BMO InvestorLine Drops Trading Commissions — SkimNews
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- BMO InvestorLine will eliminate commission fees on all stocks, ETFs, and options trades effective Sept. 14, becoming the first of Canada's Big Five banks to offer zero-commission trading on its direct investing platform.
- The bank is also scrapping all brokerage account administration fees and reducing options contract fees, with CEO Silvio Stroescu saying new accounts opened this month pay nothing to trade, hold, or leave the account.
- Clients under 35 are InvestorLine's fastest-growing segment, according to wealth management head Deland Kamanga, who called the platform a "powerful front door" into BMO's broader wealth management unit.
- InvestorLine's assets under administration grew at a 14% compound annual growth rate from 2020 to 2025, and the unit accounted for 9% of BMO's wealth management revenue in the third quarter.
- Digital rivals Wealthsimple and Questrade have already built no-fee trading into their platforms, and National Bank of Canada — Canada's sixth-largest lender — already offered zero-commission trading through its direct brokerage.
- BMO has been bolstering InvestorLine with new tools including advanced options screeners, enhanced educational resources, real-time market data, and paper-trading capabilities that let clients practice without risking real money.
Why it matters: InvestorLine generates 9% of BMO's wealth management revenue and grew assets at a 14% CAGR, so dropping commissions closes the pricing gap with Wealthsimple and Questrade — but the strategic play, as Stroescu frames it, is funneling under-35 clients into private banking and advisory services as their finances grow more complex.
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