Wealthsimple Trade
Good for: No-commission investing
What we like
If you’re looking for low cost, it doesn’t get lower than $0 per trade and no account maintenance fees. With Wealthsimple Trade you don’t get the robust platform and educational tools that you will get with some other brokers, but some investors don’t need that. And did we mention the $0 trade commission? Investors do have to pay an exchange rate fee when trading USD-denominated stocks (the corporate exchange rate + 1.5%), but that’s not unusual for any Canadian broker.
Read our full Wealthsimple Trade review.
Trading commission:
$0.00
Account maintenance fee:
None
Our bottom line
Wealthsimple Trade does not charge any fees when you trade stocks, ETFs, or options (including $0 options trades), making it the only Canadian broker to do so. Combine this with its easy-to-use mobile app, no minimum balance requirements as well as the opportunity to add cryptocurrencies as an asset class to your DIY portfolio and we can see why it has gained solid traction among Canadians. Its rapid growth and expanding feature set have helped cement its position as a major player in Canada’s online brokerage landscape.
Wealthsimple Trade remains one of Canada’s most widely used online brokerages, especially among beginners and casual investors thanks to its simplicity and low cost. It is part of the broader Wealthsimple financial ecosystem, which serves over 3 million Canadians and manages more than $100 billion in assets across investing, saving, trading, banking, and crypto products.
The top feature of a Wealthsimple Trade account
The top feature of a Wealthsimple Trade account is also one of its most obvious features: there is no commission for trading! That’s a feature that’s hard to beat.
But I’ll give you a bonus top feature as well, since recently, Wealthsimple Trade became the first Canadian broker to offer fractional shares. This makes purchasing and selling stocks with higher prices accessible to investors with a more limited amount of capital. Wealthsimple Trade is the only domestic platform where you can buy fractional shares in stocks of Canadian and U.S.-based companies.
Wealthsimple also offers 24/5 trading access on select U.S. stocks and ETFs, letting clients trade U.S. markets from Sunday night through Friday night Eastern Time.
Commission costs
Wealthsimple Trade is also the only trading platform in Canada that does not levy a commission on users for trading stocks, options, or ETFs. Comparatively, some competitors charge at least $4.95 per trade. So, you can get access to a variety of stocks, options, and ETFs listed on Canadian and U.S. exchanges without any trading commission.
Currency conversion fees
When trading U.S.-listed securities, Wealthsimple applies a currency conversion fee in addition to the prevailing exchange rate. For standard accounts, this fee is typically 1.5% per conversion.
For example, if an investor wishes to purchase US$1,000 worth of securities and the CAD/USD exchange rate is 1.20, a 1.5% conversion fee would increase the effective exchange rate to approximately 1.218. In this case, the total transaction would cost roughly CAD$1,218, meaning approximately CAD$18 reflects currency conversion costs.
Alternatively, Wealthsimple also offers USD accounts, which let you hold U.S. dollars directly — so you can convert your CAD to USD on your own terms before trading, rather than paying a conversion fee on every trade.
USD accounts are included free for Premium (Wealthsimple Trade Plus) subscribers and above. If you’re on a lower tier, you can still access a USD account for CAD$15/month.
When converting between CAD and USD, the following fees apply:
| Conversion amount per transaction | Conversion fee |
| Under $10,000 | 1.5% |
| $10,000 – $24,999 | 1% |
| $25,000 – $99,999 | 0.5% |
| $100,000 and over | $0 |
For example, if you convert CAD$15,000 into a USD account at an exchange rate of 1.35, a 1% foreign-exchange fee adds $150 to the total cost — bringing it to CAD$15,150. By comparison, converting the same amount to make a direct USD trade in a CAD account at the standard 1.5% rate would cost $225, a difference of $75.
Currency conversion fees are fairly standard among Canadian brokers, and many charge a higher fee, often 2% or more.
Wealthsimple Trade Plus
In addition to foreign exchange fees, Wealthsimple Trade generates revenue from users who upgrade to the premium account, Wealthsimple Trade Plus. This account is currently priced at $3 per month plus applicable taxes.
Trade Plus subscribers receive several enhanced features compared with the standard free account, including:
Unlimited real-time market data
Reduced foreign exchange conversion fees on U.S. trades
Unlimited real-time market data
$1,000 instant deposits (in the free account, any deposit over $250 takes up to three business days to be reflected in your account)
Buying shares and ETFs with a Wealthsimple Trade account
Canadian investors have access to a wide variety of financial instruments such as shares and ETFs. You can purchase any stock or ETF traded on exchanges that include the TSX, TSXV, NYSE, NASDAQ, CSE, and NEO. However, you will not have access to over-the-counter stocks or those listed on exchanges such as CSE. You can get limited access to some over-the-counter stocks. Wealthsimple Trade allows you to subscribe to an initial public offering. It does not allow you to trade mutual funds.
You can hold your investments in registered accounts such as a TFSA (Tax-Free Savings Account) or an RRSP (Registered Retirement Savings Plan), RESP, RRIF, LIRA, and any other non-registered account. But it does not allow trading inside a LIRA.
Wealthsimple Trade does not charge you for any account withdrawals or deposits which means you can easily move your investment capital. However, as seen above there is a delay in deposits if you are not a premium subscriber.
Wealthsimple’s research offerings
While the desktop and mobile platforms provide basic features such as a stock’s price chart, it is devoid of any tools that will help you make an investment decision. A long-term investor would like to analyze multiple ratios such as price to earnings, price to sales, EBITDA margin, and many others. However, Wealthsimple does not provide any analysis tools to investors. Further, the price quotes of stocks and ETFs are also delayed by 15-minutes unless you have a premium subscription.
Things to watch out for
Wealthsimple Trade has a few restrictions. For example, you are not allowed to partake in some high-risk sophisticated instruments, such as futures.
On the other hand, Wealthsimple Trade was the first domestic brokerage to offer the option to buy and sell fractional shares in certain U.S. and Canadian stocks. So, while the share price of Fairfax Financial, for example, is above $2,000 as of this writing, you could still get exposure to it with just $100 in your trading account.
Service and support
Similar to several other broker platforms, Wealthsimple Trade has also focused on enhancing its customer service and improving engagement which will help it reduce overall churn rates. Users can use the online chat option to interact with Wealthsimple’s customer service team. You can also call them on their customer support number or reach out to them via an online form as well as by email.
Pros and Cons of the Wealthsimple Trade platform
Let’s see what are the advantages or disadvantages of using Wealthsimple Trade.
Pros:
- Commission-free trading
- No minimum account balances
- Easy to use mobile and desktop applications
- Supports registered accounts such as TFSA and RRSP
- Easy account opening procedure
Cons:
- Costs associated with a USD account
- Long fund deposit cycle in the basic account
- No exposure to futures, mutual funds, or bonds
Is Wealthsimple trade a good option for you?
Wealthsimple Trade is ideal for investors looking to buy stocks, ETFs, and options. Its commission-free trades remain a top feature, though there are plenty of other reasons to like this platform. The platform itself is not complicated, which makes it attractive for new and experienced investors and the ability to buy fractional shares provides investors with lower levels of capital the ability to by fractional shares in high-priced stocks.
With that in mind, investors interested in the broadest selection of stocks, or hoping for a variety of research and tools included in their broker platform, may be disappointed. So as always, it’s important to consider your personal needs in determining whether this is the right choice for you!