Desjardins Online Brokerage Review

Canadian Online Brokerage Review

As one of Canada’s earliest discount brokerages, Desjardins Online Brokerage (also known as Disnat) is a subsidiary of the Desjardins Group. Although they may be better known to investors in Quebec and Ontario, Desjardins Online Brokerage has been active in Western Canada in the past several years under the Disnat banner. In terms of direct brokerage services, Disnat offers two service choices for clients: Disnat Classic or Disnat Direct.

The primary difference between the two services is the activity level of the client. Disnat Classic is geared toward less-active investors, whereas Disnat Direct is structured around active investors and traders. As a result, the types of platforms, pricing, and tools offered for each service are understandably different.

Quick Facts

Standard Equity Commission$0
Best Commission Price$0
Minimum To Open Account$1,000
Maintenance Inactivity Fee$30/quarter, waived with 6+ trades in 12 months, a $15,000+ portfolio, a registered account, or age 18-30
Commission Free ETFYes
Young Investor OfferYes (Ages: 18-30)

Commissions and Fees

Minimum Opening Balance1000

Account Types

AccountOfferedUSD accountMin. depositAnnual chargeTransfer out
TFSAYesYes$1000$0$150
Online openingFullFee waiversYesWithdrawals$0, plus Bank transfer to Caisse group: $15 or Other banks: $25Inactivity fee ($30 per quarter) may apply (unless 6 or more trades have been executed in the preceding 12 months or the value of the portfolio is $15,000 or more or a registered account (RRSP, RRIF, RESP, etc.) is held)
RRSPYesYes$1000$100$150
Online openingFullFee waiversYesWithdrawalsFull: $150 Partial: $25 plus Bank transfer to Caisse group: $15, or Other banks: $25Annual Fee is waived for accounts with balance of $15,000 or more; or if the client has more than 125 trades per year, or 18-30 year old investors.
RESPYesYes$1000$50$150
Online openingFullFee waiversYesWithdrawals$0, plus: Bank transfer to Caisse group: $15 or Other banks: $25Annual Fee is waived if the account subscriber has a combined value of $15,000 or more across all accounts, or 18-30 year old investors.
MarginYesYes$1000$0$150
Online openingFullWithdrawals$0, plus Bank transfer to Caisse group: $15 or Other banks: $25Inactivity fee ($30 per quarter) may apply (unless 6 or more trades have been executed in the preceding 12 months or the value of the portfolio is $15,000 or more or a registered account (RRSP, RRIF, RESP, etc.) is held)
CashYesYes$1000$0$150
Online openingFullWithdrawals$0, plus Bank transfer to Caisse group: $15 or Other banks: $25Inactivity fee ($30 per quarter) may apply (unless 6 or more trades have been executed in the preceding 12 months or the value of the portfolio is $15,000 or more or a registered account (RRSP, RRIF, RESP, etc.) is held)

Options Trading

Has AccountYes
Rate Per Contract$1.25 (Minimum $8.75)
Standard Rate Minimum Charge Per Transaction$8.75
Active Rate Per Contract$1.25
Active Rate Minimum Charge Per Transaction$8.75
Options Assignments Exercises$30
Minimum Activity Or Balance For Best Pricingneed to sign up for one Disnat Direct data package.

Commission-Free ETFs

Commission Free ETFYes

Mobile App

Apple App Rating2.7
Android App Rating3.4
Date Last Checked14/09/2021

Customer Service

Call Centre AvailableYes
Call Centre HoursMon-Fri: 8am-5pm (ET)
Call Back FeatureNo
Live Chat AvailableNo
Secure MessagingNo

Our Review

Pricing Fees

As of July 2015, Desjardins Online Brokerage has updated and simplified their standard pricing offering. Disnat Classic clients will be charged a flat rate of $6.95 per equity or ETF trade. For Disnat Direct clients who trade from 0 to 29 times per month, the fee will range from $4.95 to $6.95 per trade depending on the share quantity traded, the unit price and whether the stock is in CAD or USD:
* If the share price is $2 or lower, the commission price depends on whether the volume of shares traded is less than or equal to 10,000 shares (in which case the commission cost is $4.95) or if the volume of shares is 10,001 shares or more (in which case the commission cost is $6.95).
* If the share price is $2.01 or greater, the cost per trade depends on whether the stock is a Canadian or US listed stock. For Canadian listed stocks, the cost is $0.01 per share (min: $4.95, max: $6.95). If the stock is US listed, the cost is $0.005 per share (min: $4.95, max: $6.95).
Disnat Direct clients who have 30+ trades per month can enjoy a flat commission rate of $0.75 per trade.

Given that Disnat Direct is oriented towards active traders, another major cost consideration is the kind of data costs one incurs as a result of the platform one uses. See the platform section for more information on data costs.

There are a few important fees to be aware of with Desjardins Online Brokerage accounts – most notably inactivity fees.

For both Disnat Classic and Disnat Direct, the inactivity fees are called ‘safekeeping fees’ and the rates for this fee type are comparable to bank-owned brokerages. For non-registered accounts and TFSAs those with less than $15,000 in the account or that make fewer than 6 trades per 12 month period, a fee of $30 per quarter is charged. The fee may be waived if the balance threshold ($15,000 or more) or the activity threshold (6 or more trades within the year) are met. In addition, clients who also hold a registered account in addition to a ‘regular’ account can have the ‘safekeeping’ fee waived.

Registered accounts (RRSP/LIRA) with balances under $15,000 or that make fewer than 125 trades per year are subject to an administrative fee of $100 per year (as measured between Sep 1st to Aug 31st).

Account Types

Like its competitors, Desjardins Online Brokerage offers a selection of both non-registered (known as “regular” accounts) and registered accounts.

The regular accounts at Desjardins Online Brokerage consist of:
• Cash Accounts (available only with Disnat Classic)
• Margin Accounts
• Margin Options Accounts
• Short-selling Accounts

Registered accounts offered by Desjardins include the most popular RRSPs, TFSAs and RESPs as well as LIRAs, RIFs and LIFs. While most of the registered account types are offered for both Disnat Direct and Disnat Classic clients, RESPs are only offered to Disnat Classic clients.

Platform

The Disnat Classic platform is a straight forward web based platform. Clients can place trades, check account balances, monitor order status, create watchlists, and conduct fundamental as well as technical research. The Disnat guided portfolio strategy (GPS) is also available via this platform. Disnat Direct offers several platform options for active traders. One important thing to note is that in order to get data from and trade certain markets, such as the TSX Venture, additional data packages are required. Their standard offering, DD Web, is comparable to many other online brokerage web browser based platforms and to the Disnat Classic platform. Clients can place trades, check account balances, monitor order status, create watchlists, and conduct fundamental as well as technical research. The desktop based platform comes in three levels – DD Xtra, DD Plus and DD Pro. These platforms are mostly alike in functionality except that DD Plus and DD Pro offer greater capacity for watchlists and better market depth of quotes than DD Xtra (level 1 ¾ vs level 2). An important consideration for users is the cost of the data that goes along with these platforms. Depending on the platform and whether or not a client wishes to trade the TSX-V, cost for data ranges from $30 (DD Xtra no TSX-V) to $155 (DD Plus with TSX-V). The good news is that rebates are offered on data costs depending on the trading activity level, and as such highlights why Disnat Direct is an active trader product. For DD Web, 10 or more trades per month qualifies for no data fees (including TSX-V); for DD Xtra 21 or more trades per month qualifies for no data fees without TSX-V or 31 or more trades for no data fees with TSX-V. Finally DD Plus waives fees for clients trading at least 41 or more trades per month (includes TSX-V).

The Experience

Desjardins Online Brokerage Brokerage Experience

Desjardins is Bilingual, with a focus on providing a great experience for both English speaking users and French speaking users. Desjardins Online Brokerage has a consistent sleek website that makes navigation easy, the applications are also very easy to use which is another bonus.

Can I use Desjardins Online Brokerage to buy Bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies?

It’s not apparent whether you can trade cryptocurrency with Desjardins or not, however SparxTrading was unable to determine if you can trade with cryptocurrency with Desjardins.

How does Desjardins Online Brokerage compare to other Brokerages?

Desjardins is Bilingual with an emphasis on providing quality support to both English and French speaking communities. This is a unique feature offered by Desjardins that is inherently built in versus a supporting feature added later. Desjardins provides a full featured experience allowing traders to bank and trade. Desjardins overall provides a great experience between the Desjardins app and Disnat app.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Desjardins Online Brokerage Best For?

Desjardins Online Brokerage[ 1 ]note is for all self-directed investors. It offers cutting-edge platforms and powerful analysis tools so investors can trade securities and track the markets themselves.

Advantages:

  • Investment training that includes over 250 educational sessions every year
  • Powerful, innovative analysis tools
  • Personalized support program
  • Broker@ge 18–30
  • Trading platforms:
    • Disnat Classic is ideal for new or experienced investors who want a simple, modern trading platform. It features a number of research and analysis tools and trade equities and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) (CAD and USD) for free.
    • Disnat Direct is the perfect solution for active and knowledgeable investors who want a sophisticated trading platform with streaming market data and charts. It features “point and click” trading and trade equities and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) (CAD and USD) for free.

For more details, visit the Desjardins Online Brokerage – This link will open in a new window website.

1. Desjardins Securities Inc. uses the trade name “Desjardins Online Brokerage” for its discount brokerage activities. Discount brokerage products and services are consolidated under the trademark “Disnat”. Desjardins Securities is a member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF).

Source

Does Desjardins Online Brokerage Have an app? Full review!

Desjardins has two apps, the main mobile application and the trading application “Disnat” this follows a similar format to other brokerages that also separate trading from banking. Disnat is a multilingual trading brokerage app with a simple interface. Disnat, Desjardins trading app is available on iOS and Android.

What is Desjardins Online Brokerage Fees?

Disnat Direct

Commissions for online security tradesfootnote1

Equities and ETFs
$0
commission
Options
$1.25
par contrat, minimum 8,75 $
Mutual funds
0$
no commission on most mutual funds
See exceptions, other fees and remuneration
Fixed Income securities
$50
Discover Disnat Direct

Steaming quotes and market datafootnote4

Market-Q platform
$35footnote3 per month if less than 10 trades
$0 per month if 10 trades or more
Market-Q platform Level 2
$105footnote3 per month if less than 41 trades
$0 per month if 41 transactions or more
Learn more about streaming data fees

General fees

Inactivity fees ($30 per quarter)
0$
Inactivity fees are waived if: 6 or more trades have been executed in the preceding 12 months, if the value of the portfolio is $15,000 or more or if a registered account (RRSP, RRIF, RESP) is held

What account types does Desjardins Online Brokerage Brokerage offer?

Does Desjardins Online have TFSA accounts?

Desjardins Online 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 Desjardins Online have RRSP accounts?

Desjardins Online 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 Desjardins Online have RESP accounts?

Desjardins Online offers RESP accounts in both Canadian and US Dollar. Is there a fee to use the RESP accounts? No, there is no fee to use the RESP accounts.

 

Does Desjardins Online have Cash accounts?

Desjardins Online 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 Desjardins Online have Margin accounts?

Desjardins Online 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 Desjardins Online Brokerage?

To transfer an account from another broker, either partially or entirely, you must fill out a transfer request form and send it back to us along with a copy of your most recent account statement. We will contact the other broker with your request and perform any necessary follow-ups. The average transfer delays are 5 to 10 business days. Please search for D108 for an RRSP transfer and D112 for a non-registered account

See forms

Source

 

How to switch from Desjardins Online Brokerage?

To switch from Desjardins Online, please refer to the guide for the brokerage you are looking to transfer to. 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.

Contact

Websitehttps://www.disnat.com/en
Phone1-866-873-7103
Emailinfo@disnatdirect.com
CIPF MemberYes

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