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Look Back Look Ahead: Questrade Q&A

Blog

February 04, 2021

Published February 04, 2021 08:00 AM

30 Minute Read

Table Of Contents

    Key points

    What can beginner investors expect from your firm?Helping Canadians become confident investors is what we do every day. And it’s important not only to serve their needs today but also to teach them more about the markets as things happen. When COVID-19 hit, we sent out resources to help customers make sense of the markets. […]

    What can beginner investors expect from your firm?
    Helping Canadians become confident investors is what we do every day. And it’s important not only to serve their needs today but also to teach them more about the markets as things happen.

    When COVID-19 hit, we sent out resources to help customers make sense of the markets. This investing series was focused on how markets historically rebound after pullbacks, to help arm our customers with knowledge to navigate through the uncertainty. We regularly communicated with customers throughout the pandemic, giving updates on our operations and the market, so they can feel confident that we are here for them and they are not alone.

    We have also partnered with Passiv, a portfolio-rebalancing tool, to make it even easier for customers to manage their investments. Anyone with a Questrade account receives a free subscription to Passiv Elite, their highest-tier plan.

    All customers have access to real-time quotes and fast trade executions.

    And, of course, new investors can enjoy all this knowing that they can reach out to our award-winning customer service if they ever have any questions.

    What can active investors expect from your firm?
    Unlike at many other brokers, all Questrade customers can access all of our platforms absolutely free, whether you’re trading on a web-based browser, on a mobile app or using IQ Edge, our advanced desktop platform. 

    Every year we’re adding more and more features focused on more-active investors, and 2020 was no exception.

    This year we completely upgraded the market data on the platform by partnering with Benzinga, to give investors an abundance of news and analyst commentary on the stocks they’re following.

    Along with Benzinga, we added an entirely new events calendar, so investors can easily look up key dates that may affect their securities. Earnings releases, dividend dates and analyst upgrades can all be easily searched on the event calendar.

    As always, all Questrade accounts are dual-currency accounts, so you can hold Canadian and US cash in your account (some competitors don’t give their customers this ability). With Questrade, you won’t get charged unnecessary currency-conversion fees when doing US trades.

    2021 will continue to bring exciting new features for IQ Edge, with upcoming releases that will make it even more powerful.

    What online investing trends do you expect to matter to DIY investors?
    We anticipate an increase in desire for knowledge, greater engagement with educational content for investors of all levels, increased participation in investing-related social media and, ultimately, a more informed, educated and successful DIY investor. 

    What does user experience mean at your firm?
    User experience at Questrade is about making investing easy for customers. At any given time, a user should be able to feel confident that they can access, read and understand all their portfolio information, that they can easily make trades using their platform of choice and that they know where to turn if they need help at any time. 

    What sets your firm apart from your peers?
    At Questrade, we care about Canadians becoming financially successful and secure. As an independently owned online brokerage in Canada, we’re in the unique position of being accountable to our customers, not to shareholders. Our success is measured by our customers’ success, and we are always doing everything in our power to ensure that our investors have access to the knowledge, tools and resources they need to reach their investment goals. This means that every decision is made with Canadians’ best interests in mind.

    And others have recognized this effort, as our list of awards grows:

    • #1 rank in investor satisfaction among self-directed brokerages by J.D. Power, as well as #1 for commission and fees and #1 for account information (for J.D. Power 2020 award information, visit jdpower.com/awards)
    • Canada’s fastest-growing online broker
    • 8X winner of Canada’s Best Managed Companies
    • $18 billion in assets under administration
    • Over 100,000 new accounts opened annually
    • Award-winning #1 ranked customer service

    This customer-first approach is a major driver of innovation at Questrade. We’re constantly searching for new ways to make investing easier for our customers, be it through the elimination of fees, the support of educational resources or one of the exciting programs and initiatives that we have planned for 2021. 

    And, as always, all with the low fees that Canadians have come to expect from us:

    • Trade stocks from 1¢/share (min. $4.95 to max. $9.95)
    • Buy ETFs commission-free
    • No annual account fees
    • No account opening or closing fees
    • All accounts are dual-currency accounts
    • Free to transfer in an account from another financial institution

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

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