INVEST FOR YOURSELF, NOT BY YOURSELF
First in a two-part series on long-term investing
The idea of taking control of their investments appeals to a lot of Canadians. But there’s one thing that holds them back: the notion that self-directed investors are completely on their own.
“The perception that self-directed investors are on their own is a myth,” says Jeff Beck, associate vice-president at TD Direct Investing. “We provide the support and resources to help Canadians start investing for themselves, even if they’ve never made a trade in their lives.”
Self-directed investors make their own investment decisions — they decide what to buy, what to hold and what to sell, says Beck. However, TD Direct Investing supports them every step of the way so they can be confident in the decisions they make.
“There’s an entire world of support available,” he says. “We support our clients through the four steps of making an investment: getting trade ideas, validating the ideas, acting on them, then monitoring and managing their investments.”
The education provides investors with theory — why and what — and with practical advice — how and when.
“There’s always someone here who can provide you with immediate assistance, day or night,” says Beck. “TD is the only online broker that offers telephone support from professional investment representatives, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
There’s also a community called TD Helps, an interactive site that allows clients to post their questions and get answers from either an investment representative or a fellow TD Direct Investing client.
“Another big support network is in the TD Canada Trust branches and TD Direct Investing locations across Canada,” says Beck. “It’s simple to book an appointment and get face-to-face assistance. We also offer in-person seminars. The important point is that help is available wherever and however our clients want it.”
Those who are new to direct investing may be more interested in educational resources that answer foundational questions. This could be getting the “lay of the land” and learning how to navigate the WebBroker platform through video tutorials. They may also want an overview of investing basics, like what types of securities are available, information on building wealth through registered accounts, or understanding and gauging their own tolerance for risk.
TD Direct Investing offers resources investors can tap into according to their investment experience, style and interests. These include articles, video tutorials, webinars and live, interactive, small-group master classes. Many of these are available in English, French, Mandarin and Cantonese.
When clients are ready to generate ideas, they can turn to the brokerage’s library of screens for stocks, technical events, mutual funds and ETFs, as well as proprietary analyst reports. When it’s time to validate the ideas, there is fundamental research, including company news and earnings and charting tools.
Beck notes that TD Direct Investing’s WebBroker platform makes it easy to make yourself at home with a personalized homepage. But there are many nuances and ways to make the site work better for you, from setting up alerts,to creating watchlists of securities you want to follow, to building a low-maintenance portfolio with low-cost e-Series mutual funds.
“Someone who is more experienced or interested in advanced strategies might look for topics such as conditional order types or multi-leg options,” says Beck. “They may prefer level two market data to give them real-time insight into the markets and want to learn how to filter all the streaming data. We invite clients to build their own personal curriculum.”
Beck even recalls seeking a little support when TD began offering investment accounts in both Canadian and U.S. currencies.
“I had some questions about currency conversions,” he says. “I remember calling for support over the phone and asking questions before executing buy and sell orders. It highlighted for me that our job isn’t simply to provide you with an investment platform. We’re here to help you become the type of investor you want to be.”
The perception that self-directed investors are on their own is a myth ... There’s always someone here who can provide you with immediate assistance, day or night