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Email this1:19 pm
February 23, 2025
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Hi Everyone,
Does anyone have any personal experience with these 2 sites.
Specifically is one better (in your opinion) than the other for investing non registered funds.
What are their advantages and disadvantages (over and above) what I have read in their brochures.
I know they both charge quarterly maintenance fees (waived if above a certain threshold), charge similar trading fees and apparently have user friendly platforms.
Is there anything, they are not telling me, or I should be aware of? Thanks for any advice!
1:40 pm
October 27, 2013
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The one difference I know of is TDDI does not charge commissions to buy/sell mutual funds while RBC DI does. If you have no intention of buying/selling mutual funds, then that difference is not relevant.
If your primary banking is with one or the other, i.e. TD or RBC, then it is easier to stay within the family for ease of movement of funds.
P.S. In discount brokerage ratings on the G&M, TDDI gets a higher rating and that may be partly due to TD having a TDDI trading app (which I find to be mostly a gimmick).
3:19 pm
September 7, 2018
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AltaRed said
The one difference I know of is TDDI does not charge commissions to buy/sell mutual funds while RBC DI does. If you have no intention of buying/selling mutual funds, then that difference is not relevant.If your primary banking is with one or the other, i.e. TD or RBC, then it is easier to stay within the family for ease of movement of funds.
P.S. In discount brokerage ratings on the G&M, TDDI gets a higher rating and that may be partly due to TD having a TDDI trading app (which I find to be mostly a gimmick).
A colleague who uses TDDI says that its their top notch research and data available to clients/investors that puts them at the top. I don't use TDDI but I have seen their research and I agree it is superior to the discount broker which I use.
5:06 pm
April 27, 2017
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Of these two I prefer RBC. RBC works. TDDI is error prone in my experience and the app is a little painful to deal with. Like they kept charging for paper statements for every transaction even though the setting was “electronic”. They reimbursed spurious charges but you had to call every time and it took them like 3 months to solve the problem.
Also, TDDI does not provide information across all accounts so I find myself having to click through the accounts ad nauseum.
RBC is expensive and I see no reason to pay but at least it does what it says on the tin and does it well.
5:43 pm
October 27, 2013
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mordko said
RBC is expensive and I see no reason to pay but at least it does what it says on the tin and does it well.
Perhaps explain how RBC DI is expensive compared to TDDI? Their equity trade commissions are priced about the same as the other big 4. Perhaps you are referring to bonds or mutual funds? Their account minimums are no worse than the other big banks.
6:12 pm
September 11, 2013
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I have both, fees and other charges are irrelevant to me so I can't comment on those, far as I can tell they're pretty much the same anyway.
The only difference I notice is when I contact RBC DI they seem more professional, competent, knowledgeable, etc than TD DI people, a little bit anyway. Maybe they're better trained.
6:47 pm
April 27, 2017
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AltaRed said
Perhaps explain how RBC DI is expensive compared to TDDI? Their equity trade commissions are priced about the same as the other big 4. Perhaps you are referring to bonds or mutual funds? Their account minimums are no worse than the other big banks.
They are both expensive. I see zero reason to use either brokerage given that WS and Questrade are a) cheaper and b) better.
But if you have to have either TDDI or RBC then RBC works.
8:14 pm
October 27, 2013
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Okay but the OP seemed to be very specific (deliberate?) in asking about RBC vs TDDI. As an aside, better is in the eyes of the beholder in what is important to the individual.
6:38 am
January 10, 2017
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No question about it, you will be happier with TDDI. RBC DI charges $50 for Mutual Funds and Bonds. Unlike TDDI, you must call in to do a Norbert Gambit. Their trading platform is archaic. Seems they really don't want to give clients a good experience preferring to have you sign up with their high fee "wealth managers". TDDI is always updating their trading platform.
11:49 am
December 7, 2023
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TD DI offers Index Mutual Funds, MERs are lower and commission fee = $ 0.
4:24 am
January 15, 2014
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Only reason I hold an RBC DI account and pay the 25$ quarterly fee is to have access to level 2 quotes which to me is "worth it". Haven't really found another reliable way... but if someone has suggestions I am all ears. Otherwise, NBDB (which I haven't seen mentioned" should also be a consideration.
5:37 am
September 11, 2013
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No $25 quarterly fee with RBC DI if you have $15K in total with them, I'd imagine that's pretty much everybody who has a discount broker account.
Out of the blue TD DI starting levying a quarterly fee on my non-registered account, I didn't notice it until it had been levied 3 times and they immediately undid it when I called them.
8:08 am
January 7, 2020
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Bill said
Out of the blue TD DI starting levying a quarterly fee on my non-registered account, I didn't notice it until it had been levied 3 times and they immediately undid it when I called them.
Bill, where did the quarterly fee show up on your TDDI account? Reading your comment, I'm concerned maybe they are getting me as well, and I just don't know it yet
Thanks
8:38 am
April 6, 2013
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TD Direct Investing has a $25/quarter maintenance fee unless one meets one of the following:
- The combined assets of all your TD Direct Investing in your Canadian household accounts exceed $15,000.
- You register one or more of the accounts in your household in a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP), a pre-authorized deposit, or a pre-authorized contribution of at least $100 a month.
- You complete three or more trades which incur a commission in the preceding quarter within household accounts.
- You hold a Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) account within your household.
- You are in the introductory six months of the first account opened within your household.
National Bank Direct Brokerage has a $100/year admin fee for under $20,000 of total assets and over age 30. Applied to account roots opened before December 1 of the previous year.
1:33 pm
April 27, 2017
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The problem with TDDI is that it levies random erroneous fees and that you have to call them to get it reimbursed. And then they do it again and again and again. At least that’s been my experience.
2:16 pm
January 12, 2019
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.
WOW ⬆ 
I've been with TDDI for over 20+ years, and that's Never happened to me ❗
What's causing it ... is there a pattern?
- Dean
" Live Long, Healthy ... And Prosper! "
3:05 pm
April 27, 2017
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I’ve only been with TDDI for about a year. I know that a lot of customers were impacted by erroneous fees on paper statements for transactions even though the setting was to”electronic”. And it took them months to address the problem.
They also charged me for a routine transfer of a few thousand which they reimbursed but that charge was part of their normal service. No way to move money for free unless you also have a chequing account with them - which I find remarkable. So I was told to keep calling every time this fee is charged.
TDDI’s “educational” videos are a collection of marketing materials most investors shouldn’t follow (a lot of stuff on options, crypto, etc).
RBC DI is boring, functional, does exactly what it says on the tin. Not my cup of tea but at least it works and you don’t have to constantly check for spurious charges.
TDDI feels like a badly run organization. Thankfully my hold is about to end so will be able to get out in May.
3:43 pm
February 23, 2025
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A sincere Thank You to all that have commented.
Intangible attributes of a platform are hard to discern in advance.
Thanks to mordko as well for mentioning WS and Q. I agree with his assessment.
My needs are very modest and (rightly or wrongly) I find the staff at my local small branch helpful and strongly believe we need to use them or loose them.
I have heard good things about TD e-series mutual funds, RBC does not appear to have a similar product, although I do not know. RBC seems simpler and I am still a little peeved with TD Bank, (allegedly unscrupulous conduct in the USA and even worse "rewarding" their previous CEO with a retirement package and very few upper heads rolled).
For what I want to do, both sites will do the job and I am leaning toward RBC, hopefully I wont be complaining about them 6 months from now. Thanks again, Steve
4:36 pm
September 11, 2013
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mustang, I don't really check my transactions that carefully but one day I noticed I had a small debit cash balance (they had just levied the fee for the 3rd time) so in reviewing my transactions and previous statements I noticed the charges there.
I've been with TD DI since they first started and not had any other problems like that, at least that I know of or can recall.
I have my main chequing account at TD, if I had it at RBC I'd probably use RBC DI as my main discount broker, whatever's easiest re moving money in and out is big for me.
As far as I know no other big bank discount brokers have a product like TD e-series funds but I stand to be corrected on that.
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