TD Direct Investing Review
Canadian Online Brokerage Review
Pricing Fees
As with several of its peers, earlier in 2014 TD Direct Investing lowered their standard commission pricing in this case to $9.99 per trade (flat). There are no deposit or trading minimums required in order to qualify for the standard pricing. For active traders, defined as clients who trade 150 or more times per quarter, the cost per trade is $7 flat. Options trading has also seen a reduction in price with the standard fee per options trade as $9.99 + $1.25 per contract and $7 + $1.25 per contract for active traders.
Although all clients are able to receive $9.99 per trade pricing, clients with balances underneath $15,000 are subject to a “custody fee” ($25) which is charged on a quarterly basis. Fortunately, there are certain conditions under which this fee can be waived, including:
1. Making at least 3 commission-generating trades in the preceding quarter
2. Having a Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) account
3. Being enrolled in a pre-authorized contribution plan of $100 per month or more
Account Types
Like many other online brokerages, TD Direct Investing offers registered and non-registered accounts. The registered account types include TFSAs, RDSPs, RRSPs and RESPs. TD Direct Investing has two kinds of RRSP accounts the ‘self-directed’ RSPs (and RIFs) and the ‘basic’ RSP. The important difference between the two is that the ‘basic’ RSP plan does not let users directly hold equities, options or mortgages whereas the ‘self-directed’ plan does.
In terms of non-registered account types, TD Direct Investing offers cash and margin accounts. In order to trade options and to short sell, a margin account and approval is required.
TD has introduced a USD component to registered accounts. This is a great way to avoid currency conversions when you trade U.S. dollar-denominated securities. Please be sure to call them at 1-800-465-5463 to request the opening of a USD side in your existing TFSA or RSP accounts. TD Direct Investing has also implemented a service called the U.S. Dollar Money Market Sweep & Redemption Service for RIF, RDSP or RESP accounts. Although the name is long, basically the service automatically routes the funds required to settle the transaction through a US dollar money market fund in such a way that a client doesn’t pay the foreign currency conversion fee. They have also extended this service to dividend payments so that clients receiving dividend payments (or making purchases) in US dollars won’t have to pay additional conversion fees. TD Direct Investing’s website details this process, so if it is of interest, be sure to review how it works.
Platform
TD Direct Investing offers a broad selection of trading platforms that cater to investors of all activity levels. As a bank-owned discount brokerage, they are in the minority of providers that has web browser based as well as desktop based trading platforms. Although the platforms each have their strengths and limitations, choosing the right platform largely comes down to what kind of trading style you expect to have. TD’s online trading platforms include:
Web-based platforms:
* Webbroker
* Advanced Dashboard
Desktop-based platforms:
* US Trading Platform (ThinkOrSwim)
TD Direct Investing also offers mobile trading on the WebBroker and US Trading Platform. TD’s mobile/tablet apps are available for iOS and Android devices.TD Direct Investing Brokerage Experience
TD Direct Investing Brokerage Experience could be improved, overall the app, website and overall feel does not feel continuous. Parts of the website is accessible through the desktop app, and there are questionable decisions made for the app. For example, the app will go down almost every night around midnight, another interesting feature is that you cannot transfer funds out of a “trading” account such as a TFSA from the mobile app, only transfer funds into a trading account. You also cannot transfer funds from the trading account on the main TD web application, which creates a confusing experience as the only way to transfer funds out of a trading account is to use the “webBroker” website, which is not to be confused with “EasyWeb”. There is a lot of decision choices like this that leads to a poor user experience. Most of these decisions can easily be implemented or added, as luckily the overall experience of the website and app are solid, but there is obvious improvements that can be made.
Can I use TD Direct Investing Brokerage to buy Bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies?
TD Direct Investing does not exchange any sort of cryptocurrency. This means that TD Direct Investing does not trade Bitcoin, Ethereum or any other forms of cryptocurrency in the market.
It’s also worth mentioning that TD Direct Investing rejects transactions that involve cryptocurrency, forcing users to use money e-transfers in order to purchase cryptocurrency. TD Direct Investing claims cryptocurrency is volatile and thus restricted.
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How does TD Direct Investing Brokerage compare to other Brokerages?
TD Direct Investing does not currently provide a good experience compared to other brokerages, the “advanced dashboard” alone is enough to use TD Canada trust over other brokerages and if you have a high volume trading portfolio as the flat fees will provide an attractive reason to trade with TD. However if you are looking to trade in small volumes, or you’re not experienced with using sophisticated trading tools, it’s recommend to seek out alternative brokerages.
Who is TD Direct Investing Brokerage Best For?
TD Direct Investing Brokerage is best for both professional and new traders. TD Direct Investing provides a simple to use mobile experience, although the mobile experience does not match the web app experience. The mobile application is also rather clunky to use for complicated trades but works great for simple trades. TD Direct Investing also has high fees and thusly is catered to high profile traders. TD Direct Investing provides some very sophisticated tools like the “advanced dashboard” which is not to be confused with “thinkorswim”. Thinkorswim is provided by the American TD, and is not actually shared with TD Canada, which means Canadians are not able to use the more polished application. What’s interesting is that “thinkorswim” was temporarily available as the “US trading platform”.
It’s also worth mentioning that TD Direct Investing does not allow Pre or After market trading, which is a little strange given the sophisticated trading tools.
Does TD Direct Investing Brokerage Have an app? Full review!
TD Direct Investing currently does have an app for iPhone,
TD Direct Investing also has an app for iPad. TD Direct Investing also provides a mobile web browser interface if you don’t wish to install the app.
TD Direct Investing currently does have an app for Android, Google, and Samsung.
Therefore, TD Direct Investing fully supports mobile based trading.
To trade with TD Direct, You will need to download the TD Canada trust app, and from there you can make simple trades. To perform complex trading like OCO, you will need to use the web platform either on desktop or mobile as the application does not have the feature like the “thinkorswim” app used to have.
What is TD Direct Investing Brokerage Fees?
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How you trade
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Standard Rate
Flat fee online commission rates
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Canadian & U.S. Stocks
$9.99 flat
Canadian & U.S. Options
$9.99 + $1.25 per contract
All prices are quoted and commissions charged in the currency of the trade.
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Active Trader Pricing
150+ Trades/Quarter3
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Canadian & U.S. Stocks
$7.00 flat
Canadian & U.S. Options
$7.00 + $1.25 per contract
All prices are quoted and commissions charged in the currency of the trade.
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What account types does TD Direct Investing Brokerage Brokerage offer?
Does TD Direct Investing Brokerage have TFSA accounts?
TD Direct Investing Brokerage offers TFSA accounts in both Canadian and US Dollar. Is there a fee to use the TFSA accounts? No, there is no fee to use the TFSA accounts.
Does TD Direct Investing Brokerage have RRSP accounts?
TD Direct Investing Brokerage offers RRSP accounts in both Canadian and US Dollar. Is there a fee to use the RRSP accounts? No, there is no fee to use the RRSP accounts.
Does TD Direct Investing Brokerage have RESP accounts?
TD Direct Investing Brokerage does not offer RESP accounts in both Canadian or US Dollar.
Does TD Direct Investing Brokerage have Cash accounts?
TD Direct Investing Brokerage offers Cash accounts in both Canadian and US Dollar. Is there a fee to use the Cash accounts? No, there is no fee to use the Cash accounts.
Does TD Direct Investing Brokerage have Margin accounts?
TD Direct Investing Brokerage offers Margin accounts in both Canadian and US Dollar. Is there a fee to use the Margin accounts? No, there is no fee to use the Margin accounts.
How to switch to TD Direct Investing Brokerage?
Open a TD Direct Investing account and set up a transfer in cash or in kind (keep your existing holdings), or a mix of the two.
- TD Direct Investing will reimburse you up to $150 for any transfer fees applied by another brokerage. Read more.
- TD Direct Investing will do everything TD Direct Investing can to transfer your account quickly. If you want to start trading immediately, make a cash deposit.
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How to switch from TD Direct Investing Brokerage?
To switch from TD Direct Investing Brokerage, please refer to the guide for the brokerage you are looking to transfer from. SparxTrading takes pride in providing up to date information, please see the brokerage review you are looking to transfer to for assistance on how to transfer to that brokerage.
