With Black Friday and Cyber Monday landing so close to the beginning of December, deal hunting is going to be top of mind for DIY investors heading into the final month of the year. Fortunately, there are deals to be had with a number of cash back and commission-free trade promotions going on to round […]

Black Friday is just around the corner and with just about everyone looking for a bargain, it will be a fine balance to keep things profitable in the face of so many deals. For DIY investors, the good news is that deals keep rolling in and even for online brokerages, there seems to be some […]

This week more than most, the focus of November is on remembrance. For some (cough cough weed) investors, however, November is about trying to forget and cutting ties with losing stocks. Capitulation typically takes a while to set in. With so many losses accumulating this year for lots of DIY investors, however, this could be […]

They say when it (November) rains, it (November) pours. It’s fitting for the start of the second-last month to reference the turbulent weather that many DIY investors encountered at the outset of the new month, and a fitting nod to the Guns & Roses song, since nothing lasts forever, especially these days for online brokerages […]

Updated Nov. 27 Welcome to November, where DIY investors, like daylight, are in for some savings when it comes to investing online. Despite the extra hour available to online brokerages, TFSA contribution room dates, RRSP contribution deadline season and tax season are all quickly approaching, and as a result, investors are already kicking the tires on […]

Halloween is just around the corner, and for the online brokerage industry, it appears that they’re poised to deliver lots of treats and perhaps even a few tricks for DIY investors this year. Of course, this year’s scary prospect for Canadian discount brokerages might be vanishing profits, but as the US online brokerages are showing, […]

You have to hand it to October. For whatever reason, this is the month of the calendar year where there happens to be more volatility than usual in stock markets. It even featured prominently in the Back to Future franchise as the date in which travelling through time would be achieved. Although time travel in a […]

Updated Oct. 15 There probably couldn’t be a better name for the current season that online brokerages find themselves in this year. Fall is definitely here and more than just the leaves on the trees, commission rates are dropping to the ground this October. The casualties in the US online brokerage space are making headlines […]

Sports offer a great metaphor for the highly competitive nature of the stock market. After an epic weekend of football and tennis, there was lots to cheer for (not so much for Raiders fans though). While there are many lessons on the field that apply to the markets, another great feature of sports is the […]

Updated Sept. 4 When it comes to discount brokerage deals, it appears that this month, school is definitely in session. Even though there are no new deals that officially launched at the beginning of September, there were several that snuck in at the tail end of August, just in time for the Labour Day weekend […]

One of the highlights of any summer barbecue is the dip. Of course, for anyone who’s ever arrived at one a bit too late, often it’s just the dip that’s left. For DIY investors, it seems that the newsies are no longer talking about the market barbecue anymore and instead are focused on the dip. […]

Updated Aug. 28 As we round the corner into August, most DIY investors are patiently waiting for new discount brokerage promotions to drop. Unfortunately, it seems like most Canadian online brokerages are in summer vacation mode when it comes to offering new deals. Even so, the summer so far hasn’t been totally silent. HSBC InvestDirect […]

Happy Canada Day! It’s great to be back in the saddle again and happily there’s great news to report since the last update a couple of weeks ago. With U.S. markets touching new highs, summer is off to a strong start. Interestingly, so too are a couple of Canadian online brokerages, to the point where […]

Updated: July 8 Despite all the fanfare and celebration that typically accompanies the beginning of July, it seems like many Canadian online brokerages are taking a bit of a break from the promotional game. Heading into the first official month of the summer, the discount brokerage deals section appears to be keeping its cool with […]

June is finally here and although the song of Fire and Ice may now be a fading memory (shout out to Game of Thrones fans), the stock markets are caught in between the opposing forces of their own, with fear and greed causing all sorts of uncertainty for investors. In this edition of the Weekly […]

June is here, and for many Canadian DIY investors, their attention is fixed on the Raptors’ amazing journey to the NBA finals. As we cross into a new month in the deals and promotions section, however, it appears that there aren’t going to be nearly as many slam dunks in here to start off the […]

While talk may be cheap, not talking is turning out to be very expensive for two major market moving voices. Ironically, it is the power of conversation that online brokerages are hoping to tap into and yes, for those that aren’t part of the new conversation on money and wealth management, their silence might just […]

Updated: May 27 April showers are supposed to bring May flowers but when it comes to deals for DIY investors in Canada, the promo parade in May is definitely getting rained on. After an incredibly busy start to the year – especially in the lead up to the RSP contribution deadline, deals activity at Canadian […]

The end of April is almost here and for Canadians, that means tax time and deadlines. While some folks are taking their cues from the Game of Thrones and making things dramatic into the finish, it seems like there are also a few interesting cliff-hangers emerging in the deals space heading into May. In this […]

Even though spring has clearly arrived, there are still many folks anticipating the coming of winter. After years of anticipation, the finale of Game of Thrones is almost here, bringing an end to an amazing decade plus run. If it sounds eerily familiar to the reporting on the decade-long bull market run up – it […]