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Scotia iTRADE

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – November 6, 2015

Source: allhabs.net

Some people don’t even refer to this month as November anymore. “Movember” – the trendy moustache-growing period of the year, has now overtaken the second last month of the year all with the aim at raising men’s health awareness, of course, and having a little fun.  As many traders and online brokerage providers know, however, the trend is your friend until it ends.

In this week’s roundup we take a look at the evolving trends in the deals and promotions circuit, with some interesting changes to the deals mix that took place at the start of the month. Next, even though many razors will be on hiatus for November, there is one that seems to apply to Canada’s largest brokerage in their bid to pull ahead of their brokerage peers. In keeping with the roundup tradition, we’ll close out with a look at the tweets from the past week as well as investor education events and some interesting chatter from the Canadian investor forums.

Let’s Make a Deal

It’s a new month and with it comes updates on the status of promotional deals being offered by Canadian discount brokerages, as well as a look at monthly trading activity stats from Interactive Brokers in the US.

Starting first with the deals, Questrade once again leads the online brokerage pack with almost half of the 15 current promotions or deals coming from the alone. Leading the news on the promotional front, Questrade is once again offering an iPad mini 2 for anyone opening an online account by Dec. 31 and funding it with a minimum of $100,000.

Questrade is also still offering contest entrants a chance to win $5,000 towards a professionally-managed RESP, offer ending Jan. 31, 2016, as well as a $50 Amazon.ca gift card for opening a new online account, with at least $5,000 in funding, between Nov. 9 and Dec. 31. Another new Questrade contest involves a chance to win a $5,000 portfolio with Portfolio IQ. This contest opened Oct. 31 and ends on Jan. 31.

BMO InvestorLine is looking to ring in the New Year resolutely with a promotional offer. Anyone opening an account by Jan. 6, with a minimum of $100,000 in assets, is eligible to receive $200 cash back, and 20 trades that are good for use for up to a year. This offer started on Nov. 2. Unfortunately, their youth-oriented offer didn’t fare as well. It expired at then end of October after a very long run through 2015.

Desjardins Online Brokerage is also busy on the promotional side of things with a unique offering of its own. Current and new clients are getting a combined $1,646 discount to enroll in the Power of Options Educational Course from Trade Global. The $995 course is available for $99 under the promotion, and enrollees also get three months access to optionsource.net, a stocks and options advisory service normally priced at $750 for the three months.

On the trade activity front, U.S.-based Interactive Brokers has released its monthly report for electronic brokerage activity. Of note, there were 655,000 daily average revenue trades (DARTs) in October, which is a one-percent drop from September, and a 4-percent drop from last October. Average commission per cleared client order was at $3.70 for the month, which includes exchange, clearing and regulatory fees.

On the Razor’s Edge

Everyone’s heard the expression: simplicity is a virtue, but not everyone’s heard of Occam’s razor, which is a philosophical principle dating back to the 12th century that selects alternatives based on simplicity. So, if you take Occam’s razor to a set of competing options, the simplest one wins.

Translating this principle into practice for online brokerages, however, has not been so simple. Trading platforms for DIY investors have been notoriously challenging to use – either with too many features, which makes them challenging to learn or too few, which inevitably limit the usability for many types of investors. This year, however, there has been a clear focus on improving usability and simplifying the interface investors use to manage their investments and trade online.

TD Direct Investing is the latest brokerage to upgrade their platform with their new TD WebBroker investor platform. The discount brokerage is touting the greater simplicity of the new online design. A primary feature of this new simplified layout is the navigation menu at the top left of the screen. It contains three links that are always readily available — Accounts, Research, and Trading — all with extensive sub-menus viewable with a click, as well as an easy-access Quick Links toolbar menu to the right.

The new WebBroker homepage layout can be personalized, and includes a summary of a client’s accounts, market and real-data updates — available before, during and after trading hours. If you’ve become accustomed to Microsoft Windows’ tile layout, WebBroker provides a similar nifty feature by placing a client’s accounts in tiles that can be scrolled horizontally and selected with a simple click.

In fact, if there’s one thing that stands out with the new homepage layout, it’s just how many features are available on the same page. Scroll down, and a big “Go to Balances” button takes a user to a detailed view of real-time balances for all accounts. Scroll down even further, and an impressive Top Movers section provides an easy-to-see layout of holdings that are experiencing the greatest market value change for the day.

So, if there are a couple of things that stand out with this new layout, it’s that it’s visually more appealing and accessible than the old format, with more features readily available in one location. The new WebBroker also appears to be simpler: streamline navigation, easier access and customizable features.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

This week’s discount brokerage tweets showcase customers using Twitter to look for answers from brokerages and receive relatively prompt responses. Making the roundup this week are BMO Investorline, Scotia iTrade, Questrade, and TD Direct Investing.

Event Horizon

It’s a busy week ahead for discount brokerage-sponsored investor education events. Here are some upcoming sessions that may be of interest to those who are new to investing, intrigued by technical analysis, and options enthusiasts. An ETF portfolio primer rounds out this week’s selection.

November 9

Scotia iTRADE – Active Investing Strategies with Independent Investor Institute

November 10

TD Direct Investing – Options Fundamentals

Scotia iTRADE – ETF Model Portfolios with Horizons ETF

November 12

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Investing

Scotia iTRADE – Price Volume Divergence with AJ Monte

From the Forums

Make the switch

There are a growing number of reasons for individuals to move their money from one institution to another. It’s easier than ever to switch your discount brokerage due to the number of promotions for opening accounts and paying transfer fees, you can check them out here. In this post from the Canadian Money Forum, a user is looking to see what benefits or promotions they can get when they move their portfolio to RBC Direct Investing. Another individual asks for an exit strategy for their Tangerine TFSA invested funds in this thread from the RedFlagDeals investing forum.

ETFs coming to TD

For those of you interested in trading ETFs, TD Direct Investing has joined the party. In this post from the RedFlagDeals investing thread, a user informs the community about TD’s plans to offer ETFs in 2016. It’s going to be a great new year for ETF investors!

Into the Close

The theme of the week appears to be change with a new brokerage platform as well as new deals and promotions to accompany a news cycle that included a surprising change in Blue Jays management, a new World Series champion Kansas City Royals, and fresh faces in a federal cabinet yet to be tested with its new duties. It looks like 2015 may have a few more surprises after all.

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Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – November 2015

*Updated November 6* November starts out quietly with only a couple of new deals from Questrade. Hopefully Canadian online brokers are waiting to launch new promotions sometime before the Holiday season.

At the start of this month there are 13 offers currently available from seven different brokerages. Of those nearly half (46%) come from Questrade, demonstrating once again that Questrade is the discount brokerage offering the most deals or incentives.

The most interesting promotion is one of the new promotions offered by Questrade. It targets active traders that can get the most bang for their buck if they plan to trade a high volume during their first 30 days.

Expired Deals

The biggest changes with this month’s deals are the departure of BMO InvestorLine from our monthly deals & promotions page. All three of their promotions have expired and they did not introduce any new promotions for now. At the time of this publication BMO InvestorLine still have their offers posted on their website. The end of October saw six deals officially expire from three discount brokerages. Here’s a quick list of the deals that expired at the end of October:

  • BMO InvestorLine – Youth Promotion Phase
  • BMO InvestorLine – Refer a Friend
  • BMO InvestorLine – 20 Free Trades + $200 Cash Back
  • Questrade – $250 Cash Back
  • Questrade – Prepaid Visa Promo
  • Virtual Brokers – $50 Cash Back

Extended Deals

*Update: Nov.6 – BMO InvestorLine extended one of their promotional deals on Monday of this week. Individuals depositing at least $100,000 of new assets into a new BMO Investorline account can receive 20 commission-free trades which are good for for use for one full year and $200 cash back. BMO Investorline maintains it’s place among discount brokerages offering promotions to their current and potential clients.

Heading into November, no deals or promotions were extended. It seems that Canadian online brokers are winding things down for the year end.

New Deals

*Update: Nov.6 – Questrade added their own promotion directed at individuals investing at least $100,000. After depositing a minimum of $100,000 in net new assets individuals can receive an iPad Mini 2.

There are two new deals being offered this month and both are from Questrade.

Questrade replaced their Prepaid Visa Promo with a new Amazon.ca gift certificate promotion, the conditions and value of the promotion ($50) are strikingly similar. The other promotion being introduced by Questrade is aimed at active traders, individuals that deposit $25,000 will receive 30 days of commission free trading and free advanced data. Both of these new offers expire at the end of this year. Happy trading!

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

Discount Brokerage Deals

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Commission/Cash Offer/Promotion Type Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer Details Link Deadline
Jitney Trade A Sparx Trading exclusive offer! Use the promo code “Sparx Trading” when signing up for a new account with Jitneytrade and receive access to their preferred pricing package. n/a Discounted Commission Rates none For more details click here none
Open a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) and receive $50 commission credit . Use promo code: kdkfnbbc $1,000 $50 commission credit none none none
Refer a friend to Questrade and when they open an account you receive $25 cash back and they receive either A) $25; B) $50; C) $75; D) $100; or E) $250 depending on the amount deposited amount. Enter code: 476104302388759 during account sign up to qualify. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for eligibility and additional bonus payment structure and minimum balance requirements. A) $1,000 – $9,999 B) $10,000 – $24,999 C) $25,000 – $49,999 D) $50,000 -$99,999 E) $100,000+ $25 cash back (for referrer per referral; $50 bonus cash back for every 3rd referral) For referred individuals: A) $25 cash back B) $50 cash back C) $75 cash back D) $100 cash back E) $250 cash back Cash deposited into Questrade billing account within 7 days after funding period ends (90 days) Refer a friend terms and conditions; Code Number: 476104302388759 none
Open and fund a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) with at least $1,000 and you may be eligible to receive 5 commission-free trades. Use promo code 5FREETRADES when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions carefully. $1,000 5 commission-free trades 60 days 5 commission-free trade offer December 31, 2016
Open and fund a new online trading account with Questrade with at least A)$1,000 or B)$10,000 and you could be eligible to receive either A)10 or B) 100 commission-free trades. Use promo code 100LOWCOM2015 when applying to be eligible for this offer. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions for this promotion. A)$1,000 B)$10,000 A) 10 commission-free trades B) 100 commission-free trades 60 days Commission-free Trade Promotion December 31, 2015
Open a new online trading account (registered, margin or FX and CFD) with Questrade and deposit at least $5,000 in order to be eligible to qualify for a $50 Amazon.ca gift certificate. Clients must also place at least one commission-generating trade within 60 days. Use promo code AMAZON50 when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. $5,000 $50 Amazon.ca gift certificate The Amazon.ca gift certificate will be awarded in CAD and emailed to the client within 30 business days of the account reaching the minimum funding requirement of $5,000 and execution of one commissionable trade in the eligible account. Amazon.ca Gift Certificate Promotion December 31, 2015
Open and fund a new account at Virtual Brokers with at least $5,000 and you could be eligible to receive up to 25 commission-free stock or ETF trades good for use for up to one year. Use promo code “TRADEFREE2015” when signing up to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions carefully. $5,000 25 commission-free trades 365 days 25 commission-free trades December 31, 2015
Open a new online trading account with National Bank Direct Brokerage and deposit either A) $5000 – $24,999; B) $25,000 – $49,999 or C) $50,000 and you may be eligible to receive either A) 25; B) 50 or C) 100 commission-free trades. Use promo code “Trade” when applying to qualify. Be sure to read full terms and conditions carefully. A) $5,000 – $24,999 B) $25,000 – $49,999 C) $50,000+ A) 25 commission-free trades B) 50 commission-free trades C) 100 commission-free trades 90 days Commission-free Trades Offer November 30, 2015
Scotia iTrade If you refer a friend/family member who is not already a Scotia iTrade account holder to them, both you and your friend get a bonus of either cash or free trades. You have to use the referral form to pass along your info as well as your friend/family members’ contact info in order to qualify. There are lots of details/conditions to this deal so be sure to read the details link. A)$10,000 B)$50,000+ A) You(referrer): $50 or 10 free trades; Your “Friend”: $50 or 10 free trades (max total value:$99.90) B) You(referrer): $100 cash or 50 free trades; Your “Friend”: $100 cash or 50 free trades (max total value: $499.50) 60 days Refer A Friend to Scotia iTrade December 31, 2015
Scotia iTrade Open and fund a new Scotia iTRADE account with at least A) $15,000 – $49,999; B) $50,000 -$99,999; C)$100,000 – $249,999; or D)$250,000+ and you may be eligible to receive a corresponding cash back or commission rebate. For commission-free trades use code: FTN-F15 or for cash rebates use code: NC-F15. Be sure to read the terms and conditions carefully for rebate and cash back eligibility. Contact Scotia iTrade for full details on this offer. A) $15,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 -$99,999 C) $100,000 – $249,999 D) $250,000+ A) 75 commission-free trades OR $75 cash back B) 125 commission-free trades OR $125 cash back C) 250 commission free trades OR $250 cash back D) 500 commission-free trades OR $500 cash back 120 days for commission-free trades; Cash for the cash back offer will be deposited directly by September 30, 2016. 500 free trade or $500 cash back promo December 31, 2015
Open and fund an eligible TD Direct Investing account with at least a) $25,000 b) $50,000 or c) $100,000 in new (to TD) assets and you could be eligible to receive a) 50 b) 100 or c) 200 commission-free trades. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions for this offer. A) $25,000 – $49,999 B) $50,000 – $99,999 C) $100,000+ A) 50 commission-free trades B) 100 commission-free trades C) 200 commission-free trades 45 days; commission-rebates will be paid by June 3, 2016 200 Free Trades Promo November 30, 2015
Open a new online trading account (registered, margin or TFSA) with Questrade and deposit at least $25,000 in order to be eligible to qualify for free advanced data and 30 days of unlimited commission-free trades. Use promo code ADVANTAGE14 when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions for full details. $25,000 30 days unlimited commission-free trades and free advanced data 30 days 30 days unlimited commission-free trades and free advanced data December 31, 2015
Disnat Disnat is offering new & existing clients $500 in commission credits which can be used for up to 6 months. To be eligible, new/existing clients need to deposit $50,000 into a Disnat account. You’ll have to call 1-866-873-7103 and mention promo code Disnat500. See details link for more info. $50,000 $500 commission credit 6 months Disnat $500 Commission Credit Promo December 31, 2015
Open or fund an account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) with at least $100,000 and you may be eligible to receive an iPad Mini 2. Use promo code IPADMINI15Q4 when signing up. Be sure to read terms and conditions carefully. $100,000 iPad Mini 2 60 days IPad Mini 2 Promotion December 31, 2015
BMO InvestorLine Open a new qualifying account with BMO InvestorLine, and fund it with at least $100,000 in net new assets and you may be eligible to receive either A)$200 cash back plus 20 commission-free equity trades. Use promo code FALL2015 when signing up to be eligible. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for more details on the offer. $100,000 $200 + 20 commission-free equity trades Cash award will be paid the week of January 16, 2017. Trades are good for 1 year from signing up for promotional offer. Fall 2015 Promotion January 3, 2016

Expired Offers
Last Updated: November 20, 11:55 PST

Transfer Fee Deals

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

Source: giphy

Much of Canada is currently experiencing the effects of fall weather: falling leaves, lowering temperatures, and Toronto Maple Leaf’s fans thinking about a Stanley Cup run. As many of Canada’s discount brokerages know, however, while hope may be a good thing, hedging your bets is a necessity.

In this week’s roundup, we’ll take a look at how some of Canada’s largest online brokerages are hedging their bets when it comes providing more features to DIY investors. Of course, deals and promotions are a great way to hedge against the falling commission prices which is what we look at, followed by an eventful week on Twitter. We cap off the roundup with some exciting investor education events and interesting investor forum chatter.

Lending an Invisible Hand

If nothing else, DIY traders believe in capitalism: a market-based system in which companies are rewarded for being more competitive. At this point, the market for DIY investors reads somewhat like a textbook case in competition. With pricing now less of a differentiating factor, the real fun begins with discount brokerages having to get creative to figure out (or finally listen to) what investors want. This week, we take a look at what two bank-owned discount brokerages in particular are doing right now to capture your attention, and ultimately your business.

First, earlier this month, BMO InvestorLine announced a new feature that can benefit the DIY trader, especially during tax season. Specifically, the brokerage has replaced its Activity Report with an enhanced Realized Gain and Loss Report that provides a detailed and customized transaction history and portfolio performance report. Among other things, this new feature will allow InvestorLine clients to export transactions to CSV spreadsheet format, resulting in a much simpler calculation of capital gains and losses when filing returns to the Canada Revenue Agency.

Our second look this week at new features from a discount brokerage also involves simpler calculations from trading activity. That’s what Scotia iTrade aims to achieve for its clients with its added ‘Income Details’ tab on the brokerage’s online platform. With this feature, users can instantaneously access and calculate historical and projected income from equities, ETFs and fixed income securities. Details of any interest paid on cash in an account is also accessible in this new platform.

The competition to provide DIY traders with increasingly enhanced features appears to be proceeding quite nicely, thank you very much, and the beneficiary should be prospective brokerage clients looking for value, and a competitive edge. After all, that’s what capitalism should be all about, isn’t it?

All Good Things Come to …

The fall season represents a transition from the fullness of summer, when life and energy are often at their peak, to the uncompromising cold of winter, where both animal and plant life often slumber until the rise of spring. Of course, for online brokerages, it’s a catch-22. When the weather is good, investors typically don’t want to hunker down and watch the markets – they’d rather be on vacation. With the return of activity of the markets, there’s a scramble to keep up with interest and to get the attention of DIY investors.

While some brokerages are able to selectively put on promotions during the year, others have to (or choose to) offer incentives year-round.

Not surprisingly, old habits are hard to die for Questrade as it leads October with a whopping six promotional offers active during the month. Only two are set to expire at the end of October: the prepaid Visa promo, and the $250 cash back program. BMO InvestorLine is next in line, forgive the pun, with three promotional offers for the month. Sadly, all three are set to expire with the leaves of autumn: youth promotion phase 2, refer a friend, and the 20 free trades with $200 cash back deal. Virtual Brokers is also slated to have one of their student promotions expire.

Of course, there’s nothing to prevent these offers from being extended. In total, and by our count, Canada’s discount brokerages had 17 active advertised promotional deals during October, with only six set to expire by the end of the month.

Luckily for DIY investors, we here at Sparx Trading keep a pulse on who’s doing what with respect to promotions at the discount brokerages, and what’s exactly falling by the wayside as we head into a new month. Be on the lookout as next week as the deals roster is set to change, perhaps quite substantially, as we head into the final stretch of 2015.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

Technology strikes again. This week’s tweets showcase the hiccups and the completely unexpected events that make DIY investing online a wild ride. Making the roundup this week are CIBC Investor’s Edge, Scotia iTrade, Questrade, Virtual Brokers and TD Direct Investing.

Event Horizon

Fear not, there’s no tricks, just treats in the week ahead for discount brokerage-sponsored investor education events. Here are some upcoming sessions that may be of interest to those who are new to investing, curious about trading strategies, and options enthusiasts. Margin accounts, and a national investment conference rounds out this week’s spooktacular selection.

October 31

Desjardins Online Brokerage (Disnat) – The World Money Show (participating)

November 3

Scotia iTRADE – Stocks Search Selection Strategy with Pro Market Advisors

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

November 4

TD Direct Investing – Understanding Margin & Short Selling

Desjardins Online Brokerage (Disnat) – Protect Your Portfolio Using Options – Preview

From the Forums

It’s not only about price

Competitive forces have leveled the playing field among discount brokerages. In this post from the RedFlagDeals investing thread, people compare the pros and cons between Scotia iTrade and Questrade. We’ve seen big banks decrease their commission rates which results in clients comparing more than just price.

For the passive investor

For those of you that aren’t looking to become active traders and still want to be involved with DIY investing, a great option is passive trading. In this post from the Financial Wisdom Forum a user posts about their lack of interest with active investing. The thread discusses the options for DIY investors that would like to take a more passive approach to investing.

Into the Close

So that’s it for this week’s roundup. Regardless of whether you’re looking for treats from the market, your discount brokerage or simply the candy bar variety, have a happy Halloween!

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – October 23, 2015

Source: Facebook

Landslide elections, time machines, and Drake’s infamous victory dances (we think) – this has been a marathon week for peering into the future. While they may not have legendary locks of hair, a hoverboard or some rather original dance moves, Canadian discount brokerages are constantly thinking about and trying to keep up with the future of DIY investing.

In this edition of the roundup we take a look at the interesting moves by one online brokerage South of the border that tip their hand at what’s around the corner for the active traders/investors. Next, a short lesson in volatility that all DIY investors who trade on margin should keep in mind. On the topic of lessons we 1000 tweets deep into personal finance tips from this past weekend from some of Canada’s leading voices on personal finance to see what emerged from the ether. We cap off the roundup with some exciting upcoming investor education events, insightful tweets of the week, forum posts and some dance moves you probably won’t be able to unsee but might be able to relate to after this week.

Earnings Hotline Bling

Earnings season is back once again and this go around there was an interesting reveal made by the US-based Interactive Brokers on their Q3 2015 earnings conference call. As we mentioned in last week’s roundup, Interactive Brokers published a communique highlighting their investor marketplace’s progress but also the launch of their newest practice account feature.

This past week, the founder and CEO of Interactive Brokers, Thomas Peterffy, provided more context around this feature and what it means for his company. There were several interesting tidbits of information within that call.

First, the practice accounts. Peterffy revealed that “about 35% of new account applicants actually completed their applications and funded their accounts” however now that applicants will get immediate access to all of Interactive Brokers’ trading tools, Peterffy believes that a greater percentage of individuals will actually want to follow through on signing up. What was particularly interesting is that users can sign up for a practice account with full access to all the trading tools that they can keep using with delayed data indefinitely.

Second, their target clients are. Interactive Brokers’ platform, marketing and product experience are not geared towards every kind of investor. By their own admission they are more interested in and cater to the active traders – individuals who trade on average “about 500 times a year”. In contrast, the larger bank-owned brokerages who are typically the choice of less active investors often struggle to provide a robust platform and competitive pricing for active traders. In short, IB is a product being built for and marketed to active traders. This was particularly important in the context of platform stability in which Interactive Brokers was able to weather the storm of market outages that hit other bigger platforms, such as Ameritrade and Schwab in August. The reason, according to Peterffy was a lack of bandwidth.

Finally, it’s hard to make money, even as a market maker. This was particularly fascinating as an investor to see that major exchanges reserve the right to cancel trades. For market makers, a business arm of IB, having no visibility or certainty in times of heightened volatility means that they and others like them are not eager to jump into a position because of the risk a trade they take may get cancelled.

There were more interesting nuggets in the call especially for those interested in learning about how Interactive Brokers’ business model and approach.

A Short Lesson

One of the biggest news stories for investors and traders alike this week has been the volatility hitting Valeant Pharmaceuticals.

While volatility is a double edged sword in terms of risk and reward, for those looking to chase the storm for some short term gain, there was a very instructive lesson dealt by Questrade in terms of margin requirements being raised.

Covering their own assets by changing margin requirements is not unique to Questrade. In fact, in the conference call with Interactive Brokers referenced above, one question appeared to focus on an investor who noticed margin requirements were suddenly raised across the board – much to the surprise of the company CEO. This past week, however, clients of Questrade took notice of the drastic change from 30% to 50% margin requirement.

For individuals who run afoul of margin requirements, brokerages typically reserve the right to ‘derisk’ the position either by liquidating the offside position or requiring the account holder to bring the margin requirement up to the minimum acceptable threshold.

Interestingly, by raising margin requirements, it makes it more likely that individuals will have to sell/liquidate in order to satisfy their lenders risk comfort level. As a result, more traders are selling into the falling price and create a lower price forcing more investors to either shore up margin or liquidate. And so the death spiral goes until the buyers step in or the short sellers start to cover (of course if an exchange can cancel trades, market makers are not going to want to step in and start buying).

Another interesting consequence of ending up in a margin call is that certain deals and promotions, especially the cash-back promotions, may get invalidated. In the fine print of many of these offers, accounts must be kept in “good standing” which can mean that an account not be subject to a margin call during the promotional qualification period.

Storm chasing always attracts those with a penchant for danger, however there are risks that can creep up all through the transaction pathway that DIY traders should be aware of.

1000 Tweets on Canadian Personal Finance

The 2015 edition of the Canadian Personal Finance Conference or #CPFC15 was held last weekend in Toronto. Organized by CPFC co-founder Krystal Yee and RateHub.ca’s Kerri-Lynn McAllister, this two day event featured lots of great personal finance tips and gems passed along by many of Canada’s most influential and passionate personal finance writers.

One of the great side benefits of having so many social media savvy writers in one room is the sheer volume of information they can collectively generate. While yours truly did not attend in person, there were a large number of like-minded Twitter stalkers watchers also in attendance.

Naturally the question arose as to what could be gleaned from a room full of personal finance writers and speakers by reading their Twitter posts.

The answer is: lots.

After sorting through and removing the spammy messages that appeared because the hashtag #CPFC15 managed to get itself trending across Canada (apparently thanks in large part to Jonathan Chevreau and Capital One Financial), what remained was an interesting cross section of personal finance topics covered from borrowing to investing.

Below are 1000 tweets collected from this year’s #CPFC15 (minus the spam) that show a bit of the ramp up, the conference itself as well as some of the reactions post conference.

While it is nearly impossible to sum up that many tweets and topics into a “Top 10” list, here are 3 interesting observations related to the DIY investing and discount brokerage space:

First, Questrade was the only Canadian discount brokerage who was actively tweeting from that conference. Keep in mind that this event brought together some of the most influential voices in the Canadian social media and personal finance blogger/writer community – including those who comment on investing. Questrade also took that opportunity to promote their affiliate program (full disclosure SparxTrading is also a participant of that program) to the community of personal finance writers which also raised a few eyebrows in the room, most notably from Jonathan Chevreau.

Second, Robo-advisors are gaining in popularity and resonate with younger investors. The real nugget was that apparently BMO is finally moving into this space after many months of trying to understand the landscape and opportunity.

More broadly, the impact of financial technology or fintech is starting to become a real challenge to the traditional model of banking and wealth management. Now there are robot money managers, branchless banks and peer to peer lending platforms encroaching on the traditional financial services sectors. That’s not news per se but the storm is real and it’s coming.

Finally, DIY investing isn’t so easy according the Canadian Couch Potato Dan Bortolotti. While the ‘discount’ in discount brokerage is appealing, there is a lot that investors take on by trying to sort through the news and noise of the markets, let alone the emotional ups and downs that accompany investing.

Overall, it was great to see the cross section of professional journalists and personal finance bloggers sharing ideas and inspiration on how best to bring the message of better financial literacy and practice to a wider audience. Happy reading!

 

Event Horizon

Time to bundle up and hunker down, it’s a busy week ahead for discount brokerage-sponsored investor education events. Below are some upcoming sessions that may be of interest to those who are new to investing, options enthusiasts, and those interested in technical analysis. Risk management, trading strategies, a networking opportunity, and a national investment conference round out this week’s selection. Also on the docket, the Tastytrade special event in Toronto this Monday. Here is a recap of the co-founders on a previous edition of Money Talk on BNN.

October 24

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Investing in Options

October 26

TD Direct Investing – Stock Talk

October 27

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

Scotia iTRADE – Concepts in Technical Analysis with Recognia

NBDB – Portfolio Management Using Momentum Strategies – [Fr]

October 28

Credential Direct – Understanding Economic and Market Trends with Fidelity

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

October 29

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

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Investing in Options

October 30

Desjardins Online Brokerage (Disnat) – The World Money Show

Tweets of the Week

There was lots of interest in Questrade this week as they were the only online brokerage at this year’s CPFC. It was a surprisingly quiet week for certain brokerages. TD Direct Investing continue to make waves on social media. Also surfacing this week was Credential Direct in the promo for their upcoming webinar.

From the Forums

DIY another day?

Investors are becoming more informed about how to invest their money but does this knowledge justify going it alone?   In this post from the RedFlagDeals investing thread, a user asks the question about whether to manage investment funds themselves or to use a financial adviser and pay higher fees. The debate continues.

Saving commissions on ETFs

The ability to save on commission fees while purchasing ETFs is influencing some DIY investors to switch from their current discount brokerage to others. For users who want to make frequent purchases of ETFs, paying a commission each time they buy isn’t cutting it. In this post from the reddit Personal Finance Canada subreddit, one user pitches the idea of switching from TD to Questrade to avoid paying commissions on purchasing ETFs. Also check out another thread from Reddit’s personal finance Canada section where an individual with $20,000 recently opened a Questrade account and is asking for advice on how to invest in ETFs.

Into the Close

Congratulations on making it through a marathon edition of the roundup. Whether you’re celebrating or commiserating the marathon season for the Blue Jays, or portfolio hits and misses from the week, here are some fun, but headscratching, dance moves to inspire DIY investors in those squirmy market moments. Have a great weekend!

Source: giphy
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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – October 16, 2015

It’s rally time. Midway through October, baseball, bats and Blue Jays are top of mind in this post-Thanksgiving trading week. While there’s lots more than baseball that the personal finance enthusiasts are talking about this week, we’ll pitch the idea of a baseball themed roundup, tossed bats and all.

In this edition of the roundup, we’ll recap the field of dreams approach that several discount brokerages are hoping will give them an edge in the race to be crowned best online brokerage. Next we provide a virtual highlight reel of personal finance and investing education conversations happening this weekend and throughout the month. Also on deck will be our discount brokerage tweets of the week, upcoming investor education events and batting cleanup will be the forum chatter from the Canadian investor forums.

‘if you build it they will come’

This past week Interactive Brokers provided an update via their latest ‘Communique’ that revealed just how much interest there has been with their ‘investor marketplace’ initiative as well as revealing more details about their practice trading platforms.

Earlier this year, Interactive Brokers launched an interesting initiative to bring together a community of providers of investing related products and services under the umbrella of their investor ‘marketplace’.

Since the launch in June, they have attracted:

  • 386 investment service providers
  • 155 research providers
  • 308 technology providers
  • 89 administrative service providers and
  • 15 business development providers

This initiative was a bold one to undertake but so far it looks to be paying off and interest appears to be growing.

The strategy to offer up value added services without actually taking on the overhead of hiring staff means that Interactive Brokers has found an interesting way to compete against the armies of staff that larger (and typically bank-owned) brokerages offer but at a fraction of the cost.

It’s not quite a grand slam, but it does give Interactive Brokers a chance to score big points with lots of their key stakeholders.

Interactive Brokers isn’t the only brokerage looking to build new features to attract interest from investors. Questrade, TD Direct Investing and Desjardins Online Brokerage are all working on new platforms to be rolled out in the near future and another popular brokerage (who shall remain unnamed) is gearing up to launch a new website in the upcoming weeks.

Clearly there is a big push to improving the product or platform experience in 2015 and brokerages that can’t keep up will, very visibly, be distanced from those firms that can.

Avoiding the Doubletalk

Talking about finance is not something most people typically choose to do with their weekend. Not so for many of Canada’s most popular personal finance writers and enthusiasts.

This weekend, the Canadian Personal Finance Conference is taking place in Toronto and it promises to bring together dozens of voices from across the personal finance landscape to talk about all kinds of acronyms from RRSPs, TFSAs, DRIPs, PiPs and more. To find out what’s getting the personal finance community buzzing, follow along at the hashtag #CPFC15 or better yet, reach out on Twitter as they will have a live feed at the conference.

Tom Drake of the Canadian Finance Blog also put together a great compilation of personal finance tips from some of the experts in attendance. Keynote speakers at the event include popular names such as David Chilton, Dan Bortolotti, Rob Carrick and Ellen Roseman.

Also interesting is the demonstration of some of the newer frontiers of personal finance from robo-advisors to peer-to-peer lending. Questrade will also be on hand for a demo as part of the fintech portion of the conference. Follow along here on Twitter: #CPFC15

Getting more people to open up and engage in discussions about investing is also on the minds of many of the Canadian financial regulatory agencies. As part of their efforts to increase awareness of important topics for investors, they’ve been offering up all kinds of great resources and content relevant to DIY investors for Investor Education Month.

As many regular readers know, we regularly feature the investor education events offered up by Canadian discount brokerages as well as some of their educational partners. Check out the upcoming events for October below or on our investor education calendar of events.

To follow the conversation on investor education, check out the hashtag: #IEM2015

Event Horizon

It’s an interesting week ahead for discount brokerage-sponsored investor education events. Here are some upcoming sessions that may be of interest to those who are new to investing, female investors, options enthusiasts, and those interested in technical analysis. Fixed income and ETFs round out this week’s selection.

October 19

Scotia iTRADE – Simple Options Strategies for Part Time Trading with Sarah Potter

October 20

Scotia iTRADE – Trading Commodity ETFs with Pro Market Advisors

TD Direct Investing – Chart Smart – Reading Candlestick Charts – [Fr]

October 21

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Fixed Income

Scotia iTRADE – Smart Indexing-Benefiting from Min. Volatility & Fund. Index ETFs with iShares

October 22

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

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

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

With a shortened trading week and lots of better things to watch on TV, it looks like Canadian DIY investors were busy tweeting about and watching other things. Nonetheless there were a handful of interesting exchanges with the brokerages mentioned this week. Stepping up to the plate were Questrade, Scotia iTrade, TD Direct Investing and Virtual Brokers.

 

From the Forums

 

Striking Out Costs

TD’s E-Series funds are a popular choice among self-directed investors looking to invest in low cost index funds. In this post from Reddit’s personal finance Canada section, a user discusses BMO Series D Funds as a possible alternative. For added insight, another thread discusses the differences between BMO InvestorLine and TD Direct Investing as a brokerage here.

ETFs Continue to Rally

The increased availability of commission free ETFs at discount brokerages has piqued the interest of DIY investors. In this thread from the Canadian Money Forum, a user is looking for places to find information about these ETFs.

Into the Close

That’s a wrap on the short week that was. Of course, there’s really nothing better than showing this off again – so here is the highlight reel of that epic home run. Have a great weekend and #GoJaysGo!

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – October 9, 2015

Source: Giphy

This was a big week for rivalries. Whether it was Vancouver versus Calgary or Montreal versus Toronto, there was an electric kick off to the 2015/16 hockey season. It was a fitting backdrop as fierce rivals from across the Canadian discount brokerage landscape also stepped up their game with new features, promotions and movement taking place into the turn of their fiscal year.

In this pre-Thanksgiving edition of the roundup, we cover discount brokerages dishing out plenty of gravy with deals and promotions. Next we move onto one very big brokerage who has their sights set on a little blue bird this Thanksgiving. Of course, what would Thanksgiving be without a little tension across the table? We look the latest moves in investor education that are making a couple of brokerages cast some steely stares across the gravy boat. Finally we round out with a healthy portion of discount brokerage tweets, investor education and the latest chatter from DIY investor forums. Make sure to save room for desert!

Tiers of Joy

This past week, the biggest Canadian discount brokerage decided to wade into the deals pool. Of course any move by a brokerage as big as TD Direct Investing is bound to make more than a few waves with investors and competitor brokerages alike.

Unlike most of the other brokerages on the list of regulars, TD Direct Investing is not a frequent presence on the deals/promotions page. So, when they jump in, there’s probably a good reason behind doing so.

TD Direct Investing’s latest promotional offer is a commission-free trading deal which consists of three tiers of assets and provides three tiers of commission-free trades. Investors depositing at least $25,000, $50,000 or $100,000+ in assets can qualify for 50, 100 or 200 commission-free trades respectively.

The multi-tiered deal seems to be the trend amongst the bank-owned brokerages with BMO InvestorLine, National Bank Direct Brokerage and Scotia iTrade each with promotional offers that are tiered to deposit sizes.

The fact that TD Direct Investing has put an offer out that is both short in duration and timed to this point in the calendar year highlights that it is prime time for brokerages to be generating incentives for DIY investors.

To that end, Virtual Brokers also launched (or revived) their 25 free trade offer this past week although this time with a much lower threshold to qualify ($5,000 vs the previous $15,000). This now puts the deal count for Virtual Brokers at a modest 2, however their deposit thresholds are squarely aimed at younger or newer investors – long the stronghold of their nearest rival Questrade.

With the addition of the TD Direct Investing and Virtual Brokers offers, the deal count now stands at 17 and the deals and promotions section is looking more stuffed than a Thanksgiving turkey. For DIY investors, this is great news, as these promotional offers are adding gravy on top of falling commission prices.

TD Direct Investing #JoinsTwitter

Even though turkeys are on the minds of a lot Canadians, a much smaller, more blueish bird was on the mind of Canada’s largest discount brokerage. This past week TD Direct Investing pushed go on their own Twitter account and wasted no time throwing it down with promos, news and going after potential clients.

The saga of TD Direct Investing on social media is a fascinating story in and of itself (that’s a story for another time). Suffice to say, other Canadian discount brokerages are now at real risk of developing a few more wrinkles now that TD Direct Investing has their own Twitter account.

For most individuals, getting going on Twitter is a relatively straight forward affair, however for a bank and brand that is as big and visible as TD, the resources that are required to be present on social media are mind-boggling. Not only is there the usual marketing and advertising, there’s also the customer service, legal compliance and the generally-not-looking-awkward-trying-to-be-cool-on-social-media to worry about.

The “history” of TD stepping into social media, while brief, shows that they leverage their biggest resource – their people – in a hurry.

When the TD Twitter account went live, it was simultaneously shocking and awe-inspiring to see how fast the team army of client service reps dedicated to Twitter were deployed. As a reality check, it is now possible for #millenials to actually get a job at a bank that requires them to be on Twitter all day.

When TD Direct Investing gave its team members individual Twitter accounts and asked them to start tweeting not too long ago, there were close to a dozen individuals out and about in the world tweeting about things inside and outside of the world of finance.

Now, as TD Direct Investing launches their new Twitter handle, @TD_DirectInvest, they are battle-hardened, social savvy and are wasting no time going after their competitors.

The following tweet basically sums up and foreshadows what other brokerages such as Scotia iTrade and Questrade are in for:

Source: Twitter

 

As the battle for attention and relevance spreads to smaller screens and more fragmented channels, TD Direct Investing has joined the fray on Twitter. Although they have a modest following out of the gate (71 at the time of writing) they are very quickly going to get on the radar of a lot of social media investors organically, by advertising and, unfortunately for other brokerages, by going directly after DIY investors.

Moves in Investor Education

It’s fitting that in a week of big rivalries that one of the biggest rivalries in the discount brokerage landscape space flare up. Qtrade Investor and Credential Direct are battling it out in Western Canada and it looks like that fight is about to spill over into the world of investor education.

On the heels of the launch of their new front-facing website, Qtrade Investor not only underwent a drastic cosmetic change, but they also took the bold move of committing more fully to investor education. In their case, it wasn’t the traditional webinar/seminar route but rather through written ‘guides’.

Not content with Qtrade’s content, it looks like Credential Direct is countering by offering up a webinar of its own. Specifically, Credential Direct is holding a webinar from Fidelity Investments entitled “Economic and Market Trends”. While this is by no means the first time Credential Direct has held a webinar and even a webinar from a non-platform/ETF provider, the timing and optics suggest that Credential Direct is keenly aware that they are going to have to get more creative, or at the very least, more active with investor education.

Further east, however, is news that the winds of change in investor education at TD Direct Investing (and probably for everyone else) are now blowing in from the south. What are all these airy allusions referring to?

Spotted this past week was an announcement on TD Direct Investing’s shiny new Twitter account that Tasty Trade will be holding an investor seminar in conjunction with TD Direct Investing in downtown Toronto near the end of October.

Source: Twitter

 

The primary reason that is this a big deal for investors and investor education providers is because Tastytrade offers up content for DIY investors and has a very big following in the US. To quote the Wall St. Journal on who Tastytrade’s founder is:

Tastytrade is the brainchild of Tom Sosnoff, who founded Thinkorswim Group, an online options-brokerage that was sold for some $750 million in 2009 to TD Ameritrade

For Tastytrade to move north and specifically to be teamed up with TD Direct Investing demonstrates that when it comes to investor education, TD will continue to lean on its resources south of the border (such as Investools and ThinkOrSwim) to offer something many other Canadian brokerages simply cannot.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

As was already described above, this past week on Twitter marked a milestone in the discount brokerage social media space. With TD Direct Investing now stepping onto the ice and immediately dropping the gloves with Scotia iTrade, it looks like the brokerage battles are only going to get fiercer. Mentioned this week were Questrade, RBC Direct Investing, Scotia iTrade, TD Direct Investing and Virtual Brokers.

Event Horizon

Fall is in full swing, and it’s a busy week ahead for discount brokerage-sponsored investor education events. Here are some upcoming sessions that may be of interest to those who are new to investing, female investors, options enthusiasts, and those interested in technical analysis. Risk management strategies, ETFs, and a margin account primer round out this week’s selection.

October 13

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

Scotia iTRADE- Covered Call ETFs with Horizons ETFs

October 14

TD Direct Investing – Understanding Margin & Short Selling

TD Direct Investing – Understanding Margin & Short Selling

TD Direct Investing – Chart Smart – Bollinger Bands

October 15

NBDB – Introduction to Technical Analysis : Supports and Resistances – [Fr]

TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Technical Analysis

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

Scotia iTRADE – Risk Management Strategies for Traders with AJ Monte

From the Forums

A platform for change

In this post from the RedFlagDeals investing thread, hints and whispers of a new TD Direct Investing trading platform WebBroker are circulating. We’ve heard about this being ‘in the works’ so it will be interesting to see what the reaction will be like when it goes live. Worth a read for some early sentiment on the proposed upgrade.

Is free worth it?

There’s no denying that commission-free ETFs get the attention of the ‘couch potato’ investing crowd. In this post from the reddit Personal Finance Canada subreddit, it is interesting to see how Scotia iTrade’s commission-free offering stacks up.

Into the Close

That does it for this Thanksgiving Weekend edition of the roundup. Have a safe and enjoyable long weekend and don’t forget to carve out some time for fun! Remember, Canadian markets are closed on Monday.

Source: Giphy

 

 

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – October 2, 2015

source: giphy

One of the great lessons that the stock market teaches investors again and again is that perception is reality. Within the Canadian discount brokerage marketplace, this lesson is equally true, as almost all online brokerages wrestle with just how exactly they can get DIY investors to listen to what they are saying.

In this week’s roundup we take a look at how one discount brokerage is trying win investor attention by launching a newer, more exciting website. Being a new month we’ll also take a look at the deals and promotions Canadian brokerages are using to get noticed. Of course, nothing gets people’s attention quite like a trading platform outage during trading hours as one major online brokerage found out the hard way in our discount brokerage tweets of the week. Finally we’ll take a look at the upcoming investor education events and close out with the chatter from the Canadian investing forums. But first, let me take a selfie.

In With New

Over the past two years, the Canadian discount brokerage industry has tried to use commission price to get the attention of investors, and to a large degree it has worked.

Almost all the major bank-owned online brokerages (except for Scotia iTrade) and all of the independent online brokerages have standard commissions under $10 per trade and almost every time a brokerage has initiated a price drop, there has been a splash.

Could prices fall further? Sure but investors seem content for the time being to stick to the about-$10-per-trade mark – at least most do and most discount brokerages are in no rush to drop their prices.

As most of Canada’s online brokerages are coming to realize, after price drops, there has to be something else. And this year, that something else appears to have been “changing the website”. As we mentioned in last week’s roundup, Qtrade Investor officially unveiled their new website this week, capping off for them, what has been a marathon of planning and design. And, even though they weren’t first out of the gate to change their old website or pricing, it seems like their new website was worth the wait. For returning visitors to the Qtrade Investor website, the difference will feel a bit like night and day.

Screenshots of old Qtrade Investor homepage vs new Qtrade Investor homepage.

Like several other Canadian discount brokerages who have sought to refresh their look and feel over the past year, Qtrade Investor opted for a much more contemporary layout and design scheme.

Among the many thoughtful changes, ease of navigation was a clear priority. Elements such as the menus and sub-menus have evolved to make going from section to section seem easier. There are also fewer menu options and far less text to have to scan through on the screen to find the ‘right’ information. To boot, their ‘About’ section is dynamic and engaging showcase of who they are and why anyone who’s thinking about them should care.

Aside from the striking new look to the website, and improved navigation, one of the biggest changes has been to the education section of the website. Qtrade Investor has taken a much more active approach to supplying website visitors with educational content about investing – a strategy that many other brokerages are exploring to varying degrees.

On Qtrade Investor’s new site, there is now a growing list of standard educational content for beginner investors in the form of featured articles or a series of guides on topics such as margin trading, TFSA’s and stock trading ideas. They have also embraced video tutorials on investing concepts as part of the investor education mix.

For more experienced investors, there is access to syndicated content from the Financial Times. With information overload being the new reality for many users of the internet, what defines an effective website from a user’s perspective has changed. While Qtrade will not be the last online brokerage to change their website this year, there are those who have yet to do so that now have to deal with one more brokerage that DIY investors will be shifting their attention to.

Deals Update

The deals and promotions section was far less volatile than the markets were as we rolled into October. With 15 active offers on the table, there’s lots of selection for individuals looking to get a little something for opening an online trading account.

Discount brokerages appear to be in somewhat of a holding pattern with the end of October being an important milestone date in the calendars of many of them as the fiscal year end. We think there are still some big offers waiting in the wings, especially as it becomes clearer as to which brokerages are actively trying to win new clients over.

October is also an important month in the deals calendar with six of the offers set to expire at the end of this month. Clearly this month is of strategic importance so it will be interesting to see which brokerage(s) push a little harder into their corporate year end.

#DIYInvesting Tweets of the Week

There must have been something in that blood moon that tilted the trading world on its axis. Perhaps that’s what client reps at TD Direct Investing wished they could have blamed an outage of their trading platform on this past Wednesday as investors took to Twitter to vent their frustration as they sat idle during market hours. Of course, while TD Direct Investing and Scotia iTrade were having some customer woes, Questrade was the broker who offered up their shoulder to trade on.

Event Horizon

On deck this October are quite a few investor education events and opportunities. The World Moneyshow rolls into Toronto on October 30-31st . There will be a few discount brokerages exhibiting at this year’s show including Desjardins Online Brokerage, Interactive Brokers and National Bank Direct Brokerage. Also spotted on the exhibitor list is roboadvisory firm, Wealthsimple.

Options Education Day Toronto also takes place this weekend (October 3rd) in downtown Toronto. The cost for this session is $45 and features speakers from the Options Industry Council and representatives from the Montreal Exchange. As an interesting aside, there are six Canadian discount brokerages sponsoring this event.

From the Forums

WebBroken Down

In this forum post from the RedFlagDeals investing section, users of TD Direct Investing’s WebBroker platform cover the storm that arose when the platform went down during market hours.

Friends with Regulatory Requirements

This was an interesting post for those interested in the curious consequences of cohabitating with individuals working in the securities industry. Regulatory requirements are something all brokerages take seriously and as one reddit user found out, they even sometimes apply to one’s significant other.

Into the Close

That’s a wrap on yet another eventful week in the markets and with the brokerages. For all the Jays fans celebrating a very exciting season, #MerryClinchmas! See you next week!

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Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – October 2015

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

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

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

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

Expired Deals

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

Extended Deals

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

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

New Deals

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

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

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

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

Discount Brokerage Deals

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

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

Transfer Fee Deals

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

For some, this week started off about as bad as a post-Oktoberfest wurst nightmare scenario could be. The world awoke to major automaker Volkswagen admitting that there was something strange in the air with their emissions ratings. Of course while their stock was getting pummeled, traders also saw the opportunity to give Palladium, one of those important metals for those not so environmentally friendly diesel vehicles, one of its best rallies in a while. Competition can make companies do some crazy things.

Of course for Canadian discount brokerages, competition is nothing new. What is new, however, is just how nimble with technology they will have to become to effectively compete for the investors of tomorrow.

In this week’s roundup we take an exciting exclusive first look at one online brokerage’s new website and how they are building out their technology offering. Next we take a quick look at the interesting angles around the latest discount brokerage ranking results announced earlier in the week. After that we highlight yet another deal in the promotional race and cruise through the tweets from this week, investor education events and close out with some interesting dividend-themed forum chatter.

Sneak Peek at Qtrade Investor’s New Website

In a SparxTrading.com exclusive, we’ve managed to get our fans a first look at the new Qtrade Investor website, set to launch within the next few days.

As has been the trend for 2015, Canadian discount brokerages have spent a lot of time and effort in trying to refresh and modernize their websites. Without putting a number on how old their previous site was, Qtrade Investor’s latest website looks and feels like a modern experience.

Their new website front end experience is built for a multiscreen world and should accommodate smartphones, tablets, phablets, laptops and desktops. The layout is simple and contemporary as is the messaging. Their new design direction is also a subtle way to refresh the look and feel of Qtrade visually.

When asked what prompted the change on their part, Qtrade told us:

“Our conversations with self-directed investors and traders have led us to a better understanding of what’s important to them when choosing an online broker. The new public face of the Qtrade Investor website is clean, engaging and easy-to-use. We have also featured valuable educational articles, guides and videos for new and experienced investors.”

Qtrade Investor’s New Website (source: screenshot)

We’ll be sure to bring readers more details when Qtrade’s website fully launches however it looks like there are some very exciting features planned for their new site.

One of the big commitments that Qtrade Investor has recognized and followed through on is the improvement of user experience. Their mobile trading offering, in the span of two years, has gone from fairly standard to competitive.

Just this week Qtrade Investor joined the small list of Canadian online brokerages whose mobile apps are supported on Apple Watch.

What’s clear is that the pace of change in technology is accelerating and one of the new benchmarks DIY investors are going to demand be met is how technologically responsive their brokerage is. For Qtrade Investor, the new responsive website and roll-out of a leading edge online access point are two big strides that other brokerages are going to have to work much harder to catch up to.

Be sure to keep ‘watching’ @SparxTrading on Twitter for more details.

JD Power Discount Brokerage Rankings Crown National Bank Direct Brokerage

It’s like Déjà vu all over again. Almost 2 years after National Bank Direct Brokerage took top spot in the JD Power Investor Satisfaction Survey, NBDB managed to do it again handily beating out the rest of Canada’s most popular brokerages and displacing their cross-town rival Desjardins Online Brokerage. And what a difference 2 years can make.

Since NBDB’s win in 2013 the world of Canadian discount brokerages has been turned upside down by changes in standard commission pricing, powerful mobile devices as well as the proliferation of roboadvisors. If there’s one rule in the world of Canadian online brokerages, it appears to be step up or step back.

While we’ll save the deep dive on these rankings for an upcoming post, here’s a quick preview of some interesting observations about this year’s JD Power Discount Brokerage Investor study results.

First, this year, there are three more discount brokerages being ranked than there were last year. Specifically this year Questrade, Qtrade Investor and HSBC InvestDirect returned to the rankings after not being evaluated in 2014. Most interesting is that Questrade’s return to this list puts it high enough on the list to position itself as the highest ranked of the independent discount brokerages. For Qtrade Investor and HSBC InvestDirect, their return was not as stellar landing at 8th and 10th out of a field of 10.

Ratings on JD Power Discount Brokerage Survey from 2013 to 2015

Of course, coming in ‘last’ or ‘first’ in 2015 doesn’t exactly mean the same as it did in the past. Looking at the range between the top and bottom scores from 2013 to 2015, the gap has narrowed considerably. That’s not great news for the online brokerages at all who are now going to have to put their creativity into overdrive to do something that DIY investors are genuinely going to get excited about.

Range between highest and lowest scores on JD Power Canadian Discount Brokerage Rankings 2013 to 2015

Finally, and strangest of all, of the firms that have had the largest positive changes from 2013 to 2015 (Questrade, RBC Direct Investing and Scotia iTRADE), it is remarkable that Scotia iTRADE still continues to occupy the lower end of the ranking spectrum.

As of this September, they are now the only discount brokerage on this list to have standard commission pricing over $10. As CIBC Investor’s Edge may exemplify, just having low commission fees isn’t enough to get investors thinking about ‘satisfaction’. Not having competitive standard commission fees, however, is almost a sure fire way to make DIY investors harder to please.

Stay tuned for the full run down on this year’s JD Power Discount Brokerage results.

Virtual Brokers Launches Back-to-School Promotion

Once again it’s Friday and there’s more good news for DIY investors – at least the students. Virtual Brokers publicly launched their latest promotion today in a bid to step back into the deals ring. Their latest offer is a $50 cash back promotion for investors who are qualified students or recent (within two years) graduates with a deposit of at least $1,000. With the addition of Virtual Brokers’ latest deal, the count of live offers climbs to 15 promotions from discount brokerages as we head into the final few days of the month. Check out the deals and promotions section for more info.

Discount Brokerage Tweets of the Week

This past week on Twitter, Questrade stood out once again as the discount brokerage generating and responding to the online buzz. While webinars are generally not newsworthy announcements, in Questrade’s case, their webinar featuring OTC Markets took place this week alongside (conveniently) the launch of a few more actively managed ETFs. Interestingly, there was a comment of a user who just couldn’t let the design bug go without saying something to Questrade – it seems s/he felt justified in saying something. Click below to read this weeks tweets.

 

Event Horizon

Fall is in full swing, and it’s an exciting week ahead for discount brokerage-sponsored investor education events. Here are some upcoming sessions that may be of interest to dividends enthusiasts, and those who want to learn about ETFs, put options and technical analysis. September 28th TD Direct Investing – Dividends | Important Dates and Details to Know September 29th TD Direct Investing – Asset Allocation and ETFs feat. Bruce Sellery and Pat Chiefalo September 30th Scotia iTRADE – The Power Of the Put Option with AJ Monte TD Direct Investing – Introduction to Technical Analysis

From the Forums

DRIP it like it’s hot

In this post from reddit’s PersonalFinanceCanada section, RBC Direct Investing and Questrade get pitted head to head when it comes to dividend investing – specifically for someone interested in having their money grow with dividends. An interesting perspective on price vs convenience.

The Divid-end of the Road

In another dividend investing-themed post, this time from RedFlagDeals, a few dividend investors appear to be brewing about the troubles of receiving US dividends without incurring currency exchange fees. It’s a lot to take in from the beginning but an interesting view on how to win or lose DIY investor clients.

Into the Close

That’s a wrap for this week’s roundup. Have a great weekend, rest up and have fun dreaming up the next big thing. In the meantime, here’s some more of that ‘boredElonMusk’ to get you thinking….

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – September 18, 2015

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

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

HSBC InvestDirect Lowers Standard Commission Fees

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Deals Get into Gear

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tweets of the Week

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

Event Horizon

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

September 19 – September 25

Scotia iTRADE – Trading Psychology Part 1 with Stefanie Kammerman

Scotia iTRADE – RRIF Accounts with Scotia iTRADE

TD Direct Investing – Options as an Income Strategy

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

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

TD Direct Investing – Understanding Margin & Short Selling

 September 21st

Scotia iTRADE – Trading Psychology Part 1 with Stefanie Kammerman

September 22nd

Scotia iTRADE – RRIF Accounts with Scotia iTRADE

September 23rd

TD Direct Investing – Options as an Income Strategy

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

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

September 24th

TD Direct Investing – Understanding Margin & Short Selling

Questrade – Energy Market Outlook

From the Forums

A Heated Exchange

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

Stuck at the Border

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

Into the Close

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