CIBC Investors Edge Review

I’ve been a customer of CIBC for a very long time, probably since I was 5-6 when I opened my first bank account. When I turned 15-16, I opened a CIBC Investors Edge Account (with my parents). Since I have substantial experience with CIBC Investors Edge, I thought I would share some of my thoughts on them.

Trading Platform

Their basic trading platform is a web based one. Their interface is very basic, and can be quite cumbersome. For example, after placing a trade, it brings you to a “confirmation page” which requires you to re-enter your password. It’s an extra bit of security, but slows down the process. Perhaps I’m spoiled with the super quick execution of Interactive Brokers.

Mutual Funds

• Like other big banks, they have access to an abundance of mutual funds.
• They have a free mutual fund screener (same as globefund.com).

Fees

• $100/year for balances under $25,000 for RRSP/RRIF/LIRA/LIF;
• $0/year for TFSA; and,
• $100/year for balances under $10,000 for non-registered accounts (exempt if you hold an RRSP with CIBC).

Commissions

• $6.95/trade for regular investors;
• $4.95/trade for 150+ trades a quarter;
• Free dividend reinvestment. However, they cannot purchase partial shares.

Real Time Quotes

• They offer free real time quotes for both U.S and Canadian stocks. However, they do not offer real time charts (15 min delay).

Forex Exchange Rate

• Their Forex rate is comparable to other big banks where they charge 0.90% each way. They do not offer wash trades like TD does.

What Needs Improvement

• Even though they have a great pricing structure for traders, their web interface is really cumbersome and not responsive enough for quick trades. For example, after submitting a trade, they bring you to a confirmation screen that makes you re-type your password.
• They NEED real time charts. If they want to be taken seriously in the trading world, they need to integrate this ASAP.
• I would like to see more details on performance. Right now, they only show the “purchase price” in the RRSP accounts. In the regular non-registered account, they don’t show any “performance” metrics at all.

Final Thoughts

• Good basic brokerage with a competitive commission package for active traders.  If you are interested in stock trading, here are some free online stock trading tools that I have used and recommend.
• You can see a comparison of the CIBC Investors Edge relative to other discount brokerages in my article: Canadian Discount Brokerage Comparison.