CI Direct Trading, a division of CI Investment Services Inc., is an
online brokerage firm that provides an
electronic trading platform to
trade
Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market.
An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...
financial asset
A financial asset is a non-physical asset whose value is derived from a contractual claim, such as bank deposits, bonds, and participations in companies' share capital. Financial assets are usually more liquid than other tangible assets, such as ...
s.
The company is headquartered in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and provides trade execution services for various financial instruments such as
stock
In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...
s, bonds, options,
exchange-traded fund
An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is a type of investment fund and exchange-traded product, i.e. they are traded on stock exchanges. ETFs are similar in many ways to mutual funds, except that ETFs are bought and sold from other owners throughout the ...
(ETF) and
mutual funds.
Trade orders performed on CI Direct Trading's electronic trading platform are executed by parent company
broker-dealer
In financial services, a broker-dealer is a natural person, company or other organization that engages in the business of trading securities for its own account or on behalf of its customers. Broker-dealers are at the heart of the securities and d ...
CI Investment Services Inc.
CI Direct Trading's parent company CI Investment Services Inc. is a subsidiary of
investment management
Investment management is the professional asset management of various securities, including shareholdings, bonds, and other assets, such as real estate, to meet specified investment goals for the benefit of investors. Investors may be institut ...
firm
CI Financial.
History
Founded in 2009, CI Direct Trading began as CI Direct Trading before being rebranded in October 2021. CI Direct Trading began as an online trading service enabling trade execution of equities, options, warrants, bonds, debentures, ETFs and mutual funds. It is registered in all provinces and territories of Canada, and is a member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF).
In January 2012, CI Direct Trading introduced a new commission structure which enabled retail clients to trade for as low as $0.99 with a cap of $9.99 per trade.
This change made CI Direct Trading the leader in low-cost online brokerage.
In July, CI Direct Trading began offering trading services on the
Canadian National Stock Exchange allowing clients to purchase stocks from the CNSE. In November, CI Direct Trading acquired the Canadian arm of a Chicago based online brokerage firm optionsXpress, acquiring optionsXpress's Canadian client base and expanding CI Direct Trading' size.
In November 2014, CI Direct Trading partnered with London based insurance firm
Lloyd's of London offering additional insolvency insurance protection for investors on top of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF).
In September 2017, investment management firm
CI Financial acquired CI Direct Trading' parent company CI Investment Services Inc.
In December 2018, CI Direct Trading reduced their trade commissions for retail investors to compete with other online brokerage firms.
CI Direct Trading reduced their original $9.99 per trade transaction fee to a $0.01 per share fee that caps at $7.99 per trade transaction.
In addition, fees for purchases of North American ETFs and mutual funds were reduced to zero.
In January 2019, CI Direct Trading integrated Wealthscope into their online brokerage platform, introducing portfolio analytics enabling clients to monitor and analyze portfolio performance and risk.
In May 2020, parent company CI Financial merged subsidiaries brokerage firm CI Direct Trading and online investing firm WealthBar to create an integrated online investment firm CI Direct Investing.
Disrupting the Industry
Historically, brokerage commission fees were costly which resulted in the lack of active retail traders.
CI Direct Trading became one of the first firms to lower the industry standard of trading commission fees, providing them with the reputation of being Canada's low-cost leader.
This exact act resulted as a catalyst for trading commission fees being lowered across the entire brokerage industry from major banks to small independent brokers.
Awards
References
External links
*
CI Investment Services Corporate Website
{{Online brokerages
Financial services companies established in 2009
Companies based in Toronto
Online brokerages
Stock brokerages and investment banks of Canada