For Canadian discount brokerages, 2014 has already been an eventful year. It has now been just over a month since RBC Direct Investing announced the lowering of their standard trading commissions and in that time, the predicted response from several other bank-owned online brokerages has materialized. Since the RBC announcement, BMO InvestorLine, TD Direct Investing […]

If there’s one thing that the world can agree on, it’s that those little asterisks can be a pain in the…well you know where.  Many self-directed investors have come to accept them.  Even the opening ceremonies for the Olympics certainly weren’t immune to bad case of the unexpected asterisk. This past week, however, another major […]

Updated Feb. 27th 2014 Now that February is here, the RSP contribution deadline (March 3rd) is in the crosshairs of many investors.  Canadian discount brokerages have already stepped up the deals & promotions activities with last month seeing over 20 deals offered.   The most active of all the discount brokerages was Questrade followed by BMO […]

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 […]

The temperatures are down. The loonie is down. The markets are down.  And while it seems like the “polar vortex” was busy cooling things off this past week, the action at the marketing departments of Canadian discount brokers was heating up. In this week’s roundup, we cover the reaction from several online brokerages to RBC […]

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 […]

Staying on top of all of the discount brokerage action going on this January feels a bit like chasing either Russell Wilson or Colin Kaepernick around the field.  The competition between these two elite quarterbacks pales in comparison, however, to that of Canadian brokerages. This past week saw a game-changing commission drop announcement by a […]

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 […]

Welcome to the first discount brokerage roundup of 2014.  Unfortunately for Canadian and US equity markets, the reception to the new year was about as warm as the Toronto winter was this past week.  Thankfully though, January looks like it will be a hot month for activity for Canadian discount brokerages. In this week’s roundup, […]

[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 […]

Amongst Canadian discount brokerages, it was supposed to be a quiet ride into the end of 2013. Alas, it was not to be. With a Boxing Day promotion launched by one of Canada’s discount brokerages this past week, the competition for Canadian investors officially hit a new high.  This bodes well for self-directed investors going […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

After a bumpy week in the markets, it is nice to get to Friday.  For Canadian readers, it’s Thanksgiving long weekend so that means Canadian markets will be closed on Monday while everyone digests the news and a whole lot of turkey. On the heels of the major announcement last week from BMO InvestorLine, this […]

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 […]

For Canada’s discount brokerages, fall not only means a busier season with investors, but for many of them it is also the time of year they either dread or cheer. The stretch of time between September and January is typically when a number of Canadian discount brokerage rankings get published – something that could be […]

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 […]