As we officially launch into August, there is a lot of “behind the scenes” action that discount brokerages are up to in order to get ready for their busy season in the fall. This week’s roundup features some updates on current discount brokerage deals, a couple of interesting upgrades to discount brokerage websites that were […]

One of Canada’s largest discount brokerages continues to chip away at improving its website for investors. TD Direct Investing has quietly rolled out the long awaited improvements to their investor education seminar section. As far back as August of last year, we mentioned that something was in the works to improve the delivery of investor […]

August Discount Brokerage Deals Overview The discount brokerage deals activity remains largely in a holding pattern as we move into August.  While there were a couple of noteworthy deals that expired in July, the bigger news last month was Questrade’s announcement that they would be re-introducing their unlimited trading offer.  Currently Questrade is offering the […]

Six Lessons for Investors from The Gambler One of the most famous songs by or about cash is Kenny Rogers’ ‘The Gambler’.  While the origins of the song may have been meant for playing card games, such as poker, the lyrics contain insights that apply equally well to speculators of all types including investors and […]

It’s hard to believe but July is almost coming to an end.  As it rounds out though, there seemed to be a spike in the interest by self-directed investors in asking about discount brokerages.  With US stock indices such as the S&P 500 and Dow Jones continuing to push all-time highs, it seems like Canadian […]

For do-it-yourself investors, it certainly feels like slim pickings when looking for tools to help do fundamental research on junior precious metal mining and exploration sector stocks.  Of the research tools and websites that do exist, many are based on technical indicators, ‘black box’ systems or only offer coverage on larger, better-known companies.  More often […]

With the summertime weather in full effect from coast to coast, it’s no wonder things have quieted down on the forums, markets and with discount brokers.  Not everyone is away on vacation though as we’ll see in this week’s roundup.  We’ll look into the discount brokerage earnings that were released this past week, some new […]

In the final part of our series on commission-free ETF trading at Canadian discount brokerages, we look at the offers from Virtual Brokers and Questrade and conclude the series with some lessons learned from researching commission-free ETF offers.  If you missed the earlier parts of the series, click here for part 1, here for part […]

In this week’s discount broker roundup, we highlight an article launch, how hard it is for discount brokers to be really, really popular and the beginning of what looks to be a busy promotional battle between discount brokerages for self-directed investors’ new business. More commission-free ETF info Earlier this week, part 3 of the series […]

If you wanna save your soul from hell, or ridin’ on our range Then cowboy, change your ways today, or with us you will ride Tryin’ to catch the devil’s herd Across these endless skies… With US stock market indices riding red hot through to new highs, many market observers cannot believe their eyes. The […]

In the first two parts of this series we touched on the different types of commission-free ETF trading being offered by discount brokerages and provided several tips for investors to keep in mind when considering these types of offers. (Click here to read part one or here to read part two) In part three of […]

Even though we roll into July on a short trading week, the discount brokerage space managed to toss along several newsworthy items. In this week’s roundup, we look at the US discount brokerages pointing to signs of improved investor enthusiasm, some fine tuning of ETF offers at Canadian discount brokerages, and some extra summertime heat […]

[Updated July 2nd] For the most part, many of July’s discount brokerage deals and promotions look to be mostly similar to last month’s offering.   First, I’ll recap of the deals that expired at the end of June and then launch into the deals that got extended and round out with the newest offerings. Expired Deals […]

It has been predictably quiet in the discount brokerage space this past week with many self-directed investors out enjoying summertime activities. Still, there are some updates on several discount brokerage promotions that are noteworthy as we head into July.  Also, there are a couple of advertising/marketing stories that might be of interest for those keeping […]

In part one of this series, we looked at which Canadian discount brokerages are currently offering commission-free ETFs as well as why commission-free ETF trading has started to become so popular. In part 2 of this series, we take a closer look at the types of commission-free offers available and provide some tips for investors […]

Every day increasing numbers of self-directed investors are either turning to exchange traded funds (ETFs) to meet their investing goals or are learning more about how ETFs could help lower their investing costs.   Given the interest in these products by self-directed investors and the commission costs that are associated with buying and selling ETFs, Canadian […]

While storms were raging across stock markets this past week, it was definitely calmer waters in terms of discount brokerage news and chatter.  In this week’s roundup, we look at the actions that landed another Canadian discount broker in the IIROC penalty box, a report by TD on Canadian investors as well as a review […]

This past week was a fairly quiet one for Canadian discount brokerages, so this roundup will focus on some of the interesting events that took place in the discount brokerage space more generally. The most popular story in the discount brokerage space continues to be the supposed return of retail investors to equity markets.  Digging […]

In part 1 of this series, we took a brief look at how self-directed investors typically access information about discount brokerage customer service and introduced Dalbar Canada’s research in this area.  Specifically, Dalbar’s Direct Brokerage Sales Effectiveness (DBSE) program measures the performance of client service teams at discount brokerages. In this part of our series, […]

Set against the backdrop of epic conquests, bloodthirsty barbarians and Machiavellian-style manipulation, Game of Thrones is capturing imaginations across the globe. At times the investing world seems a lot like the savage and cruel arenas characters from the story find themselves in.  Even though the story takes place in a mythical land, it focuses on […]