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 […]

One of the best parts of summer happens to be ice cream. Of course, just because the season is behind us, it doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy a good scoop – or in this case, a couple of incredible scoops – of online brokerage news that are sure to put just as big of a […]

Fall is finally here. Along with the changing colours of the leaves, it’s also a time that the fashion industry looks to shine. Much like fashion, investors are also interested in what’s du jour. Trendspotting is a big feature in both fashion and investing and it seems that knowing where to spot the trends is equally […]

In the stock markets, is it better to be lucky or smart? Even though the markets closed out the week on Friday the 13th, it seems that fortune is smiling on the markets with indices holding near their all-time highs. Is it a false sense of confidence, or are the “warning signs” no more predictive […]

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 […]

The unofficial end to summer is now here, and while it’s poor form to wear white after Labour Day, it seems like white flags and white knuckles are still very much going to be part of the investing experience in the weeks and months ahead. In this shortened week edition of the Roundup, we take […]

It seems like more and more discussion is taking place around the “R” word. Of course, with stranger things taking place around the world with respect to interest rates, trade wars, and conflicting accounts from economic indicators, it’s tough to make heads or tails of what’s going on. Despite the pervasive and heightened uncertainty, one […]

One of the marvels of modern physics is that you can experience “zero gravity” right here on Earth by hopping on a flight of what’s affectionately known as the vomit comet. After diving and rallying and causing many investors to toss their cookies, this past week was a reminder that in spite of fundamentals, predictability […]

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. […]

It’s definitely shorts weather outside as well as in the markets. And, what better way to celebrate a short week (at least for Canadian DIY investors) than with a brief update of what’s moving the needle for online brokerages here in Canada as well as in the US. In this edition of the roundup, we […]

It’s not just temperatures that are rising anymore. Markets, tempers, and purses for eSports tournaments have all made headlines for reaching new highs. For online brokerages, even though trading might be growing, revenues may not be. In this edition of the roundup, we continue our foray into US online brokerage earnings, with some big headline […]

Seems like this summer, there will be more that one Maverick making waves on traders’ screens. The trailer for Top Gun 2 officially dropped this past week and even though we weren’t planning on a sequel, we just felt the need – the need for (a good) read. In this maverick edition of the Roundup, […]

When it comes to summer, some people like soft serve and others like their serves to be anything but soft. Ironically, the world of professional sports is just one of the places we’ve found online brokerages wandering into, and certainly not the only place where they’re trying to get into the winner’s circle. In this […]

The deal that everyone has been talking about finally transpired. Of course, the Kawhi trade isn’t the only deal getting attention this past week, as a pair of Canadian discount brokers decided to also step back onto the court with some promotional efforts of their own. So much for a lazy, hazy July. In this […]

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 […]

Never mind the trade tariffs being on or off, or the Formula 1, there are more than a few Canadians on edge for the Raptors to take the NBA championships. The optimist can taste the victory and the pessimist says don’t count the dino eggs before they hatch. One thing is for sure, it’s not […]

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 […]

From Game of Thrones, to now a game of throws. Ironically, with the Toronto Raptors making it all the way to the NBA finals, getting onto the iron throne might actually be a tad easier than finding good tickets to the Raptors games. Of course, basketball fans aren’t the only ones with a reason to […]