TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service

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Spudd
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Re: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service

Post by Spudd »

Glen wrote: 05 Jan 2018 15:44 Are people trying to sign in to Webbroker getting this:
Bad Request

Your browser sent a request that this server could not understand.
Size of a request header field exceeds server limit.


.....or do I have another issue?
It's working OK for me at 3:47pm EST on Jan 5.
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Koogie
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Re: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service

Post by Koogie »

Ditto. Been on all day with no problems (except prices running away from my bids... :roll: )
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Re: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service

Post by lacrosse905 »

No problem for me. I have made a couple of trades yesterday and today and the most notable thing is that my commission fee is listed at $7.00 not the normal $9.99. Is this a gift for having so many problems over the past week or so, or did they reduce the commission fees, no matter, I will take it. :D :D
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Re: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service

Post by ig17 »

lacrosse905 wrote: 05 Jan 2018 18:05 No problem for me. I have made a couple of trades yesterday and today and the most notable thing is that my commission fee is listed at $7.00 not the normal $9.99. Is this a gift for having so many problems over the past week or so, or did they reduce the commission fees, no matter, I will take it. :D :D
Count your household trades in the previous quarter. Maybe you qualified for a lower commission as an active trader? All you need to qualify is a measly 150 trades per quarter. Time (and trades) fly when you are having fun. :D

On a more serious note, the same thing happened to me in 2016(?). They charged me $7 on a couple of trades. I didn't bother to call to ask why. I had made just a handful of trades in the prior quarter, a far cry from 150. It must had been a glitch in TD matrix.
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Re: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service

Post by fireseeker »

The TD matrix appears to be increasingly glitchy ...
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Re: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service

Post by AltaRed »

They may be offering discounted trades to stimulate interest to select custmers from time to time. Every now and then I get a free trade from Scotia iTrade, especially when I have not done any trades for months at a time. I have never figured it out but just take it when it happens.
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Re: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service

Post by vince2 »

TDWaterhouse’s online service has simply been ridiculous for the past 2 months. We snowbird in Mexico and getting the statements for the Holdco has been impossible here and eventually after complaining to TDW by telephone and email, I eventually asked my son in Canada to access my account and download the documentation for me and email it to me. I suspected that their technology department had been fiddling with the web interface and inadvertently locked us out in Mexico from accessing our accounts, which seemed very likely in that when I some 2 weeks later set up a VPN account in Canada, I could access the account without any problems.

Interestingly their app (on an iPad) still worked faultlessly and has continued to do so when I transferred money into the TFSA account. Unfortunately at the time one could not access statements or any other tax documentation.
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Arby
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Re: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service

Post by Arby »

TDDI used to be the first of my broker accounts in issuing monthly account statements, but lately TDDI has gone from first to worst. Looking online today for my December TDDI statements, I see the following message:
December account statements are expected to be available in Documents (eServices) on January 15 and mailed to clients starting January 16.
The statements from my other broker accounts at RBCDI and CIBC IE were available this week.
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Re: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service

Post by Hogwild »

I got the same message when logging on just moments ago. Between this, and getting my DRIP payments for ETFs as late as the 12th day of the month, login problems, and reduced staff competency, I'm getting more than little fed up with Mr(s) TD.

If I have time, I might research other brokers this year.
ig17
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Re: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service

Post by ig17 »

The Globe and Mail
Saturday, January 6, 2018

How a frenzy of trading swamped online brokers
https://secure.globeadvisor.com/servlet ... INEBROKERS

... officials in the brokerage industry say the outages mostly boil down to a simple - but crucial - problem: server space. Retail demand is so unexpectedly high, particularly for stocks in the marijuana industry, that it has become overwhelming.

The brokerages won't provide usage statistics, but according to the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, which oversees trading activity, the volume of trades between Dec. 22 and Jan. 3 jumped 107 per cent from a year earlier.

And of that surge, retail trading volumes jumped to 34 per cent of the total from 23 per cent.

The frenzy around marijuana stocks is also having an effect.

The number of trades in marijuana stocks popped 145 per cent during the same time frame, relative to the week running Dec. 14 to 21.

And even when clients are not transacting, they keep logging in to watch the markets and do research. This type of activity can create just as many bandwidth problems for the servers as trading does. Demand from retail investors tends to spike at particular times - such as when the market opens and again around lunch. One day recently, one brokerage's user activity was already near full capacity before the market even opened at 9:30 a.m.
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Re: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service

Post by Thanh »

Seems like we all have issues with TD DI these days ! I just checked recent activities in my account and was surprised to see the distribution received from one of my holding (HR.UN) lower than the previous month. Given that shared are dripped and H&R hasn't reduced its distributions, it shouldn't happen. I will wait for the official December statement before calling them but I'm definitely not impressed.

29-Dec-17 H&R REIT-STAPLED UNIT TXPDDV -823 $84.95
29-Dec-17 H&R REIT-STAPLED UNIT INTUS 823 $6.99
Expected Dist -$94.65
Gap -$2.71

30-Nov-17 H&R REIT-STAPLED UNIT TXPDDV -819 $87.39
30-Nov-17 H&R REIT-STAPLED UNIT INTUS 819 $6.80
Expected Dist -$94.19
Gap $0.00

31-Oct-17 H&R REIT-STAPLED UNIT TXPDDV -815 $86.96
31-Oct-17 H&R REIT-STAPLED UNIT INTUS 815 $6.77
Expected Dist -$93.73
Gap $0.00
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Re: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service

Post by Hogwild »

Then I can confidently say they are cheaping out on IT staff and/or planning. All major IT projects have a large planning phase, in which
needs expectations are specified, and plenty of room for growth should be allocated. Clearly, the bank-owned brokerages failed to do this.

ig17 wrote: 07 Jan 2018 14:13 The Globe and Mail
Saturday, January 6, 2018

How a frenzy of trading swamped online brokers
https://secure.globeadvisor.com/servlet ... INEBROKERS

... officials in the brokerage industry say the outages mostly boil down to a simple - but crucial - problem: server space. Retail demand is so unexpectedly high, particularly for stocks in the marijuana industry, that it has become overwhelming.

The brokerages won't provide usage statistics, but according to the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, which oversees trading activity, the volume of trades between Dec. 22 and Jan. 3 jumped 107 per cent from a year earlier.

And of that surge, retail trading volumes jumped to 34 per cent of the total from 23 per cent.

The frenzy around marijuana stocks is also having an effect.

The number of trades in marijuana stocks popped 145 per cent during the same time frame, relative to the week running Dec. 14 to 21.

And even when clients are not transacting, they keep logging in to watch the markets and do research. This type of activity can create just as many bandwidth problems for the servers as trading does. Demand from retail investors tends to spike at particular times - such as when the market opens and again around lunch. One day recently, one brokerage's user activity was already near full capacity before the market even opened at 9:30 a.m.
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Re: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service

Post by 6miths »

Just made the mistake of calling the general TDDI number and after 30 minutes on hold I thought that this used to be easier. Hung up and called the President's Account line and got through immediately. Still couldn't help me. Was downloading statements and for the first time in years there were months with no statement which seemed odd. They say there was 'no activity' so no statement was generated. No activity? Dividends and changes in value of holdings does not constitute activity! Thankfully there was 'activity' in the first and last month of the period I was needing. The representative said he could change the setting to 'force print' which would mean a statement would be generated each month regardless of activity. Why isn't this the default? And when did it not become the default. I am buy and hold largely so over the years there would have been many months in the various accounts that there would have been 'no activity' as they currently define it. This is all paperless, a computer is doing it! I felt bad for the rep! Seems dumb - the default setting not the rep.
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Re: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service

Post by gobsmack »

6miths wrote: 10 Jan 2018 14:35 Just made the mistake of calling the general TDDI number and after 30 minutes on hold I thought that this used to be easier.
So did I. It is impossible to get through. I spent 30 mins in the morning and 40 mins in the afternoon and, in both instances, nobody picked up on the other end.
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Koogie
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Re: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service

Post by Koogie »

6miths wrote: 10 Jan 2018 14:35 Just made the mistake of calling the general TDDI number and after 30 minutes on hold I thought that this used to be easier. Hung up and called the President's Account line and got through immediately. Still couldn't help me. Was downloading statements and for the first time in years there were months with no statement which seemed odd. They say there was 'no activity' so no statement was generated. No activity? Dividends and changes in value of holdings does not constitute activity!
Same thing happened to me and I had to call in to get a clarification. I believe their system changed over in May of last year (at least, the printouts changed format).

Worse. I have my personal accounts and holdco accounts available under one login (for convenience). I can access and printoff my personal tax documents from that account. But not the holdco.

TDDI had to set me up with a Second account and login info so that I could access my holdco tax documents and print them off.

Efficiency ?? paahh...
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Re: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service

Post by MikeFreedom49? »

I think it’s been at least since 2014 that statements aren’t produced if there wasn’t any activity for the account, at least that’s when I noticed it. If there was a distribution, then my statements were created, although that might be due to most of my accounts having a DRIP of some sort and not just a distribution. Although, I’m now getting statements for my TFSA, November 2017 there was no activity of any sort, yet I received a statement.

For tax documents, I’ve always had to use my corporation logon ID to access them. It’s been like that since I opened my corporation account in 2011. I remember phoning in 2012 and asking why I couldn’t download the documents and being told that I had to use the corporation logon. So once year I use that ID.
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Re: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service

Post by kcowan »

I was always impressed with the Canaccord system. It was aimed at traders not bankers. You could get complete history for every account, and, when I closed the accounts, I had them all downloaded to a spreadsheet. I still refer to it to get historical information on stock splits and stock dividends (all in one sheet).
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Re: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service

Post by ig17 »

I guess everyone saw this message by now, but just in case you missed it...
Jan 10, 2018 - WebBroker Service Interruption

Last week, TD Direct Investing reported unprecedented levels of investor activity – double the trading volumes of a year earlier, and triple the level of overall client activity. We pride ourselves on providing convenient access and innovative tools, like WebBroker, to help you grow your portfolio. It is what you expect from us, and recently we did not meet your expectations.

WebBroker was intermittently unavailable over three days (December 29, January 2 and 4). We hold ourselves to a higher standard and apologize for the inconvenience this caused.

TD operates with significant capacity for high-volume traffic and unexpected spikes on the WebBroker platform. However, the trading volume experienced last week exceeded our highest traffic days by 50%. Our technology teams worked around-the-clock to restore WebBroker and add capacity. Our teams continue to closely monitor the platform and make improvements where necessary to ensure resiliency today and for the future.

Clients calling the Direct Investing phone line continue to experience longer than expected wait times. We ask for your continued patience as we work diligently to lower wait times on our Direct Investing phone service.

We are very proud to serve all of our very passionate and loyal clients. Please know that we are working hard to win back your confidence. Your Direct Investing experience is a priority at TD and we apologize for the inconvenience this caused.

Paul Clark
President, TD Direct Investing &
EVP, TD Bank Group
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Re: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service

Post by BRIAN5000 »

I guess everyone saw this message by now, but just in case you missed it...
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Re: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service

Post by IdOp »

Well, TD has acquired AI company Layer 6, so everything should continue to be great. It's pretty surreal reading that PR syrup in the backdrop of WebBroker/EasyWeb realities (not only recent).
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Re: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service

Post by ig17 »

I want to give them kudos for a change. "Contribution In Kind" tool is a great addition to WebBroker. I used it yesterday for the first time to move a stock from taxable USD account to my and my wife's RRSP-s. Both accounts got updated today as expected. No surprises.

One caveat: you have to wait until T+3 if you want to contribute a newly bought stock. The tool doesn't see the settled quantity on T+2. I guess they use the settled quantity from the previous day. Not a big deal.
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Re: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service

Post by qasimodo »

Pages are not loading properly this morning (Holdings, Balance etc)
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Re: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service

Post by pmj »

What TDDI doesn't say in ?any? of the "Contribute in kind" promo material is that you can't transfer from a RRSP (and probably a RRIF, but not confirmed cos we don't have any). This is probably cos someone has to check if there is cash available to pay the taxes, and transfer the taxes to CRA ... but can such a task be beyond a simple programming code (don't answer :P)?
So - does any brokerage have the functionality to withdraw / transfer from an RRSP or RRIF without calling in?
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Re: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service

Post by ig17 »

pmj wrote: 12 Jan 2018 09:31 What TDDI doesn't say in ?any? of the "Contribute in kind" promo material is that you can't transfer from a RRSP...
... that's because "contribution in kind" implies transfer *to* an RRSP or a TFSA. Transfer *from* means withdrawal, not a contribution, i.e. unrelated. :wink:
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Re: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service

Post by pmj »

YMMV. We make a transfer / contribution in kind / whatever from RRSP to TFSA each year. Except for DRIPs, it's about the only action we have to call TDDI for. It's a real pain, especially since it's DW's account, so I can't do it myself.
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