Wealthsimple: The all-in-one investment platform

Investing has never been easier or more accessible! With Wealthsimple, you have access to an all-in-one investment platform that allows you to invest with ease and manage your assets wisely. Whether you’re an investment novice or an expert, Wealthsimple offers a diverse range of investment products and services to meet your needs as an investor.

In this article, we’ll explore investment products, account types, features, protections and more.

Wealthsimple is an investment management company that was founded in 2014 in Canada. Today, Wealthsimple has more than three million clients and over C$30 billion in assets under management.

It offers a diversified range of investment products and services, including :

For the past 10 years, Wealthsimple has been disrupting the Canadian financial services industry with its technology, product and service offerings. For example, Wealthsimple was the first online brokerage platform in Canada to offer free trading, with no administration fees or minimum balances.

More recently, Wealthsimple is one of the few online brokers to offer fractional share purchases and the automatic purchase of assets (stocks, ETFs and cryptoassets) on the timetable of your choice.

For investment novices, Managed Investing (formerly known as “Wealthsimple Invest”) is an investment platform that combines a robo-advisor with access to an investment advisor.

Tailor-made investment portfolios are selected according to your investor profile and investment horizon, then double-checked by an advisory team. This team is also responsible for asset allocation, portfolio rebalancing and dividend reinvestment.

There are no transaction fees or minimum balances. Management fees range from 0.4% to 0.5%, depending on the account balance.

*For Quebec residents, please note that Wealthsimple does not allow you to receive the minimum 10% QESI (Quebec Education Savings Incentive) grant.

For more experienced investors, Self-directed investing (Stocks and ETFs), formerly known as Wealthsimple Trade, is an online brokerage platform. This platform allows self-directed investors to buy and sell over 9,000 stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), with no commissions, no administration fees and no account minimums.

The platform enables trading in equities and ETFs on Canadian exchanges (TSX, NEO and CSE) and U.S. exchanges (NYSE and NASDAQ).

For advanced traders, Wealthsimple offers a service that lets you trade stock options.

Although investment strategies involving the use of options are generally more complex, Wealthsimple has developed interfaces to simplify the understanding of options, but also to help you understand the benefits and risks.

For investors looking to diversify their investments, Wealthsimple Crypto enables trading in over 60 cryptoassets on their regulated platform, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana.

What’s more, you can stake some of your cryptocurrencies and earn up to 12% in rewards per year. Note that rewards vary from one cryptocurrency to another.

Wealthsimple Spend & Save (formerly known as “Wealthsimple Cash”) is a hybrid account consisting of a chequing account with no monthly fee and no minimum balance, a high-interest savings account and a Mastercard debit card.

The interest rate varies between 4% and 5% depending on your asset level. In fact, the Wealthsimple chequing account is one of the best high-interest savings accounts in Canada. Plus, you get a 0.5% reward when you set up your payroll deposit, up to a maximum of 5%.

Finally, you can earn 1% rewards (in stocks, cryptocurrencies or cash) on purchases made with your Wealthsimple card. As an added bonus, if you regularly travel outside the country, the Wealthsimple Card has no foreign exchange charges on foreign transactions or at ATMs.

Don’t worry! Your money is safe, because Wealthsimple offers insurance coverage of up to $500,000 on all eligible deposits.

To find out more about Wealthsimple Cash, read the full guide :

Wealthsimple Tax filing is an online tax platform that makes it easy to prepare and submit your tax returns. You can fill out and send in your declaration for as little as $0.

Several plans are available. For example, the Basic package is free, while the Plus package includes audit protection (cost: $40 – free for Premium customers). Finally, the Pro* package includes advice from a tax specialist (cost: $80 – free for Generation customers).

*Please note that the Pro package is not currently available to Quebec residents.

To start investing with Wealthsimple, follow these simple steps:

1. Registration: Create an online account by filling in the form.
2. Product: Select the investment product that best suits your financial needs and objectives, for example: Stand-alone investments (equities and ETFs).
3. Deposit: Fund your account by transferring money from your bank account to your Wealthsimple account.
4. Investing: Once your account has been created and funded, you can start investing and using other Wealthsimple products and services.

Fees vary depending on the products and services you use. But also according to the assets you hold with Wealthsimple. As your assets grow, certain fees are reduced and new benefits are unlocked.

For example, management fees for Wealthsimple Invest range from 0.4% to 0.5% of your assets under management. In addition, Premium customers receive free financial planning services.

Another example is Wealthsimple Trade, which lets you invest in stocks and ETFs with no commissions, no administration fees and no account minimums.

What’s more, Premium customers get a U.S.-dollar account with no fees and no commission on exchange charges. Generation customers receive a complete financial plan free of charge.

Finally, when you transfer your investment accounts of $15,000 or more to Wealthsimple, any transfer fees charged by your (former) broker will be refunded.

Of course you can! Wealthsimple is a registered portfolio manager in Canada. Their broker, Wealthsimple Investments Inc. is a member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada(IIROC). Wealthsimple clients’ accounts are protected by the Canadian Investor Protection Fund(CIPF).

The Wealthsimple Cash account places funds in trust with up to five Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) member institutions, insuring eligible deposits up to $500,000 in coverage.

In conclusion, Wealthsimple is a comprehensive investment platform offering a range of products and services to meet your financial needs.

Whether you’re a novice or an experienced trader, Wealthsimple offers a low-cost solution tailored to your needs: managed investments, stand-alone investments, a Crypto platform, and more.

In addition, other financial products are offered, such as the Spend & Save account and the Wealthsimple Tax filing software. This brings all products and services under one roof.