Tag: TD Direct Investing

TD Direct Investing

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Event Review – TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage Direct Investing Expo – Vancouver 2012 – Part 1

The Vancouver Direct Investing Expo organized by TD Waterhouse provided self-directed investors the chance to learn about macroeconomic trends and issues coming in 2013, tips on technical analysis, exchange traded funds and several options trading strategies. This day-long event featured top-tier speakers such as Bob Gorman, TD’s Chief Portfolio Strategist, as well as a line-up of speakers from Investools, Horizons Exchange Traded Funds and from TD’s Wealth Management division.

Even though it was a typical rainy Vancouver day, the Direct Investing Expo launched on a bright note with a great breakfast spread. The TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage booths surrounding the foyer area had demo stations for several of the major tools of interest to self-directed investors including the TD mobile trading app, the thinkorswim platform, web broker and global trading.  Horizons Exchange Traded Funds and the Montreal Exchange also had booths providing investors with information on their products and services.  Like most discount brokerage sponsored events, TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage took the opportunity to showcase their products to the audience as well as try and land some new clients. To that end, one interesting incentive they offered was a refund of the $100 price of admission for non-TD clients who wanted to sign up for a TD Waterhouse account on the day.  Overall, however, the balance of the day was decidedly on education rather than sales.

The World in 2013 According to Bob Gorman

The first speaker to take the stage was Chief Portfolio Strategist for TD, Bob Gorman.  Investors listened attentively as he outlined his case (impressively without notes) for the economic and investing climate for 2013.  In his view, Bob Gorman believes that 2013 won’t be as dire as some market observers are currently forecasting.  His arguments on the US fiscal cliff being more of a fiscal drag, the recovery of the US auto and housing sectors and an overall soft landing in China mean that on a valuation basis, 2013 could be a positive year for certain sectors.  The tactical approach on where to invest included advising investors to tread carefully with fixed income investments, favouring large cap companies to smaller cap companies and to focus on what he calls ‘dividend-growth stocks’.  For those looking for something more adventurous, the emerging markets may hold promise in the “MIST” countries (Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea and Turkey) over the traditional “BRIC” (Brazil, Russia, India, China).  The mix of economic news and concrete picks made this session a very valuable one for investors looking for some investing themes and companies.

Getting Technical

There was a split in the schedule with two sessions running concurrently.  One was on “The Art and Science of Analyzing Charts” i.e. technical analysis (which I attended) and the second was “ETF Trading: Income Investing Using ETFs” presented by Horizons Exchange Traded Funds. The technical analysis session was led by Ryan Lewenza, V.P. & U.S. Equity Strategist at TD Wealth Management.  Ryan walked the crowd through some of the basics of support, resistance and chart reading.  While technical analysis isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, there were some interesting points made on being able to better time entries and exits on ‘fundamentally good’ companies, with the bottom line (no pun intended) being that stocks are not things investors should ever fall in love with.  Of course, while some folks were writing notes during this one, others who felt a little out of their depth with “Relative Strength Indicators” and ‘on balance volumes’ were fortunate enough to have brought their knitting. Trying to get the basics of technical analysis down in a one hour session is a tricky undertaking, so this session was a understandably tough to follow for most beginners

Check out part two of this review where we describe the sessions with Investools and provide some tips for attending these kinds of  investor seminars.

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – Oct. 26th 2012

Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup

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

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

Best Canadian Discount Brokerage Tweet of the Week:

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

Event Horizon

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

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

The People Have Spoken

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

Canadian Discount Brokerage Jobs

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

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

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

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

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – Oct. 20th 2012

Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup

From the Canadian discount brokerages, this past week saw the launch of a new contest by Questrade  called “Ring the bell with Questrade”.  Winners of the contest will get to ring the opening bell at the NASDAQ MarketSite and round trip airfare to New York City, three nights’ accommodation and $500 in spending money. For contest details you can click here.   TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage officially announced the Thinkorswim Canada platform (which readers of Sparxtrading.com already heard about a few days earlier here).  Some feature upgrades to the services at BMO Investorline earlier this month include the Recognia-based Technical InsightTM Tool being deployed (you can read the news release here).  Recognia’s tools are a popular offering amongst many Canadian discount brokerages and provide technical analysis tools and screening for major stock indices in Canada and the US.

For the US discount brokers, several discount brokerages reported their quarterly earnings.  While Schwab reported a third quarter profit increase of 12 percent, the interesting stats were the drop in revenue trades (down 19% year over year) and a huge 61% drop in new brokerage accounts opened compared to last year. Full details on the Schwab release can be found here. Etrade also reported their earnings which came in lower than expected, and also saw a 61% drop in new accounts vs last quarter.  Interactive Brokers also reported a decrease in their earnings year over year and while new accounts grew 11% year over year, they too seem be suffering from decreased trading volumes (19% lower year over year).  TD Ameritrade reports later this month. For a quick overview of the US discount brokerage stocks, check out this Forbes article here.

On the hiring front, social media folks take note. There appears to be some opportunities to work for a couple of Canadian discount brokerages if you’re so inclined.

Best Canadian Discount Brokerage Tweet of the Week

This week’s best tweet comes from @nationalbank (on behalf of National Bank discount brokerage) via their content partners at @DesautelsMcGill.  The article, entitled ‘knowledge investing: the path to safer returns – part 1’ takes a look through the lens of value investing and the role that knowledge can play in selecting potential investments. You can access @nationalbank’s tweet here.

Event Horizon

This Saturday October 27th TD Waterhouse will be putting on its Direct Investing Expo in Vancouver. There will be a number of speakers including Bob Gorman, Chief Portfolio Strategist for TD Waterhouse.  For details click here.

The People Have Spoken

The following thread on Canadian money forum discussing the launch of ThinkorSwim Canada saw some good tips on the platform and eligibility along with the usual digs/cheers for favourite platforms.

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – Oct. 12th 2012

Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup

This week, the Canadian discount brokerage industry saw another member announce that it will move its clearing and settlement services in-house.  Virtual Brokers, a division of BBS Securities, announced that they will no longer be using Penson Financial Services Canada to take care of “back office” operations, such as trade clearing and settlement.  The announcement from Virtual Brokers follows the official statement from Penson that they are closing down of Canadian operations.  Two weeks ago, Questrade also announced that they too will begin to clear/settle trades in house.

While one company was exiting, another one was letting customers back in.  Thinkorswim Canada, a division of TD Waterhouse, is once again accepting Canadian accounts.  The thinkorswim platform will only be able to trade US listed stocks and options and is only available to holders of TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage US margin accounts.

Best Canadian Discount Brokerage Tweet of the Week

This week’s top tweet goes to @Questrade for sharing a great technical analysis article on moving averages. Check out their tweet here.

Event Horizon

The World Moneyshow is coming back to Toronto again from October 18th through the 20th. For more details click here.

The People Have Spoken

This week, we took a peek into the Canadian Money Forum for a common question for beginner DIY investors – where to get started.  Here’s what one group of responses had to say to a young and debt-free family about getting into investing.

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Thinkorswim Now Accepting Canadian Accounts

It’s official – Thinkorswim Canada (part of TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage)  is now accepting new Canadian accounts.  For the moment, this service will allow TD Waterhouse discount brokerage clients to trade US equities and options and only through a US Dollar margin account.

Several discount brokerages have been rolling out new platforms recently including Scotia iTrade’s FlightDesk, and Questrade’s IQ, but from a features perspective, the Thinkorswim platform will be a genuine challenge for other Canadian discount brokerages thinkorswimto compete with.  Aside from being incredibly well-reviewed and designed, one of the biggest features that Thinkorswim will offer is the robust order type support for both stocks and options.  In addition to stop orders, Thinkorswim also supports conditional orders (also known as bracket orders), ladder orders and multi-leg orders.   The image (right) was taken from the Thinkorswim Canada section of the TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage page (click here to see the full page) in reference to the order types available on the platform.

There are three versions of the software platform – mobile, web-based and desktop.  The web-based platform uses Flash (take note Mac/iPad users) and the desktop version uses Java 2, so while the web-based version might be a bit of a pain for Mac users, the desktop version should be compatible with PC’s & Mac’s.

The data fees associated with the platform appear to be waived until April of 2013 for all users, and starting in April of 2013 if you make 10 of fewer trades per quarter you will be billed $29/month. Thinkorswim customer support provided the following info on commission rates:

Commission is $9.99 flat fee for stock trading and $9.99 base fee plus $1.25 per contract for option trading.   Exercise and assignment of options is $15 flat fee.   We also allow the buyback of short option positions that are valued at 5 cents or less free of charge...Please note we do have a minimum equity and trade requirement of $10,000 and 30 trades per quarter.

The commission rates quoted are in line with TD Waterhouse discount brokerage’s fees for active traders,  and it is important to note the minimum equity and trade requirements associated with the account. If you fall below the stated minimums there might be some flexibility on keeping you on the thinkorswim platform but there is also the risk you will get “downgraded” to the WebBroker platform.

For more information on thinkorswim Canada, you can check out their webpage here.

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – Oct. 5th 2012

Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup:

As we roll into October, the Canadian discount brokerage industry continues to show signs of competitive evolution.   First, the huge news released earlier this week that Questrade will transition into clearing its own trades via an in-house clearing division (currently pending regulatory approval).  By replacing their current clearing agent (Penson Financial Services Canada), Questrade believes they will be able to offer more timely settlement and record-keeping services to its clients – something that they had struggled with earlier this year around tax season.  While potentially helping to smooth things out on one side of their business, another reason why this move could prove to be important competitively for Questrade is that they will no longer be paying a clearing agent to deal with clearing and settlement. So what could they do with those extra dollars per trade they’ve been paying to their clearing agent? Depending on how much it costs Questrade to clear and settle their own trades (staff, technology, compliance etc), they might be in a position to lower their already low commission fees (i.e. pass along the savings instead of charging inactivity fees). This is a model that has proven to work well for Interactive Brokers. Alternatively, they might redeploy the extra cash into strengthening other aspects of their business as the competition amongst Canadian discount brokerages continues to heat up. Either way, this should be an interesting turn of events to watch unfold.

The second big piece of Canadian discount brokerage news is from Jitneytrade. In addition to announcing a move into their new offices (coincidentally Jitneytrade and Penson Financial Services Canada are located in the same building), Jitneytrade also announced their move into currency exchange .  The new foreign-exchange component is a service  aimed at institutional clients, and is another bold move for Jitneytrade into the institutional arena.

Best Canadian Discount Brokerage Tweet of the Week:

This week’s favourite tweet comes from @Scotia_iTrade:What’s the #KISS Principle? Watch The Market Guys and avoid some of the most common investing/trading mistakes [vid], http://ow.ly/8h4dt  – great video!

Event Horizon:

The Small Cap Conference is rolling into Calgary next week (October 9th)  and should offer investors interested in some small cap companies the chance to mingle with management, get some market analysis and maybe win a cool door prize.  For more details click here.

The People Have Spoken:

When it comes to taking a shot or passing up the stock market, the Great One Wayne Gretzky would rather pass.  This prudent strategy seems to have served him well in real life however it is an interesting position for brand ambassador to TD Waterhouse to play.  In any case, there were quite a few interesting responses to Wayne Gretzky’s personal finance tips from his interview earlier in the week.

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Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – October 2012

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

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

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

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

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

Discount Brokerage Deals & Promos

Company Brief Description Minimum Deposit Amount Commission/Cash Offer Type Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer Details Link Deadline
Jitney Trade A Sparx Trading exclusive offer! Use the promo code “Sparx Trading” when signing up for a new account with Jitney and receive access to their preferred pricing package and a massive 45% discount on the Real Tick trading platform. n/a Discounted Commission Rates none For more details click here none
Open a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) and receive $50 commission credit . Use promo code: kdkfnbbc $1,000 $50 commission credit none none none
Refer a friend to Questrade and when they open an account you receive $100 and they receive $50. To receive this deal you must be an existing client with an equity account and refer a person that does not reside with you and who has not previously opened a Questrade account. $1,000 $50 commission credit (friend) $100 commission credit (referrer bonus) 60 days Refer a friend none
Credential Direct If you are a client of North Shore Credit Union, you can qualify for 5 free trades as well as a $125 transfer fee credit to cover transfer fees from another discount brokerage ($10,000 minimum transfer in value). To qualify, you must enter NSCU-05Trades on your application. $10,000 5 free trades must use trades by Feb. 28/2013 North Shore Credit Union Promo December 31, 2012
Get up to 100 free trades when you fund an account with a minimum of $10,000. You must open this account by October 30, 2012 and fund it with $10 000 within 30 days of account activation to qualify. You must enter promo code “100FREEQ”. There are quite a few other details, including a minimum balance requirement, so be sure to check the details link. $10,000 100 free trades ($495 value @ cheapest commission rate) 60 days 100 Free Trades October 30, 2012
As part of the Questrade Advantage program, deposit $10,000 into a new account by October 30th, 2012 and you can get 100 free trades. Enter the promo code “100ADVL” in the application online. Note that the advantage program requires you to sign up for a data package (currently $89.95/month) the fees for which vary according to trading activity. See details link for terms and conditions on pricing. $10,000 100 free trades ($495 value @ cheapest commission rate) 60 days Questrade Advantage Promo October 30, 2012
TD Waterhouse Open an account with $25,000 or more and receive 10 free trades. This offer is only valid at the downtown Vancouver TD Waterhouse Investor Centre. 10 trades must be completed within 6 months of account opening; reimbursement based on $9.99 commission rate. $25,000 10 free trades 6 months scanned photo of flyer none
Scotia iTrade Open and fund a new Scotia iTRADE account with at least $25,000 before December 31, 2012 and the commissions associated with your first 100 trades placed within 60 days of the date the account is activated and funded. Also, the new FlightDesk platform is being offered for free for 60 days. See details link for further terms and conditions. $25,000 100 free trades ($999 value @ $9.99 commission rate) 60 days Scotia iTrade 100 free trades + FlightDesk December 31, 2012
Open a new account with $25,000 before December 31, 2012 and receive 150 trades free. (Applies to the first 150 trades placed within 60 days of account opening at a maximum of $6.49 per trade with a total maximum value of $973) $25,000 150 free trades ($973 value @ $6.49 commission rate) 60 days New Account Promo December 31, 2012
Open and fund a new account with National Bank Direct Brokerage with $25 000 or more, and you can receive up to $750 in commission reimbursements. To qualify you must use the promo code “REGISTERED2012” in the general information section of the application form. Reimbursements will be paid in either January or April 2013 depending on date account is opened. See the terms & conditions link for more information. $25,000 $750 commission credit 90 days Commission Holiday Promo October 31, 2012
If you are an existing National Bank Direct Brokerage client and you refer someone to join, you each get $100. To qualify, the referred account must transfer at least $25,000 from another financial institution. If at least $25,000 is transferred, up to $135 of the transfer fee is covered. Use the promo code “FRIEND” when opening the account $25,000 $100 (friend) $100 (referrer bonus) n/a Refer a Friend October 31, 2012
Open an account with either: A) $25,000 or more and receive a $100 cash credit and 25 free equity trades. or B) $50,000 or more to receive $200 cash back and 50 free equity trades. A) $25,000 B) $50,000+ A) $100 cash credit + 25 free equity trades ($823.75 (min)total value @ standard equity rate $28.95) B) $200 Cash credit +50 free equity trades ($697.50 total value @ active trader rate $9.95) 60 days Cash back offer December 31, 2012
BMO InvestorLine Existing BMO Investorline clients who refer a ‘friend’ who then opens an account, (and the “friend” too) can qualify for a cash bonus, depending on the deposit amount. For deposits of between $50,000 and $249,999, the referral bonus is $200 and the “friend” receives $50; for deposits of over $250,000 the referral bonus is $300 the “friend” receives $100. To qualify for the deal, the referral reference code needs to be included in the application – see the details link for terms and conditions. $50,000 $50 cash (friend) $200 cash (referrer bonus) 60 days (see details) Refer a Friend Promo December 31, 2012
Scotia iTrade Open one or more new Scotia iTrade account(s) by November 16, 2012 with at least $50,000 in cash or net equity and receive 100 days of commission free trades. Also, you get to try FlightDesk free for100 days. To qualify you must enter promo code ” F’12 OFFER” when submitting new account application. See details link for more information. $50,000 unlimited free trades 100 days 100 Days Commission-Free November 16, 2012
Disnat Disnat is celebrating its 30th anniversary by offering new & existing clients $300 in commission credits which can be used for up to 6 months. To be eligible, new/existing clients need to deposit $50,000 into a Disnat account. You’ll have to call 1 800 268-8471 and mention promo code Disnat30. See details link for more info. $50,000 $300 commission credit 6 months Disnat 30th Anniversary Promo December 31, 2012
BMO InvestorLine Open a new account with $150,000 or more (or for existing clients make a deposit of $150,000 or more) and get $150 cash back and 150 free trades. Use the promo code BONUS when opening a new account (or when making a new deposit of $150,000 or more). See the details link for qualifying account types and conditions. $150,000 $150 cash 150 free trades ($1492.50 value 60 days 150/150 Promotion October 31, 2012

Transfer Fee Deals

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

Company Brief Description Maximum Transfer Fee Coverage Amount Deposit Amount for Transfer Fee Eligibility Details Link Deadline
Move your brokerage account to Questrade and they’ll cover the transfer-out fee up to $150. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee Promo none
Transfer $25,000 or more to a National Bank Direct Brokerage account and they will pay up to $135 plus taxes in transfer fees $135 $25,000 Transfer Fee Rebate none
Virtual Brokers will cover transfer fees from your transferring institution to a maximum of $150 per account. This offer is only applicable to accounts opened with at least $25,000 in equity before December 31, 2012. $150 $25,000 Transfer Fee Promo December 31, 2012
Qtrade Investor Qtrade Investor will reimburse your transfer fee up to $125 when transferring a balance of $25,000 or more. For reimbursement, please mail or fax a copy of your statement from the transferring institution that shows the transfer charge to Qtrade Investor at 604.484.2627 and indicate your Qtrade Investor account number. $125 $25,000 Transfer Fee Promo none
Disnat Disnat is celebrating its 30th anniversary by offering up to $150 to cover the cost of transfer fees from another institution. To be eligible, new/existing clients need to deposit $50,000 into a Disnat account. You’ll have to call 1 800 268-8471 and mention promo code Disnat30. See details link for more info. $150 $50,000 Disnat 30th Anniversary Promo December 31, 2012
Credential Direct If you are a client of North Shore Credit Union, you can qualify for a $125 transfer fee credit to cover transfer fees from another discount brokerage ($10,000 minimum transfer in value). To qualify, you must enter NSCU-05Trades on your application. $125 $10,000 North Shore Credit Union Promo December 31, 2012
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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – Sept. 28/12

Discount Brokerage Weekly roundup:

This week, we learned of a couple of major developments in the Canadian discount brokerage marketplace that  are likely to reshape the competitive landscape.  First, the major news that optionsXpress Canada is putting a hold on opening new Canadian accounts.  We found out from optionsXpress that out that for now this is a temporary measure while Schwab, the parent company of optionsXpress Canada, evaluates its overall business units.  While one discount brokerage was pausing, another one was readying to launch a long awaited product  back into the marketplace.  TD Waterhouse discount brokerage is readying itself for the relaunch of thinkorswim Canada. The ultrapopular stock and options trading platform has been on hold for some time now, but according to thinkorswim Canada reps, they will potentially be accepting new clients again starting in October 2012.

Canadian Discount Brokerage Tweet of the week:

This week saw a lot of great tweets put forward by several discount brokerages.  The winner this week (by a slim margin) goes to @questrade for the article on investing in ETFs [Do you trade mutual funds or ETFs? Give this a read:http://bit.ly/NAv7y5#TheExchange …]

Honorable mention goes to @jitneytrade for finding a  great article on the evolving capacity of global exchanges (http://bit.ly/OuyCI1)

Event Horizon:

Options Education Day is taking place in Toronto this Saturday (event details can be found here).  If the food there was as good as it was at the Vancouver session, the Toronto folks will be well rewarded for going to school on a Saturday.

The people have spoken:

The recent launch and migration of Questrade clients over to the IQ platform has been met with mixed reviews.  Change isn’t always an easy thing for clients to navigate – and this thread in the Red Flag Deals personal finance forum shows the “support” and “resistance” to the switchover.

 

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thinkorswim Canada almost ready to accept new clients

One of the best rated stock and options trading platforms, thinkorswim, looks like it will be opening its doors again for Canadian investors.  From various conversations with TD Waterhouse discount brokerage representatives, traders and investors alike,  regaining access to the thinkorswim platform for Canadian discount brokerage clients has been widely anticipated.  Finally, it seems that there is a definitive timeframe that has been provided for a roll out to new clients.

It appears that thinkorswim is in the midst of a technical upgrade but sometime in October they should be back to accepting Canadian clients.  Since thinkorswim Canada is owned by TD Waterhouse discount brokerage, you’ll have to be a client of TD Waterhouse to gain access to the thinkorswim platform.  Specifically, only US dollar personal margin account or corporate accounts will be able to use thinkorswim and trading will be limited to US stocks and options.

Additional conditions include a minimum account opening amount of $10,000 and minimum trading activity of 30 trades per quarter.  Trade commissions will be charged at $9.99 flat fee for stock trades and $9.99 +$1.25/contract for options trading.  Option assignments will cost $15 flat. Interestingly, there are currently no platform fees for thinkorswim.

To find out more information on the platform or to download a free trial of their software (a great ‘try before you buy’ feature) you can visit the thinkorswim Canada page here.

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Round Up – Sept. 21/2012

Discount Brokerage Weekly roundup:

The big news this week in the world of Canadian online discount brokerages was the release of the 2012 JD Power & Associates Canadian Discount Brokerage Investor Satisfaction Survey results.  With Disnat coming out on top, followed by BMO Investorline and National Bank Direct Brokerage, the survey showed that while Canadian discount brokerages are improving, they still have some catching up to do with their American discount brokerage counterparts.  To read more about the ratings, click here.

Canadian Discount Brokerage Tweet of the week:

@virtual_brokers for their article on protective puts http://bit.ly/NHH70O

Event Horizon:

TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage is planning a “trader’s expo” this weekend at the TD Waterhouse Investor Centre in Coquitlam. Details can be found here

The people have spoken:

An article about the launch earlier this month of the BMO Investorline AdviceDirect platform to assist retail investors has certainly stirred some investors up.

At the time of writing:

The top rated comment (25 points)from “TheBluesMan” : “1% is ridiculous for this arms length advice. Another cash cow for the brokerage.”

And the lowest rated comment (-4 points) from “EJJ”: “Ya, like I would listen to advice from a bankster. That’s hilarious!”