Questrade Review – Is it Legit? (September 2024)

Questrade comes up very positively when the issue of trust is considered. This is thanks to a number of factors not least that they have been active for more than two decades in the industry. Beyond that, they are very well-regulated by the IIROC in Canada who hold brokers to the most stringent of standards and security.

The CIPF insurance which the broker is covered under also provides broad additional fund protection of as much as CAD$1 million with more insurance extending this cover to CAD$10 million in total. This is huge protection that is not always afforded by other brokers.

Though they do not provide negative balance protection, being regulated by a top-tier authority and showcasing a stellar reputation for trust and security over a more than 20-year span is enough to earn the broker an excellent score in this regard.

Trading at Questrade you will find a strong range of both assets and markets to trade in that can rival any top broker. You can trade everything from forex to stocks, ETFs, bonds, mutual funds, and options at Questrade. Included within these thousands of assets is also a strong range of CFDs available for trading in many categories.

You will have access to multiple North American exchanges here from both Canada and the major locations in the US. These include the NYSE, NASDAQ, TSX, and several others with more than 1,800 ETFs available to be traded, and a depth of more than 10,000 assets in total with huge numbers of bonds, and stock CFDs available.

As a Canadian trader, you can also invest in the broker’s robo-advisory service through Questrade Portfolios if you prefer a hands-off, fully automated investing approach. In all, the selection of assets available for trading here matches other major Canadian brokers, and although you cannot trade crypto or the futures market, they do have trading in over 100 forex currency pairs available which you will not find with every Canadian broker.

The commissions and fees that you will have to pay at Questrade remain low compared to others in the market. Trading stocks you will find that their best value pricing plan starts at a cost of $0.01 per US or Canadian share and a minimum of $4.95. The maximum commission though is capped at $9.95 here while buying ETFs is free of charge. Selling will also cost you $0.01 per share.

In other markets, trading mutual funds is priced at $9.95 per trade. Options are also $9.95 per option plus $1 per contract. The forex spread on major currency pairs remaining very competitive at an average of 1 pip on the EUR/USD. A margin rate averaging 7% makes it quite expensive to engage in margin trading with Questrade.

Non-trading fees are extremely low with no deposit or withdrawal fees charged by the broker. They are also one of only a few brokers in the trading world not to have any inactivity fees. This makes them ideal for casual traders especially. You should also note that only USD and CAD are supported as base currencies so you may have to pay a conversion fee if you are depositing or withdrawing another currency.

Questrade offers a total of three trading platforms you can choose from which are all proprietary. Your selection will depend on both the assets you are trading, and the medium. The Questrade trading platform is available for most assets including stocks and is offered as both web-based and mobile. This platform is very easy to use, well laid out, and suitable to traders of all levels with a good degree of customizability, a handy search function, and a strong range of order types available.

The IQ Edge platform is available if you are trading stocks, ETFs, or options. This is offered as a desktop trading platform and provides sufficiently more depth in terms of research tools and charting capabilities suited to more technical traders with a degree of experience. A range of market data packages can also be purchased from Questrade for a monthly fee though some are also available free of charge to help provide the maximum degree of insight.

Trading in the forex market or any of the thousands of CFDs available you can utilize the Questrade Global platform which is available through desktop, mobile, and as a web-based trading platform offering the same positive user experience, and a learning curve that is not prohibitively steep.

Though their customer service is not available on a 24/7 basis you can still expect to find the very best in professional support here.

Questrade can be contacted directly through their web-based live chat service, phone, or email. All responses were very prompt while markets were open and the team does their best to provide relevant, helpful answers to all questions.

The support service via phone is best suited to Canadian traders since the number provided is a Canadian number only.

You will find a very strong range of educational content available from the broker to help you along every step of the way. This content comes in a variety of forms. There are great video tutorials on everything related to getting started with the platform, informative blog posts, and many detailed “how-to” articles that will be of particular benefit to new traders.

Also of benefit, if you are starting out is that fact you can open a Questrade demo account to try out any of their trading platforms with virtual currency prior to investing any real funds.

There are also frequent webinars you can attend on a number of investment-related topics, and Questrade does also have its own YouTube channel that serves as an additional resource for learning.

Overall, Questrade has backed up its excellent industry reputation of more than 20-years by delivering one of the most popular trading services in Canada. Fees are low particularly in the key area of stock and ETFs trading and when this is combined with their trusted history, and an excellent selection of available assets, you are on to a winner.

The low fees and great accessibility including a free demo account make the broker perfect for new traders to the industry, while the multiple trading platforms and depth of research tools appeal very much to the more experienced.

With that, Questrade has managed to capture two important segments of the market and will remain a top broker if they continue to develop and evolve in the same positive way they have to date.