Scotia iTrade: Online Broker Canada Review: 2024
Scotia iTrade is one of the leading Canadian discount brokers which now comes under the umbrella of Scotiabank, which is among the top 5 banks in Canada. It emerged after Scotiabank purchased E*TRADE Canada in the year 2008.
Focusing on active traders, they invest in cutting-edge technology to build powerful platforms. On the other hand, iTrade also offers great educational tools for novice traders.
Scotia iTrade
If you plan to open a registered account with Scotia iTRADE, you have the following options:
• Tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs)
• Registered education savings plans (RESPs)
• Registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs)
• Locked-in retirement accounts (LIRAs)
• Registered retirement income funds (RRIFs)
• Locked-in retirement savings plans (LRSPs)
Features of Scotia iTrade
• Low commissions: You can trade for as low as $4.99
• In-depth research by Scotiabank.
• Powerful Trading Platforms: iTRADE offers 3 trading platforms: OnLine, TradingDesk, and FlightDesk. All the three are intuitive, customizable, and loaded with great tools.
• iTRADE Club: If you are an active or high volume trader, you can opt for their two memberships: Platinum and Gold, which offers exclusive services and complimentary benefits to its members.
• Free educational resources: iTRADE gives you access to online videos, webinars, and its University so that you always make informed decisions.
• Easy Transfer Service: Funds (CAD or USD) can be easily transferred between iTRADE and any Canadian bank.
• You can also pay your bills from the brokerage account.
• Integration of Scotia iTRADE and Scotiabank makes transfer of funds easy.
• Ability to set-up future dated transactions.
What does Scotia iTrade offer?
Stocks:
Stocks are the most simple way to trade and invest. You can trade stocks listed on major North-American exchanges or OTC stocks in Canada and U.S.
ETFs:
Exchange Traded Funds are a good option to diversify your portfolio. It is one of the best ways to access a wide range of asset classes with little investment. They are liquid and tax-efficient. You can scan best ETFs with the screeners provided by iTRADE according to country, performance, fund type, etc.
Mutual Funds:
iTRADE gives you a choice to choose from 3,500 different kinds of mutual funds which are considered the best investment option for a long term. iTRDAE has also included industry-leaders in its list such as AGF, CI Investment, Blackrock, etc.
Options:
Scotia iTRADE offers you various tools to screen best opportunities such as Quotes, Options Analytics, Screeners, etc.
Bonds: Bonds are considered safe investments with certain income and cuts down factors like volatility. You can choose among Canadian and U.S bonds, strip bonds, corporate bonds, T-bills, etc.
IPOs:
Hundreds of companies launch their IPOs every year and IPOs are considered safer investments if you are investing in a growing company.
GICs: GICs protect your principal investment and the interest rate can be variable or fixed through the term.
Scotia iTrade Commission and Fees
Scotia iTRADE has also become a discount broker in true sense from the last few years when it revised its fees to standard commission of $9.99 per trade for equities and options. Of Course, you also have to pay an additional $1.25/contract in case of options. In fact, for frequent and active traders having 150+ traders in a quarter, they can take this flat fee down to $4.99.
Mutual Funds are free when you place an order online. On the other hand, fixed income securities bear a cost of $1 per $1000 of face value with minimum and maximum capping of $24.99 and $250 respectively.
Scotia iTrade also charges an inactivity fee of $25 per quarter. You can avoid this fee by either maintaining more than $10,000 across all your iTRADE accounts combined or holding a registered account.
It is a fact that you get better value if you have a registered account because it attracts lower fees.
Scotia iTrade Platform and Trading tools
Scotia iTRADE offers a platform for all, desktop, web, and mobile.
The basic web based platform is user-friendly, offers real-time quotes, has both fundamental and technical analysis, great charting tools, and watchlists to keep track of your favourites. You also get research, news, and screeners for equity, MFs, and ETFs.
iTRADE also offers Trading Desk that helps you prepare upto 6 orders in advance, and you can glance at all your trades on a single page.
The desktop based platform FlightDesk is their flagship geared for active and advanced traders. It comes in two versions: Standard and Premium. Fully customizable FlightDesk offers 1-click stock order entry, real-time data, real-time alerts, option chain trading, bid and ask-size trend indicator, market-if-touched orders, and 90 days order data.
Their mobile-based application Scotia iTRADE helps you manage your accounts and trades on the go. You can transfer funds, customize it, watch news, observe real-time quotes. It is available for both Android as well as iOS users.
Scotia iTrade Research and Education
Scotia iTRADE depends on Scotiabank for research which has high credibility in the market and its research includes financial analysis and investment outlooks.
The broker has also third-party tie-ups with big names like Reuters, ValueEngine, Sabrient, etc.
Scotia iTrade Safety
Protection from Privacy:
iTRADE promises under their privacy policy that your personal information will never be shared with any third party.
Protection from Fraud:
There is Scotia Capital Inc. which covers both your funds and securities from any kind of fraud. Now, you don’t have to worry about any frauds, other than complying with stated security responsibilities.
Protection while Transfer:
iTRADE also helps you resolve any issues arising out of the transferring funds. So, if your ETFs are not processed as per your instructions, you can easily seek help from iTRADE.
Scotia iTrade Key highlights
• Scotia iTrade is one of the leading Canadian discount brokers which now comes under the umbrella of Scotiabank.
• It offers trading across Stocks, ETFs, Mutual Funds, Options, Bonds, IPOs, and GICs.
• You can trade stocks for as low as $4.99.
• FlightDesk is its flagship platform and comes in two versions: Standard and Premium.
• iTRADE gives you access to free educational resources.
• In-depth research by Scotiabank.
• Platinum and Gold memberships for active traders.
Who can use Scotia iTrade?
Scotia iTRADE will be best fit for active traders/investors who can manage their portfolio by themselves with iTRADE’s strong research and tools. Backed by Scotiabank, trust and safety both are ensured. You will reap the maximum benefits if you are a customer of Scotiabank.
Being user-friendly and loaded with good educational content, beginners can also look for it.
Scotia iTrade Review
Being the brokerage arm of Scotiabank, Scotia iTRADE is a reputable platform that helps traders and investors trade and self-monitor accounts for reasonable prices.
And the real power gets unleashed only when you are a Scotiabank customer plus an active trader.