The discount brokerage price war is taking another step, with Scotia iTrade cutting commissions to $4.99 per trade for its highly active investors.
iTrade, Bank of Nova Scotia’s online brokerage service, announced the new rate for active investors, citing the importance of price as a factor in attracting these clients.
“Scotia iTrade recognizes that highly active investors value platform reliability and speed of execution, as well as up to the minute market news and research,but more importantly, we have not lost sight of the fact that price is a key consideration,” said Bob Grant, managing director and head, global online brokerage, at Scotia.
To qualify for commissions of $4.99 per Canadian or U.S. equities trade (and $4.99 + $1.25/contract for each options trade), investors must execute at least 150 commission-generating trades during the previous quarter, and must be registered for paperless documentation.
Active investors who aren’t registered for paperless documentation are charged $6.99 per equity trade. Investors that make at least 30 trades, or have $50,000 in assets, are charged $9.99 equity commissions.