You likely want to start investing your money but you don’t know where to start. You’re intimidated about stocks and feel frustrated. I’m going to show how you can easily start investing your money.
I wanted to take a look at Questrade because I feel that this is the best platform for those who want to get started. This is also the best discount brokerage for all young investors in Canada.
Let’s look at Questrade to see what makes them unique.
I’ve been investing in stocks since I was 16. I’ve covered this topic in great detail. I wanted to share the actual platform that I use and why they make investing money easy for those of us who don’t want to study stock charts.
If you want to get into stock trading or investing your money, Questrade makes it extremely easy. I tested out the platform and instantly was impressed with how easy to use it was to invest money. I regret not switching over sooner.
How does Questrade work? What do they offer?
Let’s say that you want to start investing. This is the best place to start. It’s so easy to get started and to trade stocks. You can also have Questrade manage your money for you with the Questwealth Portfolio robo advisor (experts will manage your money once you fill out a few questions).
[Sign up for Questrade now! You get $50 in free trades. They’ll also cover the costs of any transfer fees if you have to bring an account over.]
Do you have to be an active trader for Questrade?
Not at all. Passive investors will enjoy the platform too. I’m a bit of both. Sometimes I’m a long-term investor and I pick out a few quality stocks.vI also take some risks with my RRSP accounts because I know that I won’t be touching this for a few years.
Why you should join Questrade…
I’m convinced that young Canadian investors will love this platform. You can start today without any experience.
What are the benefits of investing your money with Questrade?
- They offer certain features that you won’t find elsewhere.
- Exceptional customer service. The support chat is open 12 hours a day and they also respond via email promptly. You can also call the support line but chances are that you prefer to email.
- They cover transfer fees. So let’s say you’re fed up with your current bank or just want to switch, Questrade has you covered. You don’t have to worry about losing money to access your money.
- No annual fees. There are no annual fees and no balance minimums. I was getting dinged with random fees with my old discount brokerage even when I wasn’t using the services.
- Low fees per trade. This is perfect if you want to make many trades.
- Highly reputable Canadian company. A trustworthy company that has been recognized with awards.
- They give you money for referring your friends. You get paid to refer friends.
- The mobile app. The app is easy to use.
- $50 in free trades when you sign up.
Most of the reviews of Questrade are fairly positive for good reason. You don’t have to worry about hidden fees or being nickel-and-dimed as you try to grow your net worth.
Why do I stress the customer service aspect?
Trading stocks can be intimidating for young investors. You’re already anxious about the whole process. The last thing you need is terrible customer service or a company that refuses to respond to you.
I sent out a few emails to the support team while writing this article. Every email was replied to very promptly. I was impressed.
I recently got an update when the volume was high for one of my stocks.
Turns out that it wasn’t a big deal, but I definitely appreciated the message and the warning.
How does the pricing work with Questrade?
I checked the main page to figure out how the pricing works if you want to trade stocks or invest your money with Questrade.
Stock trading:
“Stock commissions are what you pay per trade. They depend on the number of shares involved. At Questrade it’s 1/share (min. $4.95-max $9.95).”
What about ETFs?
“Selling an ETF has the same low fee as trading a stock. 1/share (min. $4.95-max $9.95). This fee is lowered with an advanced market data package.”
This image summarizes the pricing with Questrade.
How are the fees so low?
“By bringing investing online, we reduce overhead and fees, and pass the savings onto you.”
You don’t have to pay for branches or for pushy salespeople. Online is the way of the future as you already know.
How do you open your account with Questrade?
I know that this can feel terrifying because you’re about to make a bold move with your finances. It’s not that bad. I’m going to show you how you can open your account with Questrade so that you can start trading stocks and investing your money right away.
These are the basic steps that you’re going to go through when you sign up through here:
They ask you what kind of account you would like to setup. The margin account is what you use for trading stocks. You can also start a RRSP account if you want to plan for your retirement.
If you’re confused, you can chat with someone or even ask a question here.
You need to make an account handle so that you can login.
Then they ask you about what you want. You can be a passive investor (more on this later in the article) if you don’t want to deal with trading individual stocks or if you’re not ready to begin investing on your own.
Questwealth is the robo advisor option. Questrade will invest your money for you. The team of experts will do the work for you so that you can focus on everything else in life (trying to get in shape or figure out what to do on the weekend).
Here’s what they need to know about you to setup your account:
Personal, Employment, Financial, and Citizenship.
The questions are pretty straightforward.
Here’s what they want to know about your financials.
Here’s what they ask about your citizenship.
That’s how you get your account setup. You can create an account for your RRSP, for trading stocks, or you can have them manage your money for you. You can even setup multiple accounts under your one handle. The choice is yours. I personally have an account for all of the options.
How do you fund your account? How do you get your money here?
You don’t have to worry about waiting weeks to transfer your money over. I clicked a few buttons and I had everything figured out instantly. These are the steps that you follow to transfer money into your account.
You click on FUNDING and then the decide how you want to send the money over.
You can transfer money over in minutes. The actual transfer may take a few days depending on your bank account. You can also transfer an entire account and they’ll cover the fees for you.
How do you trade stocks or make moves?
You fund your account so that you have the money to trade stocks. Then you go play around with it.
You go to the investing section and you go to put an order in.
This is what that looks like when you try to purchase a stock.
What if I’m afraid of investing in stocks, Martin?
I know that trading stocks will feel intimidating. You don’t have to jump all in. You can start by being a passive investor. I often switch back and forth.
Here are a few articles that I’ve written on this topic:
- Confused about investing? Everything you could want to know.
- What you need to know about the stock market so that you don’t lose your pants.
- How does the stock market work?
There’s also good news…
Questrade does everything for you!
They have Robo Advisors. They do the investing for you so that you don’t have to track stocks on your own.
Here’s how you let Questrade invest for you…
You sign up for a robo advisor account/a managed portfolio where do they do everything for you.
The Questwealth portfolio is there for you.
You’re going to be asked about your investment history.
Be honest so that they know what they’re working with. You can admit if you’re brand new to this. They want to know what you’ve invested in.
Then they ask about your goals.
How much time do you have?
What do you know about investing?
Just like that, you can have the team of experts at Questrade investing your money for you. You don’t have to worry about studying the stock market. You can then setup automatic monthly contribution to your investment portfolio (known as dollar cost averaging). The goal is to set it and forget. Live your life. Let your money work for you.
Investing in the stock market doesn’t have to be stressful. You don’t “have to buy” any stocks based on the recommendation of a drunk uncle or a random dude at the gym. If you choose to buy individual stocks, please do your own research. Take the time to go over the articles linked in here to learn more about stocks.
Sign up for Questrade now! You get $50 in free trades.
That’s how you can start investing with Questrade. Let me know if you have any questions.
Well Done.
Investments were always confusing for me. This makes it really simple. The lack of fees is a big plus. We had annual fees plus costs every time a stock was bought and sold. Fortunately times were good and we had a broker that always got us 7% when others were getting 3%.
Invest bit by bit, like Martin suggests, read up on stocks and soon you too will be winning.
Questrade does all of the work for you!