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The latest posts from SparxTrading – in depth views on the world of online investing.

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RBC Direct Investing: Lowering Commissions and Raising the Stakes

Published February 1, 2014
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For many years, observers of the Canadian discount brokerage marketplace as well as the discount brokers themselves have all understood that the online brokerage business is a highly competitive space. Despite the many trends in products, services and pricing that have occurred over the last decade the standard commission rates at bank-owned brokerages have remained […]

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Review: Dalbar Canada’s Direct Brokerage Service Award 2013

Published January 23, 2014
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For individual investors, shopping for an online trading account often requires doing a fair amount of research and comparison between brokerages.  While commissions & fees are the most important factor investors consider when choosing an account, what it’s like to be a client of a particular brokerage is also something many investors are often curious […]

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – January 10, 2014

Published January 10, 2014
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This week it was bone-chillingly cold everywhere in Canada except for the discount broker deal space (and maybe Vancouver).  Several big promotions heated up the deals space this week in what is likely a sign of the fierce competition for self-directed investors’ assets to come this RSP deadline season.   Just in time for all that […]

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Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – January 2014

Published January 1, 2014
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[Updated: Jan 31/2014] While we thought the beginning of January would be a busy time for deals, we didn’t know it would be THIS crazy. Since the beginning of the month there have been quite a few big announcements. Read below for more details Welcome to the first discount brokerage deals post of 2014! 2013 […]

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – December 13, 2013

Published December 13, 2013
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This week Canadians learned that for some of us, getting letters to and from the North Pole may get harder and also more expensive now that Canada Post may cut back on mail deliveries. Not to fear though, SparxTrading is still delivering the best roundup of Canada’s discount brokerage related news, rain or shine, snow […]

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – December 6, 2013

Published December 6, 2013
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This week’s discount brokerage roundup finds us crossing into the home stretch of 2013.  Now that December is finally here things will almost certainly begin to gear down on the discount brokerage front until 2014.  Even so, this past week had a number of stories from various discount brokers including a new fee & commission […]

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Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – December 2013

Published December 1, 2013
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Updated 12/27/13 It had to happen sometime – Questrade has now become the first Canadian discount brokerage to offer a Boxing Day promotion.  The deal being offered is 25 commission-free trades that do not expire until the end of 2014 for a minimum deposit of $25,000.  Like any good Boxing Day deal, this offer is […]

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – Nov. 29 2013

Published November 29, 2013
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With bargain hunters being bullish on all kinds of deals, this Black Friday edition of the weekly roundup will hopefully be enjoyed on the screens of some newly purchased electronic goodies.   While the Black Friday madness has yet to hit the discount brokerage world (yet), there was still quite a bit of activity to report […]

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – November 22 2013

Published November 22, 2013
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Well when it rains in the discount brokerage world, it certainly pours. Fitting for November.  This week’s roundup looks back on a busy week filled with a major discount brokerage ranking being released, a very cool (and geeky) way to learn about options pricing as well as a frenzy of conversation about discount brokerages from […]

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Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – November 2013

Published November 1, 2013
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Updated Nov. 18th 2013 It’s hard to believe that November is already here. Most of the Canadian discount brokerages appear to be moving cautiously towards the end of the year with no new deals being offered this month.  And so things appear quiet – perhaps too quiet. [updated  11/18/13] Well, it looks like the deal […]

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup October 25 2013

Published October 25, 2013
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Coming into the home stretch of October, equity markets are continuing push higher.  The constant string of ‘good news’ is something that may lure more investors back into the markets, which is also probably why there are some major initial public offerings (IPOs) also being announced. Against the backdrop of optimistic markets, some discount brokerages […]

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – October 4 2013

Published October 4, 2013
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It’s Friday once more and with it brings a whole slew of discount brokerage related news and activities.  As the calendar rolled over into a new month, there was the usual hubbub with new deals being offered and updated by some major discount brokerages.  This past week also saw one major Canadian discount brokerage sponsor […]

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Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – October 2013

Published October 1, 2013
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This October the deal wheels keep on turning.    Overall, it looks like competition at Canadian discount brokerages is heating up with 6 discount brokerages currently offering some kind of promotion. To help make sense of the deals, this month we’re rolling out Deal Analytics (explained below) which will help provide support to individuals trying to […]

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – September 20, 2013

Published September 20, 2013
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Against the backdrop of smartphone maker drama, securities regulator announcements and US Federal Reserve tapering, Friday is finally here – and for some, it couldn’t come fast enough.  While it was hard to compete with the headline grabbing billion dollar writedown or a sexy new operating system, Canadian discount brokers were busy making some big […]

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Discount Brokerage Weekly Roundup – September 13, 2013

Published September 13, 2013
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Welcome to the Friday the 13th edition of the discount broker weekly roundup.  It’s been an exciting week in the markets as news of the widely anticipated Twitter IPO became official.  This week, I’ll provide some highlights of fee drops and deal announcements that took place, followed up by a couple of interesting forum on […]

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Discount Brokerage Deals & Promotions – September 2013

Published September 1, 2013
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Updated Sept. 20/13 September is here, and with it comes a number of deal extensions from Canadian discount brokerages.  Going into the home stretch of the calendar year, several factors might be at play that explain why there are more ‘extensions’ of deals than new deals appearing just yet. First, a number of financial firms […]

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