Questrade (the former misnamed TradeFreedom thread)

[deaddog]

Yesterday their computer was down in the AM. Stocks bought the previous day were not showing up in their system. It was impossible to get out of a position as the computer didn't recognize that you were in it.

I attemped to phone but gave up after being on hold for over 1/2 hour

I then got a message that becuase of a situation they had to evacuate the building.

Things seem normal today.

Moderator note: This post refers to TradeFreedom rather than Questrade. The TradeFreedom and Questrade threads were merged earlier today (17/10/09). Splitting the thread with one exclusively about TradeFreedom would have meant some posts had no context. ModeratorK.

Now back to Questrade.

[deaddog]

Had an account there that I closed over a year ago.

I am in the process of opening another for the inexpensive commissions.
It looks like they have improved the trading platform.

Online application went smooth enough. The required documents are in the mail. We'll see how it goes.

One thing I haven't checked out fully is the ability to buy gold.

[EmperorCoder]

Wife and I have been with them for over 2 years now.

Good:
+low commissions
+no low-activity fees
+free real-time market data
+USD in RRSP
+offers RRSP, TFSA, RESP, NonReg accounts
+email statements and trade confirmations
+decent tax forms for non-reg investment portfolio (dividends, etc.)

Bad:
+service is english only although they do operate in quebec
+had some problems opening my wife's TFSA because the initial funding came from a joint account
+"all or nothing" trades on TSE don't work (not sure it's entirely their fault, but they could do something to offer better execution nonetheless)
+it's a bit complicated to get the electronic trade confirmations because you need to login to a separate website
+even if you check "electronic trade confirmations" they seem not to take it into account sometimes and will send you paper confirmations as well (although I didn't get charged for them)

[newguy]

Despite the fact that Questrade has come up in many threads, it doesn't seem to have a thread of its own here... so let's start one.

It does have a thread, but somehow it got named tradefreedom ???

newguy

[queerasmoi]

Hmm it looks like a Questrade person started a thread about TradeFreedom getting bought, and then it went into a tangent about Questrade. But some of the posts in that thread are very much about Tradefreedom itself...

So how about this: Since we have the correct title here, let's have *this* as the official Questrade thread.

Moderator, maybe you help sort this out? A number of threads have been merged into that "TradeFreedom" thread but some of them are about TF and some of them are Questrade. Would it be possible to straighten them out into two threads with proper titles?

[ModeratorK]

Give me a minute here.

[ModeratorK]

This thread continues the old TradeFreedom and the new Questrade discussions. Just about all the posts were about Questrade. Moderator K.

[queerasmoi]

Thanks! But now we have the following posts about TradeFreedom still lingering inside this thread:
http://www.financialwebring.org/forum/v ... 088#266088
through to:
http://www.financialwebring.org/forum/v ... 250#266250

Anyway, better than before =)

[72offsuit]

+"all or nothing" trades on TSE don't work (not sure it's entirely their fault, but they could do something to offer better execution nonetheless)

It was a new TSX policy: http://www.financialpost.com/opinion/story.html?id=ca555e5d-fff4-4bab-ae54-f7a3d7839eae

[ace.nimrod]

Whats the general feeling of Questrade these days?

SInce buying a new house my balance at TD has dropped significantly below the $100k to get $9.99 trades, and I'm not to keen on $29 trades. I do plan to keep my RSP there as its all in efunds at this time.

Was thinking of Questade, but it appears to have some issues on the RFD forums. Tradefreedom seems to have bigger issues.. I'll be using it for unregistered and a TFSA. Are there any issues with Questrade? Or should I be fine as long as I keep track of my accounts myself so I know when they are in error.

Thanks for any input.

Edit: My other option is to move money from my HELOC to TDW to hit $100K again. But I'm not to sure about leveraged investing right now.

[soloman]

I only use TDW for Fixed Income now and some long term hold stocks.

For "trading" purposes, I think Questrade is much better - quicker execution, no being referred to "investment advisors", cheaper, can use "trailing stops" (has saved me a number of times !), less boxes to click when placing an order, etc, etc.,

Only grumble I have is that you can't put hard stops on Canadian stocks, have to use trailing.

[72offsuit]

I really like Questrade (have been with them since June 2008) but there are caveats. I think if it's not your first online brokerage account, you know your way around, and basically just want to do some cheap trades it is a very good choice. There was a good list of pros earlier in the thread. Also I would add: they will set up synthetic DRIPs on just about everything.

The websites really need revamping. There are three separate ones, each with a different look and feel: the Questrade site where you manage the account, the Webtrader platform, and the Penson financial "backend". It's all potentially a bit confusing. Everything is available, it just takes some looking for the first couple of times.

I recommend using the Live Chat, I find them quite helpful. They have quickly sorted out several problems or questions for me.

I had some issues setting up DRIPs with them. You have to send in a separate form for each account, and you can't tell them to automatically put all future stocks in an account on a DRIP (you have to notify them by email each time). This was a bit annoying since I missed a couple of reinvestments but it wasn't that big of a deal.

If you know what you're doing and are generally on top of things, I would definitely recommend them. As for the RFD commentary you can find negative stuff about every brokerage. Might as well get a cheap one.

[queerasmoi]

I really like Questrade (have been with them since June 2008) but there are caveats. I think if it's not your first online brokerage account, you know your way around, and basically just want to do some cheap trades it is a very good choice. There was a good list of pros earlier in the thread. Also I would add: they will set up synthetic DRIPs on just about everything.

Well now that I've had an account with Credential since May 2008 I think I've just about got the gist of how these things work. Maybe one of these days it'd be worth giving Questrade a try? It would help me regularly reinvest my iShares bond ETFs which are now planning to spit out monthly distributions. And it would make the cost of switching ETFs much cheaper too - for example if I wanted to sell two of my ETFs and buy a third one with the balance, that'd cost me $57 at Credential and $15 at Questrade.

Also my RRSP doesn't exist yet but when it does, it will be at least a few years before I can hit the $15K minimum to save me a $50 annual fee at Credential. That'd be money saved at Questrade.

The question is whether their rocky start has stabilized them into a tolerable company or spun out of control into a hot mess.

If I did switch, I think I might strategically leave one ETF of a few thousand dollars' worth chez Credential (specifically the one that Credential can DRIP without hassle). This would give me the option of continuing to use Credential to look up data, and to buy commission-free mutual funds if I ever so desire.

[FinEcon]

The question is whether their rocky start has stabilized them into a tolerable company or spun out of control into a hot mess.

I use them and have always felt they are a great low cost option for cost conscious buy and hold investors who don't yet have the assets required for a TD PA account or don't care if their financial ops are spread over several intermediaries.

For frequent traders, I don't think QT has ever been the best broker. However, IMO, a lot of the people who complain about QT didn't invest a ways back or have just forgot how much competition has driven down prices over the past few years. It is absolutely amazing to hear people crabbing about ECN fees when a person can aquire/dispose tens of thousands of dollars of an asset for tens of dollars ........

[queerasmoi]

It would seem that Credential counts each of my US, CDN non-reg and TFSA as separate accounts. So for each one they'd charge me $125 + HST to transfer out. Questrade will only cover a $150 transfer fee max.

Now I can consolidate that a bit... I could ask them to move all my US securities to the CDN account which should have few consequences, and that takes me down to 2 accounts only.

For the TFSA, if I'm so inclined, I could transfer all those holdings back to non-reg as well, thus leaving me with only 1 transfer fee. I would get stung with a bit of tax on TFSA earnings between the transfer month and the end of December, and then I'd be able to move everything back plus new contribution room. Somewhat of an annoyance to have to go through that, but at my near-zero student tax bracket it'd probably be cheaper than paying another transfer fee.

[Germack]

I have a non-registered account (CAD$ and US$) and an RRSP account with Questrade. If I transfer my accounts to another broker will I be charged the transfer out fee 3 times?

[AltaRed]

I have a non-registered account (CAD$ and US$) and an RRSP account with Questrade. If I transfer my accounts to another broker will I be charged the transfer out fee 3 times?

I would imagine the broker charges by account number. Often CAD and USD accounts are simply subsets of the same account number. However, better to be safe and ask them directly.

[Peculiar_Investor]

I have a non-registered account (CAD$ and US$) and an RRSP account with Questrade. If I transfer my accounts to another broker will I be charged the transfer out fee 3 times?

If the total size of the accounts is large enough (definition varies), the receiving institution will typically cover the transfer fees that you were charged. Check with the receiving broker and get any offer in writing.

[queerasmoi]

I'll have some time to fiddle with my finances later this autumn after I defend my grad thesis. I'm thinking that migrating to Questrade would be a relatively low-risk proposition.

As outlined upthread, Credential charges per-account to transfer out; and furthermore Questrade will only reimburse the fee for an account >$25K. So the only way I can get all (or any) of my transfer fees covered is to ask Credential in advance to please move the entire contents of my TFSA and US margin accounts into my CDN margin account. Then I will have *one* account >$25K which I can port out to Questrade. Once it gets there I can slide the US securities back into the US side, and on January 1st I can repopulate my TFSA. The small amount of tax on unsheltering for 2 months would certainly be made up for by the free transfer fees.

Any other tips on Questrade before I consider moving ahead with this? Referral bonuses, things to be wary of, things to be optimistic about?

Ultimately I think this move would make my passive investing easier since they can reinvest more of my ETFs. Furthermore I want to sell certain ETFs that are now spitting out monthly distributions which are too small to reinvest in a single share (such as XSB) and replace them with ones that self-sustain. This would be much nicer to do at QT with lower commissions

[jason1]

I'm sure there are a few people who would like to give you a referral, me included. But right now, this promotion I saw the other day on redflagdeals may be a better:

http://campaigns.questrade.com/GOOG30/default.aspx?symbol=BAC&name=Bank%20of%20America&s_cid=474&refid=redflagdeals&a_bid=11a8ebbf

[queerasmoi]

Wow thanks for sharing! The minimum $1000 to fund my account - does that have to be in new money, or can it come from assets transferred in?

I'm not sure that 30 trades in 30 days would actually be better for me than a $50 bonus. I would only have a need to make a small number of trades in the space of that single month, and the commissions for those trades would likely add up to less than $50.

[jason1]

I imagine it could be transferred in. I have an account that I've yet to fund there, its just marked inactive. I'm sure as soon as at least $1000, either via an account transfer or EFT, then it would activate for trading. I sent support a few questions before I opened my account was always given a decent response, so might want to make sure for yourself - or try the live support chat. I haven't used that myself though. Haven't had the need for support yet.

[Quebec]

I do most of my investing during the evenings and weekends. So the Questrade "live" support chat has rarely been available for me "live". They'll reply reasonably fast by email though.

The great improvement at Questrade this month: a list of bond prices in a PDF file on their website (http://campaigns.questrade.com/Libraries/bonds/Questrade_Bonds_List.sflb.ashx), or by email, and no more visible "trade commissions" on fixed income products. I looked at the PDF last night and was reasonably impressed with the inventory. Minimum purchase is $5k.

Previously, you had to call them to get bond inventory and prices, and I think they charged $25 per F.I. transaction. They just did not seem interested by the idea of selling individual bonds. I suppose the commission is hidden in the prices now, like at other brokers. Speaking of bond prices, now that the Questrade prices are online and available even to people how do not have Questrade accounts (unlike, say, at CIBC), I am looking forward to an evaluation of whether or not Questrade is competitive.

You still have to call them to buy and sell bonds, but at least you can evaluate your choices before calling now.

[queerasmoi]

I'm sure there are a few people who would like to give you a referral, me included. But right now, this promotion I saw the other day on redflagdeals may be a better:

http://campaigns.questrade.com/GOOG30/default.aspx?symbol=BAC&name=Bank%20of%20America&s_cid=474&refid=redflagdeals&a_bid=11a8ebbf

I've looked over the GOOG30 offer versus the $50 trade rebate. I've concluded that I would rather get the $50 trade rebate because there's no time limit to use my rebate. The GOOG30 offer requires all trades to be completed within 30 days of activation, and I honestly can't think of any reason I'll need more than 10 trades in a one-month span since I already have an ETF portfolio.

So... whoever wants to refer me for the $50 offer or anything better for my needs, speak now or forever hold your peace

Also, is there any utility in allowing QT to open me a forex account too? Do the USD/CAD rates end up better than converting within the brokerage account, or the same, or worse? Is Norbert's Gambit still better than Questrade forex?

[queerasmoi]

Well I've used a referral link (thank you!) and opened my account. I like how it can be done online with no physical paperwork. I haven't yet initiated the transfer from Credential but I'll do so within a week or so.