Investing

The best trading platform in Canada is highly subjective and contingent on your unique needs, profile, and goals as an investor. Different trading platforms offer different benefits and pricing structures to their users. For example, one trading platform may favour high-volume traders while another might be the best fit for someone who is generally looking to pursue a passive investing strategy. To help you make the best decision for yourself, we have compiled a brokerage comparison tool that you can reference and use to benchmark the different merits important to you.

Whether you are a novice or a seasoned investor, there are several sites you can use to remain updated with the Toronto stock markets. Some local media outlets include Globe Investor, Financial Post and TMX Money. Other international sites that also have a focus on Canadian markets include Motley Fool, Yahoo Finance and MarketWatch. To help you get started, we have created a list of the best websites for Canadian investors looking to enhance their financial knowledge.

CIPF stands for the Canadian Investor Protection Fund, a non-profit insurance program launched by Provincial securities regulators in 1969. CIPF coverage refers to monetary compensation provided to investors in the event that a CIPF member firm becomes insolvent. For accounts held with a Canadian brokerage that have securities, commodities, segregated funds or cash assets, CIPF covers up to $1 million for the cumulative sum of all accounts.

RRSP stands for Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), one of the primary retirement investment vehicles that the Government of Canada offers to eligible citizens and/or residents of the country. To open an RRSP, you need to meet 2 main eligibility criteria, namely: (i) you are a Canadian resident for tax purposes and file taxes in Canada, and (ii) are 71 years of age or under. There is no minimum age to be eligible to open a RRSP.

There are several types of brokerage fees you should keep in mind when evaluating various brokerages. The most common type of fee is the trading fee (or commission) that is a fee paid when security is bought or sold. There are also other types of administrative fees such as annual account maintenance fees, account transfer costs, wire fees, etc. It is important to study and assess the impacts of all these fees before making a final decision on your choice of brokerage.

There are 5 main Canadian stock exchanges. The largest and most well-known exchange in Canada is the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). It’s the flagship exchange of the TMX Group, which also owns and operates the Toronto Venture Stock Exchange (TSXV) and the Montreal Exchange (MX). The two other Canadian exchanges are the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE), which competes with the TSXV in the microcaps space, and the NEO Exchange (NEO), an exchange founded in 2015 which tries to compete toe to toe with the TSX.

The best robo-advisor in Canada is highly subjective and contingent on your unique needs, profile, and goals as an investor. Different robo-advisor platforms offer different benefits, specialties and pricing structures to their users. To help you make the best decision for yourself, we have compiled a robo-advisor comparison tool that you can reference and use to benchmark the different merits important to you and the prices that you will pay per year.

The management expense ratio (MER) is an annual fee charged by a mutual fund or ETF to its investors to pay for the expenses that the fund incurs in its day-to-day operations. These include salaries for the team, tools and technologies that its staff use, accounting and valuation costs, audit/legal fees, etc. The MER is expressed as a percentage of the average assets under management (AUM).

A financial advisor is a certified professional who can help you and your family make the optimal personal finance, investing, retirement and estate planning decisions based on your unique needs, goals and profile. To find a financial advisor in Canada, you can often work with one at the bank that you hold your checking or savings accounts with. Alternatively, you can also try specialist financial advisory firms whose sole business is to provide people with personal financial advice. Prior to collaborating with any financial advisor though, check to see if they are registered in the Canadian Securities Administrators’ National Registration database.

A full-service brokerage provides a suite of added solutions to clients beyond just the ability to buy and sell securities. These services may include research and advice on securities, portfolio analysis, asset allocation, tax optimization, estate planning and more. Generally, full-service brokers charge a higher fee for the convenience of these services as compared to a discount broker that solely offers transactional capabilities.

The TMX Group is a financial institution that owns and operates multiple equity, fixed income and derivatives exchanges in Canada, including the Toronto Stock Exchange (senior equities), TSX Venture Exchange (venture equities), and the Montreal Exchange (derivatives exchange).

Wall Street is a street located in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City that has become synonymous with the financial services sector and markets. The street is home to many of America’s largest banks, insurers and asset managers, as well as the New York Stock Exchange. In Canada, the equivalent is Bay Street. Bay Street is home to all of the Big 5 banks (RBC, TD, Scotia, BMO and CIBC), as well as the Toronto Stock Exchange, which is the country’s largest exchange.