MoneySense Best Online Brokerage Firms
The Surviscor and MoneySense Partnership
The MoneySense and Surviscor partnership was established 2013 between Jonathan Chevreau and Surviscor president and CEO, Glenn LaCoste. The methodology has been altered over the years and remains customized for MoneySense to include hundreds of data points, including price, customer service, product offerings and mobile capabilities. The review continues to boast Surviscor’s depth of data and deep-dive into the Canadian online brokerage marketplace.
The 2021 edition of the Best Online Brokers in Canada review represents the 9th annual edition in the partnership. Again this year, Glenn LaCoste, has not only contributed his 30-plus years of industry knowledge to the analysis, he has also penned the majority of the article, offering his take on the winners and valuable advice for the Canadian investor.
Whether you’re new to self-directed investing or a seasoned veteran, the 2021 Best Online Brokers in Canada review will provide you with valuable insight into Canada’s ultra-competitive discount brokerage industry, and help you get the most out of DIY investing.
2021 Overall Points by Firm
The following table depicts the actual scores awarded to the firms reviewed. Each firm was assigned a score based on its ranking within the eight sections of review (5 points for 1st, 4 for 2nd, 3 for 3rd, 2 for 4th and 1 for 5th), and the overall score was the sum of the awarded sections.
| 2021 Rank | Brokerage Firm | Overall Points | 2020 Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Questrade | 36 pts | 2nd |
| 2 | National Bank Direct Brokerage | 31 pts | 4th |
| 3 | TD Direct Investing | 25 pts | 3rd |
| 4 | Qtrade Direct Investing New Brand | 22 pts | 1st |
| 5 | BMO InvestorLine | 9 pts | 6th |
| 6 | Scotia iTRADE | 6 pts | 5th |
| 7 | RBC Direct Investing | 5 pts | 7th |
| T-8 | Desjardins Online Brokerage | 4 pts | 8th |
| T-8 | Virtual Brokers | 4 pts | Last |
| T-8 | Canaccord Genuity Direct New Firm | 4 pts | N/A |
| T-8 | Wealthsimple Trade New Firm | 4 pts | N/A |
| 12 | CIBC Investor's Edge | 2 pts | 10th |
| 13 | HSBC InvestDirect | 1 pt | 9th |
| Last | Laurentian Bank Discount Brokerage | 0 pts | Last |
MoneySense Review - Experience Categories
Open up the section to view how each category is evaluated
Fees and Commissions
The category audits more than 13,000 individual trades using five different trade-volume related investor profiles. We compared fees for stock, options and ETF trades.
ETF Investing
The category audits the overall experience of investing in an ETF, including the availability of free product, research (such as screeners and market information) that can help investors make decisions, and the general experience of placing a trade through any digital platform.
Financial Literacy
The category audits areas where a firm is providing educational guidance to both potential and existing customers through all its digital platforms. The areas of support include instructional and educational videos on platform usage or general investing subjects, seminars, webinars and articles.
Market Data
The category audits the overall experience of obtaining relevant market information, which includes the depth of a quote, general market information, analyst views, supporting charts, industry research as well as both fundamental and technical analysis through any digital platform.
Mobile Experience
The category audits the features and functionality of the supporting mobile platform to enhance the overall online brokerage experience.
Customer Service
The category audits the firms' average response time to service enquiries over the 12 months ending March 31, 2021, the various types of contact and hours of service provided, as well as service levels from individual days of the week.
Equity Investing
The category audits the overall experience of investing in a stock, including the availability of marketplaces, research (such as screeners and market information) that can help investors make decisions, and the general experience of placing a trade through any digital platform.
User Experience
The category audits a broad range of factors that influence how it feels for investors to use an online brokerage service including website/app design, customization features, account information, account management, navigation, notifications, and placement of trade orders.
Client Onboarding
The category audits the process that online brokerage firms call onboarding withouit discriminating between becoming a new customer or broadening an existing relationship.
Industry Influencer
The category is the only subjective evaluation in the review and is used to determine tie-breakers within the top firm when applicable by alloting bonus points for firms who are digitally progressive within the industry.
Brokerage Firms We Review
