IB Canada.. Anyone use them?

Questrade just started to offer RRSP accounts with Canadian exchanges. As far as I can find their commission is the cheapest right now for trading on the TSX, 1¢ a share, minimum $17.95.

IB is the only game in town for Canadians wanting to trade US markets. I have few complaints about IB but I'd love to see someone like Tradestation come to Canada too.

 

indeed a little competition here in Canada wouldn't hurt...

 

You can trade futures with Tradestation from canada. But no equities or options.

 

The problem with TS, is that they talk to come in Canada since over 20 months ago, and no progress. They have submitted their papers for the regulator since longtime ago and the process seem to be freeze since then.

The only thing that they seem to do, is to trade future for Canadians as many US brokers since the future are not cover by ours regulators.

 

Someone told me that a lot of people from the IDA, OSC and the other securities regulators are friends with all the big brokers in Canada. They hang around with each other, go to the same parties etc.

The regulators say that they are protecting us the small investor from harm but I think that they're just protecting the high commissions in the Canadian securities industry.

I read that it was harder for Interactive Brokers to get into Canada than almost any other country.

We should all write to the Toronto Stock Exchange, your provincial securities regulator, the IDA, your MP and MPP and ask them why it is taking so long for them to let Tradestation come into Canada.

 

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/xta...hvalue=Investing&gsection=&tpl2=section_frame

 

Interactive Brokers Canada Announces the Appointment of
Jean-François Bernier as SVP and Managing Director
Former Quebec Securities Commission Official to Oversee Expanding Operations

Montreal, Quebec— Interactive Brokers Canada Inc. (“IB Canada”), a subsidiary of the global electronic brokerage and trading firm Interactive Brokers Group LLC (“IB Group”), announced today that former Quebec Securities Commission official Jean-Francois Bernier has been appointed Senior Vice President and Managing Director of IB Canada. Bernier will be in charge of expanding IB Canada through its offering of low cost, direct access electronic execution and clearing services for stocks, options and futures traders, including hedge funds, mutual funds, investment advisors, introducing brokers, as well as active and individual professional traders. He will also be responsible for overseeing legal, compliance and operational issues for the firm. Bernier will operate out of IB Canada’s headquarters in Montreal.

“Jean-Francois brings a wealth of knowledge and experience about Canada’s financial and investment environment to his new position as leader of IB Canada,” said IB Group Vice President David Battan. “We feel very lucky to have him on board.”

Bernier, 40, joins IB Canada from the Quebec Securities Commission, where he was Director of Corporate Finance. He had responsibility for the regulation of public securities issuers, including investment funds, and oversaw securities offerings, continuous disclosure filings and reviews, take-over and issuer bids, mergers and acquisitions and all related administration and document management issues. He supervised a staff of over 60 technical, support, and professional personnel.

“IB Canada is the most cost-effective and technologically sophisticated brokerage firm serving the Canadian market,” said Bernier. “I am confident that our technology and trading tools, which offer efficient, high-speed, direct access to stocks, options and futures products worldwide at the lowest possible cost, will be welcomed by even more of the Canadian investing community as they learn more about us.”

Bernier began his career in 1990 as a corporate and securities attorney with the Montreal office of the law firm of Stikeman, Elliott. After practicing law for five years, he joined the Canadian investment dealer Nesbitt Burns Ltd. where he remained employed as a registered representative prior to joining the Commission in July 2000. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (Finance) from the University of Quebec at Montreal, a Bachelor of Civil Law (LL.B) from the University of Sherbrooke and a Graduate Diploma (DESS) in North-American Common Law from the University of Montreal.

 

North Pesos, do you think that Tradestation will ever make it to Canada or did they give it up? I know for now we can open a futures account with them but that's pretty restrictive.

I was starting to teach myself to program with Ensign software but if Tradestation is coming here I'd prefer to learn easylanguage. I don't know which is better but from what I perceive easylanguage seems to be more widely used.

Does anyone else know where Tradestation stands on their application to set up in Canada?

 

1) No recent progress in my latest communication with TS since this summer.

2) You can subscribe to TS platform even if you are in Canada and yes more widely use than Ensign. Ensign have received many good reports in the past, but TS have more stuff in general. Another alterntive, is to subscribe to eSignal they have adv. chart with script that could do many things for you, just check on their website.

 

I have individual and institutional accounts (stocks and options) with IB Canada.
Quick and painless process to open them both.