Canadian Broker Comparison
Which Canadian broker is right for you? In order to answer that, you need to answer yourself some key questions. How often do you plan to trade (ie are you a long term investor in securities or do you plan on being a day or swing trader)? Do you want to buy mainly Canadian Securities or do you want exposure to foreign markets? Do you want to trade Foreign Exchange, Options or other more complex financial instruments? How much money do you have to invest? Are you looking to invest as an RRSP or a TFSA (tax free savings account)?
These and many other factors contribute to which broker will be the best for you as a Canadian or Canadian resident.
Ultimately, we can't answer which broker will be perfect for you, but we can give you information about their fees, comissions and other data
| Broker | Margin Rate | Mutual Funds | Comm | Real Time Data | Minimum Balance | Maint Cost | Int on Cash | DRIP | RRSP /TFSA | Forex Fee/Spread (each way) | |||
| Scotia i-Trade | Prime + 1 | Yes | $9.99 per trade with $50k deposit or 30 trades per quarter ($19.99 per per trade otherwise) | Yes - free | $50k for $9.99 trade. 19.99 otherwise | $25 per quarter for low activity. $0 if balance > $5k | 4.15% (only out – side RRSP) | Yes | Yes/ Yes | ~1% | |||
| IB | LIB +1.5 | No | Min $1 per USD or CAD trade. Max 0.5% of trade value ($0.005 per share). Max 0.5% of trade value ($0.01 per share) | Yes ($10 /mo if less than $30 usd comm per mo. | $10k to open a new account | $10 USD per mo (min) | LIB – 0.5 = 3.72% today on Cad$ > $11.5k | No | No/ No | 0.01% + 2.50USD | |||
| Questrade | Prime + 1 | Yes $30 | $4.95 for up to 495 shares. $9.99 for all other trades. | Yes - free | $1k to open a new account | None | prime – 2.5% = 3.5% today on CAD >$10k | Yes | Yes/ Yes | 0.5% (for RRSP), 1.50% for non-reg | |||
| RY, BMO | varies | Yes | $29 per trade | Yes - free | varies | varies | varies | Yes | Yes/ Yes | ~1%, 0.9% | |||
| CIBC Investors Edge | ? | Yes | $395 for 50 trades or $7.90 per trade. $6.95 per trade after 50 | Yes - free | $25k balance for no annual fee | $125 per year if under min req. | ? | Yes | Yes/ Yes | 0.90% | |||
|
Contact Them |
|
$19 per trade or $9.95 per trade for active traders ( 25 per quarter) | Yes - free | None | None | ? |
|
|||||
| TDW | ? | Yes | $9.99 per trade if assets > $100k. | Yes | $100k in assets | $100 per year if under $25k balance | ? | Yes | Yes/ Yes | ||||
| QTrade | ? | Yes | $19 per trade or $9.95 per trade if assets > $100k | Yes | none | $50 per yr if under $50k balance in RRSP | ? | Yes | Yes/ Yes | ||||
| Trade Freedom | Prime + 1 | Yes $37.95 | $9.95 per trade up to 1000 shares. $0.01 per share after that | Yes - free | $1k for margin | none | varies prime -3% for <$10k | Yes/ Yes |
Updated 2009
Above information may be out of date or innacurate. Please consult the broker's website or other documentation for better accuracy.