*A reminder it is against forum rules to post articles in full or links to break paywalls.*
Just a one or two sentence highlight from me for 2024.
The 2024 Globe and Mail Digital Brokerage Ranking: Who rules, and who’s coming on strong
Published February 15, 2024
*ww.theglobeandmail.com/investing/article-the-2024-globe-and-mail-digital-brokerage-ranking-who-rules-and-whos/
Here are notes on the brokers in the 2024 ranking, listed alphabetically:
BMO InvestorLine
Owner: Bank of Montreal
Grade: B+
95 BMO, iShares and Vanguard ETFs that can be traded at no cost.
CIBC Investor’s Edge
Owner: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
Grade: B
IE is one of the few brokers that doesn’t charge for paper trade confirmations and account statements.
IE is right there as a rare broker to include GICs in its app for smartphones.
CI Direct Trading
Owner: CI Financial Corp.
Grade: C
CI Direct Trading clients get access to a fantastic portfolio analytics tool from a third-party provider called Wealthscope that covers performance, fees, risk, income and diversification.
Desjardins Online Brokerage
Owner: Desjardins Group
Grade: C+
Zero commissions
HSBC InvestDirect
Owner: HSBC Bank Canada
Grade: C-
InvestDirect’s niche is offering access to 30 global markets with trades that settle in 10 different currencies, including the Canadian dollar.
Interactive Brokers
Owner: IBG Holdings LLC
Grade: B+
IB offers some of the lowest commissions and foreign exchange and margin rates, and it’s an outlier in paying interest on cash balances.
National Bank Direct Brokerage
Owner: National Bank of Canada
Grade: B
zero commissions to trade stocks and ETFs
Qtrade Direct Investing
Owner: Aviso Wealth
Grade: A-
... the addition of a goal-planning tool that allows clients to set a target amount for a specific financial milestone and then track their progress toward achieving it. The big pluses at Qtrade include one of the most user-friendly websites in this ranking, a good app, commission-free trading of 120 ETFs and a Portfolio Score tool that lets clients drill way down into their portfolios to assess risk, diversification and more
Questrade
Owner: Questrade Financial Group
Grade: B+
If you plan to trade mainly on your smartphone, give Questrade a good look because its mobile app is one of the most user-friendly.
RBC Direct Investing
Owner: Royal Bank of Canada
Grade: B-
There’s also a new income projection tool that will suit retirees well, a homepage feature showing recent events driving your holdings
Scotia iTrade
Owner: Bank of Nova Scotia
Grade: B
10,000 clients are now testing a redesign that will be introduced next year.
a menu of 120-plus ETFs that you can trade at no cost.
TD Direct Investing
Owner: Toronto-Dominion Bank
Grade: A
Where TD excels is in providing the tools needed to manage your portfolio efficiently.
Wealthsimple
Owner: Ownership includes Power Corp. of Canada
Grade: B+
Wealthsimple is graded here not as an all-around broker, but as a financial tool for Gen Zs and millennials.
There are no trading costs, and fractional shares are available.
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* --------------- End of 2024 Ranking -- Beginning of 2023 Rankings ----------- *
Canada’s top digital broker is TD Direct Investing, with an assist from the TD Easy Trade app
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https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/article-canadas-top-digital-broker-is-td-direct-investing-with-an-assist-from/
Who’s winning depends on where you look. In the 2023 Globe and Mail digital brokerage ranking, the top firms charge close to $10 per trade. They justify the cost by equipping clients with the tools to be better investors.
For now, that is. An investment industry report in 2022 showed that zero-commission brokers punched above their weight in attracting new clients and generating trading volume. Investors seem wide open to the idea of picking a broker on the basis of cost.
Here are notes on the brokers in the 2023 ranking, listed alphabetically:
BMO InvestorLine
Owner: Bank of Montreal
Grade: B+
There’s a clean, efficient look to InvestorLine’s website and mobile app, which were both refreshed relatively recently. Log in to the website and you get concise presentation of need-to-know things about your account, including a performance chart with various time frames and a status update on open orders. BMO’s commissions are old school at $9.95 per trade, but clients can trade from a list of almost 100 exchange-traded funds from various issuers at no cost. All in all, a player.
CIBC Investor’s Edge
Owner: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
Grade: B
Investor’s Edge is not in the top rank of digital brokers, but you could be happy here. Among big bank brokers, the flat $6.95 commission is at the low end and clients under 25 years old with a CIBC Smart Start account trade stocks for free. There’s lots of research on specific stocks from CIBC Capital Markets, Refinitv and Morningstar, and seniors and others who prefer paper statements and trade confirmations can get them for free. Most other brokers charge for this. Another way CIBC differs from some other banks is in allowing clients access to a full range of HISA mutual funds and ETFs. The mobile app is comprehensive – you can even buy GICs, which isn’t possible on other apps.
CI Direct Trading
Owner: CI Financial Corp.
Grade: B
Back several years ago, CI Direct took the other brokers to school with low stock-trading commissions, zero costs for buying ETFs (the usual cost applies when you sell) and a funky website that made its rivals look stale. But time marches on. Commission-free trading is now available from competitors, and there are brokers with websites that do a better job of empowering clients with informative dashboards and simplified navigation. The mobile app is quite competitive. A perk for CI DT clients is access to a fantastic portfolio analysis tool called Wealthscope.
Desjardins Online Brokerage
Owner: Desjardins Group
Grade: C+
A zero-commission broker with a strong research package that includes the Morningstar reports that near everyone else offers, as well as reports from Desjardins analysts. The formerly dreary website has been freshened in a way that improves the ambience, and the app is just fine. GICs are not available online, if that’s on your radar.
HSBC InvestDirect
Owner: HSBC Bank Canada
Grade: C-
Royal Bank of Canada has a deal to buy HSBC Canada, so it’s hard to say how much longer InvestDirect will be around. InvestDirect offers online access to several global markets, so take a look if that’s of interest. For everyone else, InvestDirect has plugged two giant holes that made it look hopelessly behind the curve. There are now U.S.-dollar registered accounts, and a mobile app for Apple devices. An Android app is coming.
Interactive Brokers
Owner: Interactive Brokers Group
Grade: B+
IB is graded here for people who think of themselves as traders more than investors. If you’re in this group, it’s a no-brainer to give IB a look as a trading platform. Costs are at the low end for brokers that haven’t gone commission-free, forex is comparatively cheap, margin rates are highly competitive and large accounts actually earn interest. Most other brokers pay little or no interest on cash balances. If you’re a mainstream investor who trades only now and then, IB is like taking a Ferrari to the corner store for milk.
National Bank Direct Brokerage
Owner: National Bank of Canada
Grade: B
How other bank-owned brokers must dislike NBDB for being the first of their little clique to eliminate commissions on trading of stocks and ETFs. Desjardins followed, and then crickets. NBDB doesn’t have the attention to detail of, say, a TD Direct Investing. But if your want list includes zero-commission trading, a zippy, pleasant-to-use website and access to analyst research, then for sure give NBDB a look. The mobile app only works on iPhones (as of publication), with Android to be added in 2023.
Qtrade Direct Investing
Owner: Aviso Wealth
Grade: A
For commissions at a flat $8.75, this consistently top-ranked broker gives you one of the better websites and apps for looking after your investments. More than many others, Qtrade has created a mini-me app that reflects the high level of utility in the website, including a quickie chart that shows portfolio results over the past year. Online, there’s a Portfolio Score tool that slices and dices your holdings to provide insights on returns, fees, downside risk, income and environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. Unlike some brokers, Qtrade never coasts. The latest improvements include expedited transfers of money from your bank and a more useful database of analyst opinions. A negative for GIC investors buying online: The minimum purchase is $30,000 for one year and $15,000 for longer terms.
Questrade
Owner: Questrade Financial Group
Grade: B+
Spot on for young investors who may not value the dividend income trackers and full-body portfolio scans offered by other brokers. You get trades as cheap as $4.95, commission-free ETF buying (normal commissions to sell), a well-executed app for mobile and no-cost access to a service called Passiv to help you set goals and manage your portfolio. Love the Questrade trading screen on the app – it guides you through the process of making a trade in way that makes you feel totally in control. Note: Electronic communications network (ECN) fees can add to the cost of some trades.
RBC Direct Investing
Owner: Royal Bank of Canada
Grade: C+
RBC is a member of the old guard of bank-owned brokers that refuse to retreat on the just-under-$10 stock-trading commission. Where RBC differs from others in this group, say BMO and TD, is in not backing up those high-cost commissions with premium design and utility. RBC is big on interspersing freshly redesigned website components with old ones that remind you that they stopped short of a top-to-bottom reno. Part of the newer stuff is a trading dashboard that looks good, but offers a three-ring circus of customizing options. Guys, build us something cool that’s good to go. Note: RBC is part of the terrible trio, including BMO and TD, that blocks clients from buying HISA ETFs and third-party HISA mutual funds.
Scotia iTrade
Owner: Bank of Nova Scotia
Grade: B
Another bank-owned broker in need of new upholstery. The frame underneath is more than fine for managing a portfolio, researching stocks and tracking dividend income, but anyone under the age of 40 will find the website looking a bit worn. The app is better, having been refreshed recently. Two good things to note: Scotia iTrade doesn’t get in your way if you want to choose a HISA ETF or mutual fund, and it offers 100-plus commission-free ETFs. This feature is oddly hard to find when you log in – you have to access the list of applicable funds through the ETF screener.
TD Direct Investing
Owner: Toronto-Dominion Bank
Grade: A
TD’s shrewd approach on commissions is to offer 50 free stock trades per year on its TD Easy Trade app (unlimited free trades for TD ETFs), and charge $9.99 flat on its website. Fair enough. While a couple of years old now, the TD Direct website is state of the art in getting you up to speed on your portfolio from the second you log in. From there, you can dig into your portfolio diversification, project your dividend income, do a detailed performance analysis and delve into a strong database of market data and research. TD Direct’s mobile app is fine, but Gen Z and millennial investors are directed to Easy Trade.
Wealthsimple Invest
Owner: Wealthsimple
Grade: B
For boomers, this digital disruptor rates a D. There’s really nothing there to help manage portfolios and validate ideas with views from analyst research, and it doesn’t sell GICs. Where Wealthsimple excels is in offering a platform for young investors to invest in a way in which all their money goes to ETFs or stocks, with nothing lost to commissions. Also, fractional shares are available. On the downside, you have to subscribe to a $10 per month upgrade for access to U.S-dollar accounts, as well as instant deposits of up to $5,000. This is an app-first broker, but the website is surprisingly good to use.
Click here to download as an Excel spreadsheet.
There are further comparisons in the article. Login to see the rest. RFD breaks The Globe and Mail links, so I have included them below.
"investment industry report"
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https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-no-fee-platforms-diy-investing
Excel link
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https://www.theglobeandmail.com/files/editorial/Investing/brokers-2023-downloadxx.xlsx
* --------------- End of 2023 Ranking -- Beginning of 2022 Rankings ----------- *
Here are the 2022 online rankings via the Globe and Mail. They finally included some mobile apps in their evaluations this year. I have included one or two lines from the individual reviews for flavour.
The 2022 Globe and Mail digital broker ranking: Does the zero-commission revolution flip the script on who’s best?
PUBLISHED YESTERDAY
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/appview ... -the-zero/
Excerpts;
As has often been the case in this ranking over the years, Qtrade Direct Investing is the broker that does it best. Other brokers beat Qtrade in specific areas like commission costs, but Qtrade’s overall goodness becomes apparent as soon as you log in and find a neat little dashboard to get you up to speed on your investments.
This year marks a shift in the ranking to include investing apps as well as traditional online brokers. The zero-commission trading app Wealthsimple Trade is now in the mix, and a couple of other apps will be evaluated for possible inclusion next year – MogoTrade and TD Easy Trade.
Included in this year’s ranking is an evaluation of how responsive each broker is to telephone calls from clients by the investment industry consulting firm Dalbar Canada
BMO InvestorLine
Owner: Bank of Montreal
Grade: B+
BMO’s website has been nicely updated and is better in every conceivable way than an older version that is still available to clients who want it. BMO’s mobile app lacks the zip of the website.
CIBC Investor’s Edge
Owner: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
Grade: B-
CIBC has long been a top broker for providing equity research to clients and this is more true than ever now. Research from the independent analysis firm Morningstar is pretty much ubiquitous in online investing now, but CIBC goes beyond that with Thomson Reuters and CIBC World Markets reports.
CI Direct Trading
Owner: CI Financial Corp.
Grade: B
CI Direct, formerly Virtual Brokers, has slipped down from a ranking it once led because its cost advantage has been nullified by the trend to zero commissions. ... There’s also a first-class portfolio analysis tool powered by Wealthscope. Try it and you’ll see how investors without tools like this are flying blind.
Desjardins Online Brokerage
Owner: Desjardins Group
Grade: C+
Eliminating trading commissions helped Desjardins climb in this ranking, but its overall grade is limited by a retro website that feels out of step with the times.
HSBC InvestDirect
Owner: HSBC Bank Canada
Grade: D+
With no mobile app and no U.S.-dollar registered accounts, HSBC plants itself in a deep hole in this ranking.
Interactive Brokers
Owner: Interactive Brokers LLC
Grade: B
Serious traders, give IB a look for a combination of low costs and market analytics. IB might be where active traders go when they outgrow Wealthsimple Trade.
National Bank Direct Brokerage
Owner: National Bank of Canada
Grade: B+
What compromises must clients make to get that cost advantage? Only one stands out as a potential deal-breaker – a mobile app is still in development and wasn’t available in early 2022.
Qtrade Direct Investing
Owner: Aviso Wealth
Grade: A
There are huge amounts of embedded value, starting the moment you log into your account and see a dashboard that is second to none in showing what you need to know about your portfolio.
Questrade
Owner: Questrade Financial Group
Grade: B+
A big add for Questrade lately is instant deposit, which lets you transfer money, typically as much as $3,500 a day, into your account in real time.
RBC Direct Investing
Owner: Royal Bank of Canada
Grade: B-
There is much to like here, including a new trading dashboard and strong tools for goal-setting and portfolio performance monitoring. But there’s an overall sense of drift with RBC Direct.
Scotia iTrade
Owner: Bank of Nova Scotia
Grade: B
Scotia says a website and app modernization is coming this year. Sharper portfolio analytics would be a nice complement to current standout features
TD Direct Investing
Owner: Toronto-Dominion Bank
Grade: A-
TD has its critics, notably for long wait times on the telephone. But it offers a shrewdly designed, helpful website that feels like a cockpit from which you fly your portfolio.
Wealthsimple Trade
Owner: Wealthsimple
Grade: I
That’s I for incomplete, a reflection of the fact that Wealthsimple Trade is an app for trading stocks and lacks almost all of the tools singled out for praise at other brokers.
<ed: for the rest of the rankings and methodology, you can see in the url listed above.
* --------------- End of 2022 Ranking -- Beginning of 2021 Rankings ----------- *
Here are the 2021 online rankings via the Globe and Mail
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investi ... -best-for/
I have just pasted the 2021 information above the 2020 article so people can track any changes. For the rest of this years article, "Brokers under the microscope," you'll have to subscribe to the G&M or visit a local library.
Review begins below.
Here are the brokers in the 202<1> ranking, listed alphabetically:
BMO InvestorLine
Owner: Bank of Montreal
Grade: B
It’s great to be able to report that this onetime star is phasing out its dated website and introducing something that improves the user experience in every way. Redesign bonus points for killing off the trading password, an annoyance most firms inflict on clients in order to submit a trade. What’s missing: Tools for portfolio analysis. BMO might argue that this function is covered by its adviceDirect service (DIY investing with personalized advice), but InvestorLine clients deserve tools of their own. InvestorLine’s trading app for mobile phones is quite good, but why no biometric option for logging in with your fingerprint instead of typing in yet another cursed password?
CIBC Investor’s Edge
Owner: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
Grade: C+
A website refresh has brightened things. Much overdue and nicely executed. Combine cheap stock-trading commissions of $6.95 with an excellent selection of analyst research reports and you have two-thirds of a strong contender. What’s missing are tools to analyze portfolios by factors like performance, risk, and diversification. Improvements in this area are said to be coming through 2021.
Desjardins Online Brokerage
Owner: Desjardins Group
Grade: C
Almost all brokers in this survey have brought their websites up to at least something close to a modern design standard that helps you go about your business quickly, cleanly and pleasantly. Desjardins is an exception, but a cost-effective one thanks to the $6.95 flat stock-trading commission.
HSBC InvestDirect
Owner: HSBC Bank Canada
Grade: D+
The lack of a mobile app as of early 2021 might be a deal-killer for some, and then there’s the glaring absence of U.S.-dollar registered accounts. What you do get is a low flat commission of $6.88 and, unusual in the online brokerage business, access to global stock markets. You can invest and settle trades in multiple global currencies.
Interactive Brokers
Owner: Interactive Brokers LLC
Grade: B+
Active, savvy investors who value low fees and cutting-edge trading tools, do check out IB. Keep walking if you’re someone who doesn’t trade a whole bunch and wants a broker that makes a place for people finding their way.
National Bank Direct Brokerage
Owner: National Bank of Canada
Grade: B
Elbowing its way toward the upper tier. The website is a pleasure to use and a good start has been made in providing tools for monitoring your portfolio. Add some risk analysis and asset allocation tools and we’d really have something. Part of the appeal is free online trading of Canadian- and U.S.-listed ETFs on orders of 100 shares or more.
Qtrade Investor
Owner: Aviso Wealth
Grade: A
Brokers need portfolio analysis tools to ace this ranking, and Qtrade delivers there with help in assessing how well your holdings work in terms of diversification, risk and more. When hot stock markets cool down, tools like this can be a difference-maker in helping investors achieve success. Qtrade could do a better job with reporting investment returns, but it’s otherwise strong in almost every respect. They may be the king of steady year-by-year improvement.
Questrade
Owner: Questrade Financial Group
Grade: B+
Questrade is a top choice for younger investors who want a fast, smart online investing experience, cheap commissions of 1 cent a share ($4.95 minimum, $9.95 maximum) and don’t mind the lack of online trading for bonds and guaranteed investment certificates. Portfolio monitoring is available through an alliance with a service called Passiv that will notify you if your asset allocation has strayed beyond the targets you set and help with rebalancing. Note: Electronic communications network (ECN) fees may add to the cost of some trades.
RBC Direct Investing
Owner: Royal Bank of Canada
Grade: B
BMO and CIBC have new-look websites, so RBC is now the bank-owned broker most in need of a refresh. Strong portfolio management tools can be found within the website, but the exterior cladding has a strip mall ambience. It does the job, but no one’s jazzed to be there. RBC’s emphasis lately seems to be on active traders. Free real-time streaming quotes are available, and more detailed Level 2 quotes for TSX stocks were introduced last year at no cost. RBC is also highlighting something more brokers should look at – online access to details on payments from registered retirement income funds. Good idea.
Scotia iTrade
Owner: Bank of Nova Scotia
Grade: B
Pluses include a strong offering of analyst research, a menu of 49 ETFs you can trade for free (from the iShares, Horizons, Vanguard and PowerShares lineups) and a welcome break from a policy at some other bank-owned brokers that drastically limits client options for holding cash. Looking for tools to design and manage a portfolio? Scotia’s got little to offer. Also, the website’s starting to look a bit stale in comparison to the leaders in this ranking.
TD Direct Investing
Owner: Toronto-Dominion Bank
Grade: A-
TD’s the leader in recasting the online brokerage business as less a trading platform than a cockpit for managing your investments. There’s a sleek, streamlined quality to the website that promotes use of its tools for setting goals, building portfolios and monitoring them to ensure they continue to do the job. Analyst research has been improved and online GIC orders are now possible. TD, it’s past time to add online chat and secure e-mail so clients can make account enquiries without calling.
Virtual Brokers
Owner: CI Financial Corp.
Grade: B
Three good reasons to consider VB – stock trading at 1 cent a share ($1.99 minimum, $7.99 maximum), free ETF purchases (regular fees apply when you sell) and a powerful portfolio analysis tool supplied by a third-party firm called Wealthscope. The onetime coolness factor of VB’s website is fading as other firms up their game.
Excel file via G&M: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/files/e ... -2021.xlsx
End of the 2021 review / ___________________________ Beginning of the 2020 review
Here is the 2020 online rankings via the Globe and Mail.
I have just pasted the 2020 information above the 2019 article so people can track any changes. For the second half of this years article, "Brokers under the microscope," you'll have to subscribe to the G&M or visit a local library. If it's important, go spend a few dollars as opposed to asking anonymous posters. My only edits were to bold the dealer names for ease of reading.
Rob Carrick grades Canada’s online brokerages for 2020
PUBLISHED JANUARY 31, 2020
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investi ... -for-2020/
The best online broker in Canada is also one of the priciest on commissions and fees.
Pay more with Qtrade Investor, get more. No other broker is good in so many different areas and no other broker makes such consistent year-by-year improvements.
Online brokers are prevented by regulators from offering advice, but the best firms have figured out a way to provide tools that let investors help themselves. Unless you’ve tried these tools, you may not realize how much they can help build confidence that you’re doing the right things.
Qtrade’s standard online trading commission was $8.75 when this ranking was done, which puts it closer to the top of range for stock-trading costs than the bottom. Low fees are a foundation of do-it-yourself investing, and they are a crucial aspect of the 21st annual Globe and Mail online brokerage ranking.
But if investing to you is a years-long journey of wealth-building for goals like retirement and your children’s postsecondary education, then you’ll get more value from Qtrade’s tools and informative website than you will by paying a few bucks less per trade.
It is possible to get a decent investing experience with low costs. Questrade and Virtual Brokers have done a great job of adding worthwhile features while keeping costs low. If you want the ultimate in low-cost trading, check out Wealthsimple Trade. Commissions are zero, but for now it’s a stripped-down offering without the services needed to be included in this ranking.
As ever, in this ranking brokers are scored on services targeted at mainstream online clients as opposed to heavy traders. Here’s a breakdown of the ranking criteria:
Convenience and security: Assessing how easy it is to set up an account and maintain it, as well as the quality of the website as a way to help clients stay on top of their investments.
Cost: Commissions for trading stocks and exchange-traded funds are considered here, as well as inactivity/maintenance fees and the cost of mailing account statements and trading confirmations.
The investing experience: Factors considered here include the availability of a full range of U.S.-dollar registered accounts, online availability for guaranteed investment certificates and services for mobile devices.
Tools: A look at the resources available to help build diversified portfolios and manage them over time, including research on stocks and exchange-traded funds. A big part of this assessment is devoted to how well the broker reports client account performance.
Here are the brokers in the 2020 ranking, listed alphabetically:
BMO InvestorLine
Owner: Bank of Montreal
Grade: B-
Given how great it was back in its early 2000s heyday, BMO’s slippage in recent years has dropped it only to the point of mediocrity. That’s the good news. The bad is that BMO is being outclassed by a growing number of competitors that understand brokers have to be more than a platform for buying and selling investments.
CIBC Investor’s Edge
Owner: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
Grade: C
If you put a lot of stock in having access to a deep library of analyst research and cheap commissions of $6.95 per trade, then CIBC is worth a look. But overall, this broker is serviceable at best and much in need of the changes that are going on behind the scenes there.
Desjardins Online Brokerage
Owner: Desjardins Group
Grade: C
Covers all the bases more or less, but in a very traditional package that lacks the spark or originality you’ll find in the top-ranked firms on this list. What makes the overall package more appealing is a commission cut to $6.95 from just below $10.
HSBC InvestDirect
Owner: HSBC Bank Canada
Grade: D+
The $6.88 commission puts HSBC in the group of brokers that don’t offer state-of-the-art services and try to make up for that with lower trading costs. But HSBC is a little further behind than most. It lacks an app for trading on mobile devices, and it doesn’t offer U.S.-dollar registered accounts.
Interactive Brokers
Owner: Interactive Brokers LLC
Grade: B+
For those who know what they’re doing as investors and want a broker that lets them do it as cheaply as possible. IB offers a sophisticated platform that will leave novices with their heads spinning.
National Bank Direct Brokerage
Owner: National Bank of Canada
Grade: B
An oh-so-needed website upgrade has livened things up considerably for this broker, although some tools have not yet migrated to the new site from the old. NBDB stands out here for coming closest to free trading of Canadian- and U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds. The catch is that you must trade in amounts of at least 100 shares.
Qtrade Investor
Owner: Aviso Wealth
Grade: A+
What impresses about Qtrade is its attention to details in supplying almost all the features investors need to be successful. Example: Its mobile app lets you do a wide range of functions and doesn’t cut corners, which many other brokers have. This past year, Qtrade introduced an excellent, must-try tool called Portfolio Score for analyzing your portfolio.
Questrade
Owner: Questrade Financial Group
Grade: B+
Unburdened by the “legacy computer systems” that are used as an excuse for the lameness of many bank-owned broker websites, Questrade has been steadily building a fresh, clean investing experience that will resonate with younger investors a lot more than almost every other broker on this list. Adding to this appeal is Questrade’s recent move to lower the threshold where you no longer have to pay account inactivity fees, from $5,000 to $1,000.
RBC Direct Investing
Owner: Royal Bank of Canada
Grade: B+
RBC’s online brokerage arm is looking increasingly old school, even if it does house some really good tools for building and monitoring a portfolio. Why aren’t these tools right in your face when you log in as a client? If you do a significant amount of stock trading, you’ll appreciate that RBC has added real-time streaming stock quotes with no minimum required account size or level of trading activity to qualify.
Scotia iTrade
Owner: Bank of Nova Scotia
Grade: A-
An all-around strong player with an advantage over some other bank-owned firms. Scotia allows clients to buy a wide variety of high interest savings accounts packed as mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, while BMO, RBC and TD only allow purchases of their in-house product. For details on who sells what, check the Globe’s DIY investor’s guide to the best parking spots for cash.
TD Direct Investing
Owner: Toronto-Dominion Bank
Grade: A
No other broker creates such a comfortable atmosphere for building and maintaining an investment portfolio. They do it by offering tools that help you understand not just how your investments are performing, but also how well you are achieving the financial goals you set. Now for some helpful criticism: TD’s behind the crowd in not being set up to answer client questions sent by secure e-mail or online chat.
Virtual Brokers
Owner: CI Financial Corp.
Grade: B+
VB’s pitch is cheap stock trading without sacrifice. There’s a strong portfolio analysis tool from an outfit called Wealthscope, a mobile app with full capabilities and a full range of U.S.-dollar accounts. Stock trades cost 1 cent a share with a $1.99 minimum and $7.99 maximum, and you can buy ETFs at no cost (regular fees apply when you sell). Another broker that younger investors should consider
Brokers under the microscope
A comparison of brokers in 10 key areas that address costs, ease of use and the ability to make sure you’re on track.
How do online stock trading commissions compare?
Almost all brokers have a flat commission for mainstream clients, but the actual costs varies.
Is there a simplified fee for all accounts with small balances?
Brokers typically charge a fee of one sort or another on accounts with less than $10,000 to $25,000. Some have created a unified fee for registered and unregistered accounts, while others confuse clients with separate fees for both types of account. Note: Many brokers waive these admin-type fees if you meet criteria such as making a small number of trades or setting up a regular contribution to your account; young adult clients may also qualify for a fee waiver
Is commission-free ETF trading available?
Low-cost exchange-traded funds are an excellent way to build a portfolio if you're a DIY investor, but commissions can add up if you make frequent purchases. Some brokers address this by waiving some or all commissions on ETF investments.
Foreign exchange charges
Brokers were asked to say what they would charge a client who bought $15,000 in U.S. dollars as part of a purchase of a U.S. stock. The hypothetical transaction was made at 10 on the morning of Dec. 10, 2019 (stock trading commission not included).
Are U.S.-dollar registered accounts available?
With a U.S.-dollar registered account, you can hold U.S. cash and receive U.S.-dollar dividends without having them automatically converted into Canadian dollars. That's a big savings on foreign exchange costs.
Can you buy high-interest savings ETFs?
These popular exchange-traded funds offer a way to park cash in your investment account and earn better returns than in other safe havens. Ticker symbols include PSA-T and CSAV-T. Expect to pay brokerage commissions to buy and/or sell.
Can clients send secure e-mails to get personal account questions answered, or use online chat?
Two ways that let you communicate directly with your broker about matters related to your account.
Are there comprehensive tools to help clients assess their returns over the short and long term and against benchmark indexes?
To be a successful investor, you need to be able to properly gauge how your portfolio is performing. If you can't match or beat the benchmark indexes, take a look at index-tracking ETFs.
How does the client website experience rank on a scale of 1 to 5?
A well-designed, easy-to-use website helps put your hands on the tools, research and other resources that make you a better investor. Here's a subjective rating based on a scale of 1 (worst) to 5 (best) for mainstream investors, rather than traders.
Is there a security guarantee saying clients will be reimbursed fully for losses in their account due to unauthorized transactions?
Reassurance against hackers gaining entry to your brokerage account (assumes you have kept your password private).
End 2020
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Begin 2019
Part of successful investing is the research and effort required; yet a few times a year, someone will post something to the effect of "help me find an online brokerage." A simple search of "online brokerages" gave me multiple threads (see attached) and many more post, including the ones below.
i.e. RFD 2017 - "Best Big 5 Bank Online Brokerage?" best-big-5-bank-online-brokerage-2156184/#p28687346, RFD 2019 - opinions-bank-brokerage-accounts-2262062/#p30499543
Globe and Mail review 2017 - https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-i ... -rankings/
Globe and Mail review 2019 - https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investi ... r-options/
"Which online brokerage is best in 2019? Rob Carrick ranks your options"
The annual Globe and Mail ranking of online brokers has seen some battles over its 20 years, but never anything as tense as today.
A big divide has opened up between the middling to weak players and the elite. The top firms have cut fees in a few cases while adding new features to help clients build and manage portfolios. The also-rans continue to plod along as if they’re still basically waiters taking your order for stocks or funds to buy.
This year’s co-winners are TD Direct Investing and Virtual Brokers. TD earned its spot by surpassing other brokers with its website innovation and utility, particularly for planning portfolios. VB cut its fees sharply while also introducing a nimble new website and a state of the art tool for managing an investment portfolio.
Just behind these two firms are Qtrade, Questrade and Scotia iTrade, all of them first-rate outfits that exemplify how far brokers have travelled in the past two decades.
As ever in this ranking, brokers are scored on services targeted at mainstream online clients as opposed to heavy traders. Here’s a breakdown of the ranking criteria:
The client experience: The emphasis here is on evaluating how easy it is to set up an account and contact a broker with questions or problems. An emphasis is placed on how well a firm reports the performance of client accounts.
Cost: Brokers are primarily graded on their trading commissions, the availability of commission-free exchange-traded funds and the intrusiveness of their account maintenance or admin fees.
The investing experience: A key measure is the availability of a full range of U.S.-dollar registered accounts and a wide range of services for mobile devices.
Tools: Primarily we’re comparing resources to help build diversified portfolios and manage them over time, but also stock and ETF research tools.
Website: A clean, navigable website helps clients get the most from time spent looking after their investments.
Here’s how individual brokers stack up:
BMO InvestorLine
Owner: Bank of Montreal
Grade: B
InvestorLine is what you get when a bank builds a high quality online brokerage division and then coasts for 10-plus years. Once-sharp tools to help clients manage their portfolios look dull now, and the website is as wrinkly as a prune when compared with the freshness of leaders such as TD Direct Investing and Questrade. When you consider the moxy that BMO is showing in the exchange-traded-fund business, the stagnation of InvestorLine looks sad.
CIBC Investor’s Edge
Owner: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
Grade: C
Nothing much changes with Investor’s Edge from year to year. You get comparatively cheap commissions and generous analyst research, but little to help you plan and monitor a portfolio to ensure it’s working. Another bank-owned broker with an absentee parent.
Desjardins Online Brokerage
Owner: Desjardins Group
Grade: C-
CIBC and HSBC are similar to Desjardins in their mediocrity, but at least they give you cut-rate commissions. It is beyond time for Desjardins to modernize its online brokerage.
HSBC InvestDirect
Owner: HSBC Bank Canada
Grade: C-
Grade: The lack of U.S.-dollar registered accounts and a mobile app highlight how far behind HSBC is compared with the other firms on this list. But give this broker its due – it offers a pleasant-to-use website, cheap commissions and a platform for online trading of stocks on global exchanges.
Interactive Brokers
Owner: Interactive Brokers LLC
Grade: B+
If you trade a lot and want to minimize costs, it’s your duty to check out IB. Stock trading commissions, interest rates on margin accounts and foreign exchange costs are all notably low, and there’s plenty of firepower for monitoring markets and setting up trades. Too hardcore for the rookie or casual investor.
National Bank Direct Brokerage
Owner: National Bank of Canada
Grade: B-
This could be your broker if you’re a cost-conscious higher net worth investor focused on ETFs. Trade 100 shares or more of any Canadian- or U.S.-listed ETF and you pay nothing in commissions. NBDB isn’t bad on portfolio-building and monitoring, but the website is as stale as last week’s loaf of Wonder Bread. It might have looked good on your Commodore 64.
Qtrade Investor
Owner: Aviso Wealth
Grade: A-
Another year, another round of improvements from this online brokerage dynasty (check out the 20-year list of year-by-year top picks). Standout changes include the ability to set goals for a registered accounts, better tracking of dividend income and additional stock research. Qtrade does evolution better than revolution. That’s why it was edged out for top spot this year.
Questrade
Owner: Questrade Financial Group
Grade: A-
This fast-growing independent is riding an improvement trajectory that will most likely put it on top of this ranking in the next several years. The latest upgrades of note concern the website, which has been sharpened and streamlined in a way that better helps clients get about their business. Portfolio-building and monitoring tools aimed at long-term, wealth-building investors should be next on the improvement list.
RBC Direct Investing
Owner: Royal Bank of Canada
Grade: B
On the broker innovation spectrum, RBC is somewhere between the inertia of BMO and CIBC and the slick modernity of TD and Scotia iTrade. RBC towers in its ability to help you plan a portfolio and keep it in line, but RBC stands out from the crowd in not offering low-cost Mawer mutual funds.
Scotia iTrade
Owner: Bank of Nova Scotia
Grade: A-
Scotia has fixed a gaping flaw in its commission schedule by extending $9.99 flat trading commissions to all, instead of those who meet various requirements for active trading or assets. Most other brokers did this ages ago, but let’s accentuate the positive. Scotia iTrade is now one of the most polished, well-rounded brokers out there.
TD Direct Investing
Owner: Toronto-Dominion Bank
Grade: A
Once the king of complacency, TD now sets a ferocious pace of innovation. The first phase of an impressive new generation of portfolio building and monitoring tools has emerged, with more to come. Best overall website by far in this ranking, and they finally came through on the often-made, often-broken promise to add U.S.-dollar registered retirement income funds.
Virtual Brokers
Owner: CI Financial Corp.
Grade: A
VB has fought its way back to the top after slipping last year. The strategy goes like this: Cut fees, add features. The $9.99 flat commission has been replaced with a charge of 1 cent a share with a $1.99 minimum, while the website was upgraded and a powerful new portfolio analysis tool from an outfit called Wealthscope was added. VB has done more in one year than some brokers have in 10.
An Excel version of the guide here, https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/files/ ... rs_19.xlsx
<Further comparisons available online.>
Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him = Never argue with an idiot, they'll only bring you down to their level & beat you with experience