# Questrade or RBC Direct Investing



## NicW11 (Mar 3, 2012)

Hello all,
I’m trying to decide between Questrade and RBC Direct Investing. Our situation: Currently, my husband has a non-registered RBC Direct Investing Account, and I have a registered (TFSA) Questrade Account. We have 4 mutual funds between us, and want to start taking control of our own investments, and therefore want to start moving these to self-directed accounts. We’re going to start with our 2 smallest mutual funds as a DIY trial run.

I’m torn between QT and RBC DI. We are existing RBC banking clients and have been forever. I actually prefer the RBC Direct Investing trading platform. Transfers to DI would be almost immediate (as opposed to sometimes a 3 day turnaround to QT), and I find the customer service better at RBC (at least the banking side – I haven’t had much experience with DI), sometimes I’m on hold at QT for 30 minutes. Transfer out costs within RBC would be zero; to QT, we’d only pay $50.00 for one fund, because the other is at a high enough value that they would cover the exit fee that RBC charges, as long as I do this before Jan 15. 

I think I prefer RBC platform because, as I said, we’ve been RBC clients for a long time and I am very familiar with the website – its comfortable, so maybe its just a matter of getting more familiar with the QT platform. The downside of course to sticking to RBC are the 9.95 trades as opposed to the 4.95 with QT. 

These will be registered accounts of course (RRSP), and I mostly intend for these to be buy and hold equities, but I’m too new to know for sure that that is my strategy, so the commission is certainly a consideration. 

Any opinions on these 2 trading platforms for my specific purposes? 
Nic


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## slacker (Mar 8, 2010)

Most of my trades with Questrade are around the $10 range. $4.95 is the minimum.

I also find Questrade to be extremely insecure. All you need to do to authenticate on the phone is name, address, bday, mom maiden name, birth city. I know the other places are not necessarily better...


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## Uranium101 (Nov 18, 2011)

Just go with RBC DI, their customer service is a lot better than RBC banking lol. So, if you think RBC banking customer service is superb, then you will love RBC DI. I ran away from Questrade a few years back to RBC because Questrade underwent a failed transition i would said. And it is still a failure. You will regret going with Questrade if you needed any help when they screw up. It took a lot of calling and writing just to fix a simple transfer mistake they made.
Justbto be fair, the old Questrade was comparible to RBC. The customer service was ultra good back then, and there was a lot less wait time. On calls.


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## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

I've used both and prefer Questrade.

That said, if you are already using RBC and like the platform and qualify for $10 trades, I can't think of why you wouldn't go with them.

The difference between a $5-$6 trade and a $10 trade is insignificant unless you are a very active trader in which case IB would be a better choice for a non-reg account.

Here is my discount brokerage comparison http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/canadian-online-discount-stock-brokerage-comparison/

@Slacker - Questrade has the same security you will find at every single financial institution in Canada.


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## doctrine (Sep 30, 2011)

If RBC is free to switch, why not go with them to start. You can always transfer later. I use Questrade and I like them and their low trading fees. If you find you're trading more than you thought and/or you don't like RBC, you can always switch later.


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## Lephturn (Aug 31, 2009)

As Four Pillars mentioned - the key is do you qualify for the lower fees at RBC-DI. I have money at both Questrade and RBC DI. Both have their pros and cons - but if you are going to get charged $30 a trade at RBC DI then I would go with Questrade.


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## Pickering (Jun 24, 2011)

I am with RBC and am pleased with all aspects of their service.
Find out if you qualify for Royal Circle - dedicated phone number - have called dozens of times - rarely more than 3-4 rings.
Agents seemed to be very well trained - if they do not have an answer- call You back - refreshing.


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## NicW11 (Mar 3, 2012)

Thanks all. Yes, we will qualify for 9.95 trades. 
pickering - what is royal circle? i haven't heard of it before. Is it through RBC?


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## fraser (May 15, 2010)

We went with RBC Direct a few years ago. We did some research at the time and I believe that one of the Canadian business mags did a comparison...with RBC and Questrade both being at or near the top of the list.

We went with RBC because at the time they reimbursed us up to $250 for each account for the account charges that we incurred by cancelling and moving our accounts from another institution. I believe that we had just over $700 in fee refunds from this offer. 

We have been very happy with the service. One thing that did irk me was that we had to open a chequing account at RBC and that cost us about $45 per year until I reached 60. It has worked out well because we also deal with PHN who were purchased by RBC.


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## Sampson (Apr 3, 2009)

Mike, just reread your reviews and nice tabulation of the many important features of each brokerage.

If I may criticize though, and this could apply to OP, is that the review lacks all the 'extras' the big bank brokerages offer once account values increase. Much like normal vs. VIP type banking, the brokerage arms do offer alot of freebies and reduced pricing after accounts grow to X size. This could factor into a decision if the OP has a large account. Some examples of premium services from RBC DI

http://www.rbcdirectinvesting.com/joinroyalcircle/index.html

Premium research
Access to a real-time trading platform
Lots of fee waivers, free swaps and transfers


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## donald (Apr 18, 2011)

Royal circle-You need a balance of 250k+ in capital and or trigger 5k worth of comissions.(a year)
-also get access to 3.5 margin if you are the borrowing kind.(level2 quotes)
Any rbc di members notice this community they are advertising?under the home tab?looks like it is similar to this forum(members of rbc di-discussing trades ect,in a forum format,i think)


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## Sampson (Apr 3, 2009)

yes, i get the ads. I disregard them.


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## Lephturn (Aug 31, 2009)

The only downside with RBC DI is that they are quite bad for options if you are so inclined. They have some rudimentary functionality, but it's pretty rough - especially for registered accounts. On the flip side any time I have been unable to accomplish something on the site (say a married put) I simply call them and they have a trader do it for no extra charge.


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## harryjchong (Sep 5, 2014)

*Cannot Recommend Questrade*

I am not with RBC, but I cannot recommend Questrade. I dislike Questrade a great deal. They've hit me with various charges, fees, and interest. They also cancelled my request to let me withdraw money from my account. Questrade is a very shady business. It seems like a bargain at first, but it really isn't when you take into account all the theft that they do. (Yes, I'm calling it that.) I really would avoid them. Questrade's given me just bad service. Avoid Questrade!


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## harryjchong (Sep 5, 2014)

*Avoid Questrade...!*

I don't know what happened here. I think my reply got deleted. But I was just saying... I do not recommend Questrade. Their services was very bad. Also, lots of hidden charges, and fees. They really squeeze you. Left a bad taste in my mouth. I'm quite annoyed with them. They've taken money from me in a very unfair way.


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