Stock Markets

In trading stock there are some sites that have no minimum deposits and commission free trading, the advantage of these is that most traditional brokerage sites have a minimum balance, usually $1,000 to start trading and also have fees ranging from $4.95 to $9.95 per trade.

Wealthsimple is one site that has no minimum amount to trade and also no trade fees. They have assorted trade equities listed on TSX but it is a curate list of what they want to list and not all stocks available for trade. They also have a crypto trade system, a money account, a prepaid credit card and a robo investor savings account and a phone app. There is a portfolio section for holdings, a trade history section, trade confirmations and also a tax section for year end. The charts however are not very detailed and prices are delayed 15 minutes unless one pays extra. Deposits to trade are instant credits - but withdrawals are not ... any amounts in trade first have to clear which is a few days and then there is a 3 to 5 day delay to transfer to a bank account.

National Bank (NBDB Brokerage) also has a no minimum and commission free trading site and this is more professional and very much like a traditional bank brokerage. To set it up can take up to a week ... one has to apply, then submit docs by mail and once docs are verified and an account is opened then one can trade. To link a different bank is very slow to have a deposit or withdrawal ... it's better to use a minimal checking account at NBC to deposit or withdraw any money and similarly any amounts in trade transactions have to first clear - but once cleared, usually any money from trade is credited back to bank within a day or same day. In this system you can trade on any exchanges listed such as NYSE if you pay currency exchange and also all items TSX has listed ... so it's got a lot more options available as well as pink slip and otc items. Service is also very good as to any questions or problems. The interface is also a lot better detailed to suit a more professional trader.

Stock Exchanges:

The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE) is 10th largest worldwide and 3rd largest in North America. In 2002 it became a public company and changed to TSX. In news one often hears of Bay Street and Wall Street, Bay is Toronto and Wall is New York. One also hears of bulls and bears - simply put a bull sweeps upward and a bear claws downward - so the bull raises prices and a bear brings them down. It is mostly composed of larger older companies established companies.

There is also the TSX Venture which is TSX-V and originated from the older Canadian Venture Exchange. It has a lot of the startups, ventures and is generally lower priced than TSX. It is located in Calgary, Alberta. There also is the Canadian National Stock Exchange (CNSX) and was previously CNQ. It is mainly micro cap and emerging companies. We also have the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) It is operated by CNSX. Previously there was also the Vancouver Stock Exchange (VSE) which is now merged with CNSX also.

In looking up price information stocks may be listed with CSE:, CNQ:, TSX:, or TSV:, preceding the symbol or .TO or .V following the symbol etc. depending what exchange it is on and what format the data source uses.

To buy or sell one needs a brokerage account to deposit funds to and then the brokerage deals with the exchange electronically to buy or sell the item.

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