Canadian Brokers

[BUrg]

Hey,

I'm brand new to the investing "scene" and I have been reading through a lot of tutorials on this website and others, but I'm Canadian. All of the sites I have read mention mainly American online brokers.

I was wondering if there was a list or people could mention some well known Canadian brokers.

Also, as for broker fee's, what might they include? I am only looking into investing $500-1000 into one or two stocks, then letting them sit there for a few months before switching into other stocks. But I do not plan on day trading, or trading many stocks in a short period of time. I'm only learning right now.

Also, how can I go about "testing" an online broker before choosing to go with them?

Thanks a lot!

[Stocktrading101]

Hmm... we actually have a good handful of Canadian traders on this forum, hopefully one of them catches this thread to give you their 2 cents.

But anyway, I just did a google search for canadian brokers and this is the list that came up,

http://www.stockbrokerguide.com/cana...ockbrokers.php

Out of these brokers I can tell you right now that Etrade or TD Waterhouse (which is now TD Ameritrade) are going to most likely be your best bets. I know both brokers like the back of my hands, and can read up more on them on my blog here if you want.

I would check to see what minimum deposit you need to open an account with them.

As for "testing" the broker beforehand to see if you like them once you deposit your money and open your account you dont have to make a trade if you don't want. Etrade and Waterhouse have excellent free tools just because they are multi billion dollar companies, its a win-win especially for new traders. I have 4 accounts open with TD AMeritrade (who now owns TD Waterhouse) just so you know; all my 2 cents naturally.

Hope that helps, good luck man! (Welcome to the forums btw, lol)

[traderann]

All the big Canadian banks have on-line brokers: BMO, TD, CIBC, etc. Some of the non-bank on-line brokers include E-Trade, TradeFreedom.

Interestingly enough, most of them are all in flux right now - fixing up their platforms and services, lowering commissions for active traders. Right now I have trading accounts with BMO and TradeFreedom, but am waiting for the dust to settle to see if I may want to make a jump.

For you, with $500-$1000, I doubt you'll find commissions less than CDN$29.00 per trade for limit orders.

Rob Carrick, the columnist for the Globe & Mail's Report on Business does an annual survey of online brokers. Find it at:
www.globeinvestor.com (this is free and has lots of good info)
then click on the link for "globe investor gold" and sign up for the free 14-day trial. On the home-page is a link to "on-line broker survey".

Good luck!

[Robo_ROB]

Hello,
I'm currently located in Vancouver, British Columbia and I can warn you to stay away from the banks. I have had a trading account before with TD Waterhouse and I can tell you from personal experience that all the major banks charge too much. Stay away from commission structures where they charge you a fee of 1-5 cents "per share." This can add up quickly and you'll find yourself spending $300 on a single trade!

The banks seem to think that they can get away with anything but it is true that there are many changes taking place. I even asked a banker 3 months ago about the fact that "Ameritrade Canada" had just been opened and "E-trade Canada" had also lowered their commission fees considerably when compared to the banks. When asked if the banks are considering some kind of change from asking their ridiculous $300 fees per trade, the lady simply laughed and said "what for." People here will tend to pay high commissions rather than seek out the best options, because for the longest time, there were no options...you would go to the bank, end of story.

It seems that already Ameritrade has been bought out by TD a month ago; however, I still don't see any changes to TD Waterhouse.

To sum up: stay away from the banks, they will rip you off! I agree that E-trade Canada have low set fees, especially if you are active in the US markets like you should be! I was involved with a class-action lawsuit against TD bank for not properly disclosing the fact that they charged high exchange rates every trade I placed in the US markets from my Canadian cash account. We won in court. They will still try to weasel their way into your pockets, especially since their fees as still the highest out there.

Also, my current favourite (as changes are always happening) is by far Trade Freedom. This is because they are the only platform in Canada that not only charge the lowest fees and commissions, but also they enable you to open Commodities Futures and Forex accounts besides the standard equity and margin accounts, all with the same company. They are a part of the Investment Dealers Association and I think you'll like them. You really have no other choice unless E-trade happens to be in the middle of a promotion where they offer you 100 free trades for signing up now.

I hope this has been useful; however, I wouldn't be surprised if it changes in the next 6-12 months again. Almost all the brokers will require some kind of minimum deposit (roughly $25,000) to qualify for discounts. Good luck with your trading and always do your own research. Never take tips from anybody because they might be telling you to buy the stocks that they are trying to get rid of.

Robert_Patyk@hotmail.com
BillionDollarBlueprint@hotmail.com