Where to buy stocks in canada

We keep our fees low. You keep more of your money. See our pricing. Fewer fees and transparent pricing Invest more, save more on fees Money saved is compounded in returns Free to transfer your account. Over , accounts opened annually. Canada's fastest growing online brokerage. Get started. Get to know us Discover who we are and what we stand for At Questrade, we're just like you: investors, dreamers and savers - people who are tired of the status quo.

Keep reading. Get answers to our frequently asked questions When did Questrade start? Is Questrade only online? Now that you've set up your initial deposit into your brokerage, most online brokers allow you to set up recurring deposits so that you can continue to add to your positions in your self directed account.

In order to set up automatic deposits, you can tell your brokerage to set up pre-authorized deposits, or you can be in full control yourself and head to your online banking and set it up like a recurring bill payment. Investing in the stock market is best when it's automated. If you've ever heard the term "pay yourself first" this is one of the best ways to go about it. With automatic deposits, contributions to your online brokerage account are out of sight, out of mind, and continue to build your wealth.

It's very likely if you're done steps , you are in limbo while waiting for your money to hit your account. However, use this time to get used to your brokerage. Figure out how you can buy or sell stocks or even exchange traded funds so that when the time comes, you're ready.

The P E ratio is quite simple. It is the company's stock price dividend by its earnings per share. A company with a price to earnings ratio of 15 could be overvalued, while a company with a price to earnings ratio of 30 could be severely discounted. Well, something we call market capitalization. The value of a publicly traded company is its stock price dividend by its shares outstanding.

A stock's shares outstanding is the total shares on the market available for trading. So as you can see, despite having relatively the same price per share, Royal Bank is over twice the size as the Bank of Montreal. When you trade stocks, it's very important you don't chase after "cheaper" companies solely based on their share price, as this does not tell the whole story. The price to book ratio simply takes a stocks price per share and divides it by its book value per share, which is often calculated using the balance sheet.

As you continue to learn how to buy stocks in Canada, you will no doubt come across an investment strategy which we'll get to later by the way called dividend investing. In short, a dividend is essentially a "reward" issued to shareholders by a company due to it having earnings over and above what it needs to fund company operations.

On most websites, a stock will have a dividend yield , which is simply the annual dividend divided by the stock price. When you buy stocks in Canada, specifically Canadian companies that are headquartered here, they qualify for preferential tax treatment.

That is a story for another article which you can find here. But all in all, a Canadian stock strategy that is focused around dividends is one many beginners deploy. The price to sales ratio is another common stock valuation method in which you compare the stocks market capitalization as we highlighted above to its annual revenue.

When looking to buy stocks or sell a share based on its price to sales ratio, it is critical you first compare it to industry averages or competitors. This is because much like the price to earnings ratio, it is most useful when compared to other stocks in the same industry.

The return on equity is probably the most advanced metric we're going to speak about in this beginner guide on how to buy stocks in Canada. We believe it is one of the most important ratios when deciding to make an investment in a company.

Return on equity is the net income earned expressed as a percentage against shareholder investments. Return on equity, like price to earnings, is best used to compare a stock to its competitors or its industry averages.

It's also best to compare the company's return on equity with its historical numbers to see if there is a trending increase in ROE or decrease. I know we're on step 5 and we haven't even begun to buy and sell stocks yet, but it's very important you get all your ducks in a row before you buy your first stocks online. Much like a chess player goes into a match with a specific strategy, you must do so with your investments.

Fortunes have been lost by ill-informed investors, and this is your retirement and financial future at stake here. So, taking the time to learn how to properly buy stocks online in Canada is key. For beginners first learning how to buy stocks in Canada, this is going to be the top strategies they gravitate to. This is because dividend stocks, whether it be a Canadian company or US company, are typically but not always more reliable and less volatile than stocks that don't pay a dividend.

So for those with a low risk tolerance or those still trying to figure out what their risk tolerance even is, buying reliable stocks that tend to fluctuate less can build up confidence. The goal of dividend investing is to buy individual stocks or exchange traded funds that pay you income.

You then take this dividend income and re-invest it into the stock market, often in the exact same stocks that paid you the dividend. In fact, you can often DRIP automatically reinvest the dividends at market price or even at a discount to market price depending on the company's program. And the best part, most of the time DRIPing your dividends is commission free. Quite possibly the most challenging strategy when it comes to buying stocks online is value investing.

The approach with value investing is to trade stocks you believe are trading below their intrinsic value. Intrinsic value is deemed the "fair value" of the stock, or what the stock should be trading at considering the value of underlying company. Value investors view the stock market as inefficient, meaning that a stock could be worth much more, or much less than it is currently trading at today.

The end goal would be to buy individual stocks when you believe they are trading below their intrinsic value, and sell when you feel the price of a stock has gotten too ahead of its intrinsic value. Value investing and dividend investing are often intertwined, as a lot of the time an investment in a value stock will be one that pays a dividend, as they tend to be mature companies.

However, if you're looking to deploy this strategy, make sure to do your research including how fair values are calculated, and the discounted cash flow model. Growth investing is an investment strategy that tends to draw the allure of many new investors looking to get started in the stock market.

This is because you're making an investment in a company that may not be profitable today, but is growing at a rapid pace. The stock markets often over value growth stocks. This is because investors are paying a premium now for the stock, hoping that it will be a discounted price to pay in the future because of its rapid growth.

However, if a growth stock doesn't come to fruition and the company doesn't meet expectations, it often causes prices to fall rapidly as investors trading these stocks sell off and move to other options. Buying growth stocks takes a keen eye and accurate predictions when it comes to industry and individual company growth, and it's often a trading strategy most beginners should avoid until they get their feet wet. I know this is a guide on stock trading and getting comfortable with buying stocks, but there is no doubt that index funds are making waves today, whether it be a mutual fund or an exchange traded fund.

An index fund is essentially a basket of investments that aim to track a particular stock market index. Inside of that index fund will contain either all, or a sample size of all of the stocks trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange. With these index funds, you then benefit from the rise or fall of the underlying stocks within it.

And in fact, most investors would be wise to use a combination of both index funds and stocks to create a well balanced portfolio. Your trading platform may even offer commission free purchases of these funds, which make them even more low cost and feasible for many people looking to just start out.

This isn't necessarily an investment strategy that will determine what stocks you will buy, but it will determine how you will buy those stocks.

When an investor dollar cost averages, they are deciding to set aside an allocated amount toward a particular stock, regardless of the price. This can be every week, month, semi annually or even yearly. The key to dollar cost averaging when buying stocks is to buy an exact dollar figure of the stock regardless of the price.

Your first purchase allows you to buy 20 shares. Dollar cost averaging allows you to capitalize on short term volatility and build growth over the long term. If something has changed, especially for the worse, you may want to cease your dollar cost strategy and instead sell your position. So finally, at step 6 of this guide on buying stocks, we're ready to actually buy. Many online brokerages have different interfaces and nuances to go about buying a stock, but the core method of doing so will be the same.

A sell limit order may solely be fulfilled at the limit price or higher, and a buy limit order may strictly be performed at the limit price or less. Stop-Loss Order As soon as the stock reaches a specific price, a stop-loss order can be placed with a broker to sell or buy.

Stop-Limit Order A stop-limit order can be fulfilled at a defined price, or higher, right after a provided stop price has been achieved. As soon as the stop price is met, the stop-limit order ends up being a limit order to sell or buy at the limit price or higher. Margin Buying on margin is the act of obtaining cash to purchase securities. The margin is the cash borrowed from a brokerage firm to purchase a financial investment. Thanks for infos. First read about investing.

Great overview. I like the index at the end. This article has educated me about the risks. I feel confident about educating myself some more. Takes the fear out of the unknowns. Thank you for this excellently out together article! I am a newbie to this world and I found this article extremely informative and comprehensive.

Thanks again! You could also invest using a robo-advisor. And, finally, if you believe that no one cares about your money more than you do then you could manage your own investments by opening a discount brokerage account and buying your own stocks or ETFs. Excellent, well though out, simplified and good advice. Leaving me confident and ready to take the next step.

I definitely will advocate, as well encourage others. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products or services. Written by Bridget Casey. Editors note: Advertisers are not responsible for the contents of this site including any editorials or reviews that may appear on this site.

For complete and current information on any advertiser product, please visit their Web site. Wondering how to buy stocks in Canada, but not sure how to get started?

If you're new to investing, check out this beginner's guide on how to get started buying stocks in Canada, as well as get our promo codes for Questrade and Wealthsimple. In This Article:. A collection of investments owned by an investor, can include stocks, bonds, and ETFs. Bear Market. A period of falling stock prices. Bull Market. A period of rising stock prices.

Stock Market Index. A benchmark used to describe the stock market or a specific portion. The first time a company issues shares on an exchange for sale to the public.

Stock Symbol. A one to four character alphabetic abbreviation that represents a company on a stock exchange.

What are the advantages of owning stocks? Can I hold stocks in a registered account? How do I search for a stock? Log in to your account and enter stock symbol in the quote search bar at the top-right of your screen.

Visit the Trading Dashboard under the Place an Order menu and search for the symbol. Real-time quotes are available automatically to all clients for exchange listed stocks, ETFs and most over-the-counter OTC securities without completion of exchange agreements.

Real-time quotes for options and grey market OTC securities on detailed quote and order entry pages are also available upon accepting the terms and conditions of all exchange agreements on the RBC Direct Investing online investing site.

Real-time quotes for options and grey market OTC securities are available to Active Traders and Royal Circle clients across the site upon accepting the terms and conditions of all exchange agreements on the RBC Direct Investing online investing site. Legal Disclaimer 2. The list of DRIP eligible securities is subject to change at any time without prior notice. RBC Direct Investing will purchase whole shares only. Some exclusions may apply. Some eligible securities such as preferred shares and voting class common shares will not reinvest into additional units of the same security but rather the underlying non-voting common share or similar security.

Legal Disclaimer 3. It is your responsibility to ensure that any associated tax requirements or obligations are satisfied. Legal Disclaimer 4. Legal Disclaimer 5.