Pricing Fees
The elimination of fees is what sets Wealthsimple Trade apart from their peers. They offer zero-commission trading. They do not charge an account inactivity fee. They charge nothing to open or close an account, make a deposit or withdrawal via bank transfer, or transfer an account to another institution. They do, however, charge USD trades a foreign exchange fee, which is equal to the daily corporate rate multiplied by 1.5%.
Account Types
Wealthsimple Trade, like their peers, offers a number of account types. Clients can trade in both registered and non-registered accounts, as well as margin accounts and cash accounts. For registered accounts, Wealthsimple Trade offers tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs) and registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) accounts. Unlike some of their discount brokerage peers, Wealthsimple Trade does not have US dollar registered accounts, so clients must factor in currency conversion fees if they plan to trade US-listed securities.
Who is Wealthsimple Trade Best For?
Simple and secure trading for everyone
The Wealthsimple Trade app uses best-in-class security to keep you in full control of your investments — whether you’re buying your first stock for $1, or you’re building a portfolio of low-cost ETFs.
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Does Wealthsimple Trade Have an app? Full review!
Wealthsimple Trade does have an app, Wealthsimple Trade has an app for both iOS and Google, the app is very simple and intuitive to use.
Wealthsimple’s App is good and while we have not experienced any bugs or slowness, there are reports of such which could possibly be dependent on what phone is being used.
The app is simple but lacks sophisticated trading capability such as options trading, and trading strategies. This means common trading strategies such as One-Cancels-Other Order is unavailable.
There is the ability to buy and sell limits at least, however given how simple the app is to use, Wealthsimple Trade is best used with young investors who are looking to do small long term trades.
Wealthsimple trade charges a 1.5% currency conversion fee on each order, which means lower transactions and more infrequent transactions are better overall.
What is Wealthsimple Trade Brokerage Fees?
Wealthsimple Trade charges a 1.5% currency conversion fee on Canadian to US dollar conversions (and vice versa) when trading US-listed securities.
- There are no commission fees, transfer charges, or other hidden fees.
- We don’t sell your information or data.
- Orders are always executed at the best available price and we do not receive any payment or incentives to route our orders in a particular way.
Understanding the currency conversion fee
Wealthsimple Trade charges a 1.5% currency conversion fee on all trades of US-denominated assets (both buys and sells). The fee is included in the total foreign exchange rate (FX) that is applied to each order. We’ll show you the current rate every time you submit an order – and on the trade confirmation once the order has been filled. Take a look at the two examples below –
An example asset purchase
- You decide to purchase $100 USD of a US-denominated asset
- In this example, the corporate exchange rate for converting Canadian to US dollars is 1.3
- With a 1.5% currency conversion fee, the total foreign exchange rate becomes 1.3198 ( FX rate of 1.3 / (1 – 0.015)
- The total cost to you is $131.98 CAD
- You’ve paid $1.98 CAD in currency conversion fees
An example asset sale
- You decide to sell $100 USD worth of a US-denominated asset
- In this example, the corporate exchange rate for converting Canadian to US dollars is 1.3
- With a 1.5% currency conversion fee, the total foreign exchange rate becomes 1.2805 ( FX rate of 1.3 * (1 – 0.015)
- You receive $128.05 CAD from the sale
- You’ve paid $1.95 CAD in currency conversion fees
Note: The corporate exchange rate is a rate that Wealthsimple receives from our partner banks. Our partner banks update this rate throughout the day.
Fee schedule
Everyday Fee Schedule
Below is a list of fees associated with normal day-to-day transactions.
| Description |
Amount |
| Commission for listed US & Canadian securities |
$0 |
| Account Opening |
$0 |
| Account Closing |
$0 |
| Deposits via Bank Transfer (EFT) |
$0 |
| Withdrawals via Bank Transfer (EFT) |
$0 |
| Electronic Statements & Trade Confirmations |
$0 |
| Inactive account |
$0 |
| Foreign Exchange Fee (CAD ⇆ USD) |
Corporate Rate x 1.5%
(most brokerages charge around 2%) |
| Outgoing account transfers to another institution |
$0 |
Fee schedule for Trade premium features
When you upgrade your Wealthsimple Trade account, you will gain access to premium features and get charged a subscription fee in addition to the other fees outlined in this disclosure (including the currency exchange fee above). Unless expressly stated otherwise below, all terms of your Client Account Agreement remain unchanged including applicable fees and features.
| Trade Premium Fee |
| $3 + applicable tax per month |
| Trade Premium Features |
| Unlimited real time quotes |
| $1,000 instant deposits |
When you upgrade to premium features you will be asked to specify an account for billing purposes. The subscription fee will be charged to this account on the date you upgrade and each month thereafter. If your account has insufficient funds available to cover the subscription fee on the payment date, your subscription may be cancelled without notice.
You may cancel your subscription at any time. The premium features will apply until the end of the current payment cycle, and you will not receive any pro-rated refund of your subscription fees.
To deliver premium features, like your real-time snap quotes, we use third party service providers in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Sometimes there may be delays or even failures by these providers to deliver information that’s unfortunately out of our control.
By-request transactions or extenuating circumstance fees
The following are transactional fees that only apply if you request the associated service and the request is approved by a Wealthsimple Trade representative.
| Description |
Amount |
| Paper Account Statement |
$20 |
| Special Requests & Investigation |
$75 per hour |
| Voluntary Corporate Action/Election |
$50 |
Wire Transfer (Incoming and Outgoing)
If you wish to wire an amount greater than $50K our team may be able to make arrangements for the specified fee. Please submit a request for more details. |
$30 |
Broker assisted phone trade
The ability to submit trade instructions via phone is available only in extenuating circumstances and can only be executed through Canadian ShareOwner Investment Inc.’s trade desk. The Wealthsimple Trade Client Success team is not authorized to submit any trade orders on behalf of clients. |
$45 |
Note: The above list of fees is accurate as of August 2, 2019.
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What account types does Wealthsimple Trade Brokerage offer?
Does Wealthsimple Trade have TFSA accounts?
Wealthsimple Trade offers TFSA accounts in only Canadian, but not US Dollar. Is there a fee to use the TFSA accounts? No, there is no fee to use the TFSA accounts.
Does Wealthsimple Trade have RRSP accounts?
Wealthsimple Trade offers RRSP accounts in Canadian, but not US Dollar. Is there a fee to use the RRSP accounts? No, there is no fee to use the RRSP accounts.
Does Wealthsimple Trade have RESP accounts?
Wealthsimple Trade does not offer RESP accounts in Canadian or US Dollar. Because Wealthsimple Trade does not offer the accounts, we cannot determine what a fee would be if they were offered.
Does Wealthsimple Trade have Cash accounts?
Wealthsimple Trade offers Cash accounts in Canadian, but not US Dollar. Is there a fee to use the Cash accounts? No, there is no fee to use the Cash accounts.
Does Wealthsimple Trade have Margin accounts?
Wealthsimple Trade does not offer Margin accounts in Canadian or US Dollar.
How to switch to Wealthsimple Trade?
Transferring your RRSP, TFSA or personal investment account into Wealthsimple Trade is a good choice if you’re looking to actively manage your portfolio yourself.
If you’d prefer an automated investing service that manages your investments for you, consider transferring your funds into a Wealthsimple Invest account instead.
Before you begin
- It generally takes 1 – 4 weeks to transfer an account into Wealthsimple.
- If your cash balance or holdings are in USD, we will automatically convert the USD into CAD upon receipt.
- Fractional shares held outside of Wealthsimple cannot be transferred into your Trade account.
Step 1. Download a statement from your investment account
Download an account statement from the investment account you’re looking to transfer into Wealthsimple. We’ll ask you to upload this when you request a transfer.
Double check that your current information matches the details on your investment account statement. If the information we have doesn’t match what your bank has, they may reject the transfer request. If needed, consider asking them to update your information before requesting a transfer.
Tip: Make sure you’re not transferring a
chequing or
savings account. If you’d like to transfer funds from either of those accounts, consider
making a deposit instead.
Step 2. Choose how to transfer your account
You have three options for transferring your account to Wealthsimple –
- Entire account as cash (Recommended)
Your institution will sell your holdings and move the money to us.
- Entire account as is
Your institution will transfer your holdings to us as they are today. You can choose which holdings you’d like us to sell or keep.
- Part of the cash in your account
Your institution will transfer a cash amount that is in your account.
Note: There are no tax implications for transferring non-taxable accounts (like your RRSP or TFSA). If you are transferring a non-registered personal account and need to sell your investments as part of the transfer, this will trigger a taxable event and you may need to report the capital gain or loss on your next tax filing.
If you’re unsure which option to choose, consider taking a look at this guide for more information.
Step 3. Request a transfer
- Sign into the Trade app on your mobile device
- Tap the Profile icon on the top left corner of the screen
- Select the Funding menu item
- Select Transfer an account
- Choose an account type to transfer
- Select your institution and enter an account number
- Choose whether you’d like to transfer your funds in cash or as is
- Enter an estimated value of the account you’re transferring in
- Upload an account statement
- Submit your transfer request
Note: This ability is not available on desktop.
Tips for a successful transfer
- Make sure the information in your Wealthsimple account matches the information your bank has on file
Double check the account number, full name, SIN, residential address and date of birth. Ask your bank to update your details if the information doesn’t match. Alternatively, send us an email and we can amend the transfer form for you.
- Be aware of transfer fees from your institution
Your institution may charge a transfer fee up to $150, and this will be deducted from your account value. You can request a transfer fee reimbursement for transfers over $5,000.
- Make sure you’re transferring into the same type of account
When transferring investment accounts, it is important that the account you have with your bank matches the investment account you have at Wealthsimple. For example: if you’re transferring a RRSP, make sure you open a RRSP at Wealthsimple.
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How to switch from Wealthsimple Trade?
We’re sorry to see you leave Wealthsimple but we understand that sometimes plans change and you may need to move your account elsewhere. We’re happy to say that we do not charge any fees to transfer out your account.
Requesting a transfer out
All transfers out must be initiated by the receiving institution (the institution to which you are moving your account to). They will have their own transfer form for you to complete and sign, and they will initiate the transfer out with our back office, Canadian ShareOwner Investments Inc. Here are some details they may request:
- Relinquishing Institution: Canadian ShareOwner Investments Inc.
- Address: 241 Spadina Avenue, 3rd Floor, Toronto, ON, M5T 2E2
- Phone: 647-535-3404 Fax: 647-245-1002
- Email: transfers@shareowner.com
- FINS# T003 CUID# CSIT DLR# 7829 REP# HX1
You will also need your account number which you can find in the app or on your trade confirmations.
Note: When you request a transfer out, your account will be halted from trading to prevent any issues that may cause a rejection of your transfer. It typically takes 10 business days for a transfer out to be completed (and your account un-halted).
Different transfer types
When transferring accounts, institutions can send transfer requests through different delivery channels. If your institution is ATON eligible, the request must be submitted via ATON. Otherwise, we accept transfer requests via email, fax or mail.
It will take approximately 2-4 weeks for your funds to be transferred out, but if there are any delays with the transfer, we will contact your institution directly. At that point, they will need to coordinate with you to resolve any issues before the transfer out can be completed.
It is also important to note that once your transfer out has been initiated, you will no longer be able to withdraw funds from that account.
While we do not charge any fees to transfer out your account, the receiving institution or intermediaries may and we are unable to cover or reimburse these fees.
If you have any questions about transferring your account, please let us know by reaching out and submitting a request here!
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