors. From there we’ll take a deep dive into a major overhaul of a popular online brokerage’s website, including some interesting design and content strategy choices. As always, we’ll take a tour of what DIY investors and online brokers were up to on Twitter and close out with chatter from the investor forums.

Deals and Promotions Heat Up September

After a quiet start last month, deals and promotions activity at Canada’s discount brokerages has picked up considerably as we enter September. While this month usually signals a return to the markets and heightened trading activity, this year there’s something different brewing, and it’s not a pumpkin spice latté.

Instead, through the month of August and coming out of the gate in September, there’s been a noticeable uptick in discount brokerage deals activity. We’ve seen a new battle ground emerge in the area of referral promotions (more on that in a moment) as well as an online brokerage which typically sits on the sidelines jump back into the deals pool. In addition, there have been references to additional offers which may be coming this month. For DIY investors, it seems to suggest interesting opportunities might be available when shopping around for an online brokerage account.

This heightened level of promotions activity points to what will likely be a fierce contest for DIY investor assets over the coming months. Historically, deals and promotions activity tends to ramp up through October and November in anticipation of “RSP season” – a point in the calendar year in which many DIY investors turn intention into action by opening new accounts. The fact that such drastic moves are being made by online brokerages so early suggests competitive forces at play.

One of the biggest stories in the discount brokerage deals and promotions space this September is BMO InvestorLine’s reduction in the threshold to qualify for their refer-a-friend promo. Specifically, InvestorLine has lowered the threshold to qualify for the referral promotion from $50,000 down to $5,000 while still retaining the $50 cash back for both referrer and referee. This move makes their offer now more accessible than Scotia iTRADE, the only other bank-owned online brokerage to offer a referral promotion.

While it is not clear exactly why BMO InvestorLine chose this point in time to lower their qualifying threshold so substantially, the combination of Wealthsimple Trade launching for Canadian DIY investors and the entry of Qtrade Investor into the referral promotion sandbox are both very recent developments that would, understandably, prompt BMO InvestorLine to shift tactics to account for these competitive forces. Of course, frequent observers of the deals and promotions space would also have noticed that BMO InvestorLine also chose to extend their cash back offer through to the end of September, a sign that perhaps something a bit bigger and bolder is on the drawing board for the fall season.

In terms of strategy, referral promotions for discount brokerages are an interesting battleground.

On the surface, that more online brokerages don’t have them in place is a head scratcher. After all, one of the most influential and least expensive sources of new clients are the family and friends of existing, delighted clients. That said, getting a referral program off the ground and functioning properly, is easier said than done. Competing demands for limited technology resources means that even if the technology exists to manage this initiative, it still requires oversight, management and maintenance – something that invariably requires resources. So, one natural limitation to other online brokerages simply rolling out a referral program is that ‘buy in’ has to be there and business case made, which is why Qtrade Investor jumping into the referral promotion segment is such a big deal and why BMO InvestorLine’s latest move creates even more of a challenge to other brokerages to either match this promotion or leave BMO InvestorLine unchallenged.

With two big announcements in the referral promotions category within a month, however, this appears to be fertile ground for competition. These actions will not go unnoticed by other brokerages and will likely be a catalyst for those discount brokerages on the fence about deploying a referral program of their own to find an effective counter offer.

It is also worth mentioning that time is of the essence for Canadian discount brokerages looking to launch any kind of splashy promotion. Wealthsimple Trade is still not yet widely available which means that nimble online brokerages have a window with which to retain existing and/or attract new customers via some kind of big promotion.

After Wealthsimple Trade does step onto the field, however, it will be interesting to see whether they tackle referral bonuses or promotions altogether. While we’ll just have to wait and see, there’s already evidence they’re willing to leverage referrals.

As one of Canada’s leading fintech firms, Wealthsimple (parent to Wealthsimple Trade) is using a clever strategy of referrals to boost awareness of and interest in Wealthsimple Trade via it’s “waiting list” structure. Anyone wanting early access to their new platform can jump ahead in the line by simply referring more people to sign up. Not only is Wealthsimple Trade (and the parent brand) already active with affiliate programming but they are showing they’re already leveraging it in creative ways.

In the battle for Canadian DIY investors’ attention and share of wallet, the lineup of fall deals is sure to bring a few more twists and turns and some very interesting marketing campaigns. The bottom line for DIY investors, though, is that online trading is about to get much cheaper, more accessible and much more interesting to shop for an account.

Questrade’s New Website is Seriously Chill

This past week, Questrade unveiled a new and improved version of their website. While new website refreshes don’t typically make the kind of splashy headline they once did, the launch is nonetheless an important milestone for the company and reflects a sensitivity to their target demographic as well as a clear shift in the notion of what “investors” look like.

Overall the new website looks and feels more contemporary and built for an Instagram generation. The imagery is more prominent and features a very millennial trope of people ‘living their best lives’ which stands in stark contrast to the extreme emotion that characterized previous versions of the website or the “tough questions” campaign that featured bold text statements.

While there is no avocado toast, there is a notable colour palette of green and white that would make for an insta-worthy post. Ironically, Instagram isn’t really part of the Questrade Wealth Management brand directly (it is part of their careers section though) which is in stark contrast to Wealthsimple which has embraced that channel as part of their social media ecosystem to connect with investors.

To Questrade’s credit, and perhaps picking up on themes from the release of other online investing websites launched not too long ago (such as Credential Direct and Qtrade Investor) Questrade chose to have visually appealing imagery, minimal text and much more room for visitors to focus on something interesting visually as well as important key message. While it is not ‘outstanding’ the important point is that it doesn’t stand out for the wrong reasons.

Another very interesting feature of the imagery choices on the new website is that many of the individuals in the photos skew young. There are almost no images of “seniors” nor of traditional corporate settings but rather young people or young families “living” life. It’s generally difficult to create an emotional experience (especially a positive one) with regards to financial services and it is especially difficult to do so while looking original and authentic. We’ve all seen far too many stock photos of what “finance” looks like, so kudos to the people choosing images for Questrade’s new website.

It is also worth mentioning that “who” an investor looks like has also been given careful consideration. Questrade has made sure to include a more balanced view of women as investors, a welcome evolution from finance/investing websites that, for many years, defined investing in a visual sense, as ‘men only’. Again, Questrade is not unique in this regard and even on their new site there is some room to improve, but they are trending in the right direction when it comes to inclusivity and broadening the definition of what an investor could or should look like.

While website changes are increasingly now the norm, Questrade’s recent website overhaul is a significant visual and design departure from their previous websites, a likely reflection of their own evolution as a wealth management firm and not just an online brokerage.

The changes to the new website haven’t just been visual, however. Structurally, the new website also includes testimonials from (presumably) Questrade clients who’ve said nice things about the brand which also takes its cues from other online brokerages doing something similar.

A curious feature of the new website is that the big ‘content’ sections of the previous website have been moved or removed entirely.

For example, the Questrade community is no longer available (at least on the public facing site) which means that previous content such as newsletters and forum posts are not visible. Also no longer accessible is the Questrade blog as the message below indicated when clicking on a Google link for it. Instead of these sections, users are directed to the ‘resources & support’ section of the new website.

It appears Questrade has moved their educational content into a “support” section and while there are articles about investing topics, navigating this content requires users to click on ‘related’ articles or use the search field rather than being able to access the topics in a more categorical format. For users who browse by topic or who don’t know what they don’t know (and thus don’t know what to search), this structure actually makes it more challenging to consume information and ‘learn’ about investing.

Speaking of content, it also looks like Questrade has started to push out content on social media channels related to investing. Recent posts on Questrade’s Facebook and Twitter feature an informative graphic containing an investment term, something that other online brokerages have also successfully used as part of their social media content mix (such as Interactive Brokers, and once upon a time, Scotia iTRADE).

Admittedly, this was supposed to be a much shorter piece on Questrade’s new website. Responsive websites that render well across multiple screens are now the standard rather than an exception; clean minimalist design that uses generous whitespace and bold imagery is a design choice clearly aimed at reaching and resonating with younger, more visually-inclined users. These are no longer big, innovative leaps.

That said, the fact that many of the changes to the online brokerage space (zero-commission trading notwithstanding) we have observed are evolutionary rather than revolutionary, speaks to a new trend of sorts: zeroing in on the details. In much the same way that the highly competitive world of Formula One racing separates success from failure by minutia of design, so too will changes to the digital experience of online brokerages – including their websites. Going forward, the details will matter more than they have before.

Even with the ingredients of what goes into a contemporary website well telegraphed, how well those elements come together ultimately determines the end user’s experience and Questrade’s new website is the product of a lot of thought and design savvy.

While there are some very intriguing changes around the removal of a blog, forums section and other content items, the ultimate result of Questrade’s redesigned website is that it reflects their ability to be contemporary from a design point of view. This new website has helped to visually reshape the narrative of Questrade from just a ‘direct investing’ firm towards being a holistic wealth management firm that is along for the ride as their clients ‘lead their best life.’

BMO InvestorLine Turns 30

While the parent to BMO InvestorLine is clipping along at a healthy 200 years old, BMO InvestorLine itself is still a spry 30 year-old. We spotted this great image on Twitter that was a great throwback to when ‘mobile trading’ made its debut at InvestorLine. Congratulations to BMO InvestorLine on hitting this milestone. As with any great milestone birthday, there will hopefully be lots of reasons to celebrate (especially for DIY investors)!

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

From the Forums

No Room with Some Views

TFSAs can be tricky business, especially so when you overcontribute. A user in this reddit thread ran into some issues with overcontributing to their TFSA while also experiencing a large loss. Read what options others offered in the shape of damage control including factoring in fees and transfer of funds.

Slow Your Roll

Of the many reasons why Wealthsimple Trade could siphon away business from online brokerages, this reddit post provides a compelling view of consumer sentiment on the new service (especially since it hasn’t even launched yet). In this post, one user thinks that taking the DIY route required going to a popular online brokerage however other readers were quick to weigh in on other options, including staying put with Wealthsimple.

Into the Close

That’s a wrap on another week. Just because it’s Friday, doesn’t necessarily equate to relaxation ahead. Political firestorms seem to be ever present – including in the launch to the new NFL football season. If you haven’t already seen it or heard of it, Nike and Colin Kaepernick are making all kinds of waves. There was a very interesting stat shared by Robinhood (the online brokerage) about the impact of Nike’s move – as well as on their stock. In case you haven’t seen the video, it’s worth a watch below. And, on that note, whatever you find yourself dreaming about this weekend, hopefully it’s bold and exciting!

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Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – September 2018

*Updated Sept. 24.* September is officially here. And, along with pumpkin spice everything, the Canadian discount brokerage deals and promotions section is also going to get bold, rich and flavourful. Ok, maybe not that last one, but nonetheless this month is going to shape up to be a very busy one as far as promotions go.

The good news is that we know from a number of different sources, that promotions are on their way this month. The not-so-good news is that we’re not sure exactly when. But sit tight, because as in the stock market where higher prices beget higher prices; when it comes to promotions – more deals lead to more deals.

Kicking off the month, there is nothing crossing the wires as of September 1st. In fact, technically speaking, the expiry of Scotia iTRADE’s promotion (and accompanying transfer offer) at the end of August puts the deals count down by two heading into the new month. Not to worry though. Since it is a long weekend and there is a promotion timed to expire on September 3rd from BMO InvestorLine, there’s a good chance that the return to work and school will bring with it at least one new offering announcement.

Throughout last month, however, there were two very noteworthy deals and promotions developments that are worth highlighting here.

First, Qtrade Investor launched a refer-a-friend promotional offer. This was big news as this program now enables Qtrade to take advantage of their stellar service reputation (which is very helpful when it comes to referral programs) and it positions them to compete directly against the very small group of online brokerages who also have referral bonuses.

The second important deals development last month came from HSBC InvestDirect, which launched a commission-free trading promotion that lasts until the end of September. Of course, no sooner did the HSBC InvestDirect deal make it to their public facing website than Wealthsimple Trade rattle the Canadian discount brokerage space by offering up commission-free trading – period.

In fact, the latest move by Wealthsimple Trade means that a once popular category of “commission-free” trade deals could itself see some important changes.

It’s too soon to tell however Wealthsimple Trade could result in commission-free trade offers evaporating altogether or if some hybrid/better solution comes along. After all, the optics of 30 trades which are good for only 60 days doesn’t quite have the same ring to it as free trades, forever.

What may be a more likely development is that the value or flexibility of commission-free trades might expand or, hopefully, we’ll start to see online brokerages compete more often with cash-back offerings in which case, larger online brokerages have a golden opportunity to outspend their competitors.

The bottom line, September is going to be very interesting for deal-seeking DIY investors, and if the markets continue their push upwards, a rewarding time to be an online brokerage too. That certainly puts a little extra spice on already bold selection of offers.

As always, if there are offers that we haven’t spotted that would be good for other DIY Investors to know about, let us know in the comments section below.

Expired Deals

Scotia iTRADE’s cash back offer for existing clients expired at the end of August. This promotion offered a prepaid Visa card ranging in value from $100 to $1,500 for deposits between $25,000 and $1M+.

Extended Deals

*Update Sept. 5 – BMO InvestorLine has extended the deadline for their current cash back offer to September 30th.*

There are no extensions to report at this time.

New Deals

*Update Sept. 24 – The first new deals of the official fall season have arrived. CIBC Investor’s Edge has launched a cash-back offer exclusively for SparxTrading.com readers. This promotional offer, which runs until March of 2019, consists of a $100, $200 or $400 cash back for opening a new CIBC Investor’s Edge account. Both new clients and existing clients may be eligible for this offer. See table below for more information*

*Update Sept. 5 – This is an exciting development, BMO InvestorLine has lowered the minimum deposit requirement substantially to qualify for their referral offer. The new minimum deposit requirement is $5,000 (reduced from $50,000), which makes it much easier to qualify for a referral bonus. See table below for more information.*

There are no new deals to report at the start of the month. As mentioned above, both Qtrade Investor and HSBC InvestDirect joined the deals roster through the middle of August. Stay tuned, though, as there are several offers in the works scheduled to arrive this September.

Discount Brokerage Deals

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

Cash Back/Free Trade/Product Offer Promotions

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Commission/Cash Offer/Promotion Type Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer Details Link Deadline
Jitney Trade A Sparx Trading exclusive offer! Use the promo code “Sparx Trading” when signing up for a new account with Jitneytrade and receive access to their preferred pricing package. n/a Discounted Commission Rates none For more details click here none
Open and fund a new account at HSBC InvestDirect and you may be eligible to receive up to 30 commission-free equity trades (North American equities only). See terms and conditions for full details. n/a 30 commission-free trades 60 days Click to access HSBC InvestDirect Summer Promotion September 28, 2018
Open and fund a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) with at least $1,000 and you may be eligible to receive $88 in commission credits (up to 17 commission-free trades). Use promo code SPARX88 when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions carefully. $1,000 $88 commission credit 60 days Access this offer by clicking here: $88 commission-credit offer . For full terms and conditions, click here. none
Open and fund a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) with at least $1,000 and you may be eligible to receive 5 commission-free trades. Use promo code 5FREETRADES when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions carefully. $1,000 5 commission-free trades 60 days 5 commission-free trade offer December 31, 2018
Disnat Desjardins Online Brokerage is offering new clients 1% of assets transferred into the new account in the form of commission credits (to a maximum value of $1,000). Minimum qualifying deposit is $10,000. To qualify, individuals will have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code DisnatTransfer or email: [email protected]. See details link for more info. $10,000 1% of assets transferred in the form of commission-credits (max credits: $1,000) 6 months Disnat 1% Commission Credit Promo October 31, 2018
Open and fund a new qualifying account with CIBC Investor’s Edge with a deposit of at least A) $25,000; B) $50,000 or C) $100,00+ and you may be eligible to receive a cash back bonus of A) $100; B) $200 or C) $400. This offer is open to both new and existing clients. Use offer code SPARX18 when opening the account to obtain this offer. Be sure to read full terms and conditions for complete details. A) $25,000 B) $50,000 C) $100,000 A) $100 B) $200 C) $400 Cash back will be deposited on the week of March 24, 2019 for transfers received by December 31, 2018; transfers received after December 31, 2018 but before May 1, 2019 will receive cash back on the week of July 1, 2019. CIBC Investor’s Edge Cash Back Promo March 24, 2019
Open and fund a new qualifying account with at least $25,000 and you may qualify for one month of unlimited commission-free trades and up to one month free of an advanced data package. Use promo code ADVANTAGE14 when opening a new account. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. $25,000 commission-free trades for 1 month + 1 month of advanced data. 1 month Active Trader Program December 31, 2018
BMO InvestorLine Open a new account or fund an existing account at BMO InvestorLine with new assets worth at least A) $50,000; B) $100,000; C) $300,000 or D) $500,000+ and you may be eligible to receive a cash back reward of up to A) $75; B) $200; C) $500 or D) $1000. Use promo code SPARXCASH when registering to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions. A) $50,000 B) $100,000 C) $300,000 D) $500,000+ A) $75 B) $200 C) $500 D) $1000 Cash back will be deposited the week of April 15, 2019. BMO InvestorLine Summer 2018 Campaign September 30, 2018

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Sep. 24, 2018 22:00 PT

Referral Promotions

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Incentive Structure Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer Deposit Details Link Deadline
Refer a friend to Questrade and when they open an account you receive $25 cash back and they receive either A) $25; B) $50; C) $75; D) $100; or E) $250 depending on the amount deposited amount. Enter code: 476104302388759 during account sign up to qualify. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for eligibility and additional bonus payment structure and minimum balance requirements. A) $1,000 B) $10,000 C) $25,000 D) $50,000 E) $100,000+ $25 cash back (for referrer per referral; $50 bonus cash back for every 3rd referral) For referred individuals: A) $25 cash back B) $50 cash back C) $75 cash back D) $100 cash back E) $250 cash back Cash deposited into Questrade billing account within 7 days after funding period ends (90 days) Refer a friend terms and conditions Code Number: 476104302388759 none
If you (an existing Qtrade Investor client) refer a new client to Qtrade Investor and they open an account with at least $1,000 the referrer and the referee may both be eligible to receive $25 cash. See terms and conditions for full details. $1,000 $25 cash back (for both referrer and referee) Cash deposited at the end of the month in which referee’s account funded Refer A Friend to Qtrade Investor none
Scotia iTrade If you refer a friend/family member who is not already a Scotia iTRADE account holder to them, both you and your friend get a bonus of either cash or free trades. You have to use the referral form to pass along your info as well as your friend/family members’ contact info in order to qualify. There are lots of details/conditions to this deal so be sure to read the details link. A) $10,000 B) $50,000+ A) You(referrer): $50 or 10 free trades; Your “Friend”: $50 or 10 free trades (max total value:$99.90) B) You(referrer): $100 cash or 50 free trades; Your “Friend”: $100 cash or 50 free trades (max total value: $499.50) 60 days Refer A Friend to Scotia iTrade tbd
BMO InvestorLine If you (an existing BMO InvestorLine client) refer a new client to BMO InvestorLine and they open an account with at least $5,000 the referrer and the referee may both be eligible to receive $50 cash. To qualify the referee must use the email of the referrer that is linked to their BMO InvestorLine account. See terms and conditions for full details. $5,000 You(referrer): $50; Your Friend(referee): $50 Payout occurs 45 days after minimum 90 day holding period (subject to conditions). BMO InvestorLine Refer-a-Friend January 2, 2019

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Sep. 5, 2018 09:30 PT

Transfer Fee Promotions

Company Brief Description Maximum Transfer Fee Coverage Amount Minimum Deposit Amount for Transfer Fee Eligibility Details Link Deadline
Transfer $15,000 or more to Qtrade Investor from another brokerage and Qtrade Investor may cover up to $150 in transfer fees. See terms and conditions for more details. $150 $15,000 Transfer Fee Rebate none
Transfer $15,000 or more to RBC Direct Investing and they will pay up to $135 in transfer fees. $135 $15,000 Transfer Fee Rebate Details none
Transfer $20,000 or more to a National Bank Direct Brokerage account and they will pay up to $135 plus taxes in transfer fees. $135 $20,000 Transfer Fee Rebate none
Move your brokerage account to Questrade and they’ll cover the transfer-out fee up to $150. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee Promo none
Transfer at least $25,000 or more in new assets to TD Direct Investing when opening a new account and you may qualify to have transfer fees reimbursed up to $150. Be sure to contact TD Direct Investing for further details. $150 $25,000 Contact client service for more information (1-800-465-5463). none
Transfer $25,000 or more into a CIBC Investor’s Edge account and they will reimburse up to $135 in brokerage transfer fees. Clients must call customer service to request rebate after transfer made. $135 $25,000 Confirmed with reps. Contact client service for more information (1-800-567-3343). none
Disnat Disnat is offering up to $150 to cover the cost of transfer fees from another institution. To be eligible, new/existing clients need to deposit $50,000 into a Disnat account. You’ll have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code DisnatTransfer. See details link for more info. $150 $50,000 Disnat 1% Commission Credit Promo October 31, 2018
BMO InvestorLine Open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine or fund a qualifying existing account, by transferring in at least $200,000+ in net new assets and you may be eligible to have transfer fees covered up to $200. Use promo code SPARXCASH when signing up. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. $200 $200,000 BMO InvestorLine Summer 2018 Campaign September 3, 2018

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Sep. 21, 2018 1:15 PT

Other Promotions

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

Expired Offers
Last Updated: Sep. 1, 2018 12:15 PT

Digital Advice + Roboadvisor Promotions

Robo-advisor / Digital advisor Offer Type Offer Description Min. Deposit Reward / Promotion Promo Code Expiry Date Link
Discounted Management Open and fund a new Questrade Portfolio IQ account with a deposit of at least $1,000 and the first month of management will be free. For more information on Portfolio IQ, click the product link. $1,000 1st month no management fees KDKFNBBC None Questrade Portfolio IQ Promo Offer
Cash Back Open and fund a new or existing SmartFolio account with at least $1,000 and you could receive 0.5% cash back up to $1000. Use promo code PROMO1000 when opening a new account. See terms and conditions for full details. This offer can be combined with the refer-a-friend promotion. $1,000 0.5% cash back to a maximum of $1000. PROMO1000 September 30, 2018 SmartFolio Cash Back Promo
Discounted Management Open a new account with BMO SmartFolio and receive one year of management of up to $15,000 free. See offer terms and conditions for more details. $1,000 1 year no management fees STSF April 30, 2019 SmartFolio New Account Promotion
Cash Back – Referral BMO SmartFolio clients will receive $50 cash back for every friend or family member who opens and funds a new SmartFolio account. Friends and family referred to SmartFolio will receive $50 cash back for opening and funding an account, plus automatic enrollment into SmartFolio’s mass offer in market at the time. See offer terms and conditions for more details. $1,000 $50 cash back (referrer) $50 cash back (referee) Unique link generated from SmartFolio required. None SmartFolio Website
Transfer Fee Coverage Transfer at least $25,000 into Virtual Wealth when opening a new account and you may be eligible to have up to $150 in transfer fees covered by Virtual Wealth. $25,000 up to $150 in transfer fees covered None None Contact customer service directly for more information.
Last Updated: Sep. 11, 2018 09:05 PT
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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – August 31, 2018

If there’s one thing that markets are built for, it’s speculation. Whether or not NAFTA negotiations turn in Canada’s favour or against, the reality is that nobody on either side of the negotiating table is standing still and neither are their respective markets. As the gatekeepers to being able to invest in all of the speculative fervor, online brokerages on either side of the border are showing that they too need to keep moving, and fast, to keep up with the pace of change.

Oftentimes it’s a bigger development that makes the cut for the weekly roundup, however this week there is something interesting afoot, specifically lots of little things. The big story this week seems to be that there are lots of little stories – incremental movements – that appear to indicate online brokerages are positioning for a very busy and eventful final stretch to 2018. There’s quite a bit to unpack, so let’s dive in.

Getting in Some Downtime

One of the biggest stories we’ve been tracking in 2018 is the merger between rivals Qtrade Investor and Credential Direct. While there have been a few signals across the year that this change was coming, there has been a firm deadline telegraphed as to when that official cutover date will be. Specifically, a bulletin posted on the Canadian Securities Exchange website on August 29th indicates that Qtrade Securities Inc. will cease its status as a dealer effective September 7th and a new entity, Credential Qtrade Securities Inc. will commence under the broker code, wait for it, 088.

Of course, another interesting sign that things are publicly moving forward is that both the Qtrade Investor website and the Credential Direct website displayed messages that their sites are unavailable over the Labour Day long weekend. So, while lots of folks might be out enjoying the festivities of a long weekend, there’s no doubt that technical teams and executives at the new parent firm Aviso Wealth will be having a long weekend of sorts ensuring that the transition of systems goes smoothly.

A Close Call

Determining which online brokerage is best is incredibly challenging at the best of times, however with ultra-competitive pricing, loads of features and ever-improving user experience, the differences between discount brokerages aren’t nearly so clear anymore. This past week, US online brokerages were put under the microscope by Kiplinger, which released their latest US online brokerage rankings for 2018.

While TD Ameritrade came out on top, the rankings indicate just how close the top four US online brokerages were to each other, a point which seems to validate the observation about how competitive firms have become. What was very interesting to note, however, is that the bulk of what contributed to the top firms’ scores was not commission pricing. In fact, of all of the categories investigated, commissions and fees was the weakest category among TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwab, Fidelity and E*Trade. Perhaps that bodes well for online brokerages in the looming fee battle.

It was also interesting to note how small the field of online brokerages ranked was relative to the possible options out there. The notable absences of Robinhood or Interactive Brokers could have been interesting to stack up against other brokers especially in the user experience (UX) and pricing categories respectively. It might have also highlighted the fact that while pricing and even UX are big draws for firms like Robinhood, features like tools or advisory service are places where well-established online brokers have a leg up.

Finally, another interesting tidbit from this article was the mention that lesser-well-known US online brokerage Firsttrade has also dropped their commission fees for trading ETFs and stocks down to zero, a move that comes on the heels of JP Morgan’s announcement last week.

Commission-free is the Place to Be

As a segue from the move by Firsttrade mentioned above, there is clearly a shift taking place in the online brokerage industry as a result of a massive announcement by JP Morgan launching zero commission trading via their You Invest platform.

A recent article in Investment Executive which featured comments made by credit rating agency Moody’s, reiterated what many observers of the online brokerage industry also believe, that the impact of reducing commissions is going to have a material impact on the revenues of some online brokers more than others. Also, not everyone is sold on the value of commission-free trading for DIY investors either as this piece from CNBC highlights.

Taking the example of what may transpire in the US, it is not that hard to envision similar concerns for Canadian online brokerages who will be put to the test to see how much lower their commissions and cost structure can go before they tap out of the DIY investing space altogether.

On a side note, Robinhood online brokerage announced this week that they will be offering commission-free trading access to 250 global stocks via trading in American Depository Receipts (ADRs). Select firms such as Nintendo, Adidas, BMW and even Canadian firms will now be available.

 

We will continue to keep a close eye on what’s unfolding in the commission-free trading space. Until this approach to online investing becomes the norm, there’s a good chance it’s going to occupy the spotlight and entice investors to kick the tires on trading commission-free. For a quick catchup, since we reported on the Wealthsimple Trade announcement, we’ve seen the number of folks in the waiting list climb to almost 60 thousand, which for many Canadian online brokerages, represents a lot of existing clients interested in trying out the competition. Stay tuned.

Options trading updates and pricing at CIBC Investor’s Edge

Options trading recently got a little easier at CIBC Investor’s Edge. Clients of Investor’s Edge can now trade options via CIBC’s Mobile Wealth app, with the functionality of options trading available on the full site.

Pricing for options trading continues to remain the same at $6.95 + $1.25 per option contract at the standard price while active traders (>150 trades per quarter) can expect to pay $4.95 + $1.25 per option contract. Interestingly, we noted that the Globe and Mail’s Rob Carrick reported that there may be a lower standard commission pricing of $5.95 per trade coming this fall as part of a promotional offer.

Taken together, the latest moves by CIBC Investor’s Edge are, like many other brokerages, signaling that accessibility to trading platforms and better pricing might offset the costs of staying competitive by enabling trades to be researched and executed more conveniently.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

From the Forums

The Great Debate

Bank owned brokerage or non-bank-owned brokerage – when it comes to DIY investing and putting your hard-earned investment dollars to work somewhere, the question of where still generates heated discussion. In this thread from Canadian Money Forum, the debate over whether to transition out of Questrade and where to go generated a lot of interesting perspective.

Returns to Sender

Leaving money on the table is a perennial curiousity for many investors. One new investor in this reddit thread wondered whether their investment gains could have been better off/could be better off with a lower fee provider. There’s some interesting math as well as a few noteworthy mentions of providers who cater to less active investors.

Into the Close

There were a lot of investors closing out the week on a high note (thanks to the spike in activity for cannabis stocks). Now that the long weekend has officially arrived, hopefully there’s a chance to kick back and enjoy the last few days of summer. Whether you’re out picking summer fruits, fantasy football picks or moving over servers and websites for DIY investors, have a safe and enjoyable long weekend!

 

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – August 10, 2018

For many Canadians, it was a short week, however for many investors in Tesla, it was a tough week to be short. Even though social media has been less likely to move markets, this past week showed that what gets said in the space of a tweet can still make a difference. Fittingly, this also happened to be the case for a couple of online brokerages making waves on social media.

In this week’s roundup, we take a look at one Canadian online brokerage who, amidst the trade tariffs, found a way to lower the barrier to trading with the US. Next, we peek across the border at another online brokerage who is showing that lowering fees increases the attention that investors are willing to pay. As always, we’ll serve up a healthy dose of investor chatter from the DIY investor forums and tweets from this week.

Scotia iTRADE Quietly Rolls Out USD Registered Accounts

Even though there might be trade tariffs, when it comes to trading stocks, the barriers for DIY investors at Scotia iTRADE just got lower.

Earlier this week, Canadian discount brokerage Scotia iTRADE quietly rolled out USD enabled registered accounts for RRSPs, TFSAs, RRIFs, LIRAs and LRSPs. And, even though Scotia iTRADE hasn’t yet made any official announcement on social media about it, clients nonetheless took to Twitter to weigh in on the new feature.

Interestingly, on the Scotia iTRADE website, there was (at the time of writing) an information page about the new feature however the pricing page/table still showed the US Friendly RRSP pricing, so it is unclear if this program will continue to exist alongside the new USD accounts or if it is going to be phased out for RRSPs.

On balance, this was a good move by Scotia iTRADE and now leaves HSBC InvestDirect as the only major Canadian online brokerage that does not offer the USD registered accounts.

The relative quiet nature of the new feature roll out is surely not going to last too long.

Whether the new account type is part of a bigger strategy (perhaps a new online promotion or deal) remains to be seen but for those who like to place bets, the odds that Scotia iTRADE will stay mum about the feature are slim to none.

What does this mean for other Canadian online brokerages?

For the moment, it’s difficult to gauge whether Scotia iTRADE will take this opportunity to update its pricing on its registered accounts, however assuming they do not, other online brokerages – including bank-owned online brokerages – can counter Scotia iTRADE’s new launch with a less expensive cross-border experience. The administration fees and activity level threshold for deposits under $25,000 make Scotia iTRADE a tough choice for price sensitive DIY investors.

For Scotia iTRADE, the challenge will be to demonstrate the value of their offering to DIY investors. Standard commission pricing concerns aside, the competition has been moving aggressively in the areas of content development, new features and pricing drops on ETFs, so while the move to deploy USD registered accounts is welcome, it is by no means industry-leading.

As ‘innovation’ becomes the new benchmark by which online brokerages are going to be judged (especially when being considered alongside ‘fintech’ companies such as robo-advisors), the strategy of playing catchup is, ironically, not going to be enough to keep up.

Qtrade Investor Launches Refer-a-Friend

So much for the summer being quiet on the deals & promotions front. In what is an interesting sign of their digital coming of age, Qtrade Investor, one of Canada’s most popular online brokerages, rolled out a new refer-a-friend program that offers up $25 to both the referrer and referee.

There are a number of reasons why this such a modest cash back offer is such a big deal, however we’ll focus on two main reasons why this matters.

The first is that this new promotion enables them to monetize further their noteworthy client satisfaction. Qtrade Investor’s strength in client service can hopefully now bear fruit in terms of bringing in referral business. Unlike many other online brokerages in Canada, Qtrade Investor can lay claim to topping the Globe and Mail’s online brokerage ranking and so there’s definitely a stronger incentive for people to give Qtrade Investor a shot. The fact that a minimum deposit of $1,000 is required to benefit from this offer is also going to make it hard to ignore – especially with younger investors.

A second reason this kind of promotion coming to market matters is because it pits Qtrade Investor against a smaller pool of competitors, such as Questrade, BMO InvestorLine and Scotia iTRADE who also have referral offers. The combination of launching a deal in a category that has relatively few competitors, putting out a deal that investors are likely to tune into and controlling what they spend on acquiring a new client means that Qtrade Investor hits the trifecta of getting attention and new businesses at a competitive price.

Of course, the big upshot for DIY investors is that if a brokerage like Qtrade Investor is prepared to step into the refer-a-friend market, it’s going to challenge other Canadian discount to figure out how to respond.

Can’t Fight that Fee-ling Anymore

What a difference an ‘r’ makes – and yes, we know pirates would agree on that point. Nonetheless, when fee turns into ‘free’ one thing is for certain, people pay attention. As a counterpoint to the story above about Scotia iTRADE, a US-based online brokerage that we don’t talk too much about – Fidelity – crossed our radar by announcing a drop in account fees for brokerage accounts to zero (alongside a much more widely publicized drop of administration fees of mutual funds to zero).

Regular readers of the Weekly Roundup will note that Robinhood is typically the online brokerage that has become synonymous with free trading accounts. This latest move by Fidelity to drop the associated administrative fees, however, is definitely a shot across the bow at both the big players – such as Schwab or Ameritrade – who have administrative fees for managing an account and the small ones too, like Robinhood – who don’t have the scale or brand recognition Fidelity carries.

As with all big developments in the US online brokerage space, the natural question for Canadian DIY investors or observers of the space here in Canada is ‘could it happen here?’ and in this particular instance it is a very fascinating question.

What might happen if an online brokerage dropped the maintenance and administration fees of an account to zero with NO minimum balance requirements?

First, it would probably get the attention of the deal-seeking crowd and the math suggests that low(er) balance investors who want to park their assets somewhere and don’t want to get dinged on fees would find a very compelling online brokerage. In other words, there is a good chance that any online brokerage in Canada who chose to lower the administrative fees on an account down to zero would get the attention of a very vocal group of DIY investors.

Second, if this was a move done by a bank-owned brokerage, for example, it would almost certainly accelerate a reduction in the number of online brokerages in Canada, likely one of the smaller or less popular online brokerages. This would be especially true if other large online brokerages followed suit.

The fact that there is an online brokerage in the US offering commission free trading, and now one offering drastically reduced account fees and lower barriers to entry, means that DIY investors are starting to see that a ‘better’ world exists when it comes to DIY investing.

So, even if we don’t have the drastically low pricing that US online investors can enjoy, the existence of these accounts forces Canadian online brokerages to work that much harder to explain where the money is going to for online brokerage commissions and service fees.

What online brokerages in Canada need to figure out is how much they are prepared to spend in marketing dollars to convince their clients it’s a good idea to keep their fees and pricing high.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

From the Forums

Taxing Decision for a Day Trader

With so many “tax free” accounts here in Canada, the prospect of day trading is appealing to many who either don’t fully appreciate the true business-like nature of day trading or who haven’t yet read the fine print on account types. Either way, this post from reddit’s personal finance Canada section from one DIY investor contemplating day trading via TD Direct Investing likely has a bit more homework to do, especially considering some of the answers that ensued.

Make or Break

For many online investors, ETFs and the move to managing money other than in a mutual fund continues to grow in popularity. For one investor in this reddit post, the question on whether hanging around in a mutual fund or jumping ship came down to what the receiving institution would be willing to pony up – an indication that, along with the numbers, sometimes the deals matter.

Into the Close

On top of the weather, it looks like markets are once again heating up. The best advice it seems is to ‘stay cool’ so however you choose to do so for the weekend, here’s hoping that you enjoy the weather and the time off in style. Have a great weekend!

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – August 3, 2018

It was a big week for big apples. For the iconic technology firm, there were 1 trillion reasons to celebrate. For the New York Mets, there were probably 1 trillion reasons to explain what went so terribly wrong. Nonetheless, when it comes to comparing apples to apples, we’ve picked a few discount brokerages from the bunch to do some interesting analysis with.

In this edition of the roundup, we take a look at the latest crop of deals from Canada’s discount brokerages as a new month kicks off. From there, we launch into some big picture analysis – first with a continuing thread about content and how one online brokerage appears to be pulling back on it for the moment. Next, we look at some interesting numbers from a US online broker that signals a shift towards the next big revenue drivers for online investing. As usual we’ll cap off the roundup with a look at tweets from DIY investors and what’s making waves in the investor forums.

New Month, New Deals – Sort of

2018 continues to fly by as August – along with the summer weather – is now upon us. With the nicer weather, this is generally the window in which the online brokerages take the opportunity to enjoy said good weather, which might explain the leisurely pace of this month’s discount brokerage deals and promotions activity heading into the new month.

Aside from a one-month extension by Desjardins Online Brokerage of their standing commission credit offer, the deals pool remained steady with no new offers being advertised and no deals expiring heading into the new month. In July, National Bank Direct Brokerage’s offer expired early on in the month leaving 5 brokerages on the field with commission-free trades or cash back offers.

Even though things are relatively quiet at the moment, behind the scenes Canadian discount brokerages appear to be gearing up for a busy fall season. Another detail suggests that brokerages are lining up more activity for September, namely that there are two offers that are also timed to expire at the end of August and the beginning of September.

The cash-back offer from Scotia iTRADE, for example, is scheduled to expire at the end of August which could be convenient point to launch a new offer. Also, BMO InvestorLine has their current cash back offer set to expire in the first week of September, and if history is any indicator, there is likely something being planned to replace it.

So, for any DIY investor looking for a deal when opening an online trading account, the good news is that there are still a handful of interesting cash back or commission-free trade offers to choose from.

For deposit levels between $1,000 and $50,000, Questrade has both a cash back option as well as a commission-free trade offer to choose from. Also, Desjardins Online Brokerage’s offer is applicable for deposits of at least $10,000. Above $50,000, BMO InvestorLine’s cash back offer becomes an option as well as the cash back referral offer from Questrade, however at deposit levels of $100,000+, BMO InvestorLine currently has the highest cash back offer.

Overall, the competitive landscape for Canadian online brokerages, and online investing in general, is shifting, which means deals and promotions are likely to tread water.

With consolidation of Qtrade Investor and Credential Direct still taking place and the absence of a catalyst for pricing pressure or promotional efforts in the DIY trading space itself, Canadian brokerages are, at least for the moment, on cruise control. In all likelihood, brokerages are keeping their marketing budget powder dry for the upcoming fall and winter where the battle for DIY investor deposits and trading activity is sure to be fierce.

Questrade Gears Down on Content

The digital age provides the ability to connect some interesting dots. In keeping with a theme of the past two roundups, we continue to take a look at the evolving nature of content delivery across Canadian discount brokerages and this week turn the spotlight on Questrade.

Over the past two weeks, we noted that Questrade’s blog has started to show signs of activity after being dormant for some time. Now, a blog post or two doesn’t usually signal a trend nor is it the kind of thing that generally makes “news” however the bigger picture here is that content production – specifically content geared towards DIY investors – is something that has historically been a fixture at Questrade. The story here isn’t so much what is happening, but rather, what isn’t.

It is unusual to see a shortage of content activity from Questrade simply because historically they have been active and frequent in this particular endeavour.

We started down this rabbit hole by looking at the Questrade blog which, including the post this week, has a total of 18 posts. The first available post appeared on May 25th, 2017.

The graph above shows the timeline of post activity on the Questrade blog, which appeared somewhat regularly at the outset with the average time between posts between May 25th and October 10th working out to about a post every 11.5 days. The minimum time between posts in that range was 5 days while the maximum was 34.

After October 2017, however, things shifted and the next post took 62 days (at which point there were two posts) followed by the next post after that which took 135 days. Incidentally, a little digging on LinkedIn revealed (perhaps coincidentally) that was the same point in time that Questrade’s manager of content and social media landed a new role at RateHub; another member of the content team went off to RBC in December as well.

But the blog wasn’t the only content section to slow down.

We also saw Twitter activity from July 2017 to July 2018 slow down considerably. Not including tweets about service-related issues, there were approximately 27 tweets in July 2017 compared to 6 in 2018. The tweets last year were largely of personal finance topics whereas this year they seemed to be focused on holidays and media mentions. To be fair, however, Questrade is actively responding to client service issues on Twitter, making it one of the standout online brokerages in this regard. Nonetheless, the change in publishing pace was noticeable.

Finally, the client notifications and new feature developments published to Questrade’s other blog/content space, the Exchange, has also not seen an update since April and no self-direct investing customer notice has been published since February.

What does this all mean and why does this matter?

For starters, while Questrade has seen their content publication slow down, other online brokerages, including and especially several bank-owned online brokerages have ramped up their investor content programs considerably.

This means that the “value” that information and content represents to investors, notably to clients, is somehow absent or muted. On a relative basis, competitor brokerages are pulling ahead of Questrade in terms of compelling content.

Another reason why this is important is because one of the increasingly important metrics for any technology company will be perceived innovation.

Those on the outside looking in will be asking and looking for “what’s new” as a reason to pay attention to a particular brokerage. If an online brokerage appears to be standing still – even if they are doing work behind the scenes – DIY investors won’t have a reason to tune in, which is sure to make some folks at Questrade more than a little discontent.

Interactive Brokers Steering Towards Growth

Sometimes taking a step back and looking at the big picture reveals some fascinating trends. As with the beginning of every month, Interactive Brokers released their trading metrics and, as with every month they’ve reported these metrics (since 2008) they’ve seen growth across a number of important metrics, including and especially the number of accounts. In fact, the growth in new accounts on a month/month basis in July was an enviable 40%.

Despite all of these very healthy metrics, one of the interesting data points that has been trending downwards since 2008 has been the cleared average daily average revenue trades (DARTs) per account (the number trades made by each account). It is perhaps no surprise or cause for concern that the latest figure of 314 is less than half of what it was in 2008 (842) considering that number of accounts has increased ten-fold over that same amount of time – and all of the revenue drivers to go with that.

What is interesting about that shift, however is that it signals, in all likelihood, that fewer trades are being made. This might be a result of a combination of factors such as lower volatility in the market and/or less active traders being drawn into the client mix of Interactive Brokers than has traditionally been the case.

While it may not be ‘news’ to anyone in the industry, it does reinforce that active traders are a valuable segment of the market. They are also just a small fraction of the “investor” pool. Even so, active traders are only going to be really active and attracted to trading when there is volatility and movement in the market.

As a result, being niche is not enough. Online brokerages will need to build scale to survive a lower volatility environment and perhaps ask themselves the tough question as to where online investing – especially at the active segment – is heading in the near to intermediate future?

Perhaps the clearest hint on the direction of active trading is the capitulation by Interactive Brokers to exit the market-making business with the sale of the Timber Hill side of their business. If the pros can’t make money actively trading the market, it begs the question, who can?

The moves being made by Interactive Brokers in both their international expansion as well as the introduction of a credit card, higher interest payments on account balances, lower fees for trading commissions and features such as payroll deposit capability signal that even active trading has its limits when driving profitability at an online brokerage. Revenue from interest/lending appears to be the next revenue-generating chapter as do fees for services – such as managed wealth in the form of robo-advisors.

For Canadian discount brokerages, especially those seeking out active traders, the trend revealed by Interactive Brokers is certainly worth considering. What this also likely might signal is that online brokerages here in Canada may start to shift their user experience efforts towards less active investors who can bring with them considerable investable assets. Funnily enough, that seems close to the same group robo-advisors are also looking to capture.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

From the Forums

Safe Keeping

When it comes to online investing, online security is top of mind for many DIY investors. Questrade was in the spotlight in a couple of interesting threads on reddit – the first directly referencing two factor authentication (2FA) being mentioned as being ‘in testing’ and the other which focused on the fine print of the Questrade security guarantee. Worth a read for those interested in security-related features.

Into the Close

That’s a wrap for another week. With a long weekend for Canadian investors now on deck, it’s a great time to enjoy and gear down until the ‘fun’ begins again on Monday courtesy of the action stateside. Have a safe and happy long weekend and in the meantime here’s an awe-inspiring look at ways other folks are getting out and enjoying themselves!