Legal & disclosures

Questrade, Inc. (“Questrade” or the “firm”) believes that the best way we can serve your financial needs is to provide you with valuable financial tools and services. We do this so that we both know what to expect from each other. For this reason, we would like you to have a good understanding of:

• The products and services we offer;
• Your account(s) and how it/they operate(s); and
• Our responsibilities to you.

To promote active client participation for a mutually successful relationship, we encourage you to:

• Keep us up to date

  Clients should provide full and accurate information to the firm and the employees acting for the firm. Clients should promptly inform us of any change to information, such as a change to their income, employment, net worth, address or marital status.

• Keep informed

  Clients should understand the potential risks and returns on investments. They should carefully review literature provided by the firm. Where appropriate, clients should consult professionals, such as a lawyer or an accountant, for legal or tax advice.

• Ask us questions

  Clients should ask questions and request information from us in a timely manner to resolve questions about their account, transactions or investments, or their relationship with us.

• Stay on top of your investments

  Clients should pay for securities purchases by the settlement date. They should review all account documentation provided by the firm including trade confirmations and account statements.

This relationship disclosure includes key information that we ask you to acknowledge via the checkbox to confirm that you have received this document and understand its contents.

We will update the relationship disclosure when there are material changes by referring you to our client portal.

If you later have any questions related to the contents of this document, or need to change any of the information we have on file for you, please contact us at support@questrade.com or 1-888-783-7866.

We offer you optional additional services related to the main products and services you use. These include the following:

New services

We will offer you additional services as they are developed. You can find out about new services by visiting our website, www.questrade.com, or our secure client portal, or through information included in the monthly client notice or in other communications.

For a full list of products and services, and the relevant commissions and fees, please ask us or visit our website at www.questrade.com.

Selling Restrictions

Clients may experience selling restrictions related to Over The Counter (OTC) securities, which typically have less trade liquidity due to low volume. Please refer to the following article regarding OTC:
Risks of trading OTC securities.

If you are an existing client, and would like to know if there are any liquidity restrictions for your securities, please contact the trade desk at 1.866.980.9590.

Product Restrictions

Please be aware of the following product restrictions:

• Questrade does not allow purchases of mutual funds with deferred sales charges (DSC) or trailer fees.
• Securities that have been issued a CTO (Cease Trade Order) by a securities commissions are prohibited from trading over a certain period of time.
• Clients that are insiders of a publicly traded corporation are not permitted to purchase Share CFDs.

Mutual fund trailer fee restrictions

The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) announced that effective June 1, 2022, order execution only firms like Questrade should no longer hold mutual funds that pay a trailer fee. 

If you transfer-in a trailer-paying mutual fund to Questrade after June 1, 2022, one of these situations could occur:

• If available, Questrade will switch your mutual fund from a trailer-paying class or series to a non-trailer-paying class or series of the same mutual fund. The only difference is a lower management fee for the non-trailer-paying class or series. This is a like-to-like switch.
• If a like-to-like switch is not available, Questrade will switch your mutual fund from a trailer-paying class or series to a non-trailer-paying class or series of the same mutual fund. The only differences for the non-trailer-paying class or series are a lower management fee and a different dividend distribution policy and/or currency. This is a like-to-similar switch.
• If neither switch is available, you may continue to hold a trailer-paying mutual fund in your account. In this case the IFM will provide a management fee rebate. This will be typically rebated in the form of additional units in the fund.
• If none of the above options is available for your mutual fund, or if your mutual fund remains subject to DSC fees, the trailer-paying fund will remain in your account, and you will receive a dealer rebate, equal to the full amount of the trailer fee, which will be paid in cash to your account quarterly.

For more information please visit our website for Help & How to Article Mutual fund trailer fee restrictions.

SECTION 2 — RISKS TO CONSIDER

Risks of borrowing

Using borrowed money to finance the purchase of securities involves greater risk than using cash resources only. If you borrow money to purchase securities, your responsibility to repay the loan and pay interest as required by its terms remains the same even if the value of the securities purchased declines.

You should be comfortable about where your money is invested. This requires you to think about and understand your own risk tolerance and the risk level of your investments. It is important that you understand that your investment is not guaranteed. Therefore, the greatest risk to you as an investor is that you could lose all or part of your investment. Unlike bank accounts or guaranteed investment certificates, stocks, bonds, money market securities and funds are not covered by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government deposit insurer. Please refer to your account opening documents to assess the risks and benefits of borrowing.

For more information regarding investment products, as well as how they work, their risks and possible returns, you can refer to Investments at a Glance, a booklet prepared by the Canadian Securities Administrators for financial consumers like you.

SECTION 3 — THE ACCOUNT(S) YOU HAVE AND HOW THEY OPERATE

Order-execution Only accounts

We offer our clients Order-Execution Only (“OEO”) accounts, which are often known as discount online brokerage accounts. You will receive no advice and there will be no suitability assessment of the investments you make in an OEO account. You are encouraged to keep abreast of all research and announcements related to your investments.

SECTION 4 — ACCOUNT DOCUMENTS WHICH WILL BE PROVIDED TO YOU

As an online broker, you will be provided with access to the following via our website and client portal:

• Account Agreements & Disclosure Documents
• Relationship Disclosure
• Privacy Policy
• CIRO Brochures – Making a Complaint: A Guide for Investors & How Can I Get My Money Back?
• How CIRO Protects Investors Brochure
• CIPF Brochure

When you receive your account documents from us, it is important for you to review them carefully to ensure you understand their contents. You may also receive other documents that are relevant to your particular account. If you have any questions related to the contents of these documents, please contact us at support@questrade.com or 1-888-783-7866.

SECTION 5 — THE FEES YOU WILL BE PAYING AND HOW THEY ARE CALCULATED

We offer you a choice of data packages, trading environments, and commission plans. We can help you choose the one that is appropriate for you based on how you expect to use the account and your personal preferences.

A list of our fees is provided on our website at https://www.questrade.com/pricing/self-directed-commissions-plans-fees.

The fees you will pay for services we provide – and these will vary depending on the data package, trading environment, and commission plan you have chosen – encompass:

• Costs of account operation and maintenance. These can include transfer fees, withdrawal fees, such as wire transfer and cheque fees, etc. Please find a list of administrative fees at https://www.questrade.com/pricing/self-directed-commissions-plans-fees/administrative.
• Exchange and ECN fees. Electronic communications networks (ECNs) and alternative trading systems (ATSs) charge a fee to all market participants who use their networks. Questrade charges fees in order to offset ECN and ATS access costs. A list of our Exchange and ECN fees are available at https://www.questrade.com/pricing/self-directed-commissions-plans-fees/transaction.
• Costs to buy, hold and sell investments. A list of our commissions, interest rates and fees is available at https://www.questrade.com/pricing/self-directed-commissions-plans-fees. If you are opening a Forex & CFDs account, you can find information concerning our fees and commissions at https://forex.questrade.com/forex-cfd-pricing.
• Optional data package fees. Please find a list of our data package fees at https://www.questrade.com/pricing/self-directed-commissions-plans-fees/market-data.
• Compensation paid to us for products or services you may buy through us (from mutual fund managers for example, or insurance-related companies that can provide products that complement the investments or services we provide directly).
• Fees charged to your account will negatively impact your performance which will lower your investment return over time.
• For information on Management Expense Ratio (MER), related to your mutual fund or ETF purchase please refer to the fund facts or ETF facts document provided to you.

Notice of price changes

We will provide you with at least 60 days written notice of any new fee or changes in charges.

Other costs

You also may be subject to other costs relating to services that you use that will not appear on your statements from us as they are not our service offerings. For example, there may be penalties related to the early withdrawal from or encashment of certain instruments. For example, if you own shares of small emerging companies, you may be required to pay for valuations of these holdings to satisfy Canada Revenue Agency requirements. Knowing about and planning for these costs is your responsibility.

SECTION 6 — CONFLICTS OF INTEREST STATEMENT

Conflicts of interest

A conflict of interest is any situation where Questrade, Inc. (‘Questrade’) or any of its employees or related entities has an interest that may conflict with the interests of Questrade’s clients or the ability of Questrade or a Questrade employee to deal with clients in a fair, equitable, transparent manner, consistent with the best interest of the client or clients.

About Questrade

Questrade is what is referred to as a “broker” investment firm, serving retail clients and representing both sides to a transaction, namely, the buyer and the seller. As of January 1, 2013, Questrade became self-clearing. A self-clearing (or carrying) broker provides custody, clearing, settlement and record-keeping services, such as transaction records, to its clients. We execute, settle and report all your trading activity to you, including your investments on statements sent monthly.

Questrade, Inc. provides order execution-only services. This means we do not assess your trading activity in light of your financial situation to determine the suitability of your trades and investments. We facilitate the trades you choose to execute. Questrade provides a broad range of products and services. Questrade has adopted policies and procedures to help identify and manage conflicts of interest that may exist between:

• You and us
• You and our other clients, and
• Us and our related and associated companies

You can learn more about our firm at www.questrade.com

Description of role of an Investment Dealer

As an investment dealer, we are a financial intermediary. As is the common practice in the brokerage industry, sometimes we may be the party on the other side of the transaction (referred to as a ‘principal’ trade) where we own the security we sell to you. On other occasions, we simply facilitate a transaction between you as our client and a third party on the other side of the transaction through an ‘agency’ trade where we have no ownership interest in the security traded.

In general, we deal with and manage relevant conflicts as follows:

• Avoidance

  This includes avoiding conflicts that are prohibited by law as well as conflicts that cannot effectively be addressed.

• Manage

  We manage acceptable conflicts through means such as physically separating different business functions and restricting the internal exchange of information.

• Disclosure

  By providing you with information about conflicts, you are able to independently assess their significance, their potential impact to you as a client and any actions we take to address the conflict.

Any material conflicts that are reasonably foreseeable, which are not avoided will be addressed in your best interest and will be disclosed in a timely manner, upon identification of the conflict. Any risk that the conflict of interest may pose to you will be disclosed, in accordance with regulatory requirements.

We will notify you of any significant changes to this document by posting an updated version on our website. We will also notify you by sending a notice explaining the updates via email.

Possible conflicts and how they are managed

The following information is intended to assist you in understanding and assessing material potential and actual conflicts of interest, including how we address them.

Canada has comprehensive and extensive securities regulatory rules and regulations, many of which are directed at protecting client and investor interests including dealing with conflicts of interest. We suggest that you refer to the websites and publications of the provincial securities commission through the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) and Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) for more information on how Canadian securities regulations address conflicts of interest in order to safeguard the investing public.

SECTION 7 — THE REPORTS WE WILL PROVIDE TO HELP YOU MONITOR YOUR FINANCIAL ASSETS AND THEIR PERFORMANCE AS WELL AS THE COMPENSATION YOU PAY US

Trade confirmations

We provide you access to your confirmations electronically through our client portal the day following a transaction listing the details of every purchase, sale, or other relevant transaction details of the instructions. Please look for and review your trade confirmation as soon as it is available online.

Note: we do our utmost to avoid errors, however, misunderstandings and mistakes can happen. Please let us know within 30 days if you see any transactions that you do not recall or identify any errors.

Account statements

You will receive account statements in our client portal on a monthly or quarterly basis. Account statements are provided quarterly if no transactions occurred during the quarter. Your account statement details all account activity, including purchases and sales of securities, contributions and withdrawals, dividends, interest earned and paid, transfers and any other transactions that occurred in your account over the previous month. These statements also list your current holdings and the net value of your portfolio as of the date on the statement. These statements also include account percentage return information based on a money-weighted total return calculation.

Note: the value of most securities you hold is calculated generally using the last bid price for that security on the stock exchange on which it trades. In the case of securities that have ceased trading, where the company is bankrupt, in the instance of thinly traded securities and of Canadian Controlled Private Corporations (CCPCs), they may be priced at $0 or N/A because of the lack of availability of a valid price.

Investment performance benchmarks

You can see how your investments are doing by comparing the rate of return on the securities you hold to a performance benchmark. Your rate of return is affected by, among other things, changes in the value of your securities, dividends and the interest you earn, as well as any deposits and withdrawals.

To compare your rate of return to a benchmark, you need to find a benchmark with securities similar to the ones you hold in your account.

Example: the S&P/TSX composite is a benchmark for a broad group of Canadian stocks that trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). It’s a good yardstick for assessing the performance of a Canadian equity mutual fund with investments in Canadian corporations. However, it would not be a good benchmark if you hold foreign investments, bonds, shares of smaller companies or shares that are limited to only one part of the economy. Instead, you would have to find a foreign equity, bond, small cap, or industry sector benchmark. If your account includes half stocks and half bonds, compare your rate or return to the average of a stock and the average of a bond index.

Note:

• Remember that benchmarks should be used as a guide only..
• Benchmarks do not factor in commissions or other costs to invest, and often don’t include any cash or cash equivalents.
• Rates of return for a benchmark are calculated using a specific method. For the best comparison, ensure your account’s rate of return is calculated using the same method.
• Additionally, benchmarks are based on how a sample portfolio performs and other factors, such as tax considerations, will affect your returns

Currently, benchmark information is available publicly through popular websites, such as Yahoo or Google Finance. You can also access certain benchmarks through our trading environment by opening a chart for the index you wish to view. Example: SPX.IN can be used to view the price performance of the S&P 500 index.

Future reporting enhancements

We regularly look at ways to improve the reporting and documentation we provide to you to make it more informative, clear, and useful for you and other clients. We are working on changes pertaining to account holdings, fees that you pay, and performance. As part of our service commitment, we will keep you informed of the timing of changes and how to understand new report formats. For updated information at any time, please ask us or visit our client portal.

SECTION 8 — COMPLAINT HANDLING PROCESS

Questrade processes large volumes of client account transactions each day, and we do our best to ensure that your business is handled in an efficient, courteous and accurate manner. We want to know if we have not met the high level of standards we have set for ourselves, and we have established procedures for clients who want to bring a concern to our attention.

A detailed resolution process can be found in our account agreements and disclosures document which is available in https://my.questrade.com/clients

CIRO’s Investor’s Guide to Making a Complaint is available in https://my.questrade.com/clients . You will also find a link to the brochure during the online account application process.

SECTION 9 — QUESTRADE, INC. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURE

Questrade Wealth Management Inc. (QWM) and Questrade, Inc. are wholly owned subsidiaries of Questrade Financial Group Inc. Questrade, Inc. is a registered investment dealer, a member of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) and a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF), the benefits of which are limited to the activities undertaken by Questrade, Inc. QWM is not a member of CIRO or the CIPF.

Questrade Wealth Management Inc. is a registered Portfolio Manager, Investment Fund Manager and Exempt Market Dealer.

If you are a Questrade Wealth Management Inc. client, please refer to the QWM relationship disclosure provided to you for additional information.

SECTION 10 — FX AND CFD CLIENTS

Questrade has partnered with Saxo Bank A/S (Saxo) in order to provide you with access to FX and CFD trading. Saxo is the liquidity provider and issuer of the CFDs and Questrade is the broker/dealer providing order execution services.

For more information about FX and CFD trading, including risks, please visit https://www.questrade.com/disclosure/legal-notice-and-disclosures/2018/07/26/leverage-risk.

While information about our FX and CFD platform can be found here: https://www.questrade.com/self-directed-investing/trading-platforms/questrade-global.

SECTION 11 — OTHER DISCLOSURES

Errors

You understand that it is important for you to verify carefully and promptly trade confirmations, account statements, and other documentation as requested to make sure that assets and orders you give us are accurately reflected, the correct taxes are withheld (if applicable), and so on. You will notify us if there are any transactions that you do not recall or if you identify any errors within thirty (30) days of receiving your statement.

Privacy and confidentiality

You provide your consent for the disclosure of information to regulators as required by law or regulation.

Getting rid of paper

You understand the benefits of electronic or online receipt of confirmations, statements, tax receipts, etc. in terms of easier storage, retrieval, cost savings and environmental responsibility, and that you consent to the electronic delivery of such.

Unclaimed intangible property

You understand that laws in a number of provinces require Questrade to remit accounts and financial instruments where Questrade has not heard from owners for specified amounts of times. You agree that it is your responsibility to provide Questrade with your address as soon as possible after you change addresses, and to acknowledge the existence of an account(s) if asked to do so to avoid holdings being transferred to government authorities in provinces with such requirements.

Trusted Contact Person and Temporary Holds

For clients who have elected to add a Trusted Contact Person (TCP) to their account, you understand that Questrade may contact the TCP and disclose information about your personal and account information to address instances of suspected financial exploitation; to confirm your current contact information or health status; confirm the identity of any legal guardian, executor, and trustee; or as otherwise permitted by applicable provincial and federal laws.

In accordance with securities regulation, Questrade is permitted to place a temporary hold on the purchase or sale of a security or on the withdrawal or transfer of cash or securities from your account in circumstances where we have reasonable belief that you are deemed to be a vulnerable client; financial exploitation has occurred, has been attempted or will be attempted; or there is a reasonable belief that you do not have the mental capacity to make financial decisions.

We will notify you or your Trusted Contact Person of the temporary hold and the reasons for the temporary hold as soon as possible after placing the hold. On a frequent basis, we will determine if continuing the hold is appropriate. Within 30 days of placing the temporary hold and until the hold is revoked, we will provide you with notice of our decision to either revoke or continue the hold.

Questrade as a Derivatives Dealer

Questrade, Inc. is a registered derivatives dealer. Derivatives offered to clients are authorized by the Autorité des marchés financiers.