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.

This edition of the Weekly Roundup is all about experience. We cover Qtrade’s new customer experience feature, real-time account opening, and bring you Surviscor’s latest online brokerage mobile experience rankings. Plus, check out investor chatter from the forums.

This week, we review the rebrand and launch of Qtrade Direct Investing, including how their new logo, colour scheme, and design direction are changing what an online brokerage in Canada looks and sounds like.

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.

After RRSP season, deals generally pull back, but this year there might be more deals activity coming in the spring. Also, a new online brokerage is coming to Canada soon(ish).

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 […]

February is now well underway. In case you might have missed it, a forty-something quarterback managed to nab yet another Super Bowl win, and for the moment, it appears that the forty-something-plus crowd on Wall Street managed to squeeze out a win over the younger investors – at least for now. History is in the […]

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? New investors can access an award-winning online investing platform, robust mobile-trading capabilities and unrivalled customer service. Qtrade Investor has consistently been ranked among the top online brokerages across all major rankings, including The Globe and Mail, Surviscor and MoneySense. We have achieved 22 first-place wins for best […]

Sometimes you just have to call a spade a spade. 2021 is shaping up to be more of a hangover than a do-over. Now that we are just over 2% into the new year, the road ahead is clearly bumpy. Thankfully, with talk of new promos and the finer points of design choices, we have […]

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 […]

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 […]

As much as turkey and mashed potatoes are a staple of the menu for many Canadians on Thanksgiving, so too is discussion of what’s happening in the world. Inevitably for DIY investors, the gravy comes in the form of what’s been hot and what others are looking at in terms of potential money-making ideas. During […]