where to trade online? help plz :)

[SoulPancake]

hello,

i'm a young guy just starting out. all my life i've been investing in mutual funds and i'm at a stage in my life where i want to look into stocks for the first time. being new out of school and in the working world full time for about 2 years i don't have a lot of savings im willing to rish because i'm saving for a house and so on. but i feel that about 10K is an amount i can live with throwing into stocks. anyone have an idea where i could trade online where the fees arent retarded? thx. obviously through this $10K im not looking to be an active trade at first and will more like put money into blue chip companies over penny stocks until i feel more comfortable. so any advice? mainly as to where to trade, but other tips for starters wont hurt. thx.

[mb12ca]

First things first, stop hobbying. Then take the savings realized and open up an account with tradefreedom. It is owned by ScotiaBank.Trades are $9.99 and customer service is excellent.

[pokerdude]

My best advice is to read up on "trading" and "investing". They are two different beasts. Trade in a cash account only and get your feet wet before even thinking of getting a margin account. May the force be with you

[Rockslinger]

I saw an ad from Questrade where they charge a penny a share (minimim $4.95 and maximum $9.95) but I don't know how safe they are as I don't think they are owned by a big bank. What happens if they go bankrupt?

[SoulPancake]

yeah i was looking into scotia. i thought they had something called iTrade...not freedom trade...

thx

[Rockslinger]

yeah i was looking into scotia. i thought they had something called iTrade...not freedom trade...

Scotia is "iTrade" which use to be eTrade.

[hinz]

yeah i was looking into scotia. i thought they had something called iTrade...not freedom trade...

thx

Stay away from Itrade for now since Scotiabank is making a mess in integrating both former etrade Canada and their "pathetic" ScotiaMcLeod DirectInvesting. Customer services take a big hit and you might transfer the accounts once they finished integrating Interactive Broker...without additional hiccup.

Or you could open a new account at TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage.

Having said that, you should put your financial house in order and get yourself educated before putting your hard earn money in "harm's way". Things such as emergency funds, pay off monthly credit card balances and student loans should be a priority, while trying to decrease the frequency in hobbying, no matter how "attractive/popular" the SPs/MPAs in question.

BTW, mutual funds, assuming actively-managed one are so last century. You get better performance in investing index mutual funds cousin for asset under $100K

[Rockslinger]

Try RBC Direct Investing. They got something call a "practice account" where you trade with make believe money.

[hinz]

Try RBC Direct Investing. They got something call a "practice account" where you trade with make believe money.

Good advice but I assume the bulk of his mutual funds are RRSP/Tax deferred. If I am not mistaken, the big 6 banks have annual fee for RRSP market value less than $25K. There's no annual fee at iTrade...yet but there's no guarantee from BNS.

IMHO not my favourite but I would rather spend the money paying annual fee on McDonald's coffee...:rolleyes:

[djk]

www.thinkorswim.ca (more aimed to retail traders/investors - this is probably you, soul)
www.interactivebrokers.ca - (aimed at professional traders, lower commissions tho)

[SoulPancake]

Stay away from Itrade for now since Scotiabank is making a mess in integrating both former etrade Canada and their "pathetic" ScotiaMcLeod DirectInvesting. Customer services take a big hit and you might transfer the accounts once they finished integrating Interactive Broker...without additional hiccup.

Or you could open a new account at TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage.

Having said that, you should put your financial house in order and get yourself educated before putting your hard earn money in "harm's way". Things such as emergency funds, pay off monthly credit card balances and student loans should be a priority, while trying to decrease the frequency in hobbying, no matter how "attractive/popular" the SPs/MPAs in question.

BTW, mutual funds, assuming actively-managed one are so last century. You get better performance in investing index mutual funds cousin for asset under $100K

i dont have a penny of debt atm. car paid off and i never took a student loan. i worked all year around and paid for school. but thx for the tip on Itrade. and its good to know that it was formerly etrade. i use to see tons of their ads and was the first company i thought about when i was considering but i couldnt find a canadian site...i guess now i know

[SoulPancake]

Try RBC Direct Investing. They got something call a "practice account" where you trade with make believe money.

thx. that would b fun.

[SoulPancake]

dammit! RBC's practice account requires me to have an RBC account or credit card. sigh.....im with BMO.

don't they know that i would naturally trade through them once i feel comfortable with their practice accounts? sigh...

[Shades]

Checkout Investools.com If you are getting into your own investing a course or two from them won't be wasted. Good luck...enjoy.

[hinz]

dammit! RBC's practice account requires me to have an RBC account or credit card. sigh.....im with BMO.

don't they know that i would naturally trade through them once i feel comfortable with their practice accounts? sigh...

Looks like "back-door" tied selling at RBC....:rolleyes:

Sounds like cross-selling at RBC branches are hypes after all.

[hinz]

i dont have a penny of debt atm. car paid off and i never took a student loan. i worked all year around and paid for school. but thx for the tip on Itrade. and its good to know that it was formerly etrade. i use to see tons of their ads and was the first company i thought about when i was considering but i couldnt find a canadian site...i guess now i know

Not sure whether it's suitable to your situation but assuming the bulk of your mutual funds holdings are in RRSP, I would suggest the following,

-open a no-fee chequing account at PC Financial to receive your monthly paycheque
-get a PC Mastercard to get free groceries, as long as the application does not ding your FICO score
-open TFSA for emergency funds, assuming you don't have extra cash to invest stocks and bonds in TFSA.
-open a RRSP mutual fund account at PC Financial and start investing index funds. Make sure your porftfolio diversifies and matches your risk profile based on your age
-liquidate your actively managed mutual funds above but make sure there's no DSC/back-end loaded fees/clawback and transfer all in-cash to mutual fund account at PC Financial. Repeat index funds investment mentioned on step 3.

Disclaimer: I am not an employee working for PC Financial. Make sure you get a qualified, non-biased financial professional for advice before making any financial decision.

[djk]

dammit! RBC's practice account requires me to have an RBC account or credit card. sigh.....im with BMO.

don't they know that i would naturally trade through them once i feel comfortable with their practice accounts? sigh...

Sign up with ThinkOrSwim. They offer a paper money account which allows you to do the same thing.

Their website is www.thinkorswim.ca

They have great software too. Web, desktop and mobile.

[djk]

Also, it sounds like you want to trade. If this is the case, I highly recommend learning options.