Nearly four in 10 Canadian investors have an online or discount brokerage account, according to a Pollara study sponsored by the Securities and Investment Management Association last year. Among the 38% who have one, most use it at least monthly. Chances are that you have clients using them right now.
Their popularity rose sharply during the pandemic. According to Ipsos’ Canadian Financial Monitor, Wealthsimple’s market penetration among adults went from less than 3% in 2021 to roughly 5% in 2025 — an increase of about 70%.
These apps offer user-friendly interfaces, helpful analytics, registered account trading and low- or no-fee trades. Their growing popularity is far from an existential threat to financial advisors. But they do need to know how their clients are using these apps.
We spoke to leaders from four discount brokerage companies — Questrade, Moomoo, Webull and Wealthsimple — to understand their products, features and strategy.
Questrade: Becoming an online bank
Founded in 1999, Questrade was one of Canada’s first fintechs. Questrade offers a wide range of registered account types (TFSA, RRSP, RESP, FHSA and LIRA) and investment product types (ETFs, global equities, U.S. options, GICs, bonds, mutual funds, precious metals and contracts for difference via the company’s global platform).
“There’s a misconception that because we have ‘trade’ in the name that we just have active traders,” said Hwan Kim, chief product officer at Questrade. The company’s goal is to offer a range of products so clients can manage their money “the way they want.”
For example, users can create their own index fund by changing weightings within each index and remove stocks they don’t want, Kim said. Fractional precious metals trading starts at $3, and the fintech is currently seeking regulatory approval for cryptocurrency trading.
Questrade will also launch a feature called Balance Sheet, where users can aggregate their portfolio information from other institutions onto their Questrade account to get a view of everything they have, Kim said. This is part of their strategy of becoming a full online bank.
Last year, Questrade became a Schedule I bank. It’s working on offering banking products like chequing and savings accounts to link a user’s cash flow with their investments, such as automating monthly investment contributions, Kim said. Having its own banking license gives the fintech more flexibility in building new products.
“One of the important patterns of wealth building isn’t just about how well you manage large assets, it’s also about how you manage your cash flow to create consistent accumulation,” Kim added. “Our goal is to offer everyday banking that ties seamlessly into your saving and investing experience.”
Questrade is also considering a financial advice offering, but it’s too early to talk about specifics, Kim said.
Moomoo: Agentic AI trading is almost here
Moomoo entered the Canadian market almost three years ago. It offers TFSA and RRSP accounts in addition to the standard cash and margin accounts available on all three platforms. It lets users trade core asset types like U.S. and Canadian ETFs and stocks as well as U.S. options.
“We’d like to do all things for all people, but it would cost much more to have an unlimited number of account types and products,” said Michael Arbus, CEO of Moomoo Canada. The typical client on Moomoo is someone who wants to get educated on trading strategies and trades actively, “not necessarily someone that wants to park $3 million here in GICs.”
Moomoo will start offering other registered account types and a wider range of investment products in the future, but it needs to prioritize the more important features first, Arbus said.
One such feature is Moomoo’s AI-powered market analytics, which includes information such as company performance comparisons, company name mentions in the media and insider filings, Arbus said.
Users can trade algorithmically in the app, Arbus explained. For example, someone could ask the AI to check which stocks are trading in the lower range of their valuation and enter natural-language instructions. Users can then check the strategy on paper trades for a while before deploying it for real.
The next step would be agentic AI trading, Arbus said. Clients can already vibe code their own agentic AI agent using a Moomoo data feed to get real-time data from six exchanges. That agent could build and manage a hedge fund-style strategy, automatically trading across platforms and products while constantly rebalancing the portfolio.
Webull: Standalone discount brokerages are a breed of their own
Webull came to Canada about two and a half years ago. It offers cash, margin, TFSA and RRSP accounts for U.S. and Canadian ETFs and stocks, as well as U.S. options. It has also recently enabled cryptocurrency trading outside of registered accounts.
Most of Webull’s customers are 18–30. While the platform is mobile-first, older customers prefer its desktop platform, said Michael Constantino, CEO of Webull Canada.
The platform is looking to expand to more registered account types and products in future, such as GICs, Constantino added. But which specific accounts and products to bring next depends on consumer demand.
A lot of clients switched parts of their investment accounts over from big banks to Webull, but the company doesn’t see bank-owned discount brokerage platforms as the competition. Bank apps simply can’t compete with digital-first brokerage platforms.
“I’ve seen the bank apps, … they’re a bit clunky,” Constantino said.
Webull has no intention of getting a banking licence. Its focus is on the investment space only, which it serves with more than 40 charting tools, Constantino said. While Canadian banks use delayed data, Webull provides free, live Level 1 data from major stock exchanges.
The platform is going to keep developing features for investors — fractional trading and short selling are both in the pipeline, Constantino said.
It’s also considering event contracts and a robo-advisor in Canada, he added. While Webull already offers a BlackRock robo-advisor in the U.S., regulatory hurdles mean there are no firm timelines for these features.
Wealthsimple: Everything to everyone
Wealthsimple started offering its self-directed investing platform in 2019. It launched a chequing-style account a year later and a credit card in 2025.
With a median age in the low 30s, its four million customers include a mix of active traders using options and futures as well as buy-and-hold investors with ETFs, said Matthew Karasz, senior director of product at Wealthsimple.
The platform offers TFSAs, RRSPs, RESPs, FHSAs and LIRAs and lets users trade gold, bonds, cryptocurrencies, ETFs and global equities. Wealthsimple also recently announced the launch of a new app that gives retail investors access to forecast contracts through Kalshi, a U.S.-based prediction market platform.
“The best way to serve all our users is to give them access to the widest selection of investment strategies and the widest set of account types that we can,” Karasz said.
Wealthsimple is continuing to expand its lineup with RDSPs and letting users transfer some mutual funds to the platform. But it has no plans to offer its own mutual funds, Karasz added.
By gradually introducing products, Wealthsimple wants clients to transfer more assets over from other financial institutions to its platform until it becomes clients’ all-in-one financial hub, Karasz said. “It’s an audacious goal … and we’re seeing more and more customers making us their No. 1 financial relationship.”
A changing reality for advisors
The rising popularity of trading apps will reshape how clients interact with advisors, according to Constantino. “Advisors will always have a role, but it will diminish over time,” he added. “You don’t need an advisor to tell you to buy a blue-chip stock or an ETF.”
While more users want to manage and control some of their investments themselves, it doesn’t mean that they don’t need to talk to an advisor, Karasz said. That’s why Wealthsimple has a team of financial advisors on its platform for households with over $1 million in assets.
Easier portfolio construction and the proliferation of ETFs and model portfolios will change client behaviours, Kim said. Advisors will be more involved in complex activities that require human trust and expertise for the client’s specific situation, such as tax and estate planning.
Clients who trade a small portion of their assets on an app will also become more motivated to learn more about managing their money, Arbus said. Advisors can ask clients about their self-directed trades during meetings to learn how clients think about risk and deepen the relationship.
This article has been updated.