29 thoughts on “Step-By-Step Guide on How to Invest your Questrade TFSA”

  1. HI GYM,
    Big post with lots of good information. I just started using Questrade last year. So far I have no complaints and it has a pretty good platform. The free ETF trading is great.

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  2. I couldn’t agree more with not using your TFSA as a savings account, that’s not where you get the real value of it. I split my investments evenly between my RRSP and TFSA. I used to focus more on my TFSA because of the increased flexibility, but now that my income is higher it makes sense to add RRSP contributions into the mix.

    I’ve never tried out Questrade but it looks like a great platform. I do actually use Wealthsimple for my TFSA. Picking investments is not my favourite thing to do so I like the completely hands-off approach, but getting more involved isn’t something I’d like to work at.

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    • @Sarah- That’s a good idea to split between the two I think they both have great benefits to offer. That’s great that Wealthsimple works for you- I think everyone has a spectrum of ‘level of involvedness’ for investing. For me, I tend to be controlling and a bit of a micromanager, so I like to DIY haha.

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  3. I use RBC for my investing and most ETF purchases are free but other trades are usually $9.95, I should look into Questrade but I like having all my accounts with one bank:)

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    • @Caroline- Oh good to know RBC is also free ETF mostly! I wasn’t aware of that. Most trades are $4.95 with Questrade but with higher volume trades it can go up to $10. And it is also $4.95 USD if you buy USD equities (you know, which is like $10 CDN haha jk sorta), not sure if RBC delineates whether it is US or CAD securities.

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  4. Wow! This is a very detailed post and very well written.

    I’m planning to open a quest trade account soon time in the future when I no longer work for my company anymore. As of now, I have everything set up with them and just getting everything out would be a pain in the butt for me haha! I think I’m missing a lot for not being with QT to begin with……. I hope the transition will be smooth and hopefully, their platform is easy to use.

    Like you, I used my TFSA earlier to pull money for the house down payment. We felt so broke at that time and swore to each other that we’d do whatever it takes to max it out again lol.

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    • @fin$avvypanda- I transferred from BMO Investorline a while back and it was pretty smooth for me.

      I totally know what you mean- it was SO PAINFUL to take the money out of the TFSA. I know it’s meant for things like that, but still. It’s good that you and your fiancee have similar goals and reactions to the TFSA depletion!

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  5. I read your post but I’m still ambivalent as to where to put my TFSA, in TD e-series or with Questrate? I opened a Questrate account awhile ago but have not transferred my money as I feel I lack the experience on trading. Since I do a lump sum, I worry about their quarterly fees when you don’t invest. I wonder if I should use the e-series then with experience be comfortable with Questrade in the future? However, from this post it seems Questrate does offer to manage an ETF portfolio where one does not have worry about rebalancing?

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    • @Heather- Yes, the inactivity fee with Questrade if you have less than $5K invested is charged each quarter. https://genymoney.ca/questrade-fees-a-breakdown-for-questrade-discount-brokerage/ If you have more than $5K invested you shouldn’t have to worry about inactivity fees if you do the lump sum. Yes you can buy an ETF ‘portfolio’ where you don’t have to worry about rebalancing, like the “all in one ETFs”
      TD e-series would probably be more suitable if you wanted to dollar cost average, like quarterly or monthly very frequently and were comfortable with rebalancing.

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      • As of October 1, 2020, Questrade announces that they will not charge any inactivity fees on the account.

        “As of October 1, we will no longer be charging inactivity fees on any account”

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  6. Thank you for the helpful article. I’m interested in opening a Questrade direct investing TFSA account with a starting deposit of $1000. I’d like to contribute $100 monthly to avoid inactivity fees and to build my portfolio but I’ve heard that I should invest only in lump sums to avoid transaction fees. What would you recommend?

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    • @Rachael- It depends, if you are investing with ETFs and doing $100 monthly there are basically no fees (some pennies for ECN fees). If you are investing $100 in dividend stocks a month I would not recommend doing that due to the commission fees (typically $5 each time). However, if you want to invest in dividend paying individual stocks, you can set up a DRIP so that you don’t get charged commission fees and can continue adding to your position.

      Here’s a link to the Questrade fees that are charged https://genymoney.ca/questrade-fees-a-breakdown-for-questrade-discount-brokerage/

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  7. I really enjoyed this post. I opened my TFSA questrade account today and I plan to follow many of the recommendations here. Thank you very much, the information here was very helpful in opening my account and I’m looking forward to acquiring more info from your posts as I go along on this journey toward financial freedom.

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    • @Ryan- Thank you! Actually it is me who was being lazy and not changing it. I will change it one day when I get organized, but this referral link works (not for ETF purchases, but they are definitely the best way to get started investing). Thanks for visiting and reading.

      Reply
  8. Hello)

    thank you so much for the article.
    I was wondering may be someone can advise me on Questrade account.
    I just opened that. and I have all checkmarks green and I funded account.
    But it says my account is still in progress and I can not trade. Their customer support is extremely busy, it says in line I am 99+.
    So I was wondering what can be the reason.

    Thank you

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  9. I already have a questrade margin account. Can I transfer investment from margin account to TFSA instead of depositing $1000 ?

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  10. I’m considering transferring my TD mutual to questrade so I can manage it myself. Most likely start a 1 or 2 etf portfolio. Thought about doing it within TDDI but the trading fees would really start to add up.

    Do you have any experience with transferring out of a bank to Questrade? Free etf trade fees is appealing

    Reply

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