[Babyanne]

I currently have a TDW account only because we bank at the TD. I am looking for an account where the commissions won't kill me. We are just getting started and don't have the usual "minimum deposit" to give us the free trades. Does anyone have any suggestions for beginners?

 

[Rickson9]

I currently have a TDW account only because we bank at the TD. I am looking for an account where the commissions won't kill me. We are just getting started and don't have the usual "minimum deposit" to give us the free trades. Does anyone have any suggestions for beginners?

How is ETrade?

 

[Babyanne]

eTrade is now iTrade run through the Scotia Bank. For us it would be $19.99 per trade and when we are only doing trades of $100 at a time (each cheque we put a $100 away and if I buy securities with it I will be less tempted to dip into the money) that is a 20% commission? I know that is tax deductible but still I am loosing 20% of the buying power.

 

[flayto]

I use Questrade - www.questrade.com. Commissions are $4.95 per trade. I use it for my TFSA, and am considering moving my RRSP there too.

 

[Financial Highway]

I currently have a TDW account only because we bank at the TD. I am looking for an account where the commissions won't kill me. We are just getting started and don't have the usual "minimum deposit" to give us the free trades. Does anyone have any suggestions for beginners?

if you are just looking for low commissions than yea questrade the lowest you'll find:

http://financialhighway.com/canadian-discount-brokerage-review-and-comparison/

you can also check out
https://secure.globeadvisor.com/servlet/ArticleNews/story/gam/20090425/RSTMAIN25ART1908
for some tips

I think there is also a thread on this forum that has several links to it.

 

[FrugalTrader]

I currently have a TDW account only because we bank at the TD. I am looking for an account where the commissions won't kill me. We are just getting started and don't have the usual "minimum deposit" to give us the free trades. Does anyone have any suggestions for beginners?

Here's a comparison of the most popular discount brokerages in Canada along with reviews.

 

[Potato]

we are only doing trades of $100 at a time (each cheque we put a $100 away and if I buy securities with it I will be less tempted to dip into the money)

I would highly recommend not trading stocks with commissions if you're dealing with $100 at a time -- even $5/trade would be a 5% hit.

Instead, look to mutual funds. Since you're already with TDW the e-series funds become attractive: you can buy into Canadian, US, and international equity indexes with low MERs $100 at a time. Just go to "order entry -> mutual funds" in your TDW screen, and enter the fund symbol, just like you would a stock ticker.

The fund symbols and descriptions are available on TD's site (pick e-series in the top drop-down). So for example the Canadian Index is TDB900.

 

[FrugalTrader]

eTrade is now iTrade run through the Scotia Bank. For us it would be $19.99 per trade and when we are only doing trades of $100 at a time (each cheque we put a $100 away and if I buy securities with it I will be less tempted to dip into the money) that is a 20% commission? I know that is tax deductible but still I am loosing 20% of the buying power.

Potato is right, $100 trades is really way too low. I typically follow the 1% rule - stock commissions should never be more than 1% of the transaction. Perhaps you should build up funds before making trades, or use mutual funds as suggested by others.

 

[Rickson9]

I would highly recommend not trading stocks with commissions if you're dealing with $100 at a time -- even $5/trade would be a 5% hit.

I would agree.

Instead, look to mutual funds. Since you're already with TDW the e-series funds become attractive: you can buy into Canadian, US, and international equity indexes with low MERs $100 at a time. Just go to "order entry -> mutual funds" in your TDW screen, and enter the fund symbol, just like you would a stock ticker.

This is probably a better idea.

I still wouldn't invest in stocks (via funds or otherwise) with < $100.

 

[fersure]

Claymore's Pre-Authorized Cash Contributions

http://www.claymoreinvestments.ca/etf/investment-services/pacc

Has anyone actually set up a PACC with Claymore? This may be an better alternative for $100 investments, especially if invested in cdz, cyh or clf. There would be no additional trading fees, and a lower MER than a comparable mutual fund.

 

[Sampson]

Not sure if you've been following the market closely, but the market has already come back a significant amount.

The TSX closed at almost 9500, from around 8000 on March 6th.
S&P500 is at 850, from just below 700.

That's around 20% up already.

If you are just starting to invest in stocks, I would tread very cautiously.