Not sure if May got the memo, but it was April that was supposed to get the showers. For many traders, however, this is the month when many of them will be looking to exit the market according to the saying: ‘Sell in May and go away’. While things don’t always go to plan, Canada’s […]

Updated: May 19 Now that spring is in full swing, it looks like the deals and promotions section is getting a little spring cleaning of its own. Like the big puffy Canada Goose jackets, there are a number of deals that are getting shelved for the season (or perhaps for good), however there are some […]

There’s been lots of sabre rattling in the news recently. While the world is facing specter of war, online brokerages in the US are already in the throes of their own price war. For Canada’s discount brokerages, the storm clouds are still off in the distance but as their counterparts in the US have shown, […]

With markets closed today in observance of Good Friday, investors on both sides of the border can spend their weekend recounting United Airlines memes, legalization of marijuana in Canada and the mother of all bombs. Say what you will about the news, but investors have a lot on their plates to digest – and that’s […]

Updated April 14 Even though this is technically April Fool’s Day, the pullback in deals is no laughing matter. After a very busy March in which there were as many as 35 deals in play, April kicks off with a more modest 24 live deals. The bigger story, however, is recognizing that now might not […]

For many families, the reality of March break is about to set in. What it means is that, while there may be a change in pace, the word ‘break’ doesn’t quite mean the same to the parents as it does to the kids. Unfortunately for everyone though, there is no break from the mania that […]

With all the legal and political battles going on in the US right now, it’s a little hard to keep track. There are, however, a pair of feuds that DIY investors and Canadian discount brokerages may want to keep on their radars, namely the commission price war between US online brokerages and the efforts to […]

Crazy real estate, crazy IPOs, crazy politics, crazy Oscars, crazy Amazon outages and one very crazy sprint to the RRSP contribution deadline. Not a bad way to ring in the third month of 2017. There’s certainly no shortage of items pulling DIY investors’ attention in every direction this past week and perhaps no coincidence that […]

March is finally here. With the promise of spring ahead of us and the RSP deadline now behind us, attention is going to shift to tax season and where, how and with whom those refunds will be invested.  The great news for DIY investors is that there are still lots of promotional offers to choose […]

Spring may still be a month away but there are many who’ve already had more than enough of winter. Of course, change is certainly the theme for Canadian discount brokerages as their new reality is one in which they will have to become better at managing it and demonstrating that they can pull it off […]

One of the most interesting qualities about markets is that they behave like voting machines. Despite the inflammatory rhetoric coming out of Washington, stock markets in the US and Canada have, for the most part, been voting for optimism in the economy. The lesson: trade the chart not the news. Speaking of lessons, the starting […]

Did someone say rally? While the Trump news cycle is on full blast, a funny thing has been happening in financial markets in the US and Canada – they’ve been going up. Despite the many sounds of alarm that are being rung by newscasters and analysts everywhere, the fact that financial markets are rallying in […]

It’s hard to believe a whole month has gone by in 2017. With the news cycle dominated by the ever unpredictable movements of the US president, speculation is as rampant as ever. For Canadian online brokerages, however, getting attention is far more difficult than just sending out a tweet at odd hours. Nonetheless they’re still […]

With the big game coming this weekend, it seems fitting to kick off the deals and promotions action for February in a big way. Canadian discount brokerage deals have reached a feverish pitch as the race to win over DIY investors intensifies to all-time highs. The biggest news, however, is the launch of four new […]

Sometimes change is good. Sometimes it’s not. Either way for discount brokerages in Canada and the US, change, and more specifically the ability to navigate change, appears to be what will separate the winners from the rest of the crowd. In this week’s roundup we take a look at the latest digital shift from one […]

Trump, or more formally, President Trump is known for many things – among them, the art of the deal. The new US president isn’t the only deal maker around, however, as Canadian brokerages are also looking to start giving some ‘bigly’ deals to DIY investors. This week’s roundup puts a spotlight on the latest deals […]

For the superstitious, Friday the 13th is supposedly an unlucky day. As this week draws to a close, however, it seems that DIY investors are in luck as deals and promotions activity is red hot at the outset of 2017. We’ll keep things light for this edition of the roundup, putting the spotlight on the […]

Update: Jan. 17 It’s a new year, a new month and for DIY investors, a chance to get some good news while shopping around for an online trading account. While 2016 saw some interesting developments in the deals & promotions space, one of the more notable occurrences was the pullback in offers from Questrade. In […]

If there was any doubt that winter is coming, it’s pretty much been buried at this point underneath a pile of snow. The infamous game of thrones reference seems more appropriate than ever, not just for markets, but also for the tough times to come for Canada’s discount brokerages. In this week’s roundup, we take […]

It looks like 2016 is not about to go quietly. With new all-time high for the Dow and markets generally buoyant after the US election, bulls are still driving the bus. Good thing for them they’ve got snow tires. Also not slowing down heading into the end of the year: some Canadian discount brokerages who […]