Look Back / Look Ahead 2021-2022: Qtrade Direct Investing Q&A

Look Back Look Ahead

April 13, 2022

Published April 13, 2022 11:50 AM

8 Minute Read

Key points

Providing a DIY investing platform is just the beginning for one online brokerage. We spoke with Christine Zalzal, Head of Qtrade Direct Investing and VirtualWealth, about how they’re constantly stepping up their game when it comes to tools and resources for self-directed investors, with a laser focus on helping them succeed with confidence.

Q&A with Qtrade Direct Investing. Christine Zalzal, SVP, Head of Qtrade Direct Investing and VirtualWealth.

What can beginner investors expect from your firm?
As a new investor with Qtrade Direct Investing, you’ll quickly feel empowered to pursue your investing goals while you gain experience. Qtrade is an award-winning online investing service with robust mobile trading capabilities and unrivaled client service. Reviews from The Globe and Mail, MoneySense, and Surviscor have consistently ranked Qtrade among the best, including 23 first-place awards for Best Online Brokerage over the past 16 years, and eight first-place awards for customer service experience over the past six years.

As a Qtrader, you have access to a wealth of resources and innovative tools to help you invest with confidence. For example, Portfolio Simulator™ lets you test investment scenarios in a simulator mode, so you can explore ideas and fine-tune your investment strategy. Portfolio Score™ provides a second opinion on your portfolio, grading it on five key dimensions, including performance, diversification, and risk exposure.

If you’re looking to build an ETF portfolio, you’ll have access to over 100 commission-free ETFs, which are free to buy and sell. You can also get help building your own ETF portfolio with Portfolio Creator™. After answering a short series of questions, it generates a sample portfolio, customized to your investing preferences, that will help you maximize risk-adjusted returns.

And along your investor journey you can always get answers to your questions through our FAQs and self-help tools, including “Guide Me” tutorials, which help you quickly learn how to use different features of the platform.

What can active investors expect from your firm?
Qtrade Direct Investing offers the Investor Plus program, an enhanced service for active traders or investors with larger portfolios. Investor Plus features include discounted trading fees, no fees on US dollar registered accounts, and reduced margin borrowing rates. As an active trader, you’ll benefit from a reliable, stable trading platform, mobile trading capabilities, and expert client support. In addition, Qtrade will soon roll out expanded trading capabilities, which include advanced order types, like contingent orders and multi-leg options.

What online investing trends do you expect to matter to self-directed investors?
Omni-channel experiences. Do-it-yourself investors want to be empowered with well- designed online brokerage experiences on all versions of the trading platform, and for the platform to be accessible on different devices.

What does user experience mean at your firm?
At Qtrade Direct Investing, we’re genuinely obsessed with enhancing Qtraders’ experience and building investor confidence – it’s at the heart of everything we do. We’re committed to continuous innovation to improve the investor experience.

What sets your firm apart from your peers?
It’s the relentless determination to empower you with the best investor experience, so you can build and manage your portfolio with confidence. Our mantra is: “We’re a confidence-building machine.” We strive to deliver more value in a comprehensive service than any other choice.

This Q&A was featured in the Look Back / Look Ahead magazine.

In The Globe and Mail’s 2021 online brokerage review, personal finance columnist Rob Carrick said: “Any broker can fill an order to buy stocks, exchange-traded funds, mutual funds, bonds and more. Qtrade helps you build a well-constructed portfolio and then monitor it to ensure it continues to work for you. Qtrade,” he continued, “may be the king of steady year-by-year improvement.”

And in the 2021 ranking of online brokers by MoneySense, Glenn LaCoste of Surviscor said, “Qtrade Direct Investing is a UX leader given its breadth of data, which is both easy to locate and to use.”

Reviews like these are gratifying because it means we’re succeeding in building a service that provides investors with value and the confidence to pursue their goals.

Please note: Online brokerage services are offered through Qtrade Direct Investing, a division of Credential Qtrade Securities Inc. Qtrade and Qtrade Direct Investing are trade names and trademarks of Aviso Wealth.

Look Back / Look Ahead 2021-2022: Qtrade Direct Investing Q&A