The longest bull market in history continues it’s upward trend and retail investors, new and experienced, are looking for zero commission platforms such as Webull Canada to trade with.
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Is Webull Available in Canada
No, Webull is not available for Canadians to use.
The closest equivalent is Wealthsimple Trade. On the other hand, Interactive Brokers offers very competitive fees if you want to trade options and other asset classes. (not available on WS Trade)
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When Is Webull Coming to Canada?
There has been no official announcement that Webull will be available in Canada any time soon.
While it may seem simple to extend capabilities to another country, one of the largest hurdles for any brokerage account to enter the Canadian market is getting IIROC approval.
We reached out to Webull for comment on any expansion plans and they confirmed that at this time there are no confirmed plans to expand to Canada.
Alternatives To Webull In Canada
There are a few good alternatives to Webull for Canadians, which we’ve outlined below.
- Preferred by new, digitally savvy traders
- Commission free trading and no minimums
- Supports full extended hours trading
- Competitive fixed and tiered price structures
- A preferred choice for advanced traders
- Minimal commission fees
- Low margin rates, from 0.75% to 1.59%
- Access to 40,000+ funds worldwide & 7,700+ funds with no transaction fees
- Zero fees on any stocks or ETFs that you purchase
- Very easy to use on mobile and desktop platform
- Ability to purchase fractional shares
1. Wealthsimple Trade
Best For: Those looking to pay $0 in commissions and are not trading options.
Current Offer: $50 cash bonus on sign up
Wealthsimple has become a household name since launching its Robo advisor platform in Canada over 7 years ago.
Since then, they’ve built a number of other great investment products/services for the Canadian market, one of the main ones being Wealthsimple Trade.
With a recent $114 million financing round, the Canadian start-up has become a ‘unicorn’ (billion dollar+ valuations) and continues to innovate in the space.
Wealthsimple Trade is the closest alternative to Webull for Canadians and was the first commission-free trade app in Canada.
They recently introduced Instant Transfer, allowing you to deposit up to $1,500 from your bank account every 3 business days, with the mutual funds being available to buy stocks instantly.
And the latest is their Plus Subscription at $10 per month which allows you to increase that deposit limit to $5,000 AND provides real-time market data instead of the 15-minute delayed data currently available! More notably, the subscription also adds USD accounts which can allow you to save on currency conversion fees that you normally have to pay when investing in US equities with Wealthsimple.
Here’s what you need to know about Wealthsimple Trade:
- $0 commission fees when buying or selling stocks and ETFs
- Mobile and desktop platform
- Intuitive and easy to use
- Ability to purchase fractional shares in particular Canadian and US companies
- No ability to trade options
- Largely owned and backed by Power Corporation, a very large North American financial services firm that’s publicly traded.
Learn more at Wealthsimple.com
2. Interactive Brokers
Strong option for advanced features paired with low fees
Just ranked as the #1 Best Online Broker by Barron’s for 2021, Interactive Brokers is an excellent, low-fee discount brokerage available to Canadians who want the ability to trade options as well as stocks.
With some of the lowest trading fees as well as financing fees in the industry, IB has been around for over 40 years and has a global presence.
Their Canadian headquarters are based in Montreal and they have 24 offices in 14 different countries. Interactive Brokers is available to residents of many different countries.
- Lowest and most transparent commissions
- Large number of tradable security types
- Robust suite of research tools
- Low margin rates, from 0.75% to 1.59%
- Access to 40,000+ funds worldwide & 7,700+ funds with no transaction fees
While they are an American company based out of Greenwich, Connecticut, they are approved by IIROC (Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada).
Fixed commission fees start at 1 cent per share, with a minimum of $1 and a maximum of 0.5% of trade value.
They also offer tiered pricing for higher volume traders.
You can also earn stock market rate interest on any uninvested cash balances, varying depending on how much cash is in your taxable account.
Learn more at InteractiveBrokers.ca
3. Questrade
Best For: Those who are trading options and want a low-fee brokerage.
Questrade is one of the original Canadian discount brokerages that’s now been around for over 20 years (1999 launch!).
Over the years, they’ve amassed a huge Canadian client base and these days are opening over 200,000 accounts each year as per their website.
Offering both a desktop and mobile platform, Questrade has become a favorite with advanced traders and those looking for a platform with great charting and research tools, as well as analysis tools.
In addition to their self-directed platform, they also offer their Questwealth Portfolios which are pre-built portfolios that are managed by a team of experts and rebalanced in real-time.
Here’s what you need to know about Questrade:
- Commission fees of 1 cent per share, with a minimum of $4.95 and a maximum of $9.95
- Trade stocks, options, and ETFs
- Self-Directed accounts available include Margin, TFSA, RSP, and Forex & CFDs
- Advanced real-time data streams and trading tools
- Recently added $3,500 instant deposit capability using a Visa Debit
Webull Paper Account for Canadians
While as a Canadian you can’t use the Webull app to trade, you can in fact download the desktop and mobile apps and use all of the tools for free!
Webull offers a paper trading account so if you want an account to simulate trades in, this might be an option for you.
On initial sign-up for a free account, you get access to Level 2 data for free for 3 months
In addition, you get access to all of their charting features as well as their research tools.
The additional tools and capabilities Webull offers is one of the differentiating factors it has vs many of the other $0 commission platforms.
Webull Overview
Webull is a Chinese-owned trading platform started by Wang Anquan in 2017 and headquartered in New York.
Anquan, a former Alibaba employee saw an opportunity to build a competitive offering to Robinhood in the market and set out with the full force to do so.
Webull initially raised seed funding from the founder of Xiaomi and has a founding team comprised of executives and talent from Alibaba, Xiaomi and Huawei.
While generally maintaining a low profile, Webull has recently come to the limelight as they’ve seen a surge in their client base to the north of 2 million members.[1]
With CEO Anthony Denier at the helm since 2017, Webull has continued to iterate on its offering, adding new trading tools and more accessible market data and recently introducing the ability to trade multi-leg options.
Coming from humble beginnings and facing the uphill battle of carving out a piece of the competitive brokerage market, Webull has become the preferred choice for many of new, digitally savvy traders.
[1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-08/robinhood-is-losing-thousands-of-day-traders-to-china-owned-webull
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Other Trusted Trading Platforms
Webull
Webull is better than Robinhood because it offers more features. With Webull, you can trade on margin, short-sell stocks, and use a variety of order types. You can also use the app to research stocks, read news articles, and watch financial shows. Unfortunately, this stock trading app does not allow Canadian citizens to open accounts.
Questrade
As Canada’s largest discount broker, Questrade has been a staple in the Canadian market for over two decades. Questrade fulfills many of my day-to-day needs, including low fees and excellent customer service. Just like other trading platforms offered by online brokerages and traditional banks, Questrade is regulated by the IIROC and is part of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF).
Wealthsimple
Platforms such as Wealthsimple are emerging and providing an alternative to traditional investing and financial planning. Those that are very new to investing and don’t have the time to track individual stocks can benefit from both the diversification model as well as help from Wealthsimple’s advisors.
Interactive Brokers Canada
IBKR is one of the most versatile online brokerages available at the moment. With such a large variety of securities available to be traded, there is surely something for everyone on the IBKR platform. Overall, the platform must be commended for moving towards becoming the go-to platform in Canada for all traders.
- Lowest and most transparent commissions
- Large number of tradable security types
- Robust suite of research tools
- Low margin rates, from 0.75% to 1.59%
- Access to 40,000+ funds worldwide & 7,700+ funds with no transaction fees
Robinhood
Robinhood is a zero-commission trading platform that boasts over 13 million users. The company allows users to trade stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin without any fees on their laptop or mobile device through a very easy-to-use app. The equivalent to Robinhood in Canada is Wealthsimple Trade.
TD Ameritrade
TD Ameritrade offers an extensive selection of asset classes, market data and research tools, and educational material for self-directed investing. The platform is extremely intuitive and user-friendly. With no minimum deposit, TD Ameritrade is a great discount broker for beginner investors who don’t want to come up with a large sum to begin their investment journey.
FAQs
Can I use Webull outside of US?
Webull is a US-based trading platform that can be used in the United States, India, Brazil, Turkey, and other select countries. The company has been operational for over three years and offers an impressive array of features to its users. However, it should be noted that Webull is not available in all countries. In order to use the platform, you must first ensure that it is available in your region.
Is Robinhood available in Canada?
Robinhood, the commission-free stock trading app, is not available in Canada. Robinhood was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Menlo Park, California. The app offers free stock trading and a minimum account balance. As of March 2018, the app had over 4 million users.
Can a Canadian citizen open an account with Webull?
Webull is a US-based stock trading app that does not allow Canadian citizens to open accounts. This is because the company is not registered with Canadian financial regulators and therefore cannot offer its services to residents of Canada. There are a number of other stock trading apps available that do allow Canadians to open accounts, so there is no need to worry if Webull is not an option.
Is Webull a Chinese company?
Webull is a Chinese-owned stockbroker headquartered in New York that features an electronic trading platform. The New York stock exchange company has been in operation since 2014 and has quickly become one of the leading players in the space. While there is no definitive answer, some believe that Webull may have been established with backing from the Chinese government as part of its efforts to gain a foothold in the American financial markets.
Is Webull better than Robinhood?
There are a lot of different stock trading apps to choose from, but two of the most popular are Webull and Robinhood. Both apps offer commission free trading, but there are some key differences between them.
Webull is better than Robinhood because it offers more features. With Webull, you can trade on margin, short sell stocks, and use a variety of order types. You can also use the app to research stocks, read news articles, and watch financial shows.
Robinhood is more limited in terms of features. You can only trade stocks and ETFs on Robinhood, and you can’t use margin or short sell stocks. The order types are also limited compared to Webull.
Overall, Webull is the better choice if you want a comprehensive stock trading experience.