A commission price drop from a bank-owned online brokerage is adding to the pressure for other Canadian brokerages to lower rates. Deal activity might be springing back to life soon, which is good news for DIY investors.

Many offers from Canadian bank-owned online brokerages will expire in early March however Wealthsimple Trade has launched a new contest linked to their referral offer.

It’s fitting that after so much discussion about “shorts” in the news, we also now have a short(er) trading week upon us. With one fewer trading day, it also means the deadline for RRSP contributions is ticking closer, adding to the pressure that is evidently already building at Canadian online brokerages this month. In this […]

Just because the month is short, doesn’t mean we can’t be long on fun! From Lunar New Year to Valentine’s Day to Family Day, there is much cause for celebration – with safe social distancing in mind, of course. Another reason for DIY investors to rejoice: there’s still time to meet the RRSP contribution deadline […]

So. Much. To. Unpack. Unlike most pundits this week, we’re not going to talk about GameStonks, at least not in the kind of depth we normally would. No, for the moment we’ll save the commentary for the forum chatter and DIY investor feedback from Twitter. There’s plenty on the menu for this edition of the […]

What can beginner investors expect from your firm?At National Bank Direct Brokerage, beginner investors are taken care of and guided from the very beginning of their experience. For young and not-so-young, we are the place to start investing in ETFs with $0 commissions. We support them with an ETF Centre, an easy-to-use filter tool and […]

2020 is now officially behind us. 2021 will be one of those years that most of us will not have any trouble remembering to write correctly, even in the first few weeks. And, speaking of easy to remember, this month and year are off to a memorable start. Once again cryptocurrency FOMO is sweeping through […]

Update: January 8 Cheers to 2021! While 2020 marked a year full of surprise and change – both inside and outside the DIY investing space – we believe it is safe to say we are all ready for a fresh start. To help you ring in the new year and celebrate in (financial) style, Sparx […]

The phrase that’s been a mantra for many of us in 2020 – aside from “You’re on mute” – has been “Is it over yet?” Finally, it’s a lot closer to being true than at any previous point in the year. Thank goodness. In keeping with the sentiment of a very long year, this end-of-year […]

Take a deep breath. Believe it or not, December is here, and with it, news of several COVID-19 vaccines, stock markets making record highs, and hope on the horizon. Certainly not a coincidence. Another non-coincidence at this time of year is the appearance of special treats and the idea of wrapping things up with a […]

After making it through 2020, there are few things that would count as truly surprising anymore. Between COVID-19, the wild US presidential election and everything else that has unfolded this past year, 2021 can’t come fast enough for many of us. For Canadian DIY investors and Canada’s online brokerages, despite a wild year of volatility, […]

Update: December 18 After what has simultaneously felt like the fastest yet slowest year ever, we have finally made it to December! In true holiday fashion, Sparx Trading is here to spread old-fashioned cheer and merry updates as we take a (cautious and socially distanced) step into the final month of 2020.  Bargain-hunting DIY investors […]

Hard to believe but the end of 2020 is almost here. Then again, a lot of what’s happening is surreal. With stock markets continuing to rise alongside COVID numbers, and increasingly tightening restrictions here in Canada to try to wrestle the virus into control, it’s hard to believe there is good news to be found. […]

If there’s one place where the news isn’t all bad, it’s the stock market. True to their nature, stock markets are always focused on the future, and the record highs being notched and funds flowing back into highly beaten-down names signal a view of the world that says things are likely to improve. For DIY […]

Update: November 27 Daylight isn’t the only thing being saved this as we enter the month of November. It seems like DIY investors are also in for some savings too. Like adjusting the clocks back, it’s going to take some getting used to online investing in November. With the US presidential election likely to shape […]

So, if things seem like they might have gone from bad to worse this past week, with non-stop coverage of the US election chaos, the good news is that the stock market happened to shrug it off. While there’s a lot for everyday people to digest in terms of news flow, thankfully the online brokerage […]

Update: October 30 October is generally a spooky month for several reasons: The weather is colder, the sky is gloomier, and, of course, there’s Halloween at the end of the month.   In true 2020 fashion, October is predicted to unveil some more than a few tricks and even a few treats from Canadian discount brokerages, […]

If 2020 has any common theme, it’s that the year has been filled with things you never expected to write or say in a sentence. For example, tech giant Oracle decides to (seriously) buy social media platform TikTok’s US operations. Alas, here we are. Ironically, what has made TikTok culturally relevant has been its ability […]

Now that September is officially upon us (and Labour Day behind us), it is officially no longer good form to wear white. For anyone long in the stock market, though, that’s probably sound advice, as a sell-off is upon us. Of course, some sales are welcome, and it looks like Canadian online brokerages are starting to warm […]

Update: September 18 Although it feels like we’ve barely had enough time to enjoy the simple pleasures of summer this year, the end of the season is now just around the corner. As 2020 progresses, DIY investors continue to be met with market volatility. In fact, as we release this month’s discount brokerage deals and […]