What can I buy/sell with TradeFreedom?
Can I short stocks?
What type of Options trading do you provide?
Can I trade the after-hours market?
What are the risks associated with before or after hours trading?
Do you provide Level II quotes and technical analysis tools?
What types of quote feeds do you provide?
What are your trading fees?
What are ECNs?
Why do I have to pay ECNs fees?
What are the TSX/Venture exchange fees and why must I pay for this?
Do you have a premium client program? If so, what are the qualification criteria and what are its benefits?
What can I buy/sell with TradeFreedom?
Providing direct access to the Exchanges, Market Makers and ECNs, you can trade NASDAQ, OTC, NYSE, AMEX, TSX, TSXV exchange securities as well as U.S. and Canadian Options via CBOE, ICE, PHXL and MX.
Can I short stocks?
Yes. Our trading platform allows for automatic shorts - you do not have to call us. TSX 300 stocks are fully shortable. U.S. stock shorts are subject to availability - you can try offering the U.S. stock short off the market and if the status box returns a message - Void/Not shortable - this indicates that the stock is not available for loan. In these cases, please call a TradeFreedom Representative who will attempt to find stock to borrow against the short you wish to make.
Short selling is an advanced strategy and short positions may be subject to buy-ins without notice.
What type of Options trading do you provide?
Please refer here for details on our Options trading pages.
Can I trade the after-hours market?
Yes. Our trading hours are as follows:
US Markets
Pre-market: 8:00am to 9:30am EST
Regular session: 9:30 am to 4:00 pm EST
Extended session: 4:00pm to 5:30pm (ECNs) EST
Canadian Markets
Pre-market 8:00 am to 9:30 am (order entry only) EST
Regular session: 9:30 am to 4:00 pm EST
Last sale trading session: 4:06 pm to 5:00 pm EST
What are the risks associated with before or after hours trading?
Our Trading Desk and Client Support departments are open from Monday to Friday, 8:30 AM - 6:00 PM (EST). You may trade before and after-hours but at your own risk. Before and after-hours trading is for the sophisticated investor or trader and may present unique risks, including:
- TradeFreedom does not support pre-market or extended session trading and thus you trade at your own risk;
- Risk of lower liquidity. Liquidity refers to the ability of market participants to buy and sell securities;
- Risk of higher volatility. Volatility refers to the changes in price that securities undergo;
- Risk of changing prices. The prices of securities traded in pre-market or the extended session may not reflect the prices either at the end of regular market hours, or upon the opening the next morning;
- Risk of unlinked markets. The prices displayed on a particular extended hours trading system may not reflect the prices in other on currently operating pre-market or extended session trading systems dealing in the same securities;
- Risk of wider spreads. The spread refers to the difference in price between what you can buy a security.
Do you provide Level II quotes and technical analysis tools?
Yes.
What types of quote feeds do you provide?
We provide all clients free access to Level 1 3/4 quotes. In addition, we offer an extensive list of additional quote feeds from both US and Canadian exchanges. For details please refer to our Quote Feed page.
What are your trading fees?
TradeFreedom is dedicated to providing you with the most competitive commission rates in Canada. We were the first Canadian broker to provide commission pricing which is on par with leading U.S. direct access brokers. For details, please refer to our fees.
What are ECNs?
Electronic Communication Networks (ECNs) are order display alternatives to the traditional market making price quote systems. ECNs allow active traders and investors to bypass market makers and meet "face- to-face". ECNs have proven to be an effective alternative for active traders and investors looking or alternative pools of liquidity as well as provide the ability to trade the pre-market and the after hours market.
Why do I have to pay ECNs fees?
ECNs are alternative gateways to trade NASDAQ/NYSE stocks. Each ECN charges traders/investors who use their network to place orders. The average fee is USD 1.00 per execution.
What are the TSX/Venture exchange fees and why must I pay for this?
The TSX/Venture Exchange are networks and they charge Participating Organisations for the privilege of using it. As TradeFreedom provides you a direct access to the TSX/Venture Exchanges, you must pay what is called an assessment fee for use of this network. The assessment is based on the following formula - for the TSX, it is $0.0036 per share and as for the TSX Venture, it is $0.0004 per share for up to a maximum of CAD 50.00 per trade. Direct access traders and investors can justify this fee by the fact that as they are trading directly on the exchange, many times they have the ability to get a better price for a stock than what a regular online broker would be able to get for them.
Do you have a premium client program? If so, what are the qualification criteria and what are its benefits?
Yes, TradeFreedom Elite is our premium client program. In order to qualify, you must execute a minimum of 10 trades per month. As a member, you will receive benefits such as free Canadian and US Level 2 quotes, no service fees on common services and access to special offers and discounts. More details on this program can be found here.
