Canadian Online Discount Stock Brokerages An online discount brokerage is a great way to invest without having to deal with physical meetings and a lot of paper work. They are convenient and save you, the investor a lot of time because your transactions can be negotiated online. Most of them have integrated platforms that are user friendly and easy to navigate. Additionally, they are easy to sign up with via the internet. All you need to do is fill out an online application that will be sent in to be processed. In most cases the processing time will not be lengthy and your account will be activated once you have been approved and have the required amount of funds needed to establish your account. How do you choose an Online Discount Brokerage? If you are Canadian there are many options from which to choose. These brokerages may offer similar service charges but may still end up being more or less profitable based on other factors. When you are ready to invest via this route there are many things you will need to consider. Do you want to invest in stocks, mutual funds, indexes or options? This is a critical decision that you should make before getting started. It is possible to start investing in any of those mentioned above and then expand your portfolio over time to include other investment options. Diversifying can be a great idea, however, you should not aim to stretch your investments too thin; this may result in reduced profit potential. Is the brokerage a long standing one or fairly new? While there is nothing necessarily wrong with using an up and coming brokerage it may be a better idea to stick with ones that have a proven track record of success and a history that can be analysed when making your decision. Basically you will want to confirm that the brokerage is a consistent performer. Have you checked out comparison sites that will give you a better view of recent performance updates from most or all available brokerages? This is important as doing research will give you an edge. When investing your money you don't want to limit your options, but extend them so that you know you are more than likely making the most economically feasible investment. While some sites will not rank them you can still check the figures and draw your own conclusions. Will you be an “active trader”? This means will you be investing in stocks that you will buy and sell frequently. If you will be doing this then checking the price for commissions and other fees is important as you will be charged per transaction in most cases. Are you competent enough to do the necessary research on all your investment options? Answering this will help you decide if you will be better off with a full service brokerage or a discount brokerage where you are left to do most of the decision making yourself. If you think you will not be that in tuned with your own investment strategy then perhaps a discount brokerage may not suit you. However, you may still learn to make sound decisions yourself, most financial advisers make educated guesses, if you are properly motivated you can educate yourself by doing a little extra research and learning to read/analyse investment trends. Where can I find Canadian Online Brokerages? There are many Discount Online Brokerages that you may use when you are ready to invest. They may appear similar based on what they offer however as mentioned before doing a bit of background research will help you determine which is best for you. A few of these are listed below in no particular order of importance or performance. List of Canadian Online Discount Brokerages: BMO InvestorLine CIBC Investor's Edge Credential Direct Disnat Interactive Brokers HSBC InvestDirect National Bank Direct Brokerage Qtrade Questrade Royal Bank Action Direct Scotia Discount Brokerage TD Waterhouse Scotia iTrade TradeFreedom