ROB CARRICK
From Saturday's Globe and Mail Published on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009 12:34AM EST Last updated on Friday, Apr. 10, 2009 12:04AM EDT
Fees and commissions are such a drag for investors, especially at times like these on the stock markets.
The more you pay in fees to buy and sell stocks and mutual funds, the bigger the drag on returns in your registered retirement savings plan and Tax-Free Savings Account. That's why being fee-conscious is a basic survival technique at a time when your investments are struggling.
To that end, this week's Portfolio Strategy presents the definitive guide to fees and commissions charged by online brokers for their self-directed RRSP and TFSA accounts. A total of 13 brokers were surveyed on their annual administration fees, small account and inactivity fees, minimum stock-trading commissions and charges for buying mutual funds.
The survey covers online transactions only because trading over the Internet is far more cost effective than phoning a firm's representative. Two separate commissions are quoted for trading stocks at each firm – one is the minimum for clients who have smaller accounts and the other is for active traders or those with assets at their firm exceeding $50,000 to $100,000.
One final note concerns E*Trade Canada and TradeFreedom, both of which are owned by Bank of Nova Scotia. Scotiabank will start combining these two operations with its own ScotiaMcLeod Direct Investing in March.
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