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

Look Back Look Ahead

April 20, 2022

Published April 20, 2022 12:03 PM

8 Minute Read

Key points

One online brokerage believes that every investor is unique, and understands the power of personalization when it comes to offerings for self-directed investors. We spoke with RBC Direct Investing President & CEO Lori Darlington about their digital onboarding, Investor Academy, and what they believe sets them apart from their competitors.

Q&A with RBC Direct Investing. Lori Darlington, President & CEO.

What can beginner investors expect from your firm?
Beginner investors may be new to investing, or new to our platform. We’ll continue to deliver a great start for both groups through our digital onboarding journeys to get them up and running. Plus, we are increasingly using video to explain key financial literacy concepts in our Investing Academy.

What can active investors expect from your firm?
Our new Trading Dashboard was designed for active traders. Feedback has been positive, and we’ll be looking to better support clients in unlocking the full value of this powerful new dashboard.

What online investing trends do you expect to matter to self-directed investors?
Investors will continue to look to their online brokerage to access in-depth third party research and analysis to help ensure the investing decisions they make are right for them. We also see clients increasingly “crowd source” their investment ideas on social media and through their personal networks. Our Community, a secure online forum, fosters this exchange of ideas. Self-serve capabilities are important as well, and we want the end-to-end experience to be best in class!

What does user experience mean at your firm?
We support every step of the client journey from account opening, to funding, trading, and monitoring a portfolio. Every client is unique, so we’re providing a more personalized experience through Watchlists with real-time streaming quotes, “alerts,” and the option to toggle between previous day or intraday view of holdings.

What sets your firm apart from your peers?
We believe RBC Direct Investing stands apart on the things that matter: a broad product shelf, third-party research, and a full range of account types, most with automatic Canadian & US dollar sides. With access to three digital platforms (online, mobile, and the new Trading Dashboard), free real-time streaming quotes² for all clients and live agents when they need us, we feel we deliver great value. As we have for over 30 years, we’ll continue to listen to clients to build a superior client experience.

¹ Real-time quotes are available automatically to all clients for exchange listed stocks, ETFs and most over-the-counter (OTC) securities without completion of exchange agreements. Real-time quotes for options and grey market OTC securities on detailed quote and order entry pages are also available upon accepting the terms and conditions of all exchange agreements on the RBC Direct Investing online investing site. Real-time quotes for options and grey market OTC securities are available to Active Traders and Royal Circle clients across the site upon accepting the terms and conditions of all exchange agreements on the RBC Direct Investing online investing site

² Real-time streaming quotes are available automatically to all clients for exchange listed equities, ETFs and most over-the-counter (OTC) securities. Real-time streaming quotes for options and grey market OTC securities are available to Active Traders and Royal Circle clients upon accepting the terms and conditions of all exchange agreements on the RBC Direct Investing online investing site.

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

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