Dec 22, 2017
Personal Investor: Online investors snub the big bank brokerages in 2017
By Dale Jackson
Another year, another leap forward for Canadian independent online brokerages.
The latest ranking of Canadian online discount brokerages by Surviscor finds bank-affiliated brokerages continue to slide when it comes to user satisfaction. Users were asked over 4,000 questions relating to nine categories and forty sub-categories focusing on areas including getting started on the website, usability, research tools, support and costs.
Qtrade Investor took top spot for the second year in a row with a ninety per cent satisfaction rate. Questrade took second spot with a 79 per cent satisfaction rate. The big banks make their appearance in a tie for third between Scotia iTrade and BMO Investorline at 77 per cent.
RBC Direct Investing and TD Direct investing – once a pioneer in the online discount brokerage industry – came next. The laggard among the Big Six is CIBC Investor’s Edge in eleventh place with a 59 per cent satisfaction rate.
On the upside, Surviscor says costs are becoming less of a concern. In 2017, ten per cent of users felt costs were an issue compared with twenty per cent in 2015.
On the downside: customers, who often have day jobs, were disappointed with brokerages who only offer full-services during regular business hours.
For a look at how your online brokerage measures up, here’s the ranking.
