Here's an expanded look at the criteria used in this ranking. This is not an exhaustive list, but rather a summary of important factors.
Scroll down the page to see a table of the results.
1) Cost (25/100)
Stock trading commissions, including the account asset thresholds at which charges are discounted
Applicability of ECN (electronic communication network) fees
Mutual fund trading commissions, including buy, sell and early redemption fees
Bond trading commissions, including the availability of discount bond pricing
Inactivity and low account balance fees
Annual administration fees for registered accounts, including account size needed to avoid fees
2) Trading (25/100)
The variety of orders that can be placed online, including trailing stops and short sales
Access to global stock markets
Availability of real-time updates of cash levels and buying power
Availability of U.S.-dollar RRSPs
Selection of investments available online, including GICs, high-yield bonds and guided portfolios.
3) Tools (20/100)
Breadth and utility of equity, fund and ETF research
Screening tools
Financial planning tools
Availability of an ETF centre
Features for newcomers to online investing, notably demo videos and practice accounts
4.) Account Information (15/100)
Availability of personalized, long-term data on account rates of return
Asset allocation analysis
Intra-day account updating
Availability of online account statements, trade confirmation slips
5.) Customer Satisfaction (10/100)
Our GlobeInvestor team handled this by distributing a short questionnaire to readers by e-mail. We ended up with 1,279 responses. Respondents were asked to identify the broker they used most often, then rank how happy they were and indicate whether they would recommend the firm.
6.) Website (5/100)
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