# iTrade ETF's, opinions?



## Quickstart (Dec 19, 2011)

Hi everyone,

I'm looking into the 46 commision free ETF's that Scotia iTrade offers and just wanted to get some opinions on which ones look like good buys at this time. This is going to be one of my first investments so any input would be appreciated, thanks!


----------



## somecanuck (Dec 23, 2011)

Read the fine print. If you incur no trading commissions at all in a quarter, you're nailed with a fee. It kind of reduces the no-fee advantage. It makes TD e-Series all the more appealing.

Questrade has commission-free ETFs but I do not know if they have a similar fee in place.


----------



## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

Quickstart said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> I'm looking into the 46 commision free ETF's that Scotia iTrade offers and just wanted to get some opinions on which ones look like good buys at this time. This is going to be one of my first investments so any input would be appreciated, thanks!


Pick your investments, then analyse which products offer what you want at the lowest fee.
They've got some low fees, but I'm not actually interested in buying any of the free ETFs at this time.

Buying the wrong investment will end up costing you more than you save in fees.


----------



## Sherlock (Apr 18, 2010)

somecanuck said:


> Questrade has commission-free ETFs but I do not know if they have a similar fee in place.


Are you sure about this? A quick googling suggests otherwise: http://startingat22.blogspot.com/2011/10/questrade-commission-free-etfs-not-yet.html


----------



## somecanuck (Dec 23, 2011)

Sherlock said:


> Are you sure about this? A quick googling suggests otherwise: http://startingat22.blogspot.com/2011/10/questrade-commission-free-etfs-not-yet.html


My bad, it's Qtrade. I knew it was one of them.


----------



## Quickstart (Dec 19, 2011)

So you guys are saying as a low volume / number of trades beginner investor it really would be wise to uproot all my accounts from scotiabank (RRSP, High interest savings, chequing and iTrade) and go to TD? Are the commission free ETF's really not worth it for me?


----------



## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

somecanuck said:


> Read the fine print. If you incur no trading commissions at all in a quarter, you're nailed with a fee. It kind of reduces the no-fee advantage. It makes TD e-Series all the more appealing.
> 
> Questrade has commission-free ETFs but I do not know if they have a similar fee in place.


TWD offers no fees PACC but only for Claymore ETFs. It can be done monthly, quaterly or annually and I think minimum is $100. Too bad they don't offer it for iSeries and BMO ETFs, as I hold only 1 Claymore - CBO. 

I;d like to have PACC for XIU, XIC, ZQQ, XRE or ZRE.


----------



## somecanuck (Dec 23, 2011)

Quickstart said:


> So you guys are saying as a low volume / number of trades beginner investor it really would be wise to uproot all my accounts from scotiabank (RRSP, High interest savings, chequing and iTrade) and go to TD? Are the commission free ETF's really not worth it for me?


That's my likely move in the next few months. I'm still crunching numbers. 

For Claymore, don't forget that they track fundamental indices.


----------



## jsut (Dec 14, 2010)

for the record, here's the fine print from qtrades free etf schedule:

* To be eligible to receive commission-free* online trading of the 60 ETFs in our program, you must:
1. Execute the ETF trade online in one of the 60 eligible ETFs listed;
2. Hold the applicable ETF for a minimum of 1 (one) business day from the date of purchase (ETFs held for less than 1 business day are subject to our regular equity commission charges); and
3. Have signed up for eDocuments (both statements and confirms).
* Eligible commission-free* ETF trades will display $0 commission upon order entry and on trade confirmations.
* ETF trades that are not eligible for our commission-free* online trading offer will continue to be subject to our regular equity commission charges.
* Qtrade Investor reserves the right to make changes to and / or cancel this offer at any time.

The ETFs that are eligable are:

Canadian Listed:
CBN Claymore Balanced Growth Core Portfolio ETF
CBD Claymore Balanced Income Core Portfolio ETF
FIE Claymore Canadian Financial Monthly Income ETF
CBO Claymore 1-5 Year Laddered Corporate Bond ETF
CLF Claymore 1-5 Year Laddered Government Bond ETF
CAB Claymore Advantaged Canadian Bond ETF
CHB Claymore Advantaged High-Yield Bond ETF
CSD Claymore Advantaged Short Duration High Income ETF
XRB IShares Dex Real Return Bond Index Fund Bond Canada
PGL Powershares Ultra Dlux Long Term Government Bond Index ETF
CBR Claymore Broad Commodity ETF
HUK Horizons Comex Copper ETF
HUG Horizons Comex Gold ETF
HUZ Horizons Comex Silver ETF
HJE Horizons Gmp Junior Oil And Gas Index ETF
HUC Horizons Winter-Term Nymex Crude Oil ETF
HUN Horizons Winter-Term Nymex Natural Gas ETF
DLR Horizons U.S. Dollar Currency ETF
HXS Horizons S&P 500 Index C$ Hedged ETF
HXT Horizons S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF
XEN IShares Jantzi Social Index Fund
XST IShares S&P/TSX Capped Consumer Staples Index Fund
XIT IShares S&P/TSX Capped Information Technology Index Fund
XUT IShares S&P/TSX Capped Utilities Index Fund
XMD IShares S&P/TSX Completion Index Fund
XCS IShares S&P/TSX Small Cap Index Fund
XVX IShares S&P/TSX Venture Index Fund
PDC Powershares Canadian Dividend Index ETF
CMR Claymore Premium Money Market ETF
COW Claymore Global Agriculture ETF
CGR Claymore Global Real Estate ETF
CIE Claymore International Fundamental Index ETF
CJP Claymore Japan Fundamental Index ETF - C$ Hedged
CMW Claymore S&P/TSX Global Mining ETF
HAZ Horizons Global Dividend ETF
XCH IShares China Index Fund
XEM IShares Msci Emerging Markets Index Fund
XID IShares S&P Cnx Nifty India Index Fund
XHC IShares S&P Global Healthcare Index Fund (CAD-Hedged)
XLA IShares S&P Latin America 40 Index Fund Global Equity

US Listed:
GBF IShares Barclays Government/Credit Bond Fund Bond
IYG IShares Dow Jones U.S. Financial Services Index Fund
IYW IShares Dow Jones U.S. Technology Sector Index Fund
DSI IShares MSCI Kld 400 Social Index Fund
VCR Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF
VDC Vanguard Consumers Staples ETF
VDE Vanguard Energy ETF
VHT Vanguard Health Care ETF
VIS Vanguard Industrial ETF
VAW Vanguard Materials ETF
VOX Vanguard Telecommunication Services ETF
VPU Vanguard Utilities ETF
ICLN IShares S&P Global Clean Energy Index Fund
RXI IShares S&P Global Consumer Discretionary Sector Index Fund
MXI IShares S&P Global Materials Sector Index Fund
IXN IShares S&P Global Technology Sector Fund
IXP IShares S&P Global Telecommunications Sector Index Fund
JXI IShares S&P Global Utilities Sector Index Fund
IPW SPDR S&P International Energy Sector ETF
IPF SPDR S&P International Financial Sector ETF

link: https://www.qtrade.ca/investor/en/aboutus/services/etfs.jsp


----------



## somecanuck (Dec 23, 2011)

It's unfortunate that Qtrade has such a high commission for regular trades. The list of free ETFs lacks a few that would be required to make a passive portfolio out of.


----------



## Scotia_iTRADE (Jun 15, 2010)

somecanuck said:


> Read the fine print. If you incur no trading commissions at all in a quarter, you're nailed with a fee. It kind of reduces the no-fee advantage.


Thank you for taking the time to discuss us and for your interest in our products. I’d like to add that our quarterly low activity account administration fee of $25.00 is waived for:

- Registered Plan accounts (RRSP, RIF, LIRA, LIF, RESP, TFSA);
- accounts with at least 1 commissionable trade in any one or more accounts during the preceding 3 months;
- new customers opening their first account during the initial 6-months following account opening; 
- Cash Optimizer Investment Accounts and Informal Trust accounts, and;
- customers with aggregate account equity greater than $10,000.

For more information, you may also visit: https://www.scotiaitrade.com/pages/home/fees3.shtml. 

Feel free to contact me directly [[email protected]] if you have any questions or require further clarification.

Thanks,

Nabil


----------



## somecanuck (Dec 23, 2011)

Whoa! That changes everything. My bad for not reading the fine print closely enough.


----------

