Last Updated: Friday, September 28, 2007 | 6:27 PM ET
More of Canada's big online brokerage firms are slashing trading commissions for clients with larger or more active accounts as the online discount price war heats up.
On Friday, RBC Direct Investing and BMO InvestorLine were the latest to move. Both announced flat-rate trading fees of $9.95 per Canadian or U.S. trade, as long as clients have at least $100,000 in assets.
RBC also said the lower fee would apply to self-directed clients who execute between 30 and 149 trades per quarter. For clients with more than 150 trades per quarter, the flat rate falls to $6.95 per trade.
BMO said clients could now combine assets from any InvestorLine account over which they have trading authority to make it easier to reach the $100,000 trading threshold.
Commissions for option trades have also been similarly reduced.
TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage earlier announced rate cuts effective Sept. 4. For clients with at least $100,000 in assets, or who trade 30 to 149 times per quarter, TD's flat-rate trading commission dropped to $9.99. For clients who trade at least 150 times, the fee dropped to $7.
At CIBC Investor's Edge, clients can buy a package of 50 trades a year for $395. Additional trades are $6.95 each.
The bank-owned brokerages have been chopping many commissions from the $25 to $29 range for select clients in response to newer entrants in the online brokerage field — like TradeFreedom and E*Trade Canada — who've long had trading fees as low as $9.95.
"The price war continues to be the main topic of conversation as prices continue to lower," Surviscor president Glenn LaCoste said earlier this month as he released his firm's latest ranking of Canadian online brokerage firms.
"The more active general investors and traders win in this war, as they now incur less cost per trade."
But he advised people not to be fooled. "There are still many stipulations to being able to trade at the lowest offered cost," he said.
