Questrade, a little plugging I suppose...

I popped some Questrade advertising on my blog as I am sure anyone reading now has noticed. I figure that I use them and am satisfied with their service that perhaps others that are just starting out might want to give them a try...and take advantage of the $50 in free trades to boot. Perhaps some might be looking for a more cost effective method to trade when they do not require the hand holding that is supposed to go along with their current full service broker.

I was at a meeting of my local share club (DRIP club) and the topic of brokers came up. The discussion was in reference to the TFSA mainly as there are administration fees and withdrawal fees for these as well at other brokers, primarily bank brokerages, but the discussion headed to fees and practises in general. I was surprised at some of the fees and policies that there are in place at some "full service" brokers. I even hear of certain types of orders costing more in commissions than others...limit orders specifically, maybe VTSOs as well. Perhaps these are phone orders as opposed to online or direct access orders but it certainly puts a splash of cold water on a trading plan to have capital eaten up this way.

I know when I started looking for a broker I did not look too far. I checked my bank and was shocked at the fees so I checked a few online brokers and did a straight cost comparison based on my needs and expectations. Considering that I really did not have any idea where my trading might end up I do feel that they have been a good fit for all of the trading that I have been doing so far...and I have tried a lot of different styles, methods and trade types.

I have not gotten into options yet. Maybe sometime but I do have them available in the accounts should I decide to.

I have mentioned most of this somewhere in my blog already but I thought it worth mentioning again as more and more people are looking to get into some level of trading or investing.

It is not normally my style to come across as trying to pitch a product or service so I just call'em like I see'em, nothing more, nothing less. This is a "not for everyone broker" but will serve quite well for those traders/investors who like to look after their own.

Jeff.