Canadian Shareowners Association

Discuss your favourite picks, broker, and trading or investment style.
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martingale
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Post by martingale »

Yikes. If they are now adding $9 and $10 commissions on each security that's horrendous. The idea that you would use it to buy 20+ securities each cycle doesn't work under that arrangement.
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yielder
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Post by yielder »

martingale wrote:Yikes. If they are now adding $9 and $10 commissions on each security that's horrendous. The idea that you would use it to buy 20+ securities each cycle doesn't work under that arrangement.
Read again.
Place an order to buy a single stock or Index Fund and the Co-Op Commission is only $9.

Place an order to buy a portfolio of 4...10...15...20... stocks or Index Funds and the Co-Op commission is only $36.
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TheDividendGuy
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Positive Experience

Post by TheDividendGuy »

Just to throw my hat into the ring, and as a first post on this forum, I use the CSA and have found them to be quite good.

Things I like:

1. Cheap commissions: I currently purchase using the single stock option, which costs me $9 per trade. Way better than the $29 I used to pay at Action Direct.
2. As I focus on dividends, I like a lot of the stocks they offer.
3. Customer service is awesome - always talk to someone within 1 minute of calling, and they are very professional
4. Dividend reinvestment, Dividend reinvestment, Dividend reinvestment, Dividend reinvestment,

Things I don't like:

1. Every couple of years they send me promotional material to signup for the magazine
2. Select number of stocks to purchase - you can only buy off of their list
2. Everywhere I look I have to see a picture of Dr. John Bart - I don't know if this guy is very high on himself but my impression through content on the site and in magazines is that he wants to make sure you know he is a "Dr." and that we know what he looks like
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Bylo Selhi
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Re: Positive Experience

Post by Bylo Selhi »

TheDividendGuy wrote:Just to throw my hat into the ring, and as a first post on this forum
Welcome aboard!
2. Everywhere I look I have to see a picture of Dr. John Bart - I don't know if this guy is very high on himself but my impression through content on the site and in magazines is that he wants to make sure you know he is a "Dr." and that we know what he looks like
One does get that impression, eh? ;) OTOH, as Yogi Berra once put it, "It ain't bragg'n if ya actually done it." Bart retired as a professor of finance from Univ of Windsor. (Unlike "Dr." Jerry White.)
Sedulously eschew obfuscatory hyperverbosity and prolixity.
birdie
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Canadian Share Owner

Post by birdie »

Hello everyone, first time poster, long time lurker. This site is great by the way!

I am seeking input on the Canadian Shareowner Web site and their services. This seems like a pretty good deal, and the easiest/cheapest way to set up a DRIP portfolio which is definitely what I want. My question/concern is (forgive me if I sound Naive) What (if anything) stops these guys from closing up shop and keeping my shares for example? I assume that they would own all of the shares (just like at other mainstream brokerages).

This seems like a pretty small operation that I had never heard of prior to stumbling across the financial web ring. I feel kind of dumb for asking this but I just cannot get past it in my mind.

If I own my shares though a big company like RBC action direct instead, I know at the very least there is a large bank that I can sue to try and recoup.


Can anyone give me their input/experience using these guys?
YogiBear
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Re: Canadian Share Owner

Post by YogiBear »

birdie wrote:Hello everyone, first time poster, long time lurker. This site is great by the way!
I'm a fairly new poster here as well, but maybe I can help a bit!
I am seeking input on the Canadian Shareowner Web site and their services. This seems like a pretty good deal, and the easiest/cheapest way to set up a DRIP portfolio which is definitely what I want. My question/concern is (forgive me if I sound Naive) What (if anything) stops these guys from closing up shop and keeping my shares for example? I assume that they would own all of the shares (just like at other mainstream brokerages).

This seems like a pretty small operation that I had never heard of prior to stumbling across the financial web ring. I feel kind of dumb for asking this but I just cannot get past it in my mind.

If I own my shares though a big company like RBC action direct instead, I know at the very least there is a large bank that I can sue to try and recoup.


Can anyone give me their input/experience using these guys?
First off, I always follow the principle that there are no naive, dumb or bad questions, just incomplete answers. I believe the long-time regulars here strongly support your freedom to ask whatever is important to you without fear or embarrassment. :D

As regards Canadian ShareOwner: you might take a look at the Investment Dealers Association website. As you will see, Canadian ShareOwner is a member.

Therefore, your account(s) at ShareOwner would be protected by the Canadian Investor Protection Fund for an amount up to $1 million in the event of the insolvency of ShareOwner. In addition, remember that no matter whose name your securities are registered in, you remain the beneficial owner of them. This covers, more or less, the closing up shop problem.

(N.B. that the details are a bit more complicated- this is just the general idea to give you an overview.)

Having said all this, I am not a securities lawyer or a professional in the finance field. Others here will be able to provide more details. In my experience, although ShareOwners is a small operation, they are professional, and I've never had any problems. And they are cheap! :D

Good luck!

Edit: If you look here in the ShareOwner website (on the right hand side, under the heading "Account Agreements and Disclosures"), you will see various documents that might be of interest, such as the "CIPF Brochure" and the various account agreements.
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Canadian Shareowner Assoc

Post by kodiak »

Has anyone had experience moving their investments from CSA to a discount brokerage? They told me I would have to sell all my stocks and move the cash. I am sure there must be other allternatives, like moving the full shares and leaving all the fraction shares behind. . . would be less costly than having a sell commission. . . plus the CG.
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MidniteGardener
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Re: Canadian Shareowner Assoc

Post by MidniteGardener »

kodiak wrote:Has anyone had experience moving their investments from CSA to a discount brokerage?
It's been a few years since I closed my CSA a/c and moved to RBC.

It was an "in kind" transfer, of course all fractional shares had to be sold.

The transfers took nearly two months (as i recall) in little dribs and drabs.

I swore I would never do such a thing again, but rather sell everything first and then move the cash.

I did exactly that when I recently closed my Ameritrade account, and the transfer was completed in short order.
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Re: Canadian Shareowner Assoc

Post by boib22 »

kodiak wrote:Has anyone had experience moving their investments from CSA to a discount brokerage? They told me I would have to sell all my stocks and move the cash. I am sure there must be other allternatives, like moving the full shares and leaving all the fraction shares behind. . . would be less costly than having a sell commission. . . plus the CG.
It has been a while but at the time I had CSA issue shares to me pay cash for partial shares then put the share in my RBC Action Direct account. I delivered the shares at the Local bank branch.
Bob
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DanielCarrera
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Post by DanielCarrera »

Has anyone taken a recent look at ShareOwner? This year they added some Vanguard ETFs: VB, VEA, VWO, VGK. They still don't have VTI though. But you could buy VTI at a different broker and use ShareOwner for VEA and VWO (for example).

martingale: Are you still using ShareOwner? What is your current opinion of them?
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Post by queerasmoi »

Interesting that they have loosened their tight dependency on iShares by adding some non-iShares ETFs now. This is encouraging.

Just a note on transfer-out fees which were being discussed in this thread in 2006: "The transfer out fee is $25 per security to
a maximum of $107 plus a $12 withdrawal fee for non-RSP and $48 for RSP
accounts." So if you build up a nice huge nest egg and then later want to transfer to a different brokerage, the max transfer-out fee will be will within the realm of what you can persuade another brokerage to reimburse you for.

One other thing to note about CSA's fees is that it's always $19 to sell, co-op or not.
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Post by Jaunty »

DanielCarrera wrote:
Can anyone comment on ShareOwner?
I was with them from their inception until last year (when I wanted to consolidate my holdings and potentially need to start selling some holdings for income). I used them largely for DRIPing stocks which was very convenient and bought and sold only a little otherwise, in that account. Their records were good, T slips accurate and telephone contact (albeit limited) precise.[/quote]
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Shakespeare
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Re: Canadian Shareowners Association

Post by Shakespeare »

ShareOwner lets small investor build wealth, piece by piece - The Globe and Mail
In keeping with Mr. Bart’s efforts to help people become successful investors, the stocks available through ShareOwner tend to be those of large Canadian and U.S. companies and popular ETFs. The firm recently doubled its menu of available securities to more than 450....

With the firm’s pooled trading service, you pay a $40 commission per buy trade and you can have your money spread among any number of stocks. Alternatively, you can pay $9.95 per stock for regularly scheduled buys. Want to buy or sell right away? The cost is $19.95, a price that applies to everyone. There are no discounts for large accounts or for active trading.
Sic transit gloria mundi. Tuesday is usually worse. - Robert A. Heinlein, Starman Jones
queerasmoi
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Re: Canadian Shareowners Association

Post by queerasmoi »

In the years since this thread was last updated, multiple brokerages have introduced free ETF trades (or at least buys). Shareowner is not looking as competitive unless you want to be regularly investing in lots of individual stocks.
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