In Canada, online investing has shifted significantly recently. Fewer people use costly in-person portfolio managers; most manage their investments with cheaper fees. One option that stands out among all Canadian brokerage firms is CIBC Investor’s Edge.
CIBC Investor’s Edge is ideal for Canadians who prefer self-directed investing, unlike other online investment solutions that typically offer a more guided experience with robo-advisors. Inexperienced investors can easily manage their funds without becoming experts in the field.
This post reviews CIBC Investor’s Edge’s suitability for day-to-day personal portfolio management.
What is CIBC Investor's Edge?
CIBC Investor’s Edge is an online investing platform. It is operated by CIBC Investor Services Inc., a subsidiary of the well-known CIBC (Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce) in Canada.
Because CIBC is a bank and not a new or independent financial services company, Canadians can trust the investing platform’s capabilities and security.
CIBC Initial User Experience
CIBC Investor’s Edge has been designed to help users make personalized investment decisions and control their portfolios without difficulty. There is also a corresponding mobile app for trading on the go that we cover later in this post.
CIBC Investor’s Edge provides low fees and helpful tools for beginner investors, making trading more accessible and manageable. It also offers discounts for students and active traders.
CIBC Investor’s Edge offers Canadian investors some of the lowest commission fees from any online brokerage accounts owned by the big five banks. Those looking for even cheaper fees may want to look elsewhere. But CIBC offers a more bank-like customer experience for those who prefer it.
Quick Look: Pros
- Numerous free investing tools, webinars, educational resources, and more
- A subsidiary of CIBC, a reputable Canadian bank
- A wide variety of investments and account types
- Lower trading fees than the other big bank online trading platforms
- Discounts for students and active traders
- No minimum investment required
Quick Look: Cons
- The low trading account fees of the platform are still higher than many other discount trading platforms
- No free ETF trades
- $100 fee for inactive accounts that do not hold the minimum required amount (TFSA and RESP have no activity requirements)
What Does CIBC Investor's Edge Offer?
CIBC’s online trading platform offers a wide variety of registered and non-registered accounts.
Non-registered accounts include individual, joint, or corporate cash accounts. Non-personal accounts include corporate or partnership, investment club, formal trust, and estate accounts.
The registered accounts offered by CIBC Investor’s Edge also include the following:
- Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSA)
- Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP)
- Locked-In Retirement Accounts (LIRA)
- Registered Retirement Income Funds (RRIF)
- Prescribed Retirement Income Funds (PRIF)
- Registered Education Savings Plans (RESP)
What’s more, investors active on CIBC’s online trading platform can choose between a wide variety of investment products, including:
- Stocks
- ETFs
- Options trading
- Mutual Funds
- GICs
- IPOs
- Fixed Income
How Does CIBC Investor's Edge Work?
CIBC’s online brokerage is equipped with myriad videos and tutorials to teach you how to use the platform and other valuable things, such as making your first trade.
Using CIBC’s online broker platform starts simply with opening an account online. Then, you will choose your account type from various options, such as registered accounts (e.g., TFSA or RRSP) or a non-registered personal account.
Then, you can use the “Cash Transfer” option to fund your account. It is simple to transfer funds from your CIBC bank account into your CIBC Investor’s Edge account. It is also possible to transfer funds or securities from another financial institution into your CIBC Investor’s Edge account.
Finally, you can access educational resources to familiarize yourself with investing or start trading if you already know the process.
CIBC’s online brokerage is equipped with myriad videos and tutorials to teach you how to use the platform and other valuable things, such as making your first trade. In addition, CIBC Investor's Edge covers complicated subjects like short-selling stocks, dollar-cost averaging, etc.
Fees and Commissions
CIBC Investor’s Edge offers some of the lowest trading fees among the big five banks in Canada. The investors active on CIBC’s trading platform are in four primary categories that include following:
Regular Investor
You can buy Canadian and U.S. securities, including stocks, ETFs, and other securities, for a flat fee of $6.95 per online trade. Options will also cost you $6.95 per online trade plus $1.25 per contract.
Young Investor
The most exciting offer is that young investors between 18 and 24 can trade stocks and ETFs online for free. This is for both Canadian and U.S. stock trades. They have also waived the fee for annual account maintenance to make the platform even more attractive to young investors.
Student Investor
The good news for students is that CIBC’s online brokerage offers them a discounted price of $5.95 per online trade. However, they should have a CIBC Smart™ Account to qualify for this offer.
Active Investor
The next good offer is for those traders who make 150 or more trades per quarter. Under Active Trader Pricing, this discount is helpful for those who regularly trade and are eligible for the discounted rate. The fee for active traders is as low as $4.95 per online trade. It is $4.95 plus $1.25 per contract when trading in options.
Cash and Margin Rates
In the case of non-registered accounts, the margin rate will change based on the current interest rate. For example, the debit balance rates are 8% and 8.75% for CAD and USD accounts, respectively. Also, for registered accounts, the rate charged for debit balances is 9% and 9.75% for CAD and USD accounts, respectively.
Telephone Trading Fees
You can also place a trade by phone, but CIBC Investor’s Edge will charge you a minimum commission fee of $50 in such a case for all Canadian and U.S. orders.
No Account Fees
There is no minimum account balance or trades required with CIBC’s online trading platform; however, you will be charged an annual fee of $100 if your non-registered account holds $10,000 or less.
Regarding registered accounts, there is an annual fee of $100 if your account holds $25,000 or less, though the fee is not required for TFSA or RESP accounts.
Features of CIBC Investor's Edge Online Trading Platform
CIBC Investor’s Edge has many valuable features specifically designed for all investors with different levels of expertise. Here is a list of the features on the platform:
- Watch Lists: You can customize as many as 20 lists to monitor your portfolio, check stocks, and get real-time quotes.
- Charts: There are professional charting features with numerous indicators and studies you can customize to fulfill your preferences.
- Market Report: The platform sends free daily emails to give workable ideas and help you make better trading decisions.
- Alerts: The platform allows you to set up alerts to track price variations and news announcements.
- Morning News Call: You will receive daily emails about the latest market information and a range of market and sector-specific detailed information regarding other things like the U.S., global economy, European and Asian companies, thriving markets, and more.
- Research Reports: You can benefit from CIBC World Markets Inc. reports and respected third-party sources that provide investors with insights to assess companies and equities.
- Cash Transfers: The platform lets you set up recurring cash transfers from your bank account to your CIBC Investor’s Edge account.
- Interactive Resources: CIBC’s online investing platform allows you to use extensive resources, including webinar replays, tutorials on trading, how-to guides, and videos.
The Mobile Application
The application has been designed in a clean and concise form and lets you do anything you need.
CIBC Investor’s Edge application was outdated and unresponsive before, but the team has recently updated it. As a result, both Android and iOS users can now use the CIBC Mobile Wealth application to manage their trading accounts.
The application has been designed in a clean and concise form and lets you do anything you need. For example, you can make trades, create a regular investment plan, or monitor your stocks. Plus, you can set buy or sell orders for bonds and GICs and view New Issues and IPOs.
The Mobile Wealth app provides detailed information about your accounts, including daily changes, book values, and gains or losses.
In addition to that, you can use customizable charts to review stock performance and trends. E-documents are also available, enabling you to view your trade confirmation, account statements, and tax documents.
It is interesting to know that the CIBC Mobile Wealth app does not let you use the online investing platform alone; you can use the app to access your CIBC Imperial Investor Service, CIBC Wood Gundy, and CIBC Private Investment accounts too.
CIBC Investor's Edge Customer Service
Since a big bank supports CIBC Investor’s Edge, it offers fantastic customer service. Investors can get in touch with real-life people via phone, email, and online chat. In addition, Mandarin and Cantonese speakers using CIBC Investor’s Edge can access phone support.
Access to customer support is rare nowadays, considering it is sometimes impossible to access most online brokerages.
A Summary of our Online Trading Review
CIBC Investor’s Edge is one of the best online trading platforms among the big Canadian banks. It has remained consistently competitive by dropping fees for young investors in recent years.
CIBC Investor’s Edge is an excellent option for customers needing to personalize their investment portfolio, especially if they already have a CIBC bank account.
The trading platform has many advantages, including free investing tools and resources, various account types, low trading fees, discounts for students and active traders, and many more. So give the platform a try today and see if an online brokerage works for you.