Isnt it true that the same retail brokerages in Canada, that has the same operations in the US rip canadian off on commissions. There is no reasonable explanation that TDWATERhouse canada has commissions 50% higher then the US counterparts. Especially if you can open an account in the US side if your canadian. Check with most canadian operations, they rip you off. And there is no explanation. IB canada is the only one that will give you the same commisssions as its american counterparts.
Any brokerage services in Canada associated with the big 5 are outright highway robbery and should be avoided at all costs. Thankfully IB, Tradefreedom and Ameritrade are around now but it's ridiculous how many Canadians still don't realize this and continue to get ripped off by these theives.
well when you do US trades, your trades are quoted in US dollars. So if the flat rate is 29$ for a trade, its going tobe 29$ canadian for a canadian stock trade, or its going tobe 29$ american for an us stock trade. Canadian brokerages as I heard it like to charge higher fees because they say because of diffrent regulations. But that doesnt explain why TDWATERhouse canada and USA have 50% diffrence in commissions. And for tdwaterhouse usa you get more stuff like streaming quotes. Its ridiculous, its because they are gouging, and they know they can get away with it
TDW is the scum of the earth. All those banks have low wage brain dead support staff. only brain is in CEO office and he is too busy having lunch to care. imho
Couldn't agree more, Canadian brokers generally speaking stink compared to US brokers. It is starting to improve with discount brokers such as Trade Freedom and Questrade (can trade $10-$15/transaction compared to $27-$30), as well as IB Canada. That said, I'm personally hoping that Cybertrader will open a Canadian operation with a choice between $10 commissions and per share pricing.
In a related matter, has anyone ever tried to run a self directed RRSP through a broker or management firm with any success? The management firm, Investors Group in my case obviously steered me away because they'd get no management fee if I didnt selet their funds. The brokers were trying to get me to avoid it because of the $100 a year account fee. I guess they wanted me to stick with TD managed funds. Not to mention I'd have to pay at least $29 each way on fund trades, if any were made. I was a novice, had a savings account with TD, and made the mistake of paying $29 canadian or $29 u.s each way for option trades. The fills werent even good either. We all live and learn I guess, now the next account Ill open is with IB.
I've tried most of the stock brokers and fund dealers in Canada and found all kinds of problems with service and pricing. What works the best right now for me is Interactive Brokers for stocks and for my Mutual Funds and Hedge Funds I'm using ASL Direct. There are a lot of fees associated with Mutual Funds and Hedge Funds such as commissions and trailer fees. What ASL Direct does is charge a flat rate of $29 a month. The trailer fees of about 1% a year are rebated to me. Therefore if you have a large account you can get a rebate check for several thousand a year. The advice from ASL Direct that I get for fund purchases etc is right up there with the best of them as well. If you wanted to actively trade stocks in an RRSP, that isn't available with Interactive Brokers. Your best bet would be Questrade. I think they have self directed RRSP's. In some cases for larger amounts of shares your commission is actually less than Interactive Brokers.