ULTIMATE Questrade Review 2012: An In-Depth Look
When it comes to investing the trading landscape is bathed and bursting at the seams with countless discount brokerage houses. Big names like BMO Investment Line, E*Trade, RBC Direct Investing, TD Waterhouse, Interactive Brokers, and at least a dozen more are available to chose from. Sadly, through deeper analysis one can’t easily distinguish distinctive differences amongst them, especially within the circle of the big banks. Most brokerage firms primarily make their revenue through new and inventive concoctions of countless and ongoing fees pushed onto their account holders. Such fees include, but are not limited to, administrative fees, set-up fees, activity fees, inactivity fees, hidden fees, and after-hour fees. These added costs might be fine and dandy for the fractional percentage of high-volume traders simply because their sheer trade volumes and realized gains can potentially offset those expenses over time. However, for the rest of us those added and consistent fees are a reminder that over time “the house always wins”.
Questrade Offer Code (Referral)Enter Offer Code: Canada to receive $50 in Free Trades from Questrade. |
Beginning investors will usually look to their local bank to open their trading account primarily out of convenience since they already possess one or more personal chequing/savings accounts with that bank and so opening a trading account is a mere phone call away. The unfortunate disaster with that approach is that big banks, and for that matter, virtually every other brokerage firm in Canada will charge you an arm and a leg for any kind of activity you do (and don’t do) in your trading account. Yes, even in this expansive internet age where everything is self-serve 24/7 convenience, commission schedules across the board are long, robust, and very much corporate bottom-line friendly. With standard rates at $29-$49 per trade being commonplace one can’t help but question if the entire industry is part of some price-fixing scheme. Where are the choices?
The Rise of Questrade® (please note that all mentions of the word “Questrade” refer to Questrade®). Founded in 1999 this company wanted to do and be something different. Seeing the growing discontent of active and inactive traders alike who were tired of watching their market gains washed away in a deluge of new brokerage fees by other companies Questrade began a process of streamlining the entire investment approach. And in so doing I think they’ve done a pretty impression job. In the rest of this review I will explore Questrade and their collective offerings in terms of the good and the bad.
First a little about me. I am not an aggressive highly active trader. Most times I will take the buy-and-hold approach as my tried-and-true investment style. And so when I buy into a company I do so for the long-term. However, at times I do get that itch and begin trading like a mad man but this does not happen often.
Questrade offers a well-crafted industry unique ‘democratic pricing’ stock trading commission: 1¢ per share with a minimum charge of $4.95/trade and a ceiling maximum commission charge of $9.95. This should be glanced at again! It is not a typo! Questrade offers the cheapest trades in all of Canada. Their price point is so impressive that it actually encourages new and/or small investors to jump in and take part in the investment game while also enticing disgruntled active traders of other brokerage firms to transfer in (at no charge). They make it abundantly clear that they don’t charge setup fees, annual fees, nor inactivity fees on any of their services which is a welcome change to the industry norm.
They offer several types of accounts:
- Margin Accounts (e.g. Individual, Informal Trust)
- Registered (e.g. TFSA, RRSP, RESP)
- Organization (e.g. Sole Proprietorship)
And provides access to the following services:
| Stocks | 1¢ per share – $4.95/trade minimum / $9.95 maximum charge |
| Options | $6.95/trade + $1/contract |
| Forex Trading | cost is integrated in the pip spread @ approx. 1-2 pips |
| Debenture Trading | $30/trade |
| Mutual Funds | $9.95/online. Offline add an additional $25 for trader fee |
| Gold | $19.95/trade |
| International Stocks | cost is 1% of trade value |
| Bonds/CNSX Securities/GICs | $30/trade |
| Canadian IPOs | 1¢ per share @ $4.95 min / $9.95 max, plus $25. Min. order size: $5,000 |
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New Account Sign-upThe process of opening an account online was remarkably intuitive, painless, and very quick (15 minutes). You will need your social insurance number (SIN), bank account information, and employer details (or source of income if unemployed). And although they have an offline printout alternative I highly recommend their secure online process instead because it reduces the amount of write-in errors and legibility issues, and supports e-Signature and online personal verification (via your SIN#).
One of the first things you must do while signing up is to create a user ID (8-20 characters) and password (min. of 8 characters incl. 1 uppercase, 1 lowercase, and 1 numerical or symbol) for your new account. In earlier days Questrade had an automated process that generated and emailed this password, and along with your email address served as your primary login credentials. This old way became a security risk and so they thankfully changed it back in 2011 to what you see now. The benefit of creating your own user ID and password also makes it much more convenient to return to an incomplete application at a later date. Sessions time out after 30-mins of inactivity giving you ample time to collect and go over your details. After signing up online you are able to immediately sign into your new account and have a look around. However, to officially activate your account (so as to begin trading) an initial deposit is required — $1,000 for margin accounts, $1,000 USD for forex accounts (CAD deposits are auto-converted to USD), $5,000 to trade option spreads, and $25,000 to write/sell uncovered options. Once the initial minimum deposit has cleared Questrade emails you your trading ID and password. For offline applications you will be contacted by a representative confirming your new trading ID and password. Please note that your trading ID and password are not the same as your user ID and password that you created when signing up. To maintain your active account in good standing a minimum equity balance of $250 is essential. It takes 1-3 business days from signing up for your account to begin trading. The longest part of the process is waiting for the funds to be received and processed by Questrade. Questrade supports several methods to fund your account including EFT (from CAD accounts), wire transfers, cheques, pre-authorized deposits, and broker-to-broker transfers. It should be noted though that you cannot use the EFT method to send USD to your Questrade account. The reverse is possible where you can withdraw USD funds to a USD bank account (they require a void check or a pre-authorized deposit agreement form signed and stamped by the bank). So to deposit USD you can set up a pre-authorized deposit agreement with Questrade which takes about 1-5 business days, or send a certified cheque/bank draft to their office, or wire transfer the funds directly to your account. The final option is to just convert your existing CAD balance (within your Questrade account) to USD which can take up to 24 hours to process. Funding your account by either currency type will automatically be placed into the sub-account (more about sub-accounts later) of the same type (they do not perform automatic conversions — you must execute the request on your own). Electronic withdrawals take roughly 3 business days to process and arrive into an external bank account. An interesting note is that Questrade is the only brokerage in Canada to accept USD into registered accounts. That’s pretty impressive. |
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Member LoginYour account’s primary control panel is known as myQuestrade and quite simply put it is a beautiful experience with well thought out organization and visual appeal. Someone put a lot of love into this area. Within the panel you can view your account activity, balances and positions, manage your personal details, view statements, make fund transfers in/out of your account, upload/download your documents, link multiple accounts, take corporate action on shareholder communications, open additional accounts, and interact with mutual funds.
Within Account Management is the handy Upload Documents tool serving as the fastest direct delivery method for any of your documents to any of your accounts held at Questrade. No more snail mailing, faxing, or even coordinating deliveries with a representative. Accounts #’s consist of 10 numerical digits (e.g. 12345678-90). Prior to 2011 account #s were 6-character alphanumerics and so existing Questrade account holders were adivsed by Questrade to update their external records (e.g. bank EFT details). Questrade use to maintain both account #s (6-character and 10-character), however, by mid-2011 they dropped the 6-character account #s entirely. Because account #’s now consist of 10-digits some external banks many have issues with this when you attempt to send money to your Questrade account (some impose an 8-digit limit). To get around this you only need to provide the 1st 8-digits of your Questrade account # and the funds will still arrive successfully. Interestingly, and a bit strange, Questrade is made up of 2 separate logins — one for myQuestrade and another for your Trading Platform (stock/options trading). So depending on what you want to do determines which login location and credentials you will require. Why they couldn’t unify and provide a single login process escapes me, but over time you get use to it. If at any time you need help on practically anything you can always use the online Questrade Live Help session (usually accessible as an icon on the left or right side of the screen) — operational on weekdays (excluding holidays) from 7:30am – 10:00pm EST. I have found that using Live Help is much quicker than calling into their offices. And after speaking to several of their online representatives (those who deal with potential new accounts and others who deal with existing accounts) I found each of their online help departments to be very well-informed, professional, and quick in their responses. All of them also took that extra time to provide web links for further reading which was always a nice plus. As a handy note, sharholder communication is often times sent through normal mail, however, there is now a new way to change this allowing you to receive all investor correspondence electronically. Visit InvestorDelivery for more details. |
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Account Activity / HistoryLocated under the My Accounts tab is a slew of subcategories for providing details about trading and general account activity. These subcategories are: Balances and Positions (pictured above as My Accounts), Trade History, eStatements, and Account Activity. When Questrade made significant changes to its UI back in 2011 they in effect moved all trading activity history into myQuestrade. This is a very welcome change because prior to this all trading activity history was provided by a third-party clearinghouse company called Penson Financial Services and you had to use a completely different site and login credentials to get access to this information. Now, you can get a list of all your investments (stocks, funds, bonds, etc), current cash balances and positions (in CAD and USD), total equity, buying power, and more all within one location. Trading history is maintained for 36 months while eStatements, generated monthly, are stored for 7 years. Tax slips (e.g. T5) are also available electronically for each year.
Sadly, one consistent nuisance we found while navigating through the assorted activity/history (and other areas of myQuestrade) was that we had to keep selecting our account from the Account # drop down box on each page. So if you have just one account or even multiple accounts expect to keep selecting it for almost every page you visit within myQuestrade, and that includes previously viewed pages. Why Questrade didn’t make the account selection a one-time persistent thing that carried itself across multiple pages escapes me. It’s possible it is an oversight so I won’t nag too much about that. For existing Questrade members in search of trading activity prior to February 4th, 2011 you will still need to visit the old Penson site at https://online.penson.com/default.aspx. You will also need to know your old 6-character account #(s) because the Penson site does not know anything about the existing 10-character account # representations. Here is a quick peek at what the Penson trade activity site looks like.  Trade Activity (prior to Feb 2011) As stated above, this Penson site is only relevant to existing Questrade members who wish to access archived trading activity prior to February 2011. All new members can just ignore this. But as can be clearly seen above trade activity was outsourced and so the first noticeable difference is that the web UI is completely different and very behind in the times. It is very surprising that with the skill set and desire by Questrade to offer a clean and friendly UI experience on their main domain they couldn’t pony up the cash to in-house the account activities or request web-service APIs from Penson allowing them to skin over the original Penson experience. The details held within are extensive but at times appear a bit cluttered and confusing. Trade and settle date balances take 24 hours to be reflected in history. The same is true with buying power which updates once, at the start of each day. However, it should be noted that real-time buying power information is available within Questrade Trading Platforms, discussed below. There is a $3/month charge to receive paper statements of your activities. You can adjust this setting from within myQuestrade. Questrade margin accounts (for stocks & options trading) are comprised of two sub-accounts — one for Canadian funds, the other for US funds. This is very convenient since it reduces unnecessary conversion charges when trading US instruments all the time . So, transactions on US equity stays as USD unlike most other brokerage firms which will perform conversions back to CAD right away. For example, with Questrade things like US dividend income from US traded stocks will remain as USD and automatically be deposited into your US sub-account. Funds can be moved between sub-accounts from within myQuestrade‘s Exchange Funds category which will involve a conversion based on the spot rate at the close of market in Toronto plus a spread (+1.25% for margin accounts, +0.5% for registered accounts). |
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Trading PlatformQuestrade offers basic and advanced trading platforms for stocks and options. QuestraderWEB is their free trading platform and includes free instant quotes. Just a month back there was a big brew ha ha where Questrade had imposed a 1,000 instant-quote/month limit (additional quotes costing 1¢ each), but it did not last very long due to the growing anger by their customers. Instant quotes are now unlimited and free. Their other trading platforms — QuestraderPRO and QuestraderELITE — are desktop applications requiring a monthly subscription fee. Questrade is also in Beta with their next generation trading platform: Questrade IQ and Questrade IQ Edge. IQ takes on a starkly different approach compared to their other platform entrants, and provides a plethora of easy-to-use/easy-to-understand functionalities that will make both beginners and advanced traders very happy — including such features as extensive UI customization, gadgets (e.g, graphing, level 2 quoting), Mac OSX support, and much more. IQ is web-based and IQ Edge is desktop-based. The difference is only skin deep: Edge allows for floating/pinning of gadgets, custom link coloring, and multi-display support. Both are expected to be free to all (no charge) once they leave Beta in June 2012, but Questrade does plan on charging a nominal fee to add additional functionality for less common but important features popular among active traders. For this review I will only discuss their most popular platform: QuestraderWEB. QuestraderWEB is a web-based application (fully compatible with Firefox 3.6+, Internet Explorer 7+, Safari 4+, Chrome 7+, and Opera 8+) with a very pretty and intuitive user interface not dissimilar to the myQuestrade control panel. It is Questrade‘s only free platform and although it includes unlimited instant quotes these quotes are not updated in real-time unless you refresh the web page. It takes about 10 mins of non-refreshing before the quotes are updated. For real-time live streaming quotes you can upgrade QuestraderWEB to include QuoteStream but expect to be charged $19.95/month. For this platform to function correctly it requires Java to be enabled within your browser.
For a closer look into QuestraderWEB check out the following video tutorial collection. It walks you through and performs common transactions within the platform. You should have a pretty good idea if this platform is right for you or if you should consider a payed upgrade.  QuestraderWEB Videos If you have mulitple trading accounts I recommend you use myQuestrade‘s very convenient Account Management > Link Accounts feature to link your accounts so that you only need to log into your platform once and then you will have access to each of your trading accounts right there without having to remember multiple login IDs. One of the things I wish was included in the platform was some kind of transaction cost calculator that took into consideration exchange rates (estimated). Other brokerages already do this so I was a bit surprised not to find something similar. The platform’s quotes (level-1) and charts are basic but it is not surprising since it is free. A little note on exchange and ECN fees: These are the fees Questrade is forced to charge you when you make a transaction that removes liquidity from the market (i.e. buying at the ask or selling at the bid). Although these fees translate to mere pennies for most traders one can avoid paying them altogether by executing transactions as a limit (or stop) order instead of as a market order request. For US stocks you can also send orders to non-direct access ECN networks (LAMP, MNGD, or POST) to avoid these fees. Most people will sign-up for the standard marginal account which gives you access to borrow funds at an amount more than your current cash balance. This extended buying power ability is very useful and can come in handy when you need to jump on market opportunities. Assuming you’ve bought on margin and haven’t settled your stocks after 3 days of the purchase the margin interest rate is 4% CAD (4.75% USD) which is inline with most brokerages. For more information about stock margins refer to this page. One of the selling points Questrade likes to bring up is that for mutual funds they will rebate the trailer fees. They call this their Mutual Fund Maximizer. Trailer fees are more like commissions by fund management companies paid to your brokerage house for being the retailer that sold you your fund(s). This commission is an ongoing source of revenue for your brokerage as long as you keep holding onto those fund(s). You don’t see this fee because it is part of the MER of the fund. So Questrade is willing to rebate this fee back to you each quarter. But there’s a catch. You need a minimum of $36,000 in mutual fund holdings to be eligible for this rebate. The reasoning is simple. There is a processing fee of $29.95/month so the rebates will start paying back if your mutual fund holdings is worth more than $36,000 (based on a 1% trailer fee). Here are the details. |
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SecurityWhen making trades one of the primary concerns held by most people is security. Like banks most discount brokerage companies deploy different protection strategies to secure your account such as randomizing and asking multiple security questions, displaying pre-selected image captchas that only the account holder would know, or even providing digital key devices which in conjunction with your secret password must be pressed to generate the final half of the login passcode each time. Unfortunately Questrade does not incorporate any advanced security measure to thwart potential intruders. They have improved though from earlier years. For example, upon sign-up for a new account you are required to create a user ID, password, and define a security question. User ID’s are required to be 8-20 characters long while passwords must be at least 8 characters in length and include an uppercase, lowercase, and numerical (or symbolic) character. Although this seems like a standard approach across the web this is actually new and a big improvement for Questrade. They also provide security advice on how to protect yourself such as using anti-virus software to keep your computer clean. Although they don’t have security guarantees against intruders breaching accounts on your end if there is fraudulent activity and it’s proven to be due to the negligence of Questrade they are in a position to cover that. Also note that Questrade is a CIPF member and so Canadian investors are covered up to $1,000,000. |
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Final ThoughtsReviews online are overwhelming negative towards Questrade. Prior to writing this review I decided to read many of these complaints so that I could be aware of and keep an eye out for any of these problems. I even took note on exact steps for some of these problems with hopes of recreating them. I had originally planned to share a collection of these complaints but seeing as how many of them might have already been resolved by Questrade I felt the company deserved another look before passing judgment. So after spending a number of days using their entire suite of online tools, making trades, and attempting to recreate customer complaints I can report back and say that I did not experience a single issue. My conclusion is that either Questrade had fixed several of these earlier problems or these complaints were from beginning traders who were not familiar with the platform or with company policies. Overall my experience with Questrade was a very pleasant one. There “killer app”, so to speak, is that one can execute trades as low as $4.95 with no catch. It doesn’t get any simpler than that! Every once in a while I will come across brokerages during their promotional period claiming to offer $4.95 trades but when you dig deeper into their fine print it almost unanimously is for “big fish” traders who must spend upwards of $100,000/month in trading activity to be eligible for the $4.95 offer. Clearly not for the average consumer. Questrade‘s low commission rate is so good it serves as an enticer to make more trades more often and not have to hesitate waiting for that right moment in the market which will cover your commission costs. And although I feel they should unify their 2 separate login areas so as to provide a more consistent milieu the overall experience ranged from excellent (sign-up, myQuestrade, QuestraderWEB, Live Help) to acceptable. There are areas that can be improved such as providing a more robust security feature to put traders minds at ease but with such dramatic savings found among all their services it seems understandable that one can’t always have everything. So I will give them a pass on that. Should you join? Yes. Especially for those who are thinking of starting to invest. For someone like me who is a casual trader Questrade fits my needs perfectly. And after getting a better feel of most of what they have to offer I am more than confident they can accommodate me or any other person’s growing needs as an investor. |
Questrade Offer Code (Referral)Enter Offer Code: Canada to receive $50 in Free Trades from Questrade when signing up for a new account. |
Questrade® is a registered trademark and/or service mark of Questrade, Inc. Questrade Inc. is a member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF).
Actually, according to this questrade review Questrade IQ looks like its going to be free for everyone. It will only cost if you want to add more uber features which may not be for you if you arent a big time investor. So you can use the questrade promo code to join now or later since it wont make any different — questrade iq will always be free.
I notice people who are with Questrade right now get access to use Questrade IQ for free. So is it best to join questrade with the questrade offer code/promo code now so that when questrade IQ is offfically released i will have access to it for free because if i wait until after the official release it may cost me?
@cory my guess is you still have to have a unique trading username/password to access the platform. Its separate to provide another layer of security. So i doubt its going away. But my guess is Questrade IQ will be more tightly integrated than the others now that they have started from the ground up with it.
This questrade review failed to mention if questrade IQ will integrate with myQuestrade or will have to still provide a separate and unique login credentials to get into it.
I think questraderpro and questraderelite were good first tries at professionalism by questrade but they somehow lost useability along the way. So they will not be getting very many wheeping goodbyes when it retires soon. I am now an active trader and have decided to use QuestraderWEB. But IQ looks interesting and can’t wait for it to be official. I’ve used it and some things are missing but they have made it clear what is and isnt in yet which is why i have stuck with QuestraderWEB for now.
Ok yes i’m a leecher and only came here to grab the questrade offer code for $50 and didn’t bother to read this crazy huge questrade review. sorry but i’ve already made up my mind.
I agree with this questrade review for the most part. After i signed up using the questrade offer code here i was holding my breath hoping that negative naysayers were wrong. Although i haven’t been with them long its smooth sailing. I don’t go crazy and are hounding them in live chat every 5 mins but i think for normal traders they are well suited.
Yes, Questrade will undoubtedly charge some kind of fee onto Questrade IQ when it comes out officially in June. Seeing as how this questrade review is saying it replaces, not add to, their current platforms it does seem logical the fee will be towards quote streaming and extensive research tools.
Ultimate Questrade Review FTW!
You raise a brilliant point @krusty345. Although i have no problem with using the web version of Questrade IQ and doubt i will ever install the desktop version but it would be a good idea to be able to transfer configuration settings between the two. You should let Questrade know to add to their list of feature requests.
Was playing around in Questrade IQ web and noticed i cant save my preference layout and carry it onto the desktop platform. It seems the desktop and web are independent from each other. No fair. I really hope they make them connected. I am one of those types that prefer to use the desktop, but when outside i am fine with using the web version. Btw, i hope this questrade review gives a detailed look into questrade IQ when it leaves beta
For those planning on using Questrade IQ on Mac just be aware that at the moment it ONLY runs under Safari 5+ (in OSX). It doesn’t run in FireFox nor Chrome all that well at the moment. On the PC it works flawlessly. They told me it is still being worked on so don’t fret Questrade knows this and is working on a Firefox/Chrome version for Mac too.
I also noticed that their IQ Edge mentions Mac OSX support but the downloads are only for Windows. I think they forgot or might be still working on a DMG package. I am just glad us Mac users are left out in the cold like they did with QuestradePRO/ELITE.
It’s about time questrade dumped QuestraderWEB, QuestraderPRO, and QuestraderELITE, and combined this all into one common and conssitent platform. Looks like they are putting their thinking caps on with questrade IQ. Looks promising. Thanks for mentioning it in this questrade review.
Now i am jealous now that i see questrade iq edge. I was starting to enjoy questraderweb but from the brief information here it seems reasonable enough for any newbie like myself to use.
I’ve played with Questrade IQ a few days back. Yes it does allow you to change the theme to either black or white. The black theme is the one shown above. The white one take on a look similar to QuestraderWEB but one that is more in tune with myQuestrade which is somewhat different than QuestraderWEB. Those are the only two themes so far that i saw. But it is beta so there might be more int he future. The black one is the better of the two.
In your questrade review you mention questrade iq has the ability to have different themes. Can you explain more about this? I notice it has a black look based on the picture above. Is there a way to customize all colours in the main layout including the background?
Hey @jenna! The questrade offer code shown in this questrade review has to be used at the time of sign up with questrade. So i’d recommend you use it when you are ready to open your registered account which is ideal near the end of this year or the 1st 60 days of 2013. So keep this questrade offer code (promo code) handy.
I am a bit late for contributing to my RRSP for 2011. Forgot i had the 1st 60 days but i plan on using the questrade offer code here when i create my registered account. Can i create the account now and just apply the promo code at questrade later or must i apply it when i join? And if i do apply when i join will it stay active until i use my account (fund it)? Thanks in advance!
Actually Barney at the moment i dont think Questrade has a mobile app for iphone or android yet. But when i chatted with them they re definitely working on one. I would love to beta test it if it were out. This questrade review should make mention of the mobile app.
So the questrade offer code gives me $50 in free trades? I guess it wouldn’t hurt to jump aboard and see how things go. I like the questrade IQ and QuestraderWeb traiding units. The Questradepro and elite look a little messy for me.
Hey this questrade review didn’t make any mention if Questrade offers a mobile app for trading/viewing account details. Anyone know?
I guess i will check live help and see what they say.
Actually @curby if i’m not mistaken Questrade IQ Edge IS for the Macintosh too but i believe Questrade is still finalizing this desktop version. So stay tuned.
I notice they mention it OSX support for Edge under “Requirements”.
Thanks for updating the questrade review to mention Questrade IQ! It’s unfortunate that Questrade IQ Edge doesn’t support Mac OSX
I only have a Mac and can only run Questrade IQ within Safari in OSX Lion.
Hey $50 questrade offer code! I guess i found my reason to hook up with questrade. I’m easy
Just noticed this Questrade Review talks about Questrade IQ. Are you planning on writing more extensively about it when it goes Gold? I’d be very interested in checking it out.
@2thepoint that is what i gather. This questrade review mentions it is in beta and so naturally beta means they are still working out the bugs. My guess is when it is final the windowing management will be resolved. I tried questrade iq the other day (web) and loved it. Questrade is really shaping up!
I noticed Questrade IQ has practice accounts. Downloaded the desktop version and played with both desktop and web versions. I wish the desktop version had an easier way to arrange windows. They are currently just thrown all over the place. The web version is much easier since it auto-organizes windows. I guess Questrade is still working on it. Thanks for a fantastic questrade review by the way.
Questrade isnt perfect but at the price of $4.95/trade i am sure loving it every step of the way. I’ve been with them for about 2 months now and actually used this Questrade Review to decide to join. For me it works very well. So if anyone is reading this i recommend them.
Oh so QuestadeIQ is in beta huh? Well it is nice to see it coming along. Looks fantastic! Thanks for the quick mention in this questrade review!
Yes @carla the questrade offer code mentioned in this questrade review will work for the account you will be signing up for. It seems to work for any and all types of questrade accounts.
Hope that answers your question
Ok so i am going to join Questrade soon and plan on setting up my RRSP registered account for my 2012 contributions. Does this questrade offer code work for it?
Was doing a trial run of questrade’s myriad of platforms and for me as a first time trader i like them. I was fearing they’d be intimidating but seems pretty good. I think i will give questrade a try and see how things go. hey thanks so much for this questrade review!
Do you think you will be making a review on Questrade’s new trading platform: Questrade IQ or updating this questrade review to include it?
Dude this Questrade Review is sick! Thanks bro! Was coming here for the questrade offer code but decided to stick around to read the entire review.
LOL i think its funny that this questrade review has more information about questrade than questrade’s site. It’s been really handy. Just retweeted this link.
Hey guys thanks for the Questrade Offer Code! Was searching everywhere for one. cya.
Whann! Can you update this questrade review to include QuestradeIQ? It’s questrade’s new trading platform. I was going to use the questrade promo code here but wanted to read a review on IQ first somewhere. Thx!
Just jumping back here to say thanks so much for this questrade review. Was a huge help.
4% margin rate is not that bad. I was expecting it to be a lot higher. It’s definitely much better than what i am getting right now with my bank. I will have to forward this questrade review to my buddy because before reading this i never heard of questrade. And thanks for the $50 questrade offer code.
I think for the average person Questrade fits quite well because of the no hassle, no hidden fee benefits. I originally began as a low quantity trader and so Questrade fit well for me. I still use them to this day. I also have a few other accounts with others. Overall experience questrade is a descent choice. Nice work on putting this questrade review together btw.
I keep hearing about a thing called questrade iq? What is it? I was hoping this questrade review would talk about it which is the primary reason i am here. Anyone have a clue?
You know what would be cool? If Questrade provided mobile app to do trading on the go. Or does anyone know if they will be offering it in the future? Can this Questrade review update to talk about this?
Wow that old school trade history screen shown in this questrade review (pre feb 2011) is strange. lol. Looks so out of place. I’m glad questrade came to their senses and integrated the whole trade history into their other area.
Hey brad i opened a registered account with Questrade the other day and used the questrade offer code in this review perfectly so yes to your question it works fine for this type of account too.
You are correct cc. That is what i’ve been told. Questrade also make RRSP contribution slips available much sooner — some time in February if you made contributions in the 1st 60-days of the new year. What i am wondering is if i can use the above questrade offer code in this questrade review for opening a registered account.
@Wayne, if i recall questade provides them electronically through their myQuestrade member’s area. So when you log in you go to My Accounts > Trade History > Tax Slips. Most discount brokers make available all CRA tax slips by mid-March (now) so plenty of time to do your returns. I haven’t read this questrade review in a while but i think it mentions this.
Great1 The $50 questrade offer code worked for me!
Anyone know how Questrade handles yearly tax receipts/slips such as the T5 Investment Income Summary slip?
I was signing up at Questrade and i like how i can save my position and return later. Pretty handy. I was thinking it was going to be a long process and so i would wait but just got started now. Excellent questrade review my friend!
Actually Questrade’s been here for a long time. I remember when they first appeared the market was rife with overpriced, undervalued brokers out there like TD. Questrade wasn’t perfect then and had a ton of problems and I avoided them big time but it sounds like they’ve improved dramatically so i might give a cautious looksey. The questrade offer code will be a good way to find out for me.
I just checked questrade’s security implementation as described in this questrade review and i actually think its perfectly reasonable what they are doing so i don’t think your concerns are an issue. You should see some other discount brokers.
Yay for me i was hunting for a questrade promo code (offer code?). Gracious!
I was reading somewhere that you guys will be releasing a Questrade IQ review soon? If so that’s cool. I also have an account with BMO but the IQ thing seems interesting and would like to know more about that.
Hey awesome! You have no idea how many doo-doo questrade review sites are out there that do nothing more than just cut/paste bulletpoints on what questrade is. I was looking for a real questrade review. Thanks dude!
Thank you for the questrade offer code! I need to make a lot of trades quick!
Just finished playing with questrade’s free trial trading platforms and i definitely think QuestraderWEB is all one really needs to do successful trading. The others are a bit overkill.
Oh that is interesting. So Questrade provides free transfer outs from other brokers? That is probably the big reason i am too lazy to move my portfolio from RBC because they charge a large fee to do so. If questrade is willing to cover this transfer out then i am golden
I will give Questrade a call shortly and get more information. This is getting exciting! Thanks so much for the questrade review!
Ok i just came here to grab the questrade offer code promo tihngy because i want to get the $50 in free trades. lol. I didn’t actually read this questrade review at all. sorry. I know i should but i’ve heard good things about questrade and so i trust you.
@cameron, unless i am understanding it wrong joint accounts can ONLY carry 3 account holders and no more.
In your case it might be best to keep everyone separate but make your self an authorized member on each of their account. And that way at least they feel they are being more responsible with their own holdings.
Just my 2 cents.
Quick question. This questrade review covered most of what i was looking for but wanted a bit more info about joint accounts. More specifically can i have more than 3 account holders attached to the same account? I was thinking of having my wife, myself, and my 3 children apart of it.
Only 1 child is of age for trading but the other two are growing fast and i feel it might be best to have them on too so when they are of age i can show them the ropes. I want them to get a feel of trading at an early age to get them prepared.
Ok i spoke with Questrade through their Live Help feature and i can say they were very quick and knowledgable. I was always hesitant to join Questrade because of fear that i wouldn’t get help either by phone or online and so seeing as how they are consistently able to be there when i need them i think i will give them a try. Thanks for the questrade offer code. I will definitely use it when i do join in the future.
Yes van as a matter of fact i was wondering the same thing about 2 weeks back and found you can indeed hold gold in registered accounts.
Canada amended the investment regulations to allow metals to be held in registered savings. So go nuts!
Questrade’s registered accounts are easily the best in the biz in terms of flexibility. I ended up transfering my holdings over to them.
I am so close to joining Questrade but can someone tell me can i actually hold gold in my RSP account? I undertstand you can hold both types of currency (USD and CAD) and can trade all kinds of things but i dont know if gold is included.
Actually questrade’s security measures are pretty modern compared to other discount brokers. So i might have to disagree a bit with that part in this questrade review. I was with Questrade for many years and they have improved a lot and is now up as one of the best out there. At least that is what i think.
Looks like QuestradeIQ is going to be browser based! yay for me since i am a Ubuntu person and have been frustrated in the past that QuestraderPRO and QuestraderELITER are only desktop applications for the PC. Good to see Questrade has woken up and realizing that all future platforms should be desktop independent.
I haven’t joined Questrade yet but now that their IQ platform is really shaping up nicely i might join soon when it moves out of Beta.
Btw, incredible Questrade Review. I am very impressed at their offering.
Success! Finally a questrade promotional offer code i can use. Was looking for something to get me motivated to join Questrade! Thank you!
I keep hearing good things about their upcoming Questrade IQ trading platform! I am hoping you great people here do a very indepth review about it too! Thanks so much.
I ended up becoming a questrade member because of this questrade review!
Actually @kidclove when you purchase gold Questrade by default holds it for you. They charge a storage fee per month (i think it is 10 cents)
But if you demand it they will send you the ounces (or if you are rich enough an actual bar) upon your request.
LOL i just noticed Questrade allows you to buy gold. So how does that work do i like buy it and they deliver a gold brick to my door? Make my own Fort Knox at home
I really wish these discount brokers like IB, RBC, and even Questrade — all of them would have automatic High-Interest Savings accounts for cash balances sitting in these trading accounts. It would make things much easier.
Yes i know Questrade offers intrest of sitting balances but the ROR is tiny due to the CAD prime. Anyway, besides that i really like this broker.
@yao its because things like quotestream provide more realtime quote for the more active trader who needs up-to-the-milisecond information to make their decisions.
And from the pricing Questrade is pretty damn cheap. I am a QuestradeELITE member and pay $19.95/m for their quotestream.
Looks like Questrade’s options pricing is pretty competitive. I wasn’t expecting it to be this good before arriving here. Now its got me thinking i shift my entire plans and move over to them instead. Thanks for sharing this great questrade review. I will put some more thought into it.
Was just going over all of Questrade trading platforms and it still confuses me why people would choose anything outside of QuestraderWEB or their new (and free) Questrade IQ platform. They even provide free quotes. So why are people paying monthly fees for things like quotestream?
Ah that whole “removing liquidity” and “adding liquidity” and how to avoid ECN fees through me off for a bit. lol. All these years i didn’t know there was such a fee. This is really good to know. Being with CIBC for so long all their fees were clouding that extra cost.
Me and my partner will likely move to Questrade. Thanks for an interesting read in this questrade review.
Just noticed questrade offers free trade seminars. That is my big concern. I get overwhelmed easily by the whole stock trading thing and its nice to have a place to learn it all but not lose my shirt in the process since the rates are very cheap @ $4.95.
And thanks for the questrade offer code and this review.
@luimei the questrade offer code only applies to trading accounts (margins, registered, etc). Anything that involves equity trading. I might be wrong but that is what i figure.
Anyone know if the questrade promotion code works for forex accounts too? I haven’t tried but it would be nice. Not sure how it would work though since i dont think it relates?!? I’m new to trading.
Awesome questrade review man! Found what i was looking for!
Hi anon. Nothing to be ashamed of. I think your question is more common than you think. From what i know once you create a joint Questrade account you are stuck with it. The only way to remove the other member is to close the account entirely and start a new one.
I strongly recommend you open separate accounts or just one under your name.
Thank you for this Questrade review. I have a question. I was thinking of opening a Questrade account soon with my wife. It’s going to be a Joint account. If say later in the future we have a divorce is it easy to remove her from the account?
So far i am liking their Questrade IQ platform. It has a number of bugs but seeing as how its in Beta i will forgive them. It’s a nice improvement over QuestraderWeb.
Hope to see you guys do a thorough review of Questrade IQ in the future!
I am extremely interested in Questrade‘s RRSP accounts. As of right now i only carry an RRSP account with TD but i am tired of paying conversion fees when making trades on US markets. Having the ability to hold both currencies in one account is very good.
I haven’t made up my mind yet but i am now leaning towards becoming a Questrade member.
Thumbs up on this questrade review from a fellow newbie trader here in New Brunswick! And thanks for the questrade offer code. I am a sucker for free stuff!
As far as i know @minka the PAD list of banks is their authorized banks they’ve set up with Penson (their clearinghouse company). And so if you don’t see your bank in that list then it isn’t possible to debit from that bank. Why Questrade doesn’t just allow one to input the Bank #, Transit # independently escapes me.
It’s prbably best to just push your money to your Questrade account via the standard EFT bill payment. There is no real benefit to PAD anyway. Hope that helps.
Thanks for the questrade offer code! I needed it right now.
Darn it i was signing up for a new account at Questrade and trying to use their Pre-authorized debit to make my first initial deposit but they dont seem to have my bank in their drop down menu list
Anyone know a way to get my bank in their list of other banks? It seems they have every bank in there but not mine. Mine is People’s Trust.
So can this Questrade Offer Code of $50 trade commission be applied to registered accounts (e.g. TFSA, RRSP), and better still can it be applied to separate accounts? Should be a great way to save. Thanks for this crazy detailed questrade review.
I’ll be joining Questrade later today thanks to this Questrade Review. I think i will be starting off small and opening a margin account. Looks like the European Union has resolved the Greece default issue and so might be a good time to start investing overseas.
So thanks so much for the review.
Confirmed — the questrade offer code worked for me. $50 richer
Excellent questrade review you put together. I believe why no bank or broker allows for US EFT deposits is because most banks only allow EFT withdraws in CAD funds. It’s just laziness. So its not that Questrade doesnt want to allow it, its the banks for not picking up with the times. Questrade does allow account withdraws in US funds to USD bank accounts so that is good.
LOL, i just found my bank was not allowing me to add my Questrade account # through bill payments which made it difficult for me to fund my account opening. I just learned in this Questrade Review that i can drop the last 2 digits. That helps to know. I wish Questrade would make that clearer because i couldnt figure out what to do until i came here. Thanks very much. Now i can begin using up my $50 questrade offer code.
Although Questrade has two logins (one for myQuestrade and another for trading) i actually like the approach. It adds another layer of security and so i dont think it is a bad thing. Sure maybe it would be nice to have it integrated into one single area but i honestly dont mind. So i have to disagree with that part in the questrade review.
Does the Questrade Promo Code work for sole proprietor accounts? I don’t see why not but i better make sure.
Very informative, thank you. Has anyone used their IQ beta platform yet? I would love to read a review on that. Thanks again.
Questrade’s new platform Questrade IQ looks very good. I hope this questrade review updates to talk all about it.
Was sent this link from a friend telling me i should join Questrade. So far i am about 3/4 away done in this questrade review. I’m impressed. I’m forwarding this to my two brothers. My regards for a respectable and honest analysis of these guys.
yes @alan it’ll work. I’ve opened a business account and used the very same questrade offer code shown above. You get $50 in free trades. I ended up using mine entirely in the 1st hour of my having access to trade. lol
@Nick Yeung, yes myQuestrade login is working perfectly. It did go down several days ago but was back up a few hours later on the same day. I think your problem is you aren’t doing a hard refresh on your browser. For example, if you have another web browser try going to the page right now…it should work. Try clearing your browser cache and trying again. But
Thank for the review. This has given us confidence to go ahead with opening Questrade account over any banks. We just want to get started with trading and Questrade is perfect platform for start-ups like us. Thanks for the bonus code as well!!
Been with Questrade for about 3 months now after deciding to join when reading this Questrade Review and so far so good. It does everything i want. Thought i’d return and give my 2cents. The free $50 was helpful too and did work. I saw rebates appear in my trade history.
Ok i think this questrade place is what i was looking for. Your questrade review is definitely complete. Makes things very clear to me. And thank you for the questrade offer code. I will strongly consider opening an acocunt shortly.
hello!
is myquestrade login page working recently?
i cant seem to login in for days, the web page states that they’ve been working on it (for days)…..
Just to clarify for some here who had been talking about RRSP and other registered accounts. Registered accounts aren’t the same as margin accounts. So you need to make sure to have money in the account before you can do any kind of trading. Questrade allows you to set/change the settlement currency which as most who have RRSPs know other establishments only do CAD. With Questrade you can choose either CAD, USD, or Trade Currency which is amazing!
A lot of undervalued stocks i’ve spotted. I think using something like that questrade offer code could be of use to me. Will have to open a Questrade account which i hope doesn’t take too long. I might give it ago. Nice job in putting together this questrade review.
YAY finally found a questrade offer code to put on my application. Awesome questrade review. Keep up the good work!
Oh great. I was thinking of going with interactive brokers until i found this questrade review. thanks a lot. now i dont know who i should go with. I do like the idea of no hidden fees. Hmm…not sure. I will keep this questrade promo code around and make my decision later this week. Thanks
Although this was a positive Questrade Review i felt you were being an ounce too harsh on their security. I checked around and its pretty good. They do have a security challenge question before a login (it stores a cookie so it doesnt keep asking) which is nice. They also keep detailed logs and send confirmation emails so you always know whats going on. Relative to other brokers they are about the same.
Great review! I have almost made up my mind because of it. Thanks very much! One question if anyone can help: I am using TD waterhouse now and I am thinking of opening another account to buy ETFs. I was somehow surprised that they charge a fee for buying mutal funds. I don’t think I pay any fee with TD waterhouse to buy mutal funds (not just TD funds, but funds by all other managers). I have monthly regularly contribution to several mutal funds. if every transaction I need to pay $10, that’s a huge amount of money. Did I get it wrong? or it is just their policy, and Questrade is only good for stocks/forex etc?
Wonderful Questrade Review! I haven’t read it all the way through but wanted to write a comment and praise it for its completeness. And the bonus questrade offer code helps too.
@stonecold its because over time, with proper investments, the market always beats safer paths like bank accounts. Bank accounts earn interest tied to fluctuating rates and are very low. Investing into things like Index funds is a more sure way to move with inflation and trends. You end up winning in the end by investing into the stock market.
Whats unique now is having someone like Questrade offer small investors a chance to make it rich with low commission structures.
@scottfree the reason is simple. It is a registered account. The act of putting money in and withdrawing before your retirement is subject to withholding taxes and penalties. CRA doesnt want people to be dipping into their retirements for fun well before they should. So be warned, when you put money in a registered account make sure you do a lot of thinking before you want to take it out.
There is also a partial-deregistration fee that Questrade and every other discount broker charges. This just means withdrawing money.
@steve then why doesnt everyone just convert their curency inside a questrade registered account and move it out and profit?
Forgot to mention Questrade‘s spread on currency conversion in registered accounts is actually quite low. It’s only 80 pip of the spot rate at 4pm each day (based on Bank of Canada values).
From my calculations i found it was the lowest fee out there. Better than even XE Trade which has a 1.1-1.4% fee. But you must do the conversion inside the registered account not outside. Outside you are charged a 150pip (1.5%) rate which falls in line with other discount brokers and exchange houses like XE.
Call me clueless but why do people join Questrade to trade stocks when one can just put the money into a descent bank account? With all the anger towards wall street stealing money it seems to make more sense. What am i missing?
@bart yes that is correct. You can hold both currencies at the same time. You also have a choice to switch between currencies as its default. So you can have the registered account as CAD or USD or both. Its very good news and saves a lot on currency conversion charges. If i recall Questrade is the only one in Canada that allows this.
That questrade offer code is going to get some good mileage from me. Thanks for this!
Yea a review on Questrade IQ would be cool. I’ve tried it out and it looks promising but i kind of feel overwhelmed by it. I havent made any trades using it yet but maybe some day. It’s still in beta so maybe one shouldnt review it yet since Questrade hasn’t gotten all the kinks out yet.
So that i understand correctly i can hold US funds inside a registered account? That’s unique. My bank does not do this. Everything must be converted to/from Canadian dolars. Very interesting. Questrade might have found a new customer.
This questrade review peaked my interest enough that i decided to try out their trial accounts and i was very impressed by the Questrade Bulls-eye tool. Nicely done. I usually jump around several sites to get my research done but its nice to see a tool that has most of what i need in one place.
Will you guys be doing another great review on Questrade‘s new trading platform called Questrade IQ?
Questrade’s UI looks good. It’s much better than the time when i was thinking of joining several years back. Yea the integration of its many parts is a welcome plus. That was a big turn off for me way back. I might reconsider. Seeing as i am here reading this questrade review you can tell i am more than interested.
Thank you questrade promotional offer code! Was looking for a good reason to join. Now i have one.
Questrade sounds like it might be the perfect fit for me. I am planning on opening up an RRSP account and making use of my never-used contribution space and so the idea that i can simultaneously hold USD and CAD without auto-conversion charges is very exciting.
Now THIS is what i am talking about…an actual Questrade review that i can sip my coffee and get down to business. Many thanks from a potential newbie.
I wish i knew about Questrade long ago. I’ve been routinely paying around $35/trade which included monthly and other administration fees. I really need to get out of this mess and come over to Questrade pronto!
Here in British Colombia we have a lot of walk-in places but i am starting to feel online trading is the best way for me.
Thanks for the questrade promo code!
Your discussion on how Questrade deals with USD for accounts was very enlightening. Seems pretty good compared to other discount houses. Thanks very much!
Thanks for the questrade offer code / promo code! Was looking for it.
LOL, i’ve been using your questrade review to pass to a bunch of my friends on facebook because we are looking to pool together and start investing.
Just noticed in the pictures that you can make accounts in “packaged” format. That saves a lot of time. I was thinking it would take me long to set up a margin, RRSP, and TFSA account by going through the process 3 times. Nice to see I can do it in one step.
Much respect for this super Questrade Review btw! Was passed to me by my Father.
That’s good to see Questrade keeps their help desk (online help) open until 10pm each day. I found this questrade review yesterday and wanted to see about some things and sure enough the link here made me get ahold of Questrade right away.
Any way you cut it making trades at $4.95 is pretty amazing! I plan on joining Questrade in a few days and have bookmarked this questrade review to pass it along to my two brothers.
Jus tdid a broker transfer to Questrade from IB and i am excited to see how things go from here. This Questrade Review was instrumental in making me decide to go for it.
And thanks for the questrade promo code because i am constantly trading and something like this will save a pretty penny.
Seems easy enough to sign up at Questrade so i think i will try it out. Thanks for the questrade promo code because without the $50 i doubt i would be pulling the trigger so quickly despite liking what i am reading here. I am just naturally hesitant on things.
Success! I had been having problems trying to make the link between my bank and Questrade seeing as how Questrade account numbers are 10 digits long and my bank only allows up to 8 characters.
This Questrade Review is the ONLY place i could find that discusses a resolution to this. THANK YOU! I am a happy girl again!
I tried to join Questrade a couple of months ago and could NOT get the demo to work on my Mac. Couldn’t even log in most times I tried. I was using several different computers, trying Safari and Firefox both, in up-to-date versions. Any mac users here?? I notice a lot of the other online brokers don’t even pretend to be mac-compatible – seems like nobody wants our business…
Delicious! Been on the hunt for a good deventure source. And super job on this questrade review. Does the questrade promo code above work for all types of accounts incluing debenture trading?
Oh goodie! Thanks for pointing out that one can open a TFSA trading account! I was strongly leaning on trying out a TFSA account for the first time in my life and was curious if it could be as an investment thing. The fun bonus is now i have a questrade offer code to save me $50 in free trades.
Great questrade review!
I am starting to really, really love Questrade! I will make up my mind by tomorrow. Thanks so much.
I love your Google Profile. You’re really pretty and great job on this Questrade Review!
The screenshots above in this questrade review is invaluable. If i am ever going to join Questrade i need to see as many screen captures of what it looks like to be a member.
Their formatting of things so far don’t look intimidating and actually looks quite inviting.
Questrade you just might get me to sign up.
Interesting. Questrade‘s margin interest rate is actually much lower than my bank. That alone might be the big reason i migth make the switch. Thanks for the Questrade offer/promo code above.
Does anyone know if Questrade is going to make a trading platform and provide an experience that tailors to people on Linux boxes? lol. I know its too much to ask but hey i gotta ask.
Was just using Questrade’s Live Help (thanks for the link!) and i’m impressed with their knowledge. I was expecting some halfwit.
Ok, i am strongly leaning on taking the plunge due to this incredibly indepth questrade review! And thanks for the questrade promo code.
Questrade should make their trading platforms such as QuestraderWEB through Flash or Silverlight. Not a big deal, just a suggestion. I’ve bookmarked this questrade review so when i join i have a questrade offer code to use
I just came here to grab the Questrade Offer Code or Promo code or whatever you call it. Thanks!
This is a pretty good Questrade Review. I just came from a few other places and their discussion was merely a cut-and-paste effort so i didn’t get anything out of their review. Here i am actually learning the inner workings of Questrade. So again, thank you very much!
Oh my! I actually have a Questrade account all the way back since 2003 but after reading this Questrade Review i only just found out they changed their account #s to 10 digits. Yikes! I havent used my account for so long i guess it doesnt affect me but i will go update my external banks to the change.
Come to think about it i might begin trading again.
WOW Questrade offers USD registered accounts too? That’s pretty significant seeing as how my current broker (my bank) must automatically convert o make buys/sells on US holdings which is annoying. This could save me a bundle!
I wish Questrade would offer PayPal as an alternative way to fund your account. According to the review above they only offer EFT, wire transfers, cheques, and PADs. That’s pretty much everything except for PayPal
It was the crazy administration fees that drove me away from TD Waterhouse. So i thank you for this Questrade Review in opening my eyes to someone else who won’t steal my money.
Although most people would consider me an active trader i do most of my trades on a buy-and-hold basis. With this strategy i find its not the cost of trading that is a concern it is all the other hidden fees that come with holding.
Yes, i do a lot of trades daily and so most of these hidden fees are negligble but still who wants to pay anything.
I’ve decided to join Questrade after reading this review and will return and give you my thoughts.
Thanks
I’m a recent resident of Canada (US citizen) and thank god for this Questrade Review! My original broker is located in the states and i dont mind still trading with them but i notice the exchange rate from CAD to USD is a little much.
This Questade folks seem like a good choice so i might join them soon.
Been with Questrade for 3 years now and they are pretty good. The funny thing is after reading this Questrade Review and noticing the $50 Questrade Offer Code i couldn’t help but think i should open another account just to get at the promotional free trades thing. lol! Now i have two accounts.
According to this questrade review it takes about 24 to 48 hours to get up and running and if i join through the online process. That’s pretty good.
Thank you for the questrade offer code (promo code).
It’s funny that there is always a new discount broker popping into the scene and yet not a single one can offer a descent trading rate without first having an underlying catch. I had been searching what seems like forever for a broker that didn’t gouge me of my money and so this questrade review might be my savior.
Finally got my brother to join Questrade the other day. Just had to come back and say THANK YOU for this great questrade review and another thank you from my family for the free $50 questrade offer code!
Questrade should give you guys some ticker tape parade because you have by far the most exhaustive questrade review i have ever seen!
My brother gave me this link and it single-handedly made me join. That and the $50 questrade offer code!
Been with Questrade for a year now and just opened a second account with them (thanks for the questrade offer code!). Never had any problems or concerns. Good service!
Questrade just might be my golden egg i was looking for. No other discount broker seemed to fit what i was looking for as a small trader. This questrade review might have pinpointed what i am looking for. Thanks!
The new year is coming and so i think i will have my entire TFSA with Questrade instead. I assume the $50 Questrade Offer Code/Promo Code will continue to work when i join or does it have to be for standard margin accounts? My guess is it will still work.
I would love to see Questrade somehow integrate Facebook and Twitter access into their trading platforms so i can trade my stock picks/buys/sells with my friends and family in real time.
Questrade’s mutual funds looks good. They are priced just right and their pickings are quite healthy. Much appreciated for this questrade review and the $50 questrade offer code.
Actually i heard Questrade was in the works in making a computer-platform independent trading platform. More specifically i heard they were making an HTML 5 trading platform to be used in any modern web browser. This would solve the problem of QuestraderELITE only being available to PC users.
I get a laugh at their old Trade Activity screen. That is what Questrade was offering customers to view their history in? Thank god they decided to change it after what like 10 years? Better late than never.
At least i can say Questrade has improved dramatically. They’ve joined the big boys in discount brokering now.
Only a well heeled stock trader can fall in love with QuestraderELITE and QuestraderPRO. They look really scary to use. I dont evne know where to look first when i see that screen capture. And when are they going to make it for the Mac? Its not like the Mac isnt a big player now!
Nice! Hey author, would you consider this as a no deposit bonus or what?
Smart to include a section about their questrade‘s security. I just checked it out and i think they are doing an acceptable job. You should take a look at the other discount brokers. They do far less than Questrade and so Questrade is doing a fine job.
This questrade review is so detailed i didn’t even have to go through the QuestraderWeb videos to understand their platform. Stunning completeness!
Thank You for showing snapshots of what it is like to be a member of Questrade. Nothing more annoying in reviews than to just talk and not show anything. Your Questrade Review has made me a believer.
Became a new member of Questrade thanks to this Questrade Review and wanted to come back and say thanks for everything!
For the fun of it i just tried to join Questrade using Internet Explorer 6. LOL! Wow, does IE really go bezerk! Defnitely stick t a real browser like Google Chrome and Firefox, or even Safari.
Btw, love your questrade review and thanks for the questrade offer code!
Just spotted this Questrade Review while searching Google for something else. I’ve been a Questrade customer for about 5 years.
Thought i would share my experience quickly with some of your interested readers.
Questrade has been an excellent choice for me. I wasn’t fortunate enough to have access to use the questrade offer code to give me $50 but i have at least experienced the growing up of Questrade. I have never had any problems and as a moderate to heavy trader i can tell you its worth the effort to join.
Good Questrade Review! I hope you will do the same for Virtual Brokers and QTrade!
It’s funny because i had to take another look and call Questrade to confirm that they are indeed making trades at $4.95. Huh? That’s crazy amazing! Well, looks like i am going to transfer my holdings to Questrade. lol!
Just had a long spat with the folks at HSBC InvestDirect. Decided it was time for me to find a new home. Your questrade review tells me i have found it. Props for the questrade offer code. I will join tomorrow.
Actually, @digger although it is your right to get at the gold in-hand most choose to have it stored at the Royal Canadian Mint. But it is your choice to have the physical gold shipped directly to you, at a fee of course.
You’ll notice in this questrade review that the price of gold trades is $19.95 which is a steal in my opinion. I havent done gold before but this is one of the reasons my friend joined Questade.
I still can’t figure out how Gold is actually traded here. Do they actually send you the sparkly stuff or what?
The $250 equity minimum balance is pretty good. Was just at Virtual Brokers and was a bit disappointed that they weren’t upfront about such things. I think Questrade has got my vote and will likely be joining in the coming new year. Excellent work guys! And much obliged with the questrade offer code.
Hey @ghostdad just remember that the IPOs offered will only be for Canadian companies, not the more news catching US ones like Zynga. Its not like these discount brokers dont want US ones it is just that Canada has a law that prevents them from offering it directly. It can only be done through funds, or high-valued customers only. This is the case at all discount brokers, not just at Questrade. But still worth a look.
I am strongly considering joining Questrade for the simple fact of getting in on the IPO offerings. I’ve seen way too many great new companies pop up and i was too late to get in. Not any more. Thanks for the questrade offer code (or promo code?) thingy. It will allow me to play around more freely.
Boy has Questrade improved its GUI! I am old school and remember Questrade back in the day when it was total chaos. How things have changed for the better! Your questrade review really shines a quality light on them. So much so i will consider giving them another shot, especially now i have that questrade offer code in hand. Many thanks!
For the longest time i use to think that the only way to make trades was to call a broker directly. And this was just 6-months ago i had conitnued to think this. I am so behind the times.
I was playing with Questrade trading platforms and i really like the direct send order for trades. Thanks for the questrade offer code. Me and my wife will be making ‘electronic’ trades from now on.
It’s funny because i’ve been with a few other brokers such as Qtrade and iTrade and no matter what i do i still keep getting paper correspondence from the equity holdings. Thank you for bringing up the InvestorDelivery tidbit in this questrade review. For the life of my i couldn’t understand why no one could figure out how to just make it entirely electronic. Now i know how to do it!
Based on this questrade review and the screen captures i like the intuitiveness of Questrade’s user interface such as that shown in Account Activity. I am a small time trader and so i dont like to be bogged down by a lot of techno babble. That free $50 questrade promo offer code is very inticing, i am not going to lie.
That questrade promo code is going to get some serious use by me. Thank you!
For the fun of it i decided to try out the Live Help session just now. Wow these Questrade folks are very fast! Your questrade review wasn’t kidding!
I’m still stationed outside Canada (military reasons) but i am looking forward to coming back home and starting to trade. Questrade seems like an interesting broker.
I still keep sending my friends over here to read this review about Questrade when they are thinking of joining a discount broker. I really love the stuff you did here! Keep up the great work!
I attended one of Questrade’s learning centres to see what they were about here in Toronto. I really liked it. I am now more convinced i should join them. Thanks for the incredible effort in this Questrade Review. And the Questrade Offer Code will be of great use when i join soon.
Jaw dropping work you’ve got here for this questrade review. I’m reading it again for a second time and taking down written notes. Questrade’s just got itself a new member.
Questrade’s margin rates look pretty good. My brother and I are hefty traders on margin and so a rate like this seems interesting.
I’ve been a long time security hawk when it comes to my money and so i’ve seen pretty much every kind of security method that banks/brokers apply. Questrade is doing an acceptable job. Their security methods are perfectly fine.
I appreciate your discussing Questrade’s security in this questrade review.
Does anyone know if Questrade plans to integrate QuestraderPRO and QuestraderELITE into a web-accessible platform like they currently do with QuestraderWEB? I would imagine it is possible especially since HTML 5 is now a reality. One could do it all in Flash but flash takes up a ton of memory and CPU.
It’s funny that when you think you’ve figured out things you learn something new the next day. This questrade review has given me some food for thought in possibly moving my portfolio over to them. I will have to mall this over some more.
Regards.
I love how clean and non-threatening Questrade’s myQuestrade member pages are based on the screen captures in this questrade review. It looks very inviting.
I am just starting out in stock trades (still in college) and for me I want to get my feet wet but need a little hand-holding. Questrade might be the place for me.
As a newbie Forex trader i just wanted to give my thanks to you for this questrade review seeing as how the information you’ve provided above has pretty much convinced me to join Questrade and give them a look-see!
Wow Questrade’s old account activities page really has been reworked. Looks much better now. These member pictures in this questrade review really help.
I’ve been trading for nearly 23 years and pretty much i’ve dabbled in most areas including options, gold, funds, forex. You name it. One thing that interests me is IPO’s. I’ve been eyeing several new Canadian companies that are going public and so i just happened to find this questrade review and see that Questrade offers IPO’s at such a low price. I am so game.
You put together an excellent objective review.
It’s funny that the QuestraderElite looks so hardcore (based on the snapshot above) that i am too scared to even try to figure it out. QuestraderWeb is good enough for me.
I have to agree that one of questrade‘s biggest strengths is not just the $4.95min/$9.95max but that they don’t charge rediculous hidden fees of any kind like virtually every other discount broker out there. Nothing infuriates me more than receiving my monthly trade statement only to find a new, unexplained fee that has been imposed by my broker.
The video tutorials are very handy. This has to be the best questrade review i have ever read. Very complete.
I’m glad questrade makes all their eStatements and trade confirmations in PDF format. Other discount brokers tend to just go lazy by outputing plain text.
Nice heads up with the Live Help link. I just used it now to talk to Questrade’s customer support. Very informative bunch. I’m impressed at how much this Questrade Review covers. I didn’t have to ask much since everything was covered already here.
Just started to open a Questrade account application online. So far i really like its ease of use. And also i like how i can save my current progress and return later. I wanted to have my husband take a look at my application and so the saving features works great.
Thank you for this absolutely stunning Questrade Review. It has been a delight reading.
You just might have the only questrade review that analyzes the site in its newest form. Big props to you all!
I have an account with Disnat and I can purchased USD securities in my RRSP account – So Questrade isn’t the only one who offers this.
I started looking for a different disount broker because Disnat account process is so cumbersome – everytime I wanted to make a change (ie Add ability to seel Options – then later the ability to sell uncovered options), I had to do the WHOLE account application again. Then you have to mail/courier and wait for them to do their thing. I am looking at about 3 weeks. I signed up with Questrade on Tuesday and I should be trading by Friday. Very nice.
I spy with my little eye one heck of a great deal these questrade folks are offering.
I had to get my glasses to recheck what i was reading in this questrade review. They offer trades at $4.95? That’s incredible!
Just opened my Questrade account and got confirmation that i can begin trading today. Had to stop by and say thank you very much for this wonderful Questrade review and Questrade offer code. It’s been a very big help!
I wish Questrade would allow funding into trading accounts via PayPal. Not a big deal since no other discount broker does either but it would still be nice. Hey maybe they will in the future. One can always dream.
I would like to see Questrade make an all-in-one flash app for doing stock trades. Its only because i am a Linux user and so although i have Firefox at my disposal i still feel the fullness of the Questrade experience is only capable on PCs or Macs. I love Questrade though.
The questrade offer code in this questrade review works! Thanks for the $50 in free trades.
I love your questrade review!
Thanks for the questrade screen captures. It makes things much more convenient in deciding if i should join them.
I was reading the other day in my local newspaper that Questrade has now become Canada’s most popular discount stock broker. The article got me interested in finding a questrade review which led me here. Very well written folks! My family thanks you.
Basically i am looking to do low volume trading now that me and my family have some disposable cash to see how things go.
This Questrade lot looks promising and so this along with the questrade offer code in this review might be what i was looking for.
Hey finally a respectable questrade review that actually talks substance. You have no idea how many other reviews are out there that say next to nothing about this discount broker. So i applaud your efforts!
Thanks for giving a brief mention on the Questrade‘s involvement with CIPF. I was looking for an answer to that and Google led me here.
Jesus this is one heck of a Questrade Review brother! Superb job. I hope you don’t mind my facebooking it to my friends.
You’ve got me sitting on top of the clouds now that i’ve finally found a questrade offer code (or is it a promo code) that i can use. Much appreesh!
Love this Questrade Review! Just an admirer here in little Saint John in New Brunswick.
I just played with QuestraderELITE and QuestraderPRO via their online trial downloads. And here i thought i was an experienced trader. I can now say i am a total novice. lol! QuestraderWEB is more than enough for me. Questrade did a good job!
Nice tip on doing a limit order to avoid the pesky ECN fees entirely. That has to be the first time i have ever heard that advice. I am loving this Questrade Review each time i read it. I will be joining questrade next week when i have $1,000 available to make my initial deposit. I’ve saved that questrade promo code too so thanks in advance!
@Kevin, in regards to your question about short selling it seems ALL brokers, not just Questrade, only have access to a limited inventory of shares to lend for short selling and therefore the supply may be (and commonly is) depleted. NASD publishes a list of hard to borrow stocks and this list changes daily so check them out. Interestingly, there is no hard-to-borrow list for Canadian stocks.
Also, related to registered accounts, government regulations here in Canada do not allow you to short sell stock, put options or write uncovered call options in a registered account.
If you want to locate shares of stock that are not displayed as available for short selling through Questrade just contact a Questrade Client Services Specialist (LiveHelp or on the Phone) to inquire about available shortable shares. They will attempt to locate the shares to borrow for you.
Hope that helps!
@trade007 there is no limit to deposits. Go nutz! Questrade is covered by CIPF and they themselves cover an additional $million. So you are protected up to $2 million per account.
A $250 equity requirement is incredibly low. I really like that. I don’t tink any other discount broker offers such a low maintenance level. Thanks for sharing this questrade review. It’s been very, very helpful.
Is there a deposit limit into a trading account? I was planning on opening a Questrade account with a deposit of $120,000. From the questrade review above Questrade is protected by CIPF up to a $1,000,000 . So would there be a limit to how much is made available within an account at one time for trading?
So Questrade offers mutual funds too. That’s good. I just wish Canada wasn’t so strict on only permitting Canada-owned funds. We need more foreign funds in our listings. Yes the content can be foreign but some times you want other managers running it.
Does anyone know how effective Questrade is with short selling? So far, the overall sentiment on online reviews seems to be that they are no good in this area as they usually lack the inventory. I also tried the demo and was unable to short sell as there was never any available inventory for short selling. I plan to use a tfsa at first anyway, which does not allow short selling, but I would like to know the answer to this for future reference.
The cost for International Stocks @ 1% is a really good bargain. Now you’ve got my full attention with Quesrade. Incredible work on this questrade review. That $50 questrade offer code might be what pulls me in.
I remember way back Questrade had the choice of a margin account or a cash-only account. Seems they dropped the cash-only entirely. Makes sense since most make their decisions to trade on the whim and so having an account on margin makes good sense. And seeing as how one has T3 days to settle it is more than enough time for money to arrive to cover it and avoid interest.
Hey nice work on this questrade review. Now please do one on Interactive Brokers!
Questrade is really pushing the envelope to what a discount broker is able to do so i tip my hat to their continuous effort to provide more but keeping costs down to customers.
I will be honest i havent made up my mind if i will join but this questrade review is doing a pretty damn good job in convincing me.
AFAIK @Doug the only way to do what you want is to close the account and create a new separate account. It is just like banks.
Questrade will likely say the same thing. Good question. I guess because i had the same issue with my chequing account many years ago.
Gold is my thing. Thanks for the quick mention. Questrade’s price seems reasonable and with with the economy expected to go in a double dip it seems like a worth while shot. Great job in your questrade review.
Will Questrade be introducing a mobile app soon too? It seems these guys are doing a pretty nifty job in every area but i havent heard much about mobile support. It’s not a big deal but it would be nice.
I was strongly considering opening a new trading joint account with my wife, and although this may sound a bit cold but how hard would it be to split a joint account into separate individual account if things go south in my relationship? Does Questrade have a quick method to resolve such an issue?
Geezus at $4.95/$9.95 one can’t help but wonder how low can this whole thing go? If Questrade is still able to make a sizeable profit and be such a disruptive force in trading then why hasn’t anyone else done this? Thanks for the questrade promo code!
The other day i was in my car and surprisingly discovered a number of local discount brokers popping up around my city that i had never heard before. Must be a busling nacent field. I just wish you could write a review on each of them as you did with this questrade review
In the mean time i will talk with my wife and see what she thinks about joining these people.
I am still amazed that they are still the only canadian discount broker that handles USD and CAD for registered retirement accounts.
Just came across this Questrade review and i am still blown away that they only charge $4.95/trade with no catch.
Your Questrade Review puts other online reviews to shame. I had to forward this link to several of my investment group buddies since it has been difficult to get a thorough review on the matter before.
Nice touch in the e-Signature method during the Questrade new member join process. My concern was the length of time to join when i see a great buy opportunity.
@jaq, you english is quite good. Actually better than several friends that only know English ;P . I had wondered the same briefly but Questrade seems to be getting better. Correspondance, like annual reports, and emails will actually be in your preferred language. Their trading platforms though (e.g. QuestraderWEB) is still all English though.
I just might join Questrade for the fact that their Forex trading is a pretty good deal. Stunning work on this Questrade Review guys! Keep up the great work!
Although i speak English quite well i wish Questrade would have a truly bilingual experience because i notice it is a hit/miss issue. Well, i guess i just have to get more serious with my English studies.
It’s really a shame that US IPO’s are not offered in Canada. I am sure there are some mutual funds here that may get some of these ipos but for the most part we are SOL.
Nice touch in allowing one to opt out of those useless ads we get in the mail from the investment houses. Thanks for pointing that out in your review.
Signing up was pretty quick. That is a nice surprise! Your questrade review just gave questrade a new member.
Just wanted to say big thank you for the $50 questrade promo offer code!
And here i always thought TFSA accounts were only for savings. Nice to see it can be used for actual investing too. I will have to wait until 2012 before i can have enough contribution room though.
Thank you for the quality work in this questrade review. And thank you for the questrade offer code.
I had been a questrade member for a long time before i ended up closing it down because i just wasnt trading that much. This was a long time ago. It really looks like they really have updated things a lot! Looks great! Thanks for the very good analysis in this questrade review.
I can’t believe it’s taken my 2 days to finish this entire questrade review. I am officially a slow reader. I think i learned more than i needed to know about Questrade and i feel smarter because of it
I will join sometime this week.
Just going over their layout in the screenshots in this questrade review. I am pleased to see how organized and non-threatening the whole thing is. I am a total noob and so i kind of need to approach this with ease.
Hey i have a small business so discovering this questrade review is letting me know Questrade can open business accounts (mine is sole proprietorship) makes things even more sweeter.
I think i am becoming a grandpa on the internet because Questrade‘s been around since 1999? How the time flies! I actually remember what i did on New Years Eye 1999.
I think eTrade is now bought by Scotiabank and is now rebranded as iTrade here in Canada. But then eTrade still does exist for in the US. Just thought i should let you know.
Great job in the questrade review!
Questrade’s democratic pricing is a very good idea. So good i am surprised not a single discount brokerage house has adopted the same practice here in Canada. It must be really though to implement or something.
So i could open an account with Questrade, use their e-Signature verification process, and electronic payment to fund the account all during the sign up? That’s pretty good. I guess you can’t get faster than that. So its merely the wait time for the electronic transfer of the funds to reach the account until i can begin trading. Good read!
Wow, Questrade’s old look offered by Penson looked nasty. Thank god they updated and made that place obsolete. I would have been turned off right away if i had seen that as the area for account activity.
This Questrade Review is insanely good. I can’t believe i am learning so much about Questrade.
@don, no this only applies to borrowing on margin (cash you don’t have). That would be sweet if we could earn 4% on cash balances. That would completely blow away current bank rates which range from 0%-2.3%.
The questrade review above mentions that Questrade has an interest rate of 4% CAD. Does this apply to holding cash in the account too? Meaning, can i earn 4% interest just by having a cash balance in a Canadian account?
Unless you are an active trader it’s more appropriate to stick with QuestraderWEB. It is more than adequate.
Allowing for USD currency in registered accounts is very appealing to me. I think i may give Questrade a try after i speak with my partner.
Yup you can go through Questrade’s trading platform trial for all of their existing platforms, including QuestraderWeb. So just click and follow the QuestraderWEB Information link found in the Questrade Review links above.
I am frustrated to no end being with TD Waterhouse. They charge you for the smallest thing. I am eagerly excited to read this questrade review and get my stuff and the hell out of TD for sure.
Thanks for this. I am only 75% of the way through and absorbing all of this intensely.
That’s good to know they keep a file of past tax records. With RBC they don’t do this online. You have to call in and request it.
LOL QuestraderELITE looks like for someone who is a heavy trader for sure. I most definitely prefer QuestraderWEB based on the screen pictures above.
Does anyone here have QuestraderPRO or QuestraderELITE? Someone in this questrade review mentions its possible to go for a test trial run but i think i will be lost if i tried.
Was having problems entering Questrade’s 10-digit account #s into my external bank. My bank only allows up to 8-digits. I tried calling Questrade and my bank and they didn’t know what to do.
I googled the issue and it led me here onto this Questrade Review. Thanks for letting me know that i can enter the first 8-digits of my account number and it will be perfectly fine. What baffles me is that the Questrade rep didn’t know this. I called Questrade the next day and told them about the 8-digit alternative and they confirmed for me that this was correct. Why didn’t they tell me this yesterday?
So I was getting frustrated trying to find an actual Questrade Review that wasn’t some copy/paste get-this-over-with kind of deal and it’s amazing how little information i get from other sites.
So i applaud you folks for writing an excellent analysis on Questrade. It’s really changed my mind on the company and am strongly considering some big moves.
I was just sent here by Google looking for information about Questrade and what they do with USD conversion. That is good to know that one can hold two separate accounts of different currencies.
Normally other discount brokers actually automatically currency convert whatever trade you are doing into the currency of that trade which automatically hands you not only an extra fee ontop their commission charge but can be at such a crazy spread that it probably wasn’t worth doing the trade at all. Thankfully Questrade is not like that based on what you are saying in this Questrade Review.
Thanks for the incredible detail in putting everything together. It’s been a very big help in making up my mind. I think i will join!
Hey crazy8 thanks for the input. It’s funny because i am in the same boat. The other day i decided to see how much i’ve saved over the last 2.5 years i’ve been with Questrade and so far in commissions (vs my old eTrade account) i’ve saved about $995. That’s right nearly $1,000 i can use now for other things and not layering the pockets of some rich ceo for his new yauht.
@ghost yes you are right that many decide to stick with their banks and the reason is simply because of convenience. Think of it like your cable or phone bill. There will always be the adventurous few who will look to cheaper savings elsewhere but for the majority they want convenience of 1-bill/1-location for all their banking needs. So having their personal bank accounts attached to an investment account is very handy to most.
There is also 24/7 investment advice. Yes they will pay more but for many people who are new to investing this tends to be a need.
Been with Questrade for about 2 years. Just dropping in to give me 2 cents. Overall its an excellent broker. Especially for anyone knew to trading. I’m what you call a moderate-to-heavy trader and so having something like the $4.95-$9.95 trade is stunning.
I can also let you all know that Questrade does not charge any kind of hidden fees. None at all. This Questrade Review does a pretty good job in covering what the experience is like in being a Questrade member.
It was worth opening an account and it serves as my primary trading account.
Can someone explain to me why Questrade is still the only broker to offer anything remotely competitive in the trading department?
Yes, i understand the banks like TD and CIBC have no incentive because they have a treasure trove of in-house customers for personal accounts which many are likely to add an investment account with very little prodding. But still, how can people willing decide to be legally raped of their own money when Questrade offers the exact service for a fraction the charge?
Crazy world.
I had to try out their Callback Service to see if it really did work. Sure enough after providing a date/time (essentially 4 hours into the future) they called about 7 mins after the designated time. That’s pretty cool.
I wanted to make sure their customer support was on the record for providing quality support for when I join.
Looks good. Thanks for the questrade review. My wife and I are now leaning on the very likely to join.
For those wondering, Questrade indeed appears to be the lowest-cost discount broker in all of Canada. It seems if you are a low or moderate trader than Questrade is the best option, but if you become a heavy trader than either Questrade or Interactive Brokers is the next favorite.
For me i’ve gone Questrade and as i become more and more active they’ve been pretty accomodating.
Hey man thanks for the Questrade offer code! Was creating a new account now and figured I should find it and get a great deal just for opening.
It’s funny because I use to be a member of Questrade back in 1999 when they opened shop. How things have changed. Thank you for the screenshots in your questrade review. It makes the world of difference for me.
I am forwarding this to someone and am considering rejoining.
I’m starting to become obsessed with owning gold. This economy is not getting any better and although this is Canada and I live in Alberta where things are relatively better than the rest of the country I think we are merely in the eye of what is likely going to be a crazy economic storm.
From the talkback it seems Questrade may be worth trying. Is there anyone on here who not only has a Questrade account but has bought/sold gold bullion? How was the experience?
Woohoo! I was looking for a Questrade Offer Code and this Questrade Review hit the spot! Thanks and Questrade’s just got itself a new member!
I feel old. I’ve been on this earth for 52 years and have never traded a single stock. How pathetic is that?
After reading this questrade review I think it might be time to break that streak.
Great work putting this all together. It must have been a pain!
So cheap price ($4.95-$9.95), quick joining, user-friendly layout. It seems like a perfect fit for me.
I am only 19 but am starting to become interested in all this. Questrade seems like a good springboard for me.
Much appreciated with this Questrade review and the questrade offer code. The free $50 will encourage me to make more trades and not just sit around double thinking things through. lol.
Just joined Questrade. Had to say Thank You for a great Questrade Review and thank you again for the Questrade Offer Code. I’ve also passed this along to my sister and my brother who are starting to get interested in trading too.
Oh the nastalgia of internet IPOs. Anyone remember Wit Capital? One of the first, if not the first, online site to offer IPOs to the regular folk and not just multi millionaires and mutual funds?
If i recall Questrade and every other Canadian broker only offer ipo’s of Canadian companies. Every once in a while though they will offer a few shares from a loaded mutual fund that does include some internet startup. But that is very rare.
So they store history up to 7 years. Good to know. I had been on the phone for 2 hours today trying to get a straight and consistent answer to this. I ended up having to search online and your questrade review was the only one to give a detailed look into it.
I wish Questrade would expand their IPO offerings to include US internet IPOs. That would be sweet!
Just saying HEY from Manitoba! My partner and I want to say thank you for writing this. It’s helped us in deciding where we should be making investments through based on our habits and lifestyle.
We were having a hard time deciding which trade firm to go with but after reading this we decided to go with Questrade. And thank you for the $50 offer code.
I still can’t figure out how the Investor Delivery thing works. I was speaking to their customer service rep and she wasnt sure how it works either.
I am hoping this questrade review‘s author will post a how-to on switching over entirely to electronic instead of all this paper i get each month.
Uploading documents from within the account is a great idea. I use to be a member of Questrade 5 years back and it was truly annoying to have to mail in stuff and find weeks later they never received it. My fear at the time was if they didnt get it then who got my personal information. With this new feature i can be assured that only Questrade got my pertinents.
Love them or hate them Questrade has had an invaluable impact on the world of Discount Broker Trading. Without them we would all be paying through the nose in commissions.
Questrade should go all out and integrate the rest of their services into myQuestrade. From this review i get the impression their platforms are indepedent of myQuestrade. Maybe it’s a security thing but it would make things more intuitive to just be integrated into one. Well, that’s my thinking anyway.
Wow, welcome to 2011 Questrade. I wrote a sckathing comment about questrade on my site last year because they hadnt updated their system in years and were falling behind because of it.
Now they look like they’ve really picked up on things and really improved dramatically. I might write up a followup article about it.
You did a brilliant job in this Questrade Review by the way.
Robert you might want to read this questrade review in full. It mentions very clearly that Americans are allowed to join HOWEVER there are certain restrictions. You seem better off to find a broker in your country.
Maybe i am missing something but as an American i cant figure out why we dont get $4.95 trades. Are Americans allowed to join Questrade. I am pretty sure Questrade is a Canadian company.
Am i able to transfer my existing RRSP account to Questrade or am i stuck with BMO Invest?
hi holly. Yes you can transfer rrsps to investment accounts at discount brokers like Questrade. Each broker has their methods to do so, so i suggest you hunt around Questrade‘s site to find the details. Or better still just use their live chat feature. They are open late hours.
Helluva whale of a questrade review! Much obliged from a lonely boy in a dark basement.
There’s the Questrade Offer Code i was looking for! Thanks bud! I am signing up right now and was hoping to find a code to enter.
Great screen grabs for this questrade review. I tend to be the type that needs an extension analysis with pictures before i can make up my mind. I’ve bookmarked this review so when i do join i also know where to come for the questrade offer code referral ;P
I actually find their live help a little slow. It took me about 20 mins before i got ahold of someone. Maybe i was a bit unlucky. Questrade should really improve the wait times on Live Help. But then maybe i should have called instead.
Overall their new UI is pretty good. I’ve been a big complainer about their old system for years and actually ended up leaving a few years back because it was so cumbersome. I’m back and happier i returned.
What would be cool is if Questrade had an ability to output the transaction activity from within myQuestrade into a variety of formats such as Excel, Word, etc.
Are they going to be adding something like this any time soon?
Questrade Review to the MAX! Muah! I love you. Was aimlessly looking for a quality written review on Questrade.
And thanks for the Questrade Offer Code. I will be sharing this with a few friends on Facebook.
I’ve been with TD Waterhouse for the last 15 years. I’ve been itching to try something new so i may give Questrade a spin for a little while and see how things go before i consider making a big move to another home.
Thank you very much for this review. It’s made things clearer for me.
Wasn’t there someone here that was saying that Questrade had in the works about courses for forex traders? I dunno. I’m a little loaded right now.
LOL i was going to ask the same thing about the questrade offer code. Thanks for reading my mind! And incredible work on this questrade review!
The questrade offer code applies only to actual stocks. It says under its details page. I too was originally thinking i could probably use it to buy some bonds.
Does this questrade offer code shown above work for forex accounts or just standard margin stock accounts?
Actually @questradejunkie don’t forget that it isn’t necessarily 4,950 shares free when using that questrade offer code. It is ‘per trade’. So if your first trade is only to buy stock that is in a lot of 100 then that is 1 trade = $4.95. So you can make 10 free trades (assuming each trade is under the 495 share limit).
No, actually using this questrade offer code you get $50 in free trades regardless of how many trades you’ve done or the quanitity of shares it involved.
Remember, its $50 that is guaranteed when using this offer code so it won’t matter how you use it. $50 in free commissions is $50 in free commissions no matter how you look at it.
Yes @Alan that is correct. And so unless i am misunderstanding it each $4.95/trade is equivalent to 495 shares * 10 = 4,950 shares you can purchase free of charge when using that questrade offer code. Sweet deal!
So this questrade offer code will give me $50 in free trade? Ok, so when i do the math that equates to 10 free trades (assuming you stay within the $4.95/trade shares limit)
Questrade Offer Code confirmed! Thanks for a fantastic Questrade Review!
This questrade review is insanely thorough! Fantastic work! Questrade must have given you a lot of unprecedented access to be able to cover so much.
Anyone know if Questrade has Forex trading classes? The comments mention they have free web seminar but it seems it is only about learning how to work their trading platforms (QuestraderWeb, et al) but not Forex trading.
Had to drop back in to this review to let you know me and my family have finally made up our minds to finally give Questrade a spin. To be honest i was also looking for the Questrade Offer Code because it seems many of my children want to try trading for the first time and something like this offer code will save me a few dollars on commissions for sure and give them a chance to gain experience.
Thank you very much for everything.
Actually @charlie, there was a time in the distant past when questrade actually indeed had paper statements only and did charge $3 to issue them out. It was quite the lucrative business. You know, making money off just sending out paper statements..who cares abotu discount brokering
Ok you got me. Thanks for the great review. And thanks for the $50 questrade offer code. I think that was what made me say i should just give it a try. Can’t hurt.
How times have changed. I remember the old days when i had to walk into my local discount broker’s office and have a long winded discussion about investments.
Today, i can make quick trades online and watch the activity in real time.
The questrade offer code worked! Thanks man! I’m a new member of Questrade!
Questrade must by default make electronic statements the chosen option because why on earth would anyone want to receive paper statements and get charged $3 in the process. Questrade would get a lot of complaints if they had it as paper statements.
lol, QuestraderPRO looks intimidating based on that screenshot above. I think i will stick with QuestraderWeb for now. So that questrade offer code gives me $50 in trades just for joining?
Totally new to the world of investment trading. It’s kinda fun.
Thanks guys for writing this incredibly engaging questrade review.
And thank you for the questrade offer code. I’m sure i will need it.
I’m still a bit indecisive abotu joining questrade. It does seem like a good thing to try. Will have to do some more soul searching before committing.
Been with Questrade for 5-months now thanks to this review. So far so good!
Just had to stop in and say thank you. And the questrade offer code was very helpful. Ended up making quite a bit of trades.
What luck! I was looking for a questrade review and not only did i find this one but found the questrade offer code to go along with it.
Nice touch in the Agreement snapshot during the application process of allowing one to alternatively receive materials by email instead of regular mail. I get way too much mail (mostly junk) and so wouldn’t want to accidentally toss it out with the rest.
I’m really liking what i am seeing/reading here. I’ve been with TD Waterhouse for about 20 years now but as of late they’ve been getting on my nerves and have been slowly looking to potentially shift to a new home for my trades.
Not sure if i will make the move yet or any time soon but i’ve bookmarked this incredible questrade review for later anaylsis. Job well done to you bunch.
Questrade’s platform fees are pretty good! At least compared to some of the other discount brokers i’ve been with. I am likely going to join and get their real-time advanced quotes which for me is a real bargin.
Ahhh interesting note about the paper statements. Thanks for bringing that up in your review above. I guess i will make sure when i join that everything is electronic.
@dustin i believe you can HOWEVER your life will be made a whole lot easier if you were a resident in Canada. If you currently live in New York then i believe to join Questrade you may need to fill out your IRS W9 form. At least that is what i had to do when i wanted to join Apple’s developer site because i am Canadian.
But if you already live in Canada then you just may only need to walk in to Questrade (located in Toronto) and present your ID in person. Normally, for Canadian citizens you only need to fill out documents online and mail/fax your details but since you are a US citizen things are a little bit more involved.
Are US citizens allowed to join? Even in New York this is a pretty good deal.
I think i must be the biggest doosh on the planet because prior to reding this questrade review i had never heard of questrade before. How uninformed am i? And yes, for the record, i have been living under a rock.
Someone put a lot of love into this Questrade review that is for sure. I don’t think i have ever seen a review quite like this before. Fantastic and very comprehensive.
QuestraderELITE looks very intimidating. Hahahaha. Half the things it mentions in that picture in the review i have absolutely no clue what it does. But then i am just a buy-it-and-forget-about-it investor. So something like QuestraderWEB is all i need.
I’m actually glad Questrade is now using the Verisign SSL certificate for added security. This was not originally the case before.
I’ve used Bulls Eye. It’s definitely a market research tool which sounds like you may find handy. It use to be a bit pathetic when it first came out but over time it has become a valuable research device that, atleast for me, has been indispensible.
It’s located in myQuestrade and offers a lot of finaincial reports, expert opinions, and real-time news.
Just forwarded this questrade review to a few buddies of mine thinking of getting into stock trading now that we have graduated. I hope you write more reviews on other discount brokers in the future. It would be very handy.
Maybe i am missing something but their tools dont look as extensive as i was hoping. But then maybe they are there but only those who are more experienced will find them useful.
Oh i just started reading many of the comments here and someone below was talking about something called Bulls-Eye tool? Anyone us it?
Actually QuestraderWEB doesnt need Java. It is only used for the animating stock ticker found scrolling near the top of the screen (check the screenshot found in the review above).
So you can turn off Java (or not install it in your case) and everything will still be fine.
So QuestraderWeb requires Java? Huh? Why not Flash? I dont even think i have Java installed on my machine. I think the last thing that ever used it was back in 1999.
LOL is there an abreviated version of this Questrade review? I am a really slow and lazy reader. Good stuff though!
You bring up an interesting point arod but i can give a good counterpoint to it. However it would be a waste of time since it wont matter. What i do find more comforting is that Questrade no longer emails in the open air your user name and password. That was not good. They’ve thankfully corrected that mistake.
I’ve never been with Questrade but after searching for possible alternatives that had all the things i wanted i have to give up and say i think Questrade may be the only best choice for me. I’m just glad this review makes things more clear for me in that i am doing the right thing.
What confuses me is that although Questrade doesnt have the image security enhancement you see on other sites i dont understand how this makes ones site more secure. If one already has access to a compromised machine then this image wont make any difference at all. I think Questrade was right not to include it.
So for the InvestorDelivery thing one can turn on/off the mail we get from companies? That would be good. I am not a Questrade member but i am hoping something like this works with my broker account because i am a bit of a green thumb and prefer to not get mail that ends up in the garbage.
@eric from what i’ve read Questrade seems to charge interest on a monthly debit balance (average). Remember, interest is charged on borrowing on margin. So even if you are carrying a credit balance you will still be charged interest if you had borrowed.
Well i have to admit there members screens look pretty good and very user friendly. I was a bit hestiant to try them out but after reading this review i am strongly considering it. And thanks for the questrade offer code. I was looking for one.
Anyone know how interest is calculated by Questrade? Is it done daily/monthly?
Hi again @fiona. I forgot to mention you will also have toregister online at Questrade that you plan on attending the seminar. The link is: http://www.questrade.com/learn/seminars.aspx
Hope that helps.
I dont know why my bank’s stock trading chargers a feel for canceling an order. I was just speaking with a Questrade live help person and they said they dont charge a fee for cancelling so that is good.
Hi @fiona. They also have webinars, not just seminars. They primarily discuss their most popular trading platform: QuestraderWEB.
It’s done every Tuesdays @ 6pm. So if you plan on coming to Toronto then just remember that.
LOL i feel old because i remember starting my first online trading account with eTrade way back in the mid-90s.
When Questrade started they had some issues but they definitely have come a long way and are starting to grow on me. I may try them out in the future.
I can confirm that my account was fully open and reading for trading in about 2 business days. Really quick. I was actually expecting it would take longer. This Questrade review has been very helpful.
Honestly, I didn’t know Questrade had Forex trading as well. Anyone else here into Forex trading?
Anyone planning or has attended any of Questrade seminars?
I actually live in Manitoba but was planning on visiting the toronto area where their learning centre is located.
Excellent writeup for this questrade review. My wife and I were having troubles trying to decide which discount broker to join with because we were thinking of just making it easy on ourselves and just sticking with the one that is offered at our local bank. Based on what we’re reading we just may go with Questrade after all.
Thanks very much for the excellent effort.
Just learned from this questrade review they’ve been around for over 10+ years! Time flies! I feel old and still living at home in my mom’s basement
I was reading Questrade now offers a callback service so you dont have to wait for customer service. I’ve tried it and they do indeed call you back.
Back again. Just got thru talking with their questrade‘s live help (thanks for the link). And it appears they are in the process of moving Penson activity in due time. hope that helps anyone who was interested in knowing.
Thanks for the Questrade Offer Code i was looking for that.
I wonder if Questrade plans to add shift all the old activity from Penson to their new page in myQuestrade? That would be ideal for all those who have years in Penson and prefer the new, more convenient myQuestrade for history purposes.
I think adding a picture style security system is just overkill. What Questrade is doing now is pretty good.
You’d think Questrade would have a way to fund your account via PayPal and not just through Wire transfer or EFT or cheque. Everyone has a PayPal account.
I hope you will write a review about Questrade Forex side as well. I know most people dont do Forex trading but it would still be cool to get as detailed a review on that part of their business.
I like the $4.95 minimum with a max of $9.95 limit. That is a smart and what i think a fairer way for trading. I’ve been a small time trader with TD for decades now and had always felt their fee of $29 (and even $45) was rediculous.
I’m going to have a discussion with my partner and may proceed forward with Questrade.
Eek, i didnt know they changed their account # format. I’ve been a Questrade member for 5 years now. Didnt get an email about all this. Yikes! Glad i dropped by. I was actually looking for a Questrade Review for my neice.
I like how Questrade is trying to make the entire experience as an online thing and moving more and more away from paper. You can see it all over in the pictures such as the Upload link, or the Confirmations page and stuff. I wonder if they are leaning more towards a younger generation of traders since they are more happy to shift over to electronic.
Hey this Questrade Review has been updated for 2011. That’s pretty cool! And i see Questrade has really revamped their entire look based on your screen captures. Their new look is much better.
Well their conversion rate isnt that bad. At least its better than the big banks. I was concerned about converting from CAD-to-US and viceversa. I will think this over s’more before giving it a go.
Technically you dont really need QuoteStream. Just refresh your browser by setting it to refresh automatically every 30-seconds to get live quotes. That is what i do.
Actually @crusher, although QuestraderElite and QuestraderPro are indeed stand-alone desktop applications for Windows i am sure they are working hard to make an online version of them so that they can have better reach to other desktop users (e.g. Linux, and the growing Mac presence). I was speaking to a customer rep and she mentioned about HTML5 which is a fantastic thing to look forward to. No word on a launch window though.
@Fiona, try Learn to Earn by John Rothchild. It’s a good start book for newbies. Add that with the likes of Questrade with its cheap trades and you have a match made in heaven
That QuestraderElite platform looks badass! So that is a desktop application and not online? I wonder why they just didnt create an online service through HTML 5, or even Flash.
I’m thinking of joining Questrade but was wondering if anyone had any good beginner investing books i should check out? Ideally for Canadians.
I use to be a moderately active trader with Questrade but ended up leaving because it wasnt compatible with my browser at the time (Firefox). But now i see based on this review that they are now compatible with all major browsers i just might think of checking them again.
Finally stumbled onto a REAL Questrade review! Now i can finally decide who i should go with. I’ve been leaning towards my bank’s investor service simply because that is where my personal accounts are but after reading this i am really giving it second thoughts.
Wow that old Trade Activity picture is really old school. Thankfully Questrade made those changes. Thanks for the history lesson. It gives people like me more insight into who Questrade is as a company. I get the impression they’ve grown up and now taking customers seriously.
Nice touch with the mention of the Investor Delivery option in this Questrade Review. Personally, i have been complaining about constantly getting this material in the mail all the time wishing there was a bloody way to get it electronically. Now i have my solution. Big moi, to you folks!
Remind me again why other stock broker sites dont offer trades as low as Questrade? I’m confused.
Great Questrade Review. I added the link to my site. Easily the de facto review for this discount broker. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for pointing out the $250 minimum requirement for accounts. I was thinking to myself does one have to maintain a $1,000 minimum and now i know the answer. no you dont. This Questrade online group seems like i might hook up with sometime soon.
@allen i hear ya. I honestly think this will teach you more about Questrade than what Questrade even knows about. lol.
Seriously, how in the heck did were you able to put such a really detailed questrade review like this? I’m actually still reading through it 24 hours later. This is not knocking you guys on it just more in awe at the depth to it.
And here i thought Questrade never offered Debenture Trading until i came across this review. This has started to peak my interest.
Actually the Facebook IPO wont be made available through Questrade‘s IPO offer program simply because Questrade only deals with Canadian IPOs. Of course its possible a canadian tech mutual fund could potentially have it in their portfolio but so far i have not heard of this.
Based on the screenshots Questrade‘s joining process looks easy enough. I’ve joined about 4 other discount brokers and the time it takes to join is rediculous. I like the idea that almost all of it can be done online including the eSignature thing.
I might consider signing up to take advantage of the IPOs that are offered. I hear Facebook is coming out with an ipo so it might be good to get in on that.
This Questrade Review has been a big time life saver. I was getting lost in a deluge of information and wasnt quite sure what to do. I’ve bookmarked and emailed this link to a few friends of mine in the same boat.
Thanks again
So far so good with Questrade. I joined last week and everything seems to be running smoothly. I am still wrapping me head around the QuestraderWeb platform because i am such a n00b in trading. lol.
Anyway, thanks for the fantastic questrade review. I had to return to let everyone know i’m having a good time with the experience.
I’ve never done stock trading before but am interested in starting. This might seem to be a perfect fit after reading this questrade review and going over the details with one of their reps.
Thank you for writing this. It’s been a really big help for me.
hi brit. Actually the QuestraderPRO and QuestraderELITE platforms are a separate desktop application for Windows PCs. It is actually a better idea than having it as a web app because of the timely nature of trades. It is much faster in a native app.
I am wondering why is the QuestraderWeb different looking than the QuestaderPro and QuestraderElite platforms?
From what it looks like it seems the QuestraderWeb is an online thing while the pro and elite is a desktop app?? Are they planning on putting it online too?
Actually that 4% if you read it at the link only implies for borrowed money. So your carrying a balance does not actually earn any interest at all with Questrade.
Yea it would be nice to earn 4% on money seeing as how all across Canada the interest rate on Savings account is only 1.5%
Anyone know if you carry a balance in your trading account it earns interest at the 4% they are claiming for margin accounts? I’m confused. Or does that imply for only leveraging?
Nice advice about using limit orders to avoid the fees. I never knew that.
Thanks for the video links. Is there videos for the other platforms too? It seems to only be for QuestraderWeb
I think the original Questrade complaints were because when Questrade updated their site there was bound to be early problems as they changed things. People should have given them time. I havent seen problems since i’ve joined.
So the Penson screen is nothing to be concerned about if I decide to join questrade? That’s good because it frightens me when i look at it.
QuestraderELITE looks to be a perfect fit for me. I will give a trial run tonight.
Oh now i understand. I was looking around because i was hearing that accounts had changed. Couldnt find information anywhere. I hadnt been able to get help on this and didnt get any email from Questrade.
Was a bit confused when logging back in so thanks for clarifying with the new account #s. I actually have a lot of eft banks that need to be changed.
actually Interactive Brokers has probably the best pricing per share than anyone but it is more for really active investors and if your not then you are really going to feel the activity/nonactivity charges. I should know, i’m with them.
It still baffles me how they can offer such a remarkable deal at 1 cent per share and no one else comes close.
It’s been years since i’ve looked at Questrade. Nice to see they are offering mutual funds online now. When i first becma einterested in Questrade they were only offering funds via phone for $50 per action. Yikes! Good to see things have changed.
I am currently with another house which i wont mention but might consider opening a second account with Questrade.
Glad to see Questrade offers TFSA. I always wondered if I could have a TFSA account as a trading account since it wasnt fair to have only a bank account that just sits there earning boring interest. Good stuff!
@andrew i believe you can call Questrade or use their Live Help to adjust this.
Nice touch with the Upload Docs option. My original thinking was that everything would have to be mailed in and you’d have to wait 1-2 weeks before action was taken.
This would be a problem if timing was an issue like opening an account and wanting to buy an IPO before it closed.
Was checking the Investor Delivery site and noticed it asked for some Enrollment Number? Where does one get that? Does this imply that you get normal correspondence in the mail and after you get it then on the material is the number that you put into this site to change it to email?
Can you call Questrade to modify this or does one have to do it on this site?
Although i speak English quite well i am hoping they have done their best to make French as complete on their entire site as possible because i prefer French. I checked some of the Questrade images you have here and i do notice some indication that it supports French so that is nice.
My husband was talking about joining and was hunting around for the perfect questrade review for him. Just wanted to say thank you for saving me a lot of research time.
I still can’t get over how they can make their commisssions so cheap @ 4.95. Based on your review it seems incredibly tempting to join.
This has got to be the most detailed Questrade review out there! You guys deserve an Oscar or something. I am still going thru it and i think it will take me all week. lol
Ok so what you are saying is that USD transfers into Questrade accounts can only but not by way of a US etf into the account. Hmmm…well i guess its not a big deal but would save some money.
I’ve just linked to this Questrade review on my site. Way too useful.
Looks like an interesting brokerage firm. Big thank you for including the questrade members pictures. I really needed to get an idea what it was like for members so i can better decide if i should leave my current discount broker.
My friend has a Questrade account. I dont think he knows about the 2011 changes. I will send him this link.
They certainly put a heafty minimum for uncovered options
I might have to check with my business partner if it is wise to join questrade at this time or search somewhere else.
Hey this review has been updated!! Decided to check back on this questrade review after signing up way back. Great to see its keeping up with all of whats happening.
Thanks for the questrade offer code.
Nice touch to add the links at the bottom of this questrade review. Makes it much easier.
I was actually fuming the other day to find that they dropped the old activity screen. Thanks for pointing out that fact that it is still around because i actually needed to get on and grab some of my old details.
Was reading that Questrade changed their entire approach so was looking for a new Questrade review that covered these latest changes. Thank you!
Brilliant review! I shared this on my Facebook investment group page.
Their Live Help feature is a bit more responsive now that they have worked through a number of their upgdate bugs. I actually got through in less than 5 mins
It’s true Questrade is the only one who takes USD into registered accounts but recently RBC said they would be implementing somethign similar.
Thank god they have the etf funding service. I was expecting to have to send in a cheque or something like i do currently with TD. I will probably join some time this week.
Thanks for bringing up the point about test driving the different Platforms. I was a bit hesitant to join because i didnt really know which platform i wanted — the free seems a little limiting but the pay ones are bit too much. Thanks for the links. I took them for a drive and i have a better idea now which i am going to go.
I was actually a bit perplexed by the 1 cent per share thing until i found this review. It makes sense now. Someone should probably update Questrade‘s site to be more clear.
Wow those QuestraderWeb/Elite platforms look hardcore! Not my cup of tea.
What surprises me is that there is no other alternative to Questrade out there here in Canada. Everyone else is way over priced and dont seem to mind.
I think those earlier issues due to their ‘upgrades’ seems to be settling down now. It’s more usable.
In terms of cheapest per trade i think Interactive Brokers is the cheapest but they get you in hidden fees and other catches. So in terms of the big picture Questrade is a bargain.
Interesting. So $4.95 minimum trades and $50 in free trades by using this promo code? Sounds like something i can’t turn up.
I doubt i will close my BMO Line but may open a Questrade account to try them out. If things work out who knows.
Thank you for this great review!
I’m a student and interesting in starting to make trades at < $3000. Is this the right people to use?
Thanks for the Questrade Offer code! Was looking for one
For people missing Penson you can still go here https://online.penson.com
@Brandon
I am pretty sure American citizens can sign up but there is more hassle since you will have to give more IDs and potentially have to come into their offices in person. Might be worth just signing up for an American discount broker instead.
Can US residents sign up for an account?
Looks like Questrade has changed their Sign up process and the above snapshots need updating. Great questrade review nonetheless. Excellent article!
Margin interest rates are reasonable. I am a heavy trader and usually take part in margin trading. I will give it some more thought before joining. Thanks for the good review.
Please write a another review about their Forex side of things! Please!
Looks like Questrade did a serously massive overehaul of myQuestrade and bunch of other locations. You might want to update and keep this as the definitive Questrade Review guide out there. Just my 2 cents.
Some of things i could do via their Account Activity page is now no longer available through myQuestrade
Anyone know a timeline when they will put all the missing parts in?
Recently signed up with Questrade. I think people who are having issues with their new changes are justified but for me i am holding my tongue for another month for them to work out their glitches. They really did some dramatic changes and need some time.
$4.95 is rediculously cheap and too good an offer to pass. Thanks for the great questrade review!!!
@Gogo – Best time to get thru for me was on the weekend. Takes me less than 5-mins to get thru.
Their Live Chat feature was really good but lately its really useless. I actually have to wait up to an hour just to be told to send an email instead.
Gold trading seems attractive but dummy question can i actually get the physical gold or is it still just on paper?
I am starting to see a lot of people upset with the new updates but figure this is expected since all new dramatic changes are never going to be smooth. I still might join but wait on trades.
Had some issues today but the live help agent helped out and corrected my market order within 15 mins. However it took like 30-mins to get ahold of someone though.
Although Penson was pure crap at least they had some great options that are lacking in the current new system. I miss Penson!
Actually Tax forms can be found here:
My accounts –> Trade history –> On the left side click on Tax slips
Their e-Signature service seemed to be done like forever. Glad to see it is back up. I just couldnt bother until i found it was working again.
My girlfriend and I are thinking about starting a joint account. Just found this questrade review and sending it to her now to read. It’s amazing! Thanks for the writing!
This might be interesting to explore in terms of their TFSA offering. Right now i am with a tfsa account with RBC but maybe i can transfer my holdings into this since RBC is paying doodoo in interest right now.
Mike, i think because of the big changes to their entire online system these tax form slips may be delayed. It shouldnt be that hard to calculate your gains/losses though by hand.
Still havent recevied my t5008 slip from Questrade.
I did some large trades in 2010 and need this to save time.
Huge thank you for this great questrade review! You answered some of my questions i couldnt find anywhere else.
Excellent job in this questrade review. But one suggestion. Will you be planning on updating it any time soon since it appears Questrade has updated their system and it would be awesome for this kind of detail to be done on their new engine?
**cue the baby crying sound here** Can you please update this questrade review to discuss the new changes to Questrade? Thanks in advance.
Questrade offers a free trial (no need to sign up) for their Pro and Elite trading platforms. So you can try it out right now. Found this out while roaming. Just have to give your email address to get the login/pass to the platform. Btw, it’s a desktop app (not in the browser).
http://www.questrade.com/trading/stocks_platform_login.aspx
Wow that Account Activity page looks so different from the other pages. Thanks for the pictures. It makes it easier to get a better idea if i should join.
Interesting Article, but if the author missed how Questrade will over charge you in extra fees. The author touched on them not doing automatic conversions like other discount brokers (too your determent as you will see), but didn’t mention that if you only have Canadian funds and by chance purchase a US stock, Questrade will debit your Canadian cash and then start charging you approximately 10% interest in US dollars for supposedly the %100 of the purchased stock for this US dollar loan? For example if you spent $5,000 for a stock, you can expect to be charged $50 US a month in interest. (Again may I reference you to that they will debit your Canadian Funds?) So you have to ask whose money is the interest from, if they’ve debited you account? And then if you want to talk to someone, be prepared to wait at least an hour to talk to someone.
The whole idea for these discount brokers is for the new inexperienced investors to try it without being charged a lot of money. Questrade really should have a warning on their Pricing tab explaining this gotcha, but then again how would they make all that money on unsuspecting investors.
Cool review man! I learned a lot more than i could have any other way.
Just for those who are interested in making pre and post-market hour trades you should use ARCA or INET for US stocks. For Canadian stocks choose Auto or STSX.
I would like to see Questrade make a iPhone App for making trades. Right now they don’t have any wireless apps.
$3 for paper statements? That’s insane! I hope this is not the default optn because that’s way too much!
So what i gather QuestraderPro and QuestraderElite is a separate application that runs outside the browser. It’s a shame it only works for Windows comptuers. I have a Mac
@graham you bring up a good point. There are a lot of Mac users (such as myself) who would be interested in using QuestradePro but cant.
Yes, i could use Parallels but then i’d have to buy the Windows OS, set it up, etc before even having a chance to install. I would rather like to have a true Mac version instead.
@the_hun, actually java isn’t required to operate QuestraderWeb. It is only needed if you want to see the streaming quotes. I have Java disabled since i dont care for that.
QuestraderWEB needs Java? I didn’t realize Java was still being used by anyone.
I would imagine most of Questrade‘s customers are small-time infrequent traders. And so i don’t think having a strong security feature is that important in the minds of these customers.
This questrade review is really detailed. I ended up having to come back a 3rd time to finish it. A lot of invaluable information.
Making use of an RRSP investment account with such low commissions is interesting. I’ll think about it. Thank you.
The sign up process is very easy and the e-sig feature is pretty cool — pretty straightforward. A lot of other brokers should take note.
One of the benefits of using other discount brokers is that they may be tied to your own accounts. For example TD CanadaTrust has a lot of customers and it is very easy to just ask them to link your investor account with your bank account (just a click of a button).
Yes there is the added fees but the convience is much better.
The US dollar is rediculously weak compared to the CAD. I never thought i’d be alive to see this. Anyone know if its worth buying gold right now?
@benny
Just checked around for you and only found videos on QuestraderWEB. There is a link to Questrade’s videos above in the review.
I’m thinking to open a RRSP account with Questrade and want to ask them some questions before I make the move. Tried to use Live Help and got this message “You have reached Questrade‘s Client Services. You are in priority sequence for the next available Client Services Specialist. Thank you for your patience, the average wait time is ’43′ minutes. Thank you for your patience.” 43 minutes to get help is absolutely unacceptable. I understand it will be less service with discount brokerage but I don’t expect that long. I’m still waiting for the Live Help while I’m typing this. It’s been over 30 minutes…Finally, I got connected to a rep and it took me 35 minutes in total. The rep said it is not normal. Who knows!!
The pictures are very helpful. I just wish their was a live video of using the myQuestrade panel that would be nice.
I noticed recently their live help was very bad. I often waited for more than half hour, still nobody showed up. When I just opened my account, their service was pretty good. Anybody has the same experience?
Questrade does a smart thing. They understand that their are many out there that are interested in investing but aren’t very experienced — the new investors. By drawing them in with simple signup and trading at low prices it is too good a thing to pass up for many. If just a few of these small, infrequent investors become active traders they’d be making a killing.
Been with them for 4 years. Just had to stop in to read another’s pov. I think this questrade review nails it.
Hello from Ontario.
What i cant understand is why other online discount brokers dont compete directly with Questrade. Questrade‘s prices are way cheaper than anyone i’ve ever been with.
I decided to check out their Live Help and they seem well informed. I am a bit surprised about that and not simply cut/paste answers.
I think Questrade‘s image has changed considerably. They were once considered the scorn of the industry but i think over the years they’ve changed their tune and now seem to want to embrace their customers.
Good point about the security thing. I notice a lot of financial instutions are now incorporating the iamge captcha thing you describe.
Wow, i am liking the new Questrade look! I hear CP is going to be creating a separate new review of the entire Questrade experience.
As of Feb 7th Questrade‘s changed things. Just a heads up for you.
Hey Questrade has updated their entire site. Will there be a new excellent review to cover all the new aspects of it?
Ok so that i have things straight: it’s 1 cent per share but one is charged a minimum of $4.95 to make a trade. However i can buy/sell as many shares that i want which will at the most cost me $9.95 to make such a massive trade. Very interesting.
This is my second time reading this review. I didnt realize there were Questrade videos too. Good review.
LOL QuestraderPRO and QuestraderELITE look intimidating. But then i am a total noob.
I hear Questrade is going to be updating their entire site. I think most of the downside mentioned in this review will be addressed.
Will you be making a new review?
Thanks for the US information (eft) you bring up in this review. I was actually wondering this.
Still not sure if i should make the big switch. I’ve been a happy customer with IB for 5 years. This review does make it enticing though.
I’m interested in the tfsa account. But wondering about how the losses and gains apply. I will have to read up.
$4.95? That’s gotta be a typo. I ended up having to check their site to verify this. LOL! Never heard of them until today. Thanks for the writeup.
I remember when there was just E-trade. Now there are a ton of online brokers that make it possible for such great deals!
@sergentONION wrote:
Awesome review! The promo code was handy! So big hey to all y’all!
Not sure if you’re in the know but questrade has an affiliate program so you can get your own promo code. You can share it with buddies and make a bit of cash on the side. I know a few doing that: http://campaigns.questrade.com/affiliate/default.aspx
Just my 2cents.
That’s a pretty good price structure. I was looking for a home that fit a less than active trader and this might fit well. Great job on the Questrade Review btw!!
Questrade is going to be implementing a new security feature for the login process that will include a user-selected image that you must confirm along with one or more security questions. Was reading this the other day. I think it comes out some time this year.
Thanks for pointing out the CIPF mention. I was starting to wonder about that as i wen through this review.
Awesome review! The promo code was handy! So big hey to all y’all!
From my experience most of the negative reviews about Questrade in the past were due to problems that Questrade DID have. I have been with them for many years and have experienced most of them but they are gone now. Although i wish they were faster at resolving them they do get to it eventually. So far so good.
What surprises me most is that there is no clear competitor to Questrade. Everyone else is charging an arm and a leg and so it baffles me as to why Questrade is offering their service for so cheap.
@siezmic29, i dont think the reviewer was putting down the activity page as s/he was pointing out the missed opportunity of Questrade to make it apart of the myQuestrade environment. And most importantly so that there is a unified login process instead of the several that is currently required. Right now Questrade is on track to release a new experience that rids the current activity and does in fact include it into the myQuestrade domain. Should be cool!
I actually like their Account Activity screen. Yes it clearly is not part of the myQuestrade UI but it does offer more extensive details not found anywhere else.
Questrade as a whole is pretty good but their bulls-eye tool, although acceptable, still needs improvements. I was using it the other day trying to search a symbol and it couldnt find it. I had to call in.
How long does it take to offically open an account from start to finish?
If you open an account you have up to 6-months to fund and send remaining documents before Questrade considers it abandoned and deletes the account. They will email and try to contact you via phone and mail to remind you throughout. I found this out from a buddy who signed up but left to Japan and his partner kept being contacted by Questrade about the unfinished opening.
@randall:
It takes about 2 business days (in regards to being able to start trading). However, when you go the electronic route (ie, e-signature) and do an eft for your initial deposit it could be much faster but because Questrade deals with Penson for their processing it will take at least 2 days (time for the money to arrive and be processed); cant possibly think it can go any faster than that.
You can actually log into your myQuestrade and Account activity pages right away when you complete the online application process which takes like 10 mins — they email a temporary password. However, just note that you wont receive your trading login name/password (via email) until they receive and process the initial minimum deposit. The trading login name and password are different the myQuestrade/Activity logins.
The Questrade Review above goes into detail about all of this so i suggest you read it.
Beck says buy gold! Maybe i’m gullable but its good to know Questrade offers this.
Oh so they also offer TFSA accounts too. That’s very interesting! I’ve been neglecting to use my tfsa contribution limit since its inception back in 2009. I am strongly considering opening a Questrade tfsa. Will have to read more though.
Yup, been with Questrade back in 1999. They’ve had their hiccups but they’ve been moving in the right direction over the past 10 years.
This review wasn’t kidding it has to be the most detailed questrade review in existence. I had to read it all the way through in 2 different sessions.
Thank you!
@felix
Credential Direct? Never heard of them. Just checked their site. You made a good choice!
I switched from Credential Direct to Questrade in Dec 2010. At first I found the Questrade interface to be confusing compared to CD, but once I got used to it it was easy to navigate and make trades. The Questrade interface could be better, but for the price it is definitely tolerable. Before, I would strongly consider the commission costs before making a trade. Now, the trading costs are almost negligible! I highly recommend if you want a no frills basic trading platform with low fees.
@Felix – you raise a very good point. I too was ALWAYS thinking about commission costs before doing an actual trade. I lost a plenty of opportunities because of that. Now i never do that.
Someone put a lot of sweat and tears into this questrade review. Fantastic work, fellas!
Thank god for Questrade! I had been getting robbed with TradeFreedom (now Scotia iTrade) for years. My wife and i are planning on joining Questrade soon.
If you have proof of a Canadian residency (you will likely need to go into their offices to provide this proof) then you may be able to open an account.
I’m a US resident..i guess i wont be allowed to open an account?
Advice to anyone new to stock equity investing: Do your homework. If you are just falling the herd you will invariably always lose your money in the end. The more you know, the better you perform.
Just went through pretty much every discount broker in Canada. Gotta say, Questrade is looking very promising!
When are we going to be able to trade social predictions like what is done on sites like intrade? I am terrible at stock trades but pretty awesome at predicting the future in social events.
1 share??!! Doesnt seem worth it. I guess if the stock is Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A and BRK.B) it would make sense. Yes the comission charge will be a $4.95. That is the minimum fee Questrade charges.
I am totally new to this stock trading thing. Is it possible to just buy 1 share of a company? Will this cost me $4.95 for just the one share?
Questrade with QuoteStream seems like an interesting path. I might join in a few weeks. thanks.
For those having questions about Questrade policies i found that their Questrade Agreement booklet was very insightful: http://www.questrade.com/downloads/accounts/agmt_booklet.pdf
Was thinking of wiring the money into my account since my bank doesnt charge me a fee for wire transfers. As far as i can tell Questrade doesnt charge a wire transfer fee on deposits. It’s only when you withdrawal that they will charge a standard wire transfer fee. That’s pretty good.
Thanks for the heads up on the Live Help link. Didn’t realize they are open from 7:30a to 10:30p each day (East Coast).
@Cobra, yes you can do online banking and put the money directly into your account. Once finished signing up they give you an account # (emailed too). Just set up to Pay a Bill while logged into your bank and choose Questrade. Paying a bill to Questrade is like depositing money into your account.
Big w00t from Quebec! Came across this questrade review and it helped a lot!
Can i fund my account through online banking or must i send them a cheque and wait for who knows how long before it arrives then clears?
dave: i read it via an email i got from them. Also its talked a bit about it in myQuestrade when you log in. It’s going to be rolled out in February 2011. Some massive changes. Seems they took notice of this review and decided to fix some of the oversights this questrade review brings up.
@trademaster where did you read that?
Great job in this questrade review! Was reading that questrade is planning on updating their entire user interface from the bottom-up in 2011 and addressing some of the oversights mentioned here. Will this review be updated to reflect those new changes when questrade does get around to releasing their new version?
giggles, i doubt it. I think you would have to close the entire account and create a new one. At least that is what i had to do with my broker prior to joining questrade. All banks are the same way so i figure discount brokers will be the same.
Anyone know if i created a joint account could i have the other person removed if need be in the future?
Kudos on this questrade review! I was like holy mary of jesus this is like the holy grail of reviews. I found this thing on google after making my way through each of the other, i guess they would claim were, reviews. All the others were pitiful. I just wasnt learning much about them until i got here.
So i thank you bud!
Wow how Questrade has changed. I remember when they first started out some 10 years ago. Even there myQuestrade has changed dramatically from the pictures you show above. I haven’t done trading in years. I just might jump in again and test things out.
Hey you didnt include any snapshots of ther Forex platform. But then i guess not too many people are into forex trading. lol.
Thanks for the info on QuestraderPro. I didnt realize i could download a live demo and have a look around. It’s very handy!
ben, xe doesnt offer the lowest spread any more. And besides the fee to make the transfer will eat into your original savings. But then maybe you make gigantic conversions at a time.
to the dude about exchanging funds. Why not use XE and then wire the money into your Questrade account? I’ve been using XE for years.
I became annoyed with Scotia iTrade (formerly eTrade). Totally bloated and became frustrating. Ok, so when i try to move cash between accounts why must i fill in a request form and wait instead of just point and clicking..ugh!! And blah, blah..sorry for the rant. I might give Questrade a try. This review seems genuine and its really appreciated.
Interestingly Questrade‘s rrsp and tfsa accounts charge a 0.5% conversion. So if you’re into going with an RRSP or TFSA account you are set.
Btw, to the person mentioning Interactive Brokers lets not forget that IB also charges an arm and a leg with all kind of fees. Unless you are an active trader you are not advised to go with them.
@ted: IB is still the best for currency exchange. Big bank rates are horrible.
ted, you should be able to save some but be careful if you’ve never had prior experience with Forex trading.
Was wondering if subscribing to Questrade Forex in order to exchange currency is possible ( CAD to USD) and saves money comparing to other fees?
For penny stocks this no-conditions flat rate is something I really important to me.
So what’s the catch? They sound too good to be true.
Man i feel hosed for being with TD for so long. Here i was thinking their trades at $40 was a bargain.
Honestly, i never heard of this Questrade until i came across this questrade review. Clearly i’ve been under a rock.
Not sure if people are aware but Questrade launced Bull’s Eye for members (in myQuestrade).
It s a pretty cool stock research tool for charting, analysis, webinars, and real-time news. Been begging Questrade to get something like this for years so its nice to see their talks with Global Investor paid off.
Interactive Brokers have been pissing me off as of late and i think i might go this route. Good review. Your pictures helped give me some confidence in who i should go with.
@todd where is this g&m writeup at (link)?
I was skeptical about this questrade review at first but coincidentally i came across a Globe and Mail write up that Questrade was ranked #1 for the second year in a row in assets and trading volume.
If they are getting this kind of activity surely it must be a sign that people are growing more comfortable with their products and not abandoning ship like it was in the early days.
Wow laura you must be a rollin’ in it. I dont even make enough in the year to even qualify for the questrade maximizer mutual funds
Ah well, i can always dream.
Hey dana thanks for the link.
This review brought up that questrade doesnt charge any kinds of hidden fees and one of things i like to do with businesses like banks is to see how they hand closing of accounts. I just checked questrade and interestingly enough they dont charge a fee to close accounts. That is pretty good. I hate it when banks and brokers charge these types of hidden fees.
What would be cool is if this article sumarized important questrade links at the bottom of this questrade review.
Would make it easier to find the links again instead of having to peruse the entire review looking for it. Otherwise it’s a pretty brilliant job to put this thing together. I’ve seen every other questrade reviews and they are atrocious…thank god i found this one!
Anyway, just my 2cents.
i found it on this page: http://www.questrade.com/pricing/admin_fees.aspx
dana where did you get that amount?
For the wire transfer it’s $30USD since it is being applied and deposited into a USD account (for a CAD account it would be $30CAD). They deduct the charge from the incoming amount (or the balance currently held within).
Is that $30USD or $30CAD? Sorry..have to ask.
glenn, they charge $30 for usd wire transfers.
According to the review above Questrade doesnt allow eft deposits from USD accounts. It seems the reverse is possible so at least when you want to take out money it can save you money (no need for wire transfers) since it is free to do.
Was going to use their live help but it seems down at the moment. Can someone tell me is there a charge for US$ wire transfers? Unless they provide EFT deposits from US banks to US questrade accounts i think i will have to use USD wire transfers.
@laura, Questrade‘s got this cool maximizer calculator at http://www.questrade.com/trading/mutual_funds_calculator.html
Hope it helps.
So its 9.95 for mutual funds. That’s pretty sweet. The Maximizer plan seems interesting to me. Anyone have a link to an online chart where i can compare costs in this plan?
Was planning on going with TradeFreedom until i stumbled on to this questrade review. I’m part way through it and now i am not really sure which to go with.
I’m forwarding this review to a buddy..he was also thinking of getting into trading. We’re total newbies. lol.
May i quote part of this questrade review in an article i plan on writing regarding online discount brokers in Canada?
This questrade review deserves a medal for whoever put it together. It has saved me hours of research.
Wife and I are rummaging our budget and so far so good. This review has been handy — we’re strongly thinking about stock trading and needed a discount broker.
So far i have to say Questrade is in the lead thanks to your very detailed review.
Thank you from Saskatchewan!
Margins on registered accounts isn’t offered. I’ve had the same question before.
I was looking around their site. Can someone tell me are margins available for registered accounts?
@bob – I’ve been with them for about 5 years and have never seen any kind of hidden fees at all. They are pretty damn good discount broker. As far as i’m concerned they are the best in Canada.
So there are no hidden fees of any kind?
When you say “In-Depth” for this questrade review you weren’t kidding. Nicely done, my friend!
I am pretty sure you cant short sell in registered accounts (government rules).
Can i short sell stocks in a registered account?
Yup, the promo code above will work fine for any trading account.
This is one awesome Questrade review mate! Thnx!
@carol – thanks for the heads up. I never knew this
I think i might open a Questrade TFSA account. Will this Questrade Referral code shown above work still?
For those starting a new account make sure to enable the eStatements so you don’t get charged unnecessary paper statement fees. I think by default Questrade already sets things to eStatements but just in case it is always good to check to make sure. It is located on the myQuestrade‘s Account page.
And also make sure to check the Activity page. The Options has a checkbox there too.
Would i be able to quote some of this questrade review on my site?
You only need to maintain an equity balance of $250 to remain in good standing. That’s pretty good.
Julie, you should be fine if you deposit less than $1000. But be warned that you won’t be able to make any trades until your equity is at least $1000 to start.
After that point they will email you your trader id and password for your desired platform.
What happens if i deposit less than the required $1,000?
So i can use this promo code shown on this page when signing up for $50 in free trade commissions? Interesting.
Hey nice questrade review!
Answers all my questions
Hey that questrade live help link was helpful. I was looking for that.
Thanks David for letting us know. The review has been updated.
Hello, my name is David and I work for Questrade.
Thank you for taking the time to create an extensive and thorough review. I wanted to take this opportunity to chime in and clarify two points in your review: 1. (“Questrade offers two trading plans: $4.95/trade (@ 1¢ per share – 495 shares maximum), or the flat-rate $9.95/trade maximum.”). All Questrade clients automatically receive our ‘democratic pricing’ stock commission: $0.01 per share with a minimum of $4.95 and a maximum of $9.95. The review makes reference to an old pricing schedule. 2. (From the account history section: “…but your buying power is updated immediately.”) Buying power on the account history page updates once, at the start of each day. Real-time buying power information is available on the platform.
David Del Grande
Questrade, Inc
@Prettythang as far as i know yes they have a feature to do e-signatures online and depending on the type of required documents they do have an option to fax some things to them such as IDs. If i am not mistaken you can fax them a copy of a void cheque too.
When creating a new account will i be able to do e-signing or be able to fax my forms back to them instead of snail mailing things back?
Good idea to include screenshots for this Questrade Review. It makes it much easier to get a sense of how good they are as discount brokers. So far i’m very interested.
@brad i dont have that problem at all. It always refreshes just fine for me.
Great review! Questrade should give you a lollipop for such a positive writeup!
The problem i have with QuestraderWeb is that you have to refresh your browser each time to see the latest prices. Other than that its good enough for me.
$4.95/trade is pretty tempting.
Thanks for the inclusion of the CIPF information. Not too many people bring that up.
I might just become a member to try out their trading platform. If this questrade review is accurate then it seems like a worth while venture. Thanks for sharing.
Ok i admit i didnt read this entire questrade review because my eyes started to water for reading for so long. At least i know where to come to if i want it.
So there’s no fee to join or no administration fees? Sounds good to me.
Thanks for writing this questrade review. I was having an inkling of joining but just didn’t want to go all in without researchig them thoroughly.
Been using Questrade for a while now. They’re pretty good. Thanks for the exceptional review i am sure many will find it very helpful in their research
Fantasitc questrade review!! It’s really helped convince me as to which discount broker i should sign up with.
Smart advice with the ECN fees!! Excellent article.
Cheers.
Excellent post. I’ll see what my partner thinks and consider giving Questrade a try.
Lol, i was going to ask about getting some kind of Questrade referral but just noticed this promo code above. Dummy me.
Great work on the questrade review.
Their trading platforms are very good. I originally started out using their QuestradeWeb free platform. It looked much different back then (and incidentally, you can still get access to it today).
But i think as you become more comfortable trading you will want to move to the fee-oriented QuestraderPro. It makes a world of difference in the never sleeping trading markets.
Yea i notice their account acitivty page (from the review) looks really different from the other parts of their portal.
Maybe they are planning to update or integrate it into the main parts of their site?
Not a deal breaker for me. I will likely join some time this week.
Thanks for the review! I decided to do some extra reading on their site thanks to your provided links. I think i will give them a go!
Thanks from PE!
Seeing as how the U.S. is going to be having big elections tomorrow where it is expected that Republicans will be taking control of the House and possibly the Senate it might be a good time to make some active trading with this questrade broker.
My thinking is that since republicans are wholly owned subsidiaries to corporate america, there only intentions once in power is to pass all legislation that will benefit the uber rich and corporations only…hence Wall Street wins big.
Wow, $4.95/trade that’s pretty good. I’m so use to fees upwards of $49 but then i’m a heavy trader and tend to get discounts for my activity. There spread on forex looks interesting.
Very good Questrade Review. It has helped me make up my mind.
@kalvin – if you need Questrade Live Help just click this link: Questrade Live Help
Anyone have a link to their live help talked about in this questrade review?
Wow, this review is thorough! Will check with my wife and consider joining Questrade.
Maybe i’m the only one that didn’t know about this questrade thing. How are their commissions so low?!?!?
I’ve been paying $20/trade at Scotia iTrade for as long as i can remember.
Hey big w00t. Was looking for something like this.
I was thinking of joining Questrade some time back but didn’t have a reason to, to be honest. Your questrade review has peaked my interest and might consider giving them a try soon.
Will have to give IB a call tomorrow to see how their forex compares against questrade‘s 1-2 pip spread. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the clarification on the 1000 quotes thing. Knowing now that there is no longer a limit makes it all the easier to digest and i may just join to take adventage of their very cheap trades.
@Anna
Just use type the questrade promo code: Canada
Its the code shown at the top-right of this questrade review
I need a Questrade referral…anyone help me?
Thanks for the questrade promo code! It worked!
btw, will u be doing a review of BMO any time soon?
Been using Questrade for about 5 years now. Overall they are good. There trade prices are fair and they are definitely the best bang for the buck if you are new to investing.
Good questrade review.
I think i will give questrade a try. I already have a few other accounts but this review was pretty interesting.
Right now i’m an Investment Line trader. I notice this questrade review brings up briefly the fact that questrade offers IPOs. I will have to look into this more.
Offering tfsa accounts i think that makes questrade the only discount broker out there doing this.
so questrades $4.95/trade equates to 1 cent per share and 495 shares max. Or i can go $9.95/trade for unlimited. That’s pretty good. Might give them a try when the old lady gets off my case.
If anyone needs Questrade Live Help just click this link: Questrade Live Help
Just use Questrade Promo Code: Canada
It’s the one shown in the right column of this page with that animating bull.
Anyone have a referral they can give me?
Although i agree they should integrate their acitivty page with the rest of their environment i don’t see the big deal. I doubt most would care since most people dont need to check their history very often. And they can do the same thing within their Platform.
Wow, that is one heck of a review. Really detailed! Lol, i had to stop half-way to catch my breath.
Great article!
Been using Questrade for some time and i can tell you first hand there is no 1,000 quote limit. It’s unlimited. You do have to refresh it from time to time — it’s not real-time for the free version.
@taylor – What seems to be the exact problem? I might be able to help
Nope, everything works fine for me. But then i’m using elite not the free one.
Is anyone having problems with Questradeweb today?
Just used the questrade promo code you show on the right-side of this page. Big thanks. $50 richer!!
Been with Questrade for about 4 years now. Never had any bad experiences with them. There was a big deal around a 1000 quote limit some time back but they ended that practice and from what i see there is no limit anymore. So you can get free unlimited quotes.
I’ve dipped my feet in pretty much all the things they offer and its pretty complete, at least for my taste.
Anyway, just wanted to stop by and give my 2 cents.
Cheers from Alberta!
That mutual fund thing seemed interesting but seeing as how there is a $36K minimum requirement I might have to hold off on that. I might consider joining just to buy American ETFs and ADRs since questrade‘s rates are pretty impressive.
Hahahaha this is quite the lengthy review. Thanks for all the hard work!
Thanks for the tip on the ECN fees. I was going to post a comment about what the charge was on them but with a handy search in this questrade review now i know ho wto avoid the fee altogether.
Was playing with their QuestraderWeb platform. Not bad. I was expecting the worst to be honest but found it was very capable.
What’s interesting is that with a few tricks you can actually get to use their older platform (before they upgraded QuestraderWeb to its present look). Not sure if anyone is interested in trying that so i will save myself time in typing out the steps.
Got a bit fed up with BMO’s constant fees on everything so i might consider questrade. You make some good points so that helped sway me. The pictures were very helpful btw. Good job.
I used your promo code after reading this. Thanks a million.
Great Questrade Review!
I’ve now been with them for a month. So far i like them. Thanks for this review
good review but im still not joining. these guys were bashed up the side of the head by a tun of people. wisdom of the crowd is never wrong.
dummy me i just noticed the questrade promotion code on the right side. i guess i cant use it now (already joined).
i dunno that 1,000 quote thing doesnt seem to be a problem anymore. I am with them and it was discussed to death on other forums and i think they got hammered with angry holders and so they dropped it. For me its free all the time, no matter how many quotes i request. or maybe i am just special
I like to think its the latter.
I decided to join the other day. So far so good. I should have my account up and going hopefully this week. I will post back about my experiences.
Will you be writing a review on other brokerages like TradeFreedom or IB?
I notice from time to time they offer free training courses if you’re in the toronto area. I always thought about attending one of these but kept slipping my mind. one of these days though.
okay I’m convinced ill give them a try. Worst thing i lose a bit of time and out $5 bucks
I remember the 1000 instant quote limit was mentioned on their rate page at http://questrade.com/pricing/platform_fees_basic.aspx but its gone now..maybe their hiding it but its still a rule?!? I doubt they’d be that nefarious
Your wrong. They still have that lousy 1000 quote rule thing. Don’t believe me, try refreshing 1000 times and weep!
Geez, this thing is longer than the bible. My A.D.D. can’t handle it. I’ll just end up looking at just the pictures anyway.
Thanks for the review. I’m actually a bit surprised by the favorability. will have to think about it smore before joining though.