Online brokerage BMO InvestorLine has announced the availability of the Young Investor Offer, a new promotion designed to help young Canadians start investing.
The offer is available to anyone between the ages of 18 and 35 who opens a new BMO InvestorLine Self-Directed account from now until August 31.
Those who take part in this offer will receive 35 free trades, waived fees, as well as an exclusive Globe and Mail eBook on investing and money management.
There is no required minimum account opening deposit and clients who participate in this offer will have a chance to win a $3,500 cash prize.
“We know that younger Canadians are big players in the online world. We also know that the earlier an individual starts investing for key life events, like the purchase of a home and retirement, the higher the likelihood that they’ll be able to meet their financial goals. Therefore, providing potential investors with the opportunity to begin their online investing experience as early as possible is a top priority for us,” said Julie Barker-Merz, CEO, BMO InvestorLine.
Barker-Merz noted that, according to a BMO InvestorLine study, 81 per cent of young Canadians aged 18-34 said they will likely begin investing online – purchasing, selling, managing or monitoring investments – within the next five years, compared to the national average of only 65 per cent.
“However, our study also found that young Canadians ranked ‘not having enough money to invest to make it worthwhile’ and ‘not knowing enough about investing’ as their primary reasons for not currently investing online. It shows that there is room to make investing more accessible for younger Canadians.”
The BMO InvestorLine study results come from a Pollara survey, fielded online with 1,000 Canadians between April 17 and 21, 2013. As a guideline, a probability sample of this size would be accurate to plus or minus 3.0 per cent, 19 times out of 20.