Questrade Review

Questrade

Alternative to investing and trading with Canadian banks

Questrade, a Canadian broker established in 1999, offers residents of Canada an alternative to investing and trading with big banks. Questrade can accept any account you have with any Canadian financial institution or broker. If not, you can open an account on the Questrade website. Questrade offers trading in stocks, options and mutual funds. You can also trade contracts for differences (CFDs), forex, and other financial instruments using a separate platform. Questrade also offers guaranteed investment certificates, international equities and access to initial public offerings.

To open an account, you must have a Canadian residence. Questrade does not allow U.S. citizens to open regular trading accounts (nonregistered accounts).


The Key Takeaways

  • Questrade is only open to Canadian citizens

  • Both the web and the downloadable platforms are well-designed, and very easy to use.

  • Streaming data requires an additional subscription, which can cost as high as $89.95/month

  • You can have accounts in US dollars or Canadian dollars.



Who is this broker for?

Questrade is the right choice for you if your citizenship and residency are Canadian and you want to avoid high fees and restrictions that banks impose on investors who have investments. Canadian investors have a lot more choice, with an automated portfolio builder and substantially lower fees.


Pros

  • There are no fees for registered retirement savings plans (RRSP), tax-free savings accounts, or tax-free savings accounts.

  • Mobile app and website that are easy to use

  • Comparable to other Canadian brokers, trading fees relatively low


Cons

  • Limited research opportunities

  • Streaming real-time quotes require a subscription


Rating of the company overall

  • Reliability ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

  • Platform ⭐⭐⭐⭐

  • Commissions ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

  • Support ⭐⭐⭐⭐

  • Financial instruments ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

RATING: 4.7


Pros Explained

  • Canadian brokers typically charge fees of around $50 CAD to open tax-free savings accounts (TFSA), and register retirement savings plans (RRSP). Questrade waives all fees

  • The website and mobile apps are very similar in layouts, so it's easy to transition between them.

  • Comparable to other Canadian brokers, trading fees are relatively low at $4.95 to $9.95 for stock trades.

The Cons

  • Questrade screeners can only screen for stock and options. These screeners do not offer statistical or technical criteria.

  • Questrade has reduced the amount that you must maintain in your household accounts to $1,000. However, small accounts with no activity during the last quarter are subject to $24.95 CAD.

  • A subscription is required to stream real-time quotes. Prices range from $19.95 CAD per monthly for limited streaming data, up to $89.95 for Level 2 US and Canadian data. You can offset these data fees by earning a certain number of trading commissions.

Useability

It is easy to get started with a new account. Questrade offers a simple way for new customers to sign up for an account. They also offer videos that provide information about the different platforms. Questrade will reimburse up to $150 for account transfers from other banks or brokerages.

The platforms are intuitive and simple to use. Questrade clients have the option to trade on either the desktop trading platform or the mobile app. Questrade Trading, a web-based platform that offers basic charting, quotes and watchlists as well as research tools, is Questrade Trading. You can customize the platform by choosing the columns you want to report on and changing order entry defaults. The web platform is easy to use and learn. The downloadable platform, IQ Edge is available. It is customizable and offers additional research options and order types. Both platforms offer snapshots of quotes. This means that you will need to refresh the screen manually in order to get updated quotes.

The mobile app offers the exact same experience as the website, but is optimized to fit the screen.


Trade Experience

Questrade clients have the option to trade on two trading platforms: a desktop and mobile app. Each platform offers a unique experience. Questrade Trading offers customization options for trading defaults, watchlist display, portfolio listing, and more. IQ Edge, a downloadable platform that active traders can use, is significantly more customizable than the web platform. IQ Edge offers more features such as advanced order types and hotkey functions. It also allows for charts with more tools and advanced layouts that can all be saved. Customers can use the scanning features built into IQ Edge most effectively if they also buy the add-on streaming information package.

CFD and Forex trading requires a different platform because these asset classes can't be traded on Questrade Trading or IQ Edge. Trading from multiple platforms can be difficult for traders who trade in multiple markets. The platform is easy to use and customizable for forex traders. It also offers advanced charting, access to over 110 currency pairs, as well as eight CFDs. CFDs are available for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), S&P 500, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil, Natural Gas, Gold and Silver as well as Corn.

The platforms are intuitive and simple to use. It is easy to place trades on each platform. There are multiple options available for you to open a trade window.



Mobile Trade Experience

Questrade's web platform is mobile-enabled and adjusts to your device. The web platform allows you to create watchlists that can be accessed on your mobile device. Questrade FX Global is required to trade forex and CFDs. Both apps work in the same way and offer similar functions. However, you will need to use two different apps for trading multiple markets.


A wide range of offerings

Questrade clients have the ability to trade many asset classes. However, some assets require a separate platform.

  • Stocks short and long

  • Mutual funds

  • Live broker for bonds, minimum $5,000

  • Precious metals

  • Multi-leg and simple options

  • Robo-advisory, Questwealth Portfolios, on a separate platform

  • Live broker trading is possible for some international equities

  • Forex and CFDs can be traded on a separate platform

  • Initial public offerings (minimum $5,500)

Types of Order

Questrade clients have the ability to place market, limit and stop limit orders on all platforms. IQ Edge allows you to place conditional orders on all platforms, including those that aren't available on the web and mobile.

Trade Technology

Questrade doesn't publish information on how orders are routed.


Prices

Questrade offers two pricing models. The standard pricing structure is $0.01/share, with a minimum price of $4.95 and maximum price of $9.95 for each stock or ETF transaction. When a client buys an Advanced Data Package (Level 2 quotes on Canadian and U.S. exchanges), active trader pricing is activated.

Advanced-Data packages are available at $89.95 USD and $89.95 CAD in Canada. Customers who earn more than $48.95 per month in commissions will receive a $19.95 rebate on package fees. When a customer earns $399.95 per month in commissions, a full rebate is given on the package fees.

  • Open or close 1 share order costs $4.95 Open or close 1000 shares costs $9.95 The cost to open or close an ETF position is not charged; however, regular commissions will be charged for closing it.

  • Options base commission for opening and closing is $9.95

  • Optional contract fees are $1

  • $509.95 for 50 contracts

  • Covered call trade for 500 shares and 5 contracts is $19.95

  • Option exercise/assignment fee: $24.95.

  • Fees for mutual funds are $9.95 per transaction

  • Margin interest for $10,000 balance is 5.95% Canadian Dollars or 7% US. $100,000 balance: 4.95% CAD, 6% USD. Margin interest on registered accounts is about 4.5% higher.

  • International Equities: 1% of trade value plus any applicable stamp or exchange fees.

  • There is no account closing fee

  • Transfer fees to your account are $150 for a complete transfer and $25 for a partial one.

  • There are fees for wire transfers of $20 Canadian Dollars, $30 US Dollars, and $40 International.

  • There are $50 check fees

  • Advanced Data Packages cost $89.95 USD for the Canadian package, and $89.95 USD to the U.S. package.

  • 20 for account statements or trade confirmations by paper

  • Fees for live brokers are $45.


Account Amenities

  • Questrade doesn't offer portfolio margining

  • Questrade doesn't have a stock-loan program

  • Cash balances are exempt from interest

  • DRIP (dividend-reinvestment plan) is available.


Investigate Amenities

Questrade offers a news feed on all its platforms. News feeds are available for clients to read about specific companies or the global economy, from sources such as Canada Newswire and Business Wire. Market Intelligence provides analysis and reports on companies. This is a fundamental data and research platform powered by Morningstar. It covers assets traded on all major North American exchanges, including NYSE, NASDAQ and NYSE American. Questrade Trading screeners have a limited number of features. The stock and options screener for Questrade Trading is simple and only includes basic criteria like price, volume and volatility. There are no technical or statistical criteria.

Intraday Trader is available to active traders. This software recognizes historical patterns and notifies traders when they occur again.

Questrade clients have the option to partner with third-party analysis and trading platforms such as VectorVest and YCharts. These partners are especially useful for technical analysis enthusiasts. There may be an additional charge depending on which partner you choose.

IQ Edge charts are more advanced than those available on the web platform. IQ Edge includes real-time market scanners. These are only available if you pay for streaming real time data.


Portfolio Analysis

All platforms provide real-time snapshots of balances, buying power and positions as well as margin balance and profit and loss. These reports can be customized by adding or deleting criteria. The browser-based platform's account tab displays information such as open orders, executions, activity, dividends, and deposits.

IQ Edge allows you to arrange widgets so that you can display your account activity and balances. You can subscribe to third-party applications if you want to have access to the trading journal. However, there is no built-in trading diary. IQ Edge provides more insight into a client’s portfolio with analysis that shows exposures to different sectors, asset types and currencies.

Education

Questrade platforms work well and are easy to use. Although webinars and live events are not common, the Questrade YouTube channel does contain some videos. These videos are free for everyone. Although there are occasionally new blog posts, they are not always tagged so that it is easy to find them. They are listed in reverse chronological order.

Questrade offers basic information to new traders, such as how to place orders and what order types you can use. Questrade's "How To" section will answer your questions. Click on the Resources dropdown menu and select "Help & How to." However, there isn't an option to browse the topics and not all articles are available. To find the articles you are looking for, you will need to search for that query. This will open a new tab in your browser. After searching for answers for a while, you will end up with a mess of windows.

Questrade is not the place to go if you are looking for trading education. You can access basic information about trading on the website or YouTube channel.

Customer Service

  • Telephone line available from 8 am to 4:30 pm Eastern Time

  • Chat online for potential and existing customers

  • Live brokers are available during the market hours

  • There is no organized FAQ, but you can search for the answers.

  • For a reply by email, please allow 1-3 days

Security

  • Customers can create a PIN to enable two-factor authentication

  • Mobile apps now allow biometric entry

  • Customers can get a security guarantee online that covers unauthorized transactions

  • Register with the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada

  • The Canadian Investor Protection Fund protects customer accounts up to $10,000,000 per account


Our Verdict

At the Canadian border, the zero-commission stampede which swept through brokers in the United States ended. Questrade fees are less than other Canadian banks and brokers, and active traders can get rebates on their subscription costs. Questrade offers a number of useful tools for fundamental investors, and they are easy to use.

Long-term investors can benefit from low commissions and access to ETFs at no cost. Questrade's digital advisory services charges 0.20 to 0.25 percent of assets under management.

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