Canadian Online Brokerage Rankings

A partnership with a Canadian self-directed discount brokerage firm has long been based on the investor experience of using a firm's online brokerage platform. Despite one small industry disrupter, the truth holds true today as the online platform experience remains the key cornerstone of an overall digital investor experience. The online DIY self-directed brokerage investor experience represents the investing experience an investor is faced with using either a traditional desktop or laptop to perform every day self-directed investing needs. It is important to note that the discount brokerage industry was the disrupter in the 1990's and it grew in popularity as investors turned from expensive advice-based fees to lower cost DIY solutions. The other three experiences that round up the overall digital investor experience are mobile, cost of services and customer service.

QTRADE DIRECT INVESTING, former Qtrade Investor's new branding, returns to the top spot despite its older design and small improvements. The reality is that the platform is well-tested and provides a well-rounded investor experience that doesn't always rank as the best in any category or sub-category but is positioned as one of the industry leaders in most. Alternatively, WEATHSIMPLE TRADE provides the worst overall online self-directed investor experience for the second straight year with, what appears to be, an online afterthought development strategy. In simple terms, the platform lacks any DIY self-directing substance which is evidence by its 20% score.