Online brokerages have empowered individuals to invest their own money independently. But with so many options available on the market, it is not always easy to pick the best investment platform.
Is Qtrade Direct Investment the right online brokerage for you?
This guide takes a deep dive into Qtrade, what it offers, fees and our review.
Summary
What is Qtrade?
Qtrade is a leading Canadian online brokerage platform for both beginners and veteran investors. It prides itself on being intuitive and easy to use. Trade stocks, ETFs, options, mutual funds, bonds, GICs and other securities, all at competitive prices. A trusted name, it has been on the market since 2001.
Qtrade and other online brokerages have revolutionized how people invest. Before online investing was available, investors often had to meet with a financial advisor for their transactions, which was expensive, time-consuming and slow. Now they can do it with the click of a button.
Ready to start trading today?
Our Qtrade review
Qtrade Direct Investing is a great choice for beginner and experienced investors. The trading platform is comprehensive, affordable and easy to use.
Qtrade is well established in Canada with strong partnerships with wealth management firms, insurance companies, credit unions, digital banks and more.
We like:
- Available to Canadian residents in all provinces and territories
- A free 30-day trial account
- Advanced security
- Powerful tools
- Full suite of educational resources
- Award-winning customer service
- Low trading fees
- Mobile application (iOS and Android)
- Available in both English and French
The platform allows you to assess your net worth with intuitive planning tools and calculators. Then you can develop an investment plan to help you reach your financial goals. Qtrade's analysis tools can help you find the right investments for you and your portfolio. To assist you in your decisions, Qtrade also offers analysts' evaluations as well as fundamental analyses of company performance. With all these tools at your disposal, you can select your investments with confidence with Qtrade as your financial advisor.
Once you have invested, Qtrade allows you to monitor and analyze investments with real-time prices, watch lists, alerts, comprehensive data, account history and more.
For Qtrade investors who want to trade anytime and anywhere, there are mobile applications for Apple iOS and Google Android.
The Investor Plus profile (investors making more than 150 trades/quarter or with assets over $500,000), provides access to a range of award-winning investment resources and tools:
- Quick and easy account setup, provisioning and management
- Margin and options trading
- Independent Research
- USD Accounts
- New Issues Service
- Detailed portfolio performance information
| Qtrade | About |
|---|---|
| Who is Qtrade for? | Beginner, intermediate or expert |
| Available securities |
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| Accounts |
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| Platforms |
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| Minimum balance | $0 |
Ready to invest in the stock market? Compare other virtual brokers vs Qtrade now and start investing in just a few clicks!
What investments are available on Qtrade?
You can invest in all the following securities with Qtrade:
- Stocks
- ETFs
- Mutual funds
- Bonds
- GICs
- Options
At the moment there are no Qtrade crypto trading options.
Does Qtrade have fees?
Qtrade charges a $25 quarterly Administration fee. It is waived under several conditions including holding more than $25 000, qualifying as a Young Investor and more.
Here is a further breakdown of their pricing:
| Service | Investor | Investor Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Equities | $8.75 | $6.95 |
| Options | $8.75 + $1.25 per contract | $6.95 + $1.25 per contract |
| Select ETFs | Free | Free |
| Other ETFs | $8.75 | $6.95 |
| Mutual funds | Free | Free |
| Fixed income and Exchange-traded debentures | $1 per $1000 face value | $1 per $1000 face value† |
| Qtrade transfer out fee | $150 | $150 |
† $24.99 min / $250 max.
For further pricing see Qtrade’s website.
Before you sign up with an online brokerage platform, shop around for the best online brokerage platforms with our comparison tool below.
How do I open a Qtrade online brokerage account?
Opening a Qtrade Direct Investing account is easy to do on their website. It takes just 15 minutes to complete your investor profile and upload the required documents.
Qtrade will ask you to select an account type and enter your personal information and financial background.
Qtrade will give you the choice of what kind of investor account you want. Here are the account options:
- Cash accounts
- TFSA
- RRSP
- Margin Accounts
- LIRA/LRSP
- RESP
- RRIF
- LIF
When you open your account, you will be asked for:
- A valid ID
- A Social Insurance Number
- Electronic investment statements (may not be requested)
- Information about your income, asset management and net worth
- To choose your Qtrade login details
You can now open an account online at Qtrade by visiting the website.
Ready to start trading today?
How can you contact Qtrade customer service?
There are lots of ways to reach Qtrade's award-winning customer service. Here is how:
Qtrade website
Qtrade phone number
Monday through Friday between 8:30 am and 8:00 pm ET
- Toll-free 1-877-787-2330
- Local 604-605-4199
- Fax 604-484-2627
Qtrade email
[email protected] Be sure to include your name and phone number in your message as well as your Qtrade client login details
Mailing address
Qtrade Direct Investing
700 - 1111 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, BC V6E 4T6