Thinking of Switching Brokerage
Just a couple of days after I “advertised” Questrade I’m actually considering switching to CIBC Investor’s Edge account. I’ve been semi-actively trading for about 4 months now. So far I’ve had 26 transactions, total cost – $296.90 or $11.41 each. I’d consider staying with Questrade if they offered some kind of flat-fee option, monthly or annual.
CIBC seems to be the only Canadian more or less flat-rate option at the moment:
– $395 for the first 50 trades
– $6.95 / trade thereafter
– and the best part – no ECN fees.
If my $11.41 average holds up, I’ll get 35 trades with Questrade for the price of 50 with CIBC. Hmmmm….
I think I’ll switch this fall, won’t have time to do it before end of September.
Edited to add:
The only disadvantage for me with CIBC would be having to deposit money by cheque. I don’t have a CIBC bank account, so I can’t do an electronic transfer, which is really the most convenient way to “move” money. Oftentimes with Questrade I’d execute a trade on margin, transfer the $ right away, and next morning the money is there and I’d pay no fees on using the margin account overnight.
With CIBC I’d have to carefully plan how much I want to keep there or deposit larger amounts.
Edited to add more:
I’m re-negging on this decision, see my later post.
Hi Phantasmix,
What would you say if I told you that no matter what, at CIBC you will pay more per trade than you would at Questrade?
What is happening here is: we are being penalized by you for disclosing everything (for being honest). CIBC is being praised for simply lying to customers and making them believe that $6.95 is really what they are paying.
Do you know the difference about Direct Access Trading and Non Direct Access Trading?
In Direct Access Trading you are trading directly into the market, you are getting the best price, immediately and for this reason some of the ECN’s will charge a fee. Almost all the ECNs will not charge a fee for adding liquidity. They charge only when removing liquidity. If you want to trade direct access via MNGD and not worry at all about the ECN fees, you can. That is a free ECN whether you’re adding or removing liquidity.
In Non Direct Access Trading, such as CIBC, the order goes to the trading desk that will try and match the order against another customer. Regardless of whether you’re putting a Market or a Limit order, you will not get price improvement. With us, a $0.01 improvement in price will lead to a $10 gain in profit for 1000 shares traded, more than offsetting the ECN fee.
In the stock market, speed and price is all that matters. I would not recommend to anyone to trade Non Direct, even if the broker was “not charging†any commissions at all. It simply does not make sense.
I know that all this can be confusing. It is a difficult concept to grasp for someone that is hearing it for the first time. That’s why Questrade has an affiliation with Online Trading Academy, http://www.tradingacademy.com/canada. They teach investors how to trade professionally, and by attending their free seminars you will better understand the difference between Direct and Non Direct Trading.
If you have any questions, you may also contact me at the number below.
Rest assured that you are getting the best deal with Questrade. Giving our customers the best value, has been our mission since day one and will continue to be our mission for many years to come.
Good luck trading,
Emil Vojkollari
Client Acquisitions Supervisor
Web: http://www.questrade.com
Phone: (416) 227-9876 ext.380
Toll Free: 1-888-783-7866 ext.380
Fax: (416) 227-0078
_____________________________________________________________________________
Questrade Inc. | 5650 Yonge Street, Suite 1700, Toronto, ON M2M 4G3
Trade Stocks for $4.95
Emil,
thank you for your response. I apologize if my posts are causing any problems for Questrade.
It’s not difficult to grasp, I know exactly what you’re talking about, but didn’t realize it was how CIBC operated.
I will be posting more on this topic soon.
Hi,
Thank you for your quick reply. I have one small correction to make regarding the previous posting.
MNGD is not an ECN, it is a route that takes the order to a market maker. It is a significant market maker with inventory from many brokers. I my opinion is still better than an order that is filled by a bank, between the banks customers.
In addition, we have a commission plan of $4.95 for up to 495 shares. 1 cent per share thereafter.
Regards,
Emil Vojkollari
Client Acquisitions Supervisor
Web: http://www.questrade.com
Phone: (416) 227-9876 ext.380
Toll Free: 1-888-783-7866 ext.380
Fax: (416) 227-0078
_____________________________________________________________________________
Questrade Inc. | 5650 Yonge Street, Suite 1700, Toronto, ON M2M 4G3
Trade Stocks for $4.95