TD Direct Invest Review 2026
Last updated June 2026
Is TD Direct Investing's Platform Easy to Use?
TD runs a tiered platform lineup, and most investors will never need to leave the first two rungs. The TD app handles everyday trading, fractional orders, alerts, and mobile cheque deposit, fully synced with the web platform. WebBroker is the main browser platform, widely regarded as the most feature-complete among the bank-owned brokers. Advanced Dashboard and TD Active Trader sit above for active traders. Where TD trails the best consumer apps is polish and effortlessness, but for breadth of capability across mobile, web, and desktop, few Canadian brokers match it.
Advanced Dashboard is free for clients placing 150 or more trades a quarter, otherwise from about $29 a month.
What Can You Trade with TD Direct Investing?
TD offers one of the widest product ranges in the Canadian retail market: full Canadian and US stocks and ETFs, equity and index options including multi-leg strategies, a deep fixed-income desk, and a full no-commission mutual fund shelf. Direct international trading covers 10 markets, with cash held in seven currencies. Real-time fractional shares, launched in 2024, work in both Canadian and US dollars from as little as $5, and a free US dollar component on most accounts lets you hold US securities without converting on every trade.
Two gaps are worth naming. TD offers crypto exchange-traded funds but not direct ownership of coins. And while 10 international markets beats every domestic rival, investors who need dozens of global markets, futures, or forex will find Interactive Brokers, with more than 150 exchanges, a better fit.
What Account Types Does TD Direct Investing Offer?
This is one of TD's clearest advantages. The registered lineup is essentially complete: TFSA, RRSP and Spousal RRSP, FHSA, RESP, RRIF, RDSP, and the full set of locked-in plans (LIRA, LRSP, RLSP, LIF, LRIF, RLIF, and PRIF). On the non-registered side there are cash and margin accounts (single or joint), corporate accounts, informal trust accounts, and estate accounts. The most popular accounts open online; joint, corporate, trust, and some locked-in accounts require a branch application. TD offers an RDSP, which several competing brokers do not, so investors who need the full registered toolkit can keep everything in one place.
Does TD Direct Investing Have Good Research Tools?
TD's research is among the deepest available to Canadian retail investors. WebBroker includes Morningstar research, TD Securities analysis, and S&P Capital IQ data, the kind of institutional-grade coverage most platforms do not offer at the retail level. Its stock, ETF, and mutual fund screeners are genuinely powerful, with deep multi-criteria filtering across Canadian, US, and global equities and funds. Advanced Dashboard adds streaming market data, financial statements, earnings estimates, ratio analysis, and a charting engine with more than 100 indicators. The main limitation is that real-time and Level II data are gated behind the Advanced Dashboard subscription unless you trade actively.
How Is TD Direct Investing's Customer Service?
TD's strength here is reach. You can get help by phone with licensed Investment Representatives, through the TD app, by secure message, and, uniquely among the major options, in person at TD branches across the country. Support is available in multiple languages, and several account-servicing functions run around the clock through automated systems. Live representative coverage runs Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern, generous on weekdays but thin on weekends. On independent measures of speed and resolution, large bank-owned brokers tend to land mid-pack, so TD is dependable and well-resourced without being the fastest to answer.
Is TD Direct Investing Safe?
Yes. TD Direct Investing is the trading name of TD Waterhouse Canada Inc., regulated by the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) and a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF), which protects eligible client assets up to $1 million per category if the firm becomes insolvent. CIPF coverage, not the US SIPC, is what applies to Canadian clients. TD Waterhouse Canada is a subsidiary of The Toronto-Dominion Bank and has operated for decades.
TD charges $9.99 for a stock or ETF trade, and that rate has not moved in years while much of the Canadian market dropped to zero. If you trade more than a handful of times a year, the commissions add up fast.
What Are TD Direct Investing's Fees?
TD's pricing is straightforward, and that is part of the problem: the headline rate is high and it applies to almost everyone. The cost story sits in four places, the per-trade commission, currency conversion, the maintenance fee on small accounts, and options.
A flat $9.99 commission, in a market that moved to zero
Every Canadian and US stock or ETF trade costs $9.99 flat, with no minimum balance or activity requirement. Place 150 or more eligible trades in a quarter and the rate drops to $7.00. Options add $1.25 per contract on top of the equity rate. Mutual fund trades carry no commission. Partial-share trades, meaning any order for less than one full share, cost $1.99. The flat commission has no separate ECN or routing pass-through. This is simple, but it is also among the higher standing commissions in Canada at a time when Questrade, Wealthsimple, and Qtrade charge nothing to trade stocks and ETFs.
Currency conversion, margin, and the maintenance fee
TD does not publish a currency conversion rate. The brokerage-account conversion is best estimated at roughly 1.5 to 2 percent, so converting $10,000 to US dollars costs around $150 to $200, none of it shown as a line item. You can avoid it with a free US dollar component on most accounts, or with Norbert's Gambit using the DLR exchange-traded fund. Margin is where TD quietly does well, at 6.5 percent in Canadian dollars and 8.5 percent in US dollars. Households with less than $15,000 in combined assets pay a $25 quarterly maintenance fee, waived by holding $15,000 or more, a pre-authorized contribution of at least $100 a month, three or more commission trades in the quarter, an RDSP, or being in the first six months after opening. There is no minimum to open.
Trading commissions and fees
| Fee | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian and US stocks and ETFs | $9.99 flat | $7.00 for 150 or more eligible trades per quarter |
| Partial shares (under one share) | $1.99 | Real-time, Canadian and US dollars |
| Options | $9.99 + $1.25/contract | $7.00 base for active traders |
| Mutual funds | $0 | No commission to buy, sell, or switch |
| Margin (standard) | 6.5% CDN / 8.5% USD | Lower tiers for President's Account clients |
| Maintenance fee | $25/quarter | Waived above $15,000 household assets or by other conditions; $0 minimum to open |
| Currency conversion | Not published | Estimated roughly 1.5% to 2%; avoidable with a US dollar account |
Where TD is not the cheapest
If your decision rests on cost, TD will rarely win. The $9.99 commission sits above what the discount and commission-free brokers charge, and no amount of platform polish changes that. The competitive margin rate, the avoidable maintenance fee, and a conversion spread that turns out to be milder than expected soften the picture, but they do not move TD into low-cost territory.
TD Direct Investing pairs one of the broadest product and account lineups in Canada with deep research and a competitive margin rate, but you pay $9.99 per stock or ETF trade when several rivals charge nothing. It rewards buy-and-hold TD customers, not cost-sensitive or frequent traders.
Data verified June 2026Is TD Direct Investing Worth It? The Bottom Line Up Front
TD Direct Investing earns an overall 7.1 out of 10. It is built for investors who already bank with TD and want everything under one login: a near-complete account lineup, real-time fractional shares, deep research, direct access to 10 global markets, and a competitive 6.5 percent margin rate. The single biggest caveat is the cost of trading. At $9.99 per stock or ETF trade, TD is one of the more expensive places in Canada to trade actively, though its currency conversion, at an estimated 1.5 to 2 percent, is closer to the market than its reputation suggests and is avoidable with a US dollar account.
Who Is TD Direct Investing For, and Who Should Skip It?
- Existing TD banking customers who want investing under the same login, with instant transfers between their chequing or savings and their brokerage.
- Long-term buy-and-hold investors who hold US stocks and will use the free US dollar component in a registered account to sidestep conversion costs entirely.
- Investors who want the full account lineup in one place, including RDSP, FHSA, RESP, locked-in plans (LIRA and LIF), and corporate or trust accounts.
- Research-driven investors who value Morningstar and S&P Capital IQ data, strong screeners, and the Advanced Dashboard charting suite.
- Frequent traders and cost-sensitive investors, who will pay $9.99 per stock or ETF trade where Questrade, Wealthsimple, and Qtrade charge $0.
- Options traders chasing the lowest per-trade cost, given the $9.99 base plus $1.25 per contract.
- Investors who want to buy and hold cryptocurrency directly, since TD offers crypto ETFs but not the coins themselves.
- Investors who need deep global reach beyond 10 markets, where Interactive Brokers trades on more than 150 exchanges worldwide.
For the investors in that second list there are better-suited options, which you can compare in our master comparison table.
TD Direct Investing at a Glance
Final Verdict: Should You Open an Account with TD Direct Investing?
TD Direct Investing is a strong, full-service brokerage held back by one thing: its per-trade price. Its product range, account lineup, research, screeners, and platform depth are excellent, the global reach beats every domestic rival, and the margin rate is quietly competitive. But $9.99 commissions are hard to justify when commission-free alternatives exist. If you already bank with TD, plan to buy and hold rather than trade often, and will use the free US dollar account, TD is a convenient and capable home worth the premium. If your priority is keeping trading costs near zero, look at Questrade or Wealthsimple for commission-free trades, or Interactive Brokers for the lowest costs and the widest global reach.
Affiliate disclosure: Broker Guide Canada may earn a commission when you open an account through links on this page. See our Disclosures page for more details.
A capable, full-service broker inside Canada's TD ecosystem
A near-complete account lineup including RDSP and FHSA, real-time fractional shares in Canadian and US dollars, free US dollar components, direct access to 10 global markets, Morningstar and Advanced Dashboard research, and a competitive 6.5 percent margin rate.
Our scoring rubric weights affiliate revenue at 0 percent, brokers are ranked on the same categories regardless of commercial relationships. Verify current fees and account details with TD Direct Investing before opening an account.
Frequently Asked Questions About TD Direct Investing
How much does TD Direct Investing charge per trade?
Canadian and US stock and ETF trades cost $9.99 flat, dropping to $7.00 for clients who place 150 or more eligible trades per quarter. Options add $1.25 per contract on top of the equity rate. Mutual fund trades are commission-free, and partial-share trades of less than one share cost $1.99.
Does TD Direct Investing have an account or inactivity fee?
Households with less than $15,000 in combined TD Direct Investing assets pay a $25 maintenance fee per quarter. It is waived by holding $15,000 or more, setting up a pre-authorized contribution of at least $100 a month, placing three or more commission trades in the quarter, holding an RDSP, or being in the first six months after opening. There is no minimum to open an account.
Does TD Direct Investing offer commission-free ETFs?
No. ETFs trade at the standard $9.99 equity commission, and partial-share ETF orders cost $1.99. Investors who want free ETF trading should look at Questrade or Wealthsimple, which charge nothing to buy and sell ETFs.
Can you hold US dollars in a TD registered account?
Yes. TD offers a free US dollar component on most accounts, including RRSP, RRIF, TFSA, and locked-in plans, so you can hold and trade US securities in US dollars without converting on every order. RESP and RDSP accounts are Canadian-dollar only but offer an automatic US money-market sweep service.
What is TD Direct Investing's currency conversion cost?
TD does not publish a conversion rate. The brokerage-account conversion is best estimated at roughly 1.5 to 2 percent, so a $10,000 conversion costs around $150 to $200. You can avoid it by holding a US dollar account or by using Norbert's Gambit with the DLR exchange-traded fund for two $9.99 commissions.
Does TD Direct Investing offer fractional shares?
Yes. TD launched real-time partial shares in 2024. You can buy and sell fractions of stocks and ETFs in Canadian and US dollars, from as little as $5, down to one hundred-thousandth of a share, for $1.99 per partial-share trade across WebBroker, the TD app, and Advanced Dashboard.
What international markets can you trade on TD Direct Investing?
TD's Global Trading gives direct online access to 10 markets: London, Sydney, Brussels, Paris, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Milan, Amsterdam, Singapore, and Madrid, with cash held in seven currencies. That is more than any other major Canadian broker, though investors needing dozens of global markets are better served by Interactive Brokers.
Is TD Direct Investing safe?
Yes. It operates as TD Waterhouse Canada Inc., regulated by CIRO and a member of CIPF, which protects eligible assets up to $1 million per category. It is a subsidiary of The Toronto-Dominion Bank and has operated for decades.