This is the first post by Henry, who some of you may recognize as EconStudent. He will be contributing the occasional post to Four Pillars.
BMO InvestorLine has been rated one of the top of discount brokerages in Canada and offers competitive pricing (if you have more than $100,000) with an excellent online trading platform and research material. The web trading platform is easy to use and navigate.
AccountLink
A BMO InvestorLine account is automatically connected to a BMO AccountLink card so that full chequing account privileges are given to a BMO InvestorLine trading account. Two free withdrawals are included every month with an InvestorLine account. BMO provides 5 complimentary Canadian and US dollar cheques with each account. Also multiple InvestorLine accounts can be linked with one user ID. As a result, you can access your family’s non registered account, RRSP, RESP, and TSFA with a single login.
Commission Schedule for Online Trading
Stocks on Canadian and American Exchanges
Assets Commission Rates
Under $100,000 $29 (Up to 1,000 shares)
$100,000 to $249,999 or 30 trades per quarter $9.95 Flat Fee Pricing
$250,000 to $499,999 $9.95 Flat Fee Pricing, 5 Star Program Silver Star Benefits
$500,000 or more $9.95 Flat Fee Pricing, 5 Star Program Gold Star Benefits
*5 Star Program: Real-Time Quotes , Level II Quotes, BMO Capital Markets Research
*Gold Star Benefits: Streaming Quotes
Options on Canadian and American Exchanges
Assets Commission Per Contract
Under $100,000 $28 +$1.20 Per Contract (Minimum $35)
Over $100,000 or 30 trades per quarter $9.95 +$1.25 Per Contract. Regular option commission schedule of minimum $43 applies for assignments and exercises.
Bonds, T-Bills, GICs, Strip Coupons
Bond Par Value Commission
$0 - $49.999 $32 + $1.20/$1,000 (Minimum $35)
$50,000 and over $32 + $.80/$1,000 (Minimum $35)
Mutual Funds
BMO InvestorLine offers 2000 no transaction fee mutual funds. Also BMO InvestorLine offers PH&N D series without transaction fees. PH&N funds offer a wide variety of low cost funds that can nicely compliment many portfolios.
Model Portfolios
Mutual Fund Model Portfolios: BMO InvestorLine has created several mutual fund premade portfolios for investors. These mutual fund portfolios have a minimum purchase of $10,000 and there is no wrap fee on top of the mutual fund MER.
ETF Model Portfolios: BMO InvestorLine has six different ETF premade portfolios using iShares on the TSX and NYSE. Each portfolio consists of 4 to 5 iShares ETFs and can be bought with one order. These ETF portfolios require a minimum purchase of $25,000 for the entire portfolio and there is no wrap fee on top of ETF MER and trading commissions.
Mutual Fund Model Portfolios and ETF Model Portfolios are excellent starting places for beginner investors. However, these models exclude PH&N Funds for Mutual Fund Model Portfolios and Vanguard ETFs for ETF Model Portfolios. PH&N is owned by Royal Bank and offers no load, no trailer fee D series funds. Vanguard Group is a mutual investment company and has the lowest cost ETF family in the US. For more experienced investors, these model portfolios may be useful as a reference.
Online Foreign Exchange between US and Canadian dollars
Foreign Exchange can be done through the web in InvestorLine. An order of $75,000 or above will be done through BMO’s Foreign Exchange desk and offers an exchange rate of market price minus commissions, which is significantly better than most exchange rate offered through retail networks. Other bank owned discount brokerages also offer foreign exchange through their foreign exchange desk, but it has to be done through the phone.
Available research from BMO InvestorLine
- Canadian and U.S. Company Reports
- U.S. Stock Market Analysis and Bond Market Analysis
- Canadian Mutual Fund Research
- Charting and Technical Analysis
- News, Analyst Rating, and Company Earnings Webcast
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Alright, so I see a lot of information here on BMO, but does this really qualify as a review? I’d call it more of a fact sheet?
Charles, you are welcome to call it whatever you like.
OK so what’s the author’s opinion on it? Yea or nay?
BMOIL likes to charge stupid bank fees if you withdraw from your account too many times in a month.
the service is alright, both email and phone. the website is not the fastest and certainly not made for quick traders.
Charles in Vancouver: I tried to include information that cannot be found on BMO InvestorLine website for those who do not have an account and the analyze some of the services available. I will look into adding a conclusion. Thanks for the feedback.
Steve in Montreal: I like BMO InvestorLine.
nobleea: True, only two withdraws are included. Which discount brokerage is the best for quick traders?
Hmmm, I’ve been looking around for a discount brokerage and will keep this in mind.
Nice article ! One thing caught my eye: PH&N mutual funds without any fees ??? Being a customer of Investorline, I looked up their mutual fund list, and I do not see PH&N on their no-fee list, it is on their list of mutual funds with transaction fees (ref: http://www.bmoinvestorline.com/Commissions/#6
Then again, this list may not be up-to-date !!??
I guess you must be speaking from experience, have you traded them ?
Thanks.
I also noticed the PH&N item. I do not see it on the no-fee list.
If it is now offered for no-fee, that would be worthwhile info.
Have you verified this info?
Thanks
Steph & Lisa: I can verify that PH&N D series is available without additional fees from BMO Investorline. I bought some myself.
For discount brokers, PH&N D series pays a small trailing commission.
Money Market funds: up to .10%
Fixed Income funds: up to .15%
Balanced funds: up to .25%
Equity and dividend funds: up to .25%
I am only able to confirm that PH&N D series is available without additional cost at BMO Investorline and Scotia iTrade.
I am a 5star account .Why am I paying $9.95 per trade when I can get $4.50 trades+ 10 free a month.