Is Questrade Regulated? Is it safe? - TU Expert review
License is the most important document you have to consider when choosing a broker. Many traders, who would like to start working with Questrade try to check whether it is regulated. Traders Union experts have already done that. In this article, you will learn whether Questrade is regulated, what regulatory authorities supervise the broker and whether it is safe to work with the company in general.
Short summary about the broker Questrade
Questrade Inc. is a reliable broker that has been providing services since 1999. The company offers a wide range of trading instruments: currency pairs (Forex), stocks, ETFs, CFDs, options, bonds, mutual funds, and individual investment instruments. The main office is located in Toronto and this broker opens 200,000 new accounts each year. Questrade Inc. is a member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF). Learn about Questrade Canada
💰 Account currency: | USD, CAD |
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🚀 Minimum deposit: | from 1 CAD |
⚖️ Leverage: | up to 1:20 for retail trade, CFDs, and Forex |
💱 Spread: | from 0.8 pips |
🔧 Instruments: |
Currency pairs (110), CFD on shares (18 exchanges), CFD on indices (16), ETF (1800), Income guaranteed certificates, stocks, options, and bonds on TSX, NASDAQ, NYSE, and other exchanges |
💹 Margin Call / Stop Out: | 100% |
Pros and cons of Questrade
👍 Advantages of trading with Questrade:
•A wide range of instruments, access to the stock markets of 18 countries.
•The broker is regulated by the Canadian IIROC.
•Instruments for passive investments.
•Various professional trading platforms.
•Low fees for ETFs.
•Fast account opening, especially for Canadian citizens.
👎 Disadvantages of Questrade:
•Relatively high commissions for Forex traders.
•Restrictions for Non-Canadian Customers.
•Limited choice of payment systems for deposits and withdrawals.
Why is it important to work with a regulated broker?
License is a document that certifies that a broker operates legally and guarantees fulfillment of its obligations to the traders. A financial license is issued by a financial regulatory authority of a country (the National Bank) or a specialized authority (for example, Securities Commission, Futures Trading Commission, etc.). It is important to choose licensed brokers for the following reasons:
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A license guarantees that the broker operates in compliance with the rules of the financial regulator that issued the document.
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In order to obtain the license, a broker must comply with certain requirements, for example, the size of the authorized capital or personnel qualification. It is simply not lucrative for scammers to comply with such requirements.
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A broker’s license provides access to real markets, and you can be sure that the quotes are real and up-to-date.
The best option is to work with a broker that holds the license of the jurisdiction, where the trader resides. You can also choose a company with a financial license of another reliable jurisdiction, for example, the U.S. or the European Union.
Is Questrade Regulated? Broker’s license
Security (Protection for Investors)
Questrade, Inc. is a member of the CIPF. This means that clients are eligible for the CAD 1 million coverage offered by CIPF. This is more than in Europe and the USA. In addition, there is an option to get additional private insurance for 10 million Canadian dollars.
The broker thoroughly monitors security. Digicert technology monitors the security of transactions. You can protect accounts with Touch/Face ID and receive notifications of suspicious account activity. There is a function of security questions, you can also enable two-step authentication. Questrade is confident about its reliability, therefore, it guarantees a 100% refund of any unauthorized transactions in the account of Questrade clients that lead to direct losses. In 2019, Questrade received a banking license, which shows it is very reliable.
👍 Advantages
- Client funds are segregated from Questrade capital and are kept in segregated bank accounts
- Regulated as bank brokerage services
- In case of violation of the obligations prescribed in the offer by the broker, the client can file a complaint with the Canadian regulator
👎 Disadvantages
- To open an account, you must provide detailed financial information
- You cannot make a deposit and withdraw funds without verification,
- Limited choice of electronic payment systems for making deposits and withdrawals
Brokerage fees
Broker’s regulation is the most important choice criterion. However, before you start working with the broker, it is also important to analyze its commissions and fees. TU analysts have studied the commissions and fees charged by Questrade, which you can see below.
Traders Union’s specialists analyzed the trading and non-trading fees of Questrade. For Forex trading, the broker offers specialized Forex & CFD accounts, they detain a spread as a brokerage commission for trading currency pairs. For EUR/USD, the average spread is 1.9 pips, the minimum is 0.8. Accounts are opened and closed free of charge. There are no fees for an inactive trading account.
Account type | Spread (minimum value) | Withdrawal commission |
Forex & CFDs | from $8 | Yes |
Brokers that are similar to Questrade
Many brokers operate legally, obtaining relevant licenses and permissions. However, when choosing a broker, it is important to compare their trading conditions. TU experts have prepared a comparative analysis of Questrade conditions with its closest competitors.
Comparison of Questrade with other Brokers
Questrade | RoboForex | Pocket Option | Exness | Octa | FxGlory | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Trading platform |
Questrade (Mobile app), Questrade Global, Questrade IQ, Questrade Trading |
MT4, MT5, R MobileTrader, R StocksTrader, R WebTrader |
Pocket Option, MT5, MT4 |
Exness Trade App (mobile), Exness Terminal (web), MetaTrader5, MetaTrader4 |
MetaTrader4, MetaTrader5 |
MT4, MobileTrading, MT5 |
Min deposit |
$1 |
$10 |
$5 |
$10 |
$25 |
$1 |
Leverage |
From 1:1 |
From 1:1 |
From 1:1 |
From 1:1 |
From 1:1 |
From 1:1 |
Trust management |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Accrual of % on the balance |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
8.00%% |
Spread |
From 0.8 points |
From 0 points |
From 1.2 point |
From 1 point |
From 0.6 points |
From 2 points |
Level of margin call / stop out |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Execution of orders |
Market Execution |
Market Execution, Instant Execution |
Market Execution |
Market Execution, Instant Execution |
Market Execution |
Instant Execution, Market Execution |
No deposit bonus |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Cent accounts |
No |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Questrade is an online investment broker for various purposes. The company focuses on clients from Canada.
The minimum deposit in RoboForex is $10. Leverage up to 1:2000. Traders choose RoboForex for reliability, favorable trading conditions, minimum spreads, and commission fees. The company is recommended for beginner traders and experienced investors.
Pocket Option offers a wide range of trading instruments and copy trading services. It constantly improves its service quality and expands the list of assets and trading platforms. The broker is suitable even for novice traders without significant capital due to the low initial deposit. Experienced traders who work with CFDs and binary options can also use Pocket Option’s services.
Exness broker is a trusted broker partner that is compliant with all relevant terms. Exness complies with all payment obligations and pays money earned.
The Octa broker has tried to adapt its conditions as much as possible to the various trading strategies used by traders. However, at the moment the company is more focused on active market participants, rather than passive investors.
FxGlory is a universal broker for active trading that is likely to be interesting for European traders.
Conclusions
Questrade is a quite reliable broker for trading. Questrade operates on the license of a reliable jurisdiction and its operation is regularly monitored. However, the company does not offer the best trading conditions compared to competitors. You can choose this broker and not worry about the safety of your funds, but there are better options in terms of trading conditions.
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FAQ
How difficult is it to obtain a brokerage license?
The procedure for obtaining a license differs depending on the jurisdiction, but it is very difficult and expensive to get the document in a reliable jurisdiction. This is why only reliable brokers obtain licenses.
Why is it not recommended to work with offshore brokers?
Offshore brokers have to meet minimum requirements for obtaining a license and reporting, which is why often scammers get such licenses.
Can an offshore broker be reliable?
Yes, although there are not many of such brokers. There are brokers with a good reputation, but with an offshore license. You still need to be very cautious when working with such companies.
How do I check a broker’s reputation?
In order to check a broker’s reputation, you need to read user reviews. However, it is recommended to only use independent websites for that.
Team that worked on the article
Mikhail Vnuchkov joined Traders Union as an author in 2020. He began his professional career as a journalist-observer at a small online financial publication, where he covered global economic events and discussed their impact on the segment of financial investment, including investor income. With five years of experience in finance, Mikhail joined Traders Union team, where he is in charge of forming the pool of latest news for traders, who trade stocks, cryptocurrencies, Forex instruments and fixed income.
Olga Shendetskaya has been a part of the Traders Union team as an author, editor and proofreader since 2017. Since 2020, Shendetskaya has been the assistant chief editor of the website of Traders Union, an international association of traders. She has over 10 years of experience of working with economic and financial texts. In the period of 2017-2020, Olga has worked as a journalist and editor of laftNews news agency, economic and financial news sections. At the moment, Olga is a part of the team of top industry experts involved in creation of educational articles in finance and investment, overseeing their writing and publication on the Traders Union website.