Getting started with Passiv

Keep your portfolio balanced

Easily set up targets for how you want to allocate your assets so it reflects your goals - and your risk tolerance.

One-click trades

See what trades will re-balance your portfolio to align with your target and make trades with just one click.

Stay informed with Smart Alerts

Receive email notifications when your portfolio drifts too far out of alignment, or when you haver new funds to invest.

If you’re just getting started with investing, the benefits – and time commitment – of keeping your portfolio balanced may not be obvious, but it’s a pillar of many wealth-building strategies.

Typically, your risk tolerance, investing timeline and investment goals will shape how you allocate assets in your portfolio. Consider a long-term savings goal such as retirement, for example. For this, you may design a more aggressive portfolio, as you have more time to navigate market fluctuations.

No matter what timeline you are investing for, though, those market fluctuations will impact the value of your assets. If a high-variance stock that you hold, for example, jumps in value for a period of time, it may start to exert more influence over your portfolio’s total value than you want. This can expose you to more risk overall if the stock’s price drops.

By monitoring for these deviations and then figuring out how to re-invest the profits from over-performing assets, you can rebalance your portfolio so it matches your targets – and aligns with your overall strategy again.

Passiv streamlines this process from start to finish. Instead of manually measuring your portfolio’s changes against your targets, Passiv monitors the value of your assets, notifies you when they drift out of proportion, and calculates what changes are needed to get your portfolio back on track.

Plus, as a Questrade customer, not only can you leverage all the basic portfolio modeling and rebalancing tools of a regular Passiv account, but you also get access to Passiv Elite for free – saving you almost $100 per year – giving you even more efficient portfolio management options. 

In just a few simple steps, your self-directed investing experience can be streamlined with Passiv. Here’s how.

Step 1: Create a Passiv account

To get started, go to passiv.com and select the “Sign Up” box in the top right corner of the screen. This will take you to the account creation page.

Here, you’ll need to enter your name and email address, as well as create a secure password. Select “Register” at the bottom of the page to finish setting up your account.

Step 2: Connect your Questrade account to Passiv

From your Passiv dashboard, select the blue “Get Started” box at the bottom of the page to begin.

Then, select Questrade from the list of brokerages beneath the search bar. This will generate a confirmation box, informing you about SnapTrade, a tool that connects Passiv to retail brokerages like Questrade so it can access live account data and execute trades.

Once you agree to the terms and conditions, you’ll be directed back to Questrade, where you’ll finish filling in your account information. While Passiv is an official Questrade partner with a secure API connection, this is done to keep your login information confidential.

Log into Questrade and select “Allow” to give Passiv permission to retrieve balances, positions, orders and executions for your account, as well as to retrieve delayed and real-time market data.

Step 3: Choose your subscription

From your Passiv dashboard, you can see all the Questrade portfolios you have linked on the left under the collapsable menu. Select a connected portfolio, and tap on the “Next Step” box to choose your subscription.

Remember, as a Questrade customer, you get free access to Passiv Elite

Step 4: Set up your portfolio targets – and let Passiv do the rest

The targets you set represent how you want to allocate your investments between different asset classes, letting you balance your holdings so they align with your broader investing strategy.

Passiv gives you two ways to do this. If you want to use your portfolio’s current asset allocation as the model to maintain, select “Import.” Or, if you would prefer to create your own model for your portfolio’s asset allocation, select “New Model.” This can be adjusted at any time.

With your model applied, you can see how closely your portfolio matches your allocation goals using the Accuracy meter on the main dashboard. Passiv will send you email notifications when your portfolio’s accuracy strays too far from your target so you know when it’s time to rebalance without constantly checking.

By default, Passiv is only set up to rebalance your portfolio with buy trades. When new funds become available in your account, Passiv will assess what trade can help get you in sync with your target again. However, sell calculations and trades can also be enabled by going into your Portfolio Settings and selecting “Sell to rebalance.”

Whether you’re selling or buying, with Passiv Elite, you can make the trades you need to rebalance your portfolio with just one click. Just tap on Manual Trade and fill in your order details.

Like every tool, what matters is how it’s used. Dive deeper into the strategies you can use to maximize your Passiv experience with this Questrade webinar.

Passiv is an independent third-party whose services are provided to you through a secure, encrypted API connection. If you are using an API app developed by a third party, you are required to read, understand and accept the end-user license agreement for the API (application program interface). Questrade will not be held liable nor assume any liability for any loss or damages arising directly or indirectly from the use of any third party services or tools. Any liability, whether direct, indirect or consequential loss or damage is explicitly disclaimed

Intended for informational purposes only and is not, and should not be construed as, investment, tax or legal advice to any individual or analysis on market direction. Any liability, whether direct, indirect or consequential loss or damage is explicitly disclaimed. Use of this service shall not constitute the giving of investment, tax or legal advice by Questrade. Consider consulting with your financial advisor before investing.

Note: The information in this blog is for educational purposes only and should not be used or construed as financial or investment advice by any individual. Information obtained from third parties is believed to be reliable, but no representations or warranty, expressed or implied, is made by Questrade, Inc., its affiliates or any other person to its accuracy.