[spoonie]

I use a discount brokerage in Canada called Questrade. I keep as little cash as possible in my account (contributions and dividends get used within a few days to buy more ETFs), and my portfolio is entirely ETFs. If I also pay no commissions when issuing buy orders, how does the brokerage make money from me? Apart from the fees for order placement, is there interest earned for short-sellers borrowing ETFs?

[navigatesol]

>how does the brokerage make money from me?

Interest on any balance. Commission on sell orders, bonds, GICs, options, MFs. Order flow. Currency exchange. ECN fees when you buy in odd lots.

I mean, if you're really diligent and restrictive in your usage, you can avoid your broker "making money off you". But as long as fees are transparent and fair, what's the problem with them making some money providing a service you like?

[spoonie]

No problem at all! :) Just curious about the sources of revenue from me as a customer if I don’t hold cash, don’t issue sell orders, and buy only ETFs.

[joelx]

My personal opinion is that Questrade is terrible. I have been getting one of their customers emails for years and notified them about it and nothing has been done by them. If you want to risk losing all your money, go with Questrade since if I was a scammer I could use this to get access to this person's account.