OAKVILLE, ON, April 9 /CNW/ - www.surviscor.com -For the fourth time in
as many reviews, Credential Direct held top honours as the premier online
brokerage firm for Canadians, according to the newly released Winter 2008
Surviscor analysis. Credential Direct retained both the "overall" and the
"investor" top spots for an unprecedented fourth consecutive analysis. Disnat,
Desjardins' discount brokerage firm, is awarded the top spot in the trader
profile for the first time, moving ahead of TD Waterhouse who held the
position for three consecutive reviews. As was the case in the Summer 2007
review, the Winter 2008 results identified major shifts in price point, with
minor changes in features and functionality across the firms.
The trader profile produced the closest race once again with Disnat
moving into the top spot. "We strive to give online investors the best
possible trading experience. We're happy that our efforts are recognized,"
said Frédéric Paquette, Vice President and Head of the Disnat division. The
Surviscor online brokerage analysis focuses on online features and
functionality offered by firms in Canada through two profiles using seven
categories, including price. In the overall profile, BMO Investorline climbed
into second place with TD Waterhouse holding a slight edge over Qtrade in
third place. In the investor profile, BMO InvestorLine improved to second
place with Qtrade dropping one position to third. The trader profile remains
very clustered at the top with E(*)Trade moving into second place, and TD
Waterhouse dropping to third.
The analysis also reviewed the responsiveness of the firms to customer
emails through its Customer Efficiency Rating (CER). BMO InvestorLine and CIBC
online banking were recently named the top CER firms for 2007.
According to the Winter 2008 results, price continues to take centre
stage as the top feature and functionality improvement. "It is amazing that
the price war continues to be the main topic of interest," said Surviscor
President Glenn LaCoste. "The firms are trying different, yet similar,
approaches to cater to both the transactional customer and the asset-based
customer with a lower cost per trade," added LaCoste. Surviscor also noted
that the online brokerage community was more receptive to participating in the
analysis, which is now in its second year, with four reports produced.