# Most stable on-line discount broker



## ssimps (Dec 8, 2009)

Does anyone have any input or stat's on what the most stable online discount broker is? 

Given all the itrade issues since account # conversion, and no sign of improvement in sight (http://canadianmoneyforum.com/showthread.php?p=15523), I am thinking of moving to a different company.

Too bad really because before the account # change I had the itrade account for 6 - 9 months and never had 1, I mean not 1, issue with itrade.

Thanks for your input.

BTW, I do not work for any broker or such, I am truly worried about itrade now given it has been so long since they made the backend change, so am looking for some input on alternatives from actual users.


----------



## HaroldCrump (Jun 10, 2009)

If things come to a point where I decide to move, I would go with Interactive Brokers (IB).
I have all types of accounts with iTrade (RRSP, RESP, TFSA, USD, and so on) and really hope they can pull their s***t together.
Moving so many accounts is not going to be fun....


----------



## ssimps (Dec 8, 2009)

HaroldCrump said:


> If things come to a point where I decide to move, I would go with Interactive Brokers (IB).
> I have all types of accounts with iTrade (RRSP, RESP, TFSA, USD, and so on) and really hope they can pull their s***t together.
> Moving so many accounts is not going to be fun....


I see what you mean. I only have 1 account with them, so it would not be too hard to switch. I was in the process of setting up TFSA and RRSP accounts with itrade as well, but think I will not do that right now.


----------



## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

HaroldCrump said:


> If things come to a point where I decide to move, I would go with Interactive Brokers (IB).
> I have all types of accounts with iTrade (RRSP, RESP, TFSA, USD, and so on) and really hope they can pull their s***t together.
> Moving so many accounts is not going to be fun....


IB doesn't have registered accounts (RRSP, RESP etc). Not sure about TFSA. They have a $10 monthly minimum and are more suited to active traders in open accounts. Their currency exchange rate is by far the best available that I know of.

http://www.interactivebrokers.de/de/general/education/faqs/canada.php?ib_entity=de#RRSP

I use Questrade for everything - $5, $5, $5!!!


----------



## mario 1 (Nov 6, 2009)

A low cost one is CIBC provided you make at least 50 trades per year. As per reliability, I just got back with them so I can't really say at this time.
When I was with them in the early 2000's they had some issues as well.


----------



## HaroldCrump (Jun 10, 2009)

Four Pillars said:


> IB doesn't have registered accounts (RRSP, RESP etc). Not sure about TFSA. They have a $10 monthly minimum and are more suited to active traders in open accounts.


I see, so that's not gonna work for me.
I'm not an active trader at all.
And for that reason, CIBC won't work either as suggested by mario_1.
I guess Questrade is the only option left...eh?

MoneySense magazine keeps raving about QTrade - anyone have any experience with them (esp. the guys out west)?
What about TradeFreedom (another brokerage that Scotia bought alongwith E*Trade) - are they having similar issues?


----------



## JDWood (Apr 3, 2009)

HaroldCrump said:


> What about TradeFreedom (another brokerage that Scotia bought alongwith E*Trade) - are they having similar issues?


Forget TF, itrade is taking them over this spring. 6.99 for 150 trades or more per quarter and 9.99 for 30 trades per quarter. I can't get an answer from them for somene like me that makes only 4 or 5 trades per quarter. I have emailed them 3 times asking, but they don't know. I am quessing since itrade is 19.99, that will be the new rate for TF. Double what I pay now. I am looking
into CIBC now. No RSP or TSFA with TF, so move shouldn't hurt too much.

Dear Valued Investor, 

Earlier this year, we told you about the launch of Scotia iTRADE, the new brand that will bring the Scotiabank family of online brokerage services together as one common offering. Since then, we have been working to integrate TradeFreedom and ScotiaMcLeod Direct Investing so that all of our customers can benefit from competitive low commissions, enhanced trading platforms, and a wealth of educational tools and resources. I am pleased to announce that plans are well underway to transition TradeFreedom customers to Scotia iTRADE in the late spring of 2010. 

* To qualify for commissions of $6.99 flat per Canadian or U.S. equities trade and $6.99 + $1.25/contract for each options trade, you must, during the immediately preceding calendar quarter, execute at least 150 equity or options trades. To qualify for commissions of $9.99 flat per Canadian or U.S. equities trade and $9.99 + $1.25/contract for each options trade, you must, during the immediately preceding calendar quarter, execute at least 30 equity or options trades or have a minimum of $50,000 in combined Scotia iTRADE account assets. You must re-qualify each calendar quarter. New qualification status will be effective on the second business day of the calendar quarter. Fees for U.S. transactions are charged in U.S. dollars. Market and ECN fees for trades executed using the Scotia iTRADE Pro platform not included.


----------



## CanadianCapitalist (Mar 31, 2009)

To respond to the OP's question, I've held accounts at RBC Direct and TD Waterhouse and both have had intermittent problems especially in the late 2008 to early 2009 period. Of late, things have been smooth but I've never found these occasional gremlins limiting because I rarely trade and if I can't, it can wait a few days.


----------



## mutant guppie (Jan 13, 2010)

ssimps said:


> Does anyone have any input or stat's on what the most stable online discount broker is?
> 
> Given all the itrade issues since account # conversion, and no sign of improvement in sight (http://canadianmoneyforum.com/showthread.php?p=15523), I am thinking of moving to a different company.
> 
> Too bad really because before the account # change I had the itrade account for 6 - 9 months and never had 1, I mean not 1, issue with itrade.


I've been with E-trade for 10 years + and never, NEVER had a problem before the takeover. Now all I get is attitude and lip from scotia management defending their sucky service for 'premium' account.


----------



## ssimps (Dec 8, 2009)

Does anyone else have experience with Questrade? Their base fees seem like the best, but what about these ECN charges? Although I have big issues with itrade now, I've never had an ECN charge. 

1) Does Questrade give you the total they are going to charge (base commission + ECN fees) when you place an order, or do you have to calculate the total cost yourself?
2) Can you modify limit orders you have made that have not been filled, and if so, do they charge for this?
3) If you get streaming TSX L2 data, it looks like you need to make 40 trades a month, or pay $30. Seems steep. Do you know if they auto charge the $30 fee automatically if you do not make the 40 trades/month, or is the feature disabled for next month?

What about CIBC users?

1) Do they charge ECN fees?
2) I could not find any info on their site about what it takes to get access to TSX L2 data, does anybody know about this for CIBC?

Thanks very much for all the input.


----------



## HaroldCrump (Jun 10, 2009)

I would like to get opinions about QTrade as well (not Questrade).
MoneySense magazine raves about QTrade - is anyone here a long-time, satisfied customer?


----------



## Kirkx (Dec 21, 2009)

For anyone considering opening a new account there is a new kid on the block, Virtual Brokers:

https://www.virtualbrokers.com/

Minimum to open an account is Cdn$ 25,000 and commission/ECN fees are similar to Questrade's, probably slightly lower. Because I couldn't find any comments about them on the web I started a new thread on Financial Webring Forums:

http://www.financialwebring.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=111217


----------



## mario 1 (Nov 6, 2009)

ssimps said:


> Does anyone else have experience with Questrade? Their base fees seem like the best, but what about these ECN charges? Although I have big issues with itrade now, I've never had an ECN charge.
> 
> 1) Does Questrade give you the total they are going to charge (base commission + ECN fees) when you place an order, or do you have to calculate the total cost yourself?
> 2) Can you modify limit orders you have made that have not been filled, and if so, do they charge for this?
> ...


CIBC does not charge ECN fees, they have the best pricing if you trade 
at lest 50 times a year.
They don't have L2, in their normal accounts anyway. I use the one from
I-trade which I also have an account with.
CIBC has great pricing but the platform is weak and speed of execution sucks.


----------



## ssimps (Dec 8, 2009)

For ECN fees, what does adding liquidity vs. removing liquidity mean?


----------



## ssimps (Dec 8, 2009)

ssimps said:


> For ECN fees, what does adding liquidity vs. removing liquidity mean?


To answer my own question, adding seems to = limit orders that are not at current market price, removing seems to == trading at current market price.

So some brokers do not charge ECN fees for limit orders but do for market orders.

I always use limit orders, so I'm going to base my pick partially on if they have no 'adding liquidity' ECN fees, like virtual brokers mentioned earlier.


----------



## Berubeland (Sep 6, 2009)

Adding liquidity is putting in a limit order. You will be paid for this .002 per share. As long as the share price is above 1$

Removing liquidity is making a market order. You will be charged this .002 per share.

Now some brokers do not charge or pay this fee to beginning traders but at least with Itrade once you have level 2 quotes you have to pay it. 

Some brokers charge for removing liquidity but do not pay for adding liquidity which is very self serving.


----------



## ssimps (Dec 8, 2009)

Berubeland said:


> Adding liquidity is putting in a limit order. You will be paid for this .002 per share. As long as the share price is above 1$
> 
> Removing liquidity is making a market order. You will be charged this .002 per share.
> 
> ...


never paid anything but 6.99 or 9.99 per trade @ itrade; never been charged an ECN charge for stock trades (other than the time the messed up and charged me 60 bucks, which they have now finally given me back). 

I do like this because it keeps the commission calc simple.

They seem to have different rules for different people that vary from what their website says.


----------



## high octane (Jul 21, 2009)

ssimps said:


> Does anyone else have experience with Questrade? Their base fees seem like the best, but what about these ECN charges? Although I have big issues with itrade now, I've never had an ECN charge.
> 
> 1) Does Questrade give you the total they are going to charge (base commission + ECN fees) when you place an order, or do you have to calculate the total cost yourself?
> 2) Can you modify limit orders you have made that have not been filled, and if so, do they charge for this?
> ...


I use Questrade

1) No they don't, and I can't figure out how they calculate it
2) Yes I modify mine all the time. No charge
3) I can only imagine they would auto charge rather than give up the profit for your laziness

I only use limit orders and I have to log into another site to see what the ECN fee was. It's always less than a quarter for me anyways

It's a shame Questrade isn't more stable (apparently)


----------



## Berubeland (Sep 6, 2009)

I only use limit orders and I have to log into another site to see what the ECN fee was. It's always less than a quarter for me anyways

If all you use is limit orders you will never be charged for removing liquidity because you are adding liquidity.

http://ibkb.interactivebrokers.com/node/201


----------



## stephenheath (Apr 3, 2009)

HaroldCrump said:


> I would like to get opinions about QTrade as well (not Questrade).
> MoneySense magazine raves about QTrade - is anyone here a long-time, satisfied customer?


I've been using Qtrade for a few years now and love it. They aren't necessarily the cheapest until you hit $100,000 in assets, but their customer service is fantastic... if you phone, they answer the phone and help you immediately. I'm a very basic investor so don't use tons of the tools, but the ones I've used have all been great.


----------



## krackerjack121 (Apr 4, 2009)

I have been researching some the different online brokerage firms. And so far it seems to me that the best one or at least the one that I have heard the least complaints about is Q - Trade. Not Questrade. I have heard a bunch of complaints about Questrade and I trade (Now with Scoita Bank)

I would be interested in hearing what others have to say about any of the Big 5 Banks trading platforms or any other discount trading platforms.

Rocky


----------



## Steve19 (Jun 29, 2009)

Just out of curiosity, is Questrade the only brokerage to offers US Dollar RRSP with no fee? Is it true TDW allows you to hold US Dollars in RRSP, but with an annual fee?

Any clarification would be great.
Thanks


----------

