If you’re experienced with managing your own investments or self-directed trading, the BMO InvestorLine online brokerage may be just what you need. With advanced tools for experienced traders, and extra perks and benefits for people with lots of money to invest, this brokerage has won several awards over the years.
And while all this sounds pretty good, there are a few things to watch out for. While the fees are (generally) flat, they are higher than average. There are also no automated tools available to help save you time.
BMO InvestorLine features
Let’s take a look at what this online brokerage offers.
Why You Want It
Flat $9.95 fee for most trades + Commision-free trades on popular ETFs.
Special Features
- Advanced tools for active traders
- Online demos and tutorials for new traders
- BMO InvestorLine 5 Star Program
- Self-Directed TFSA accounts have no minimum account balance fees
Provinces
ALL
Features
Types Of Accounts
- TFSA
- RRSP
- RESP
- RRIF
- Individual
- Joint
- Cash
- Margin
- LIRA
- LRSP
- RLSP
- LRIF
- LIF
- Non-personal
- FHSA
Types Of Investments
- Stocks
- ETFs
- Options
- Mutual Funds
- GICs
- Bonds
- CDRs
- IPOs
Minimum Investment
$0
Email Support
Live Chat Support
Phone Support
Minimum Stock Fee
$9.95
Maximum Stock Fee
$9.95
Minimum ETF Fee
$9.95
Maximum ETF Fee
$9.95
Active Trader Stock Fee Per Trade
$3.95
Cover Transfer Fees?
Minimum Deposit To Cover Transfer Fee
$15,000
Maximum Covered Transfer Fee
$200
Withdrawal Fees?
Account Maintence Fees
$25
Inactivity Fee Amount
See Issuer for Details
Promotion Description
N/A
Promotion Max Value
$10,000
Promotion Requirements For Max Value
$1,000,000
Promotion End Dates
November 02, 2025
BMO InvestorLine product rating: 5.0 stars
We’ve given BMO InvestorLine 5.0 stars for a few reasons. It scored well for having tools, perks, and benefits for experienced, frequent traders, or for people who have a lot ($2,000,000+) of money to invest.
It lost points because it really doesn’t have anything for anyone else. There are some online tutorials and demos, but no live practice accounts.
Maybe they’re trying to keep less wealthy newbies away, but we think they deserve to be knocked down a few points for that.
Rating methodology
The method we use to come up with our product ratings is pretty simple. We start by breaking down whatever product or service we’re looking at (in this case online brokerages) into its component parts.
To calculate our Genius Ratings, we compare the features of the account or product in question with other similar products in Canada. We give each feature a score out of 5 based on that comparison. Once we’ve rated all the features, we run them through our proprietary algorithm to produce a final rating out of 5.
Learn more about our rating methodology.
The pros of BMO InvestorLine
This brokerage has both its good and bad points. Here are the good…
Pros
Advanced tools for active traders
BMO will grant you “active trader” status if you make 15+ trades per quarter (of if your portfolio holds $250,000+). With this you get free access to advanced tools collectively called “BMO Active Trader”. This is a tool that lets you build a customized trading dashboard with real time data, market insights, and optimized trading.
Exclusive “5 Star” membership for very active or very wealthy traders
There are 3 levels of the 5 Star program: Gold Star for people who have $250,000+ invested or who make 15 – 74 trades per quarter, Platinum Star for people who have $2,000,000+ invested or who make 75 – 179 trades per quarter, and Diamond Star for people who have $5,000,000+ invested or who make 180+ trades per quarter. If you are someone like this, you can read more about this program over on the BMO website.
Flat fees and (relatively) straightforward pricing
BMO InvestorLine charges a flat $9.95 fee per trade for stocks and ETFs on North American exchanges. After that things get a little more complicated, with extra fees for options, and different fees for different commissioned trades, a whole other set of fees for Bonds, GICs, gold and silver, and so forth. That said, they do outline all of their fees in a very straightforward way on their fees page.
Live support by phone
And if you need help or advice, you can get it. Well, between 8am and 8pm, Monday to Friday, at least. But hey, that’s better than nothing.
The cons of BMO InvestorLine
…And now for the not so good.
Cons
Higher than average fees
While BMO’s fees are on par with brokerages run by other big banks and financial institutions, there are smaller, online-only brokerages that charge a fraction of the fees. We look at a couple of these below.
No real tools or support for newbies
While BMO does have a handful of tutorials and demos, other brokerages offer significantly more support and educational tools for people new to the world of stocks and trading. If you’re not a veteran, you might do better to start your burgeoning career as a trader somewhere a bit more newbie friendly.
Quarterly account minimum fee
A $25 fee applies to non-registered accounts with less than $15,000 in assets. This fee is waived if you hold a registered account (excluding a TFSA) or make at least 2 commissionable trades every 6 months. These fees can add up quick, so make sure you're getting them waived.
Zero welcome bonus to entice you to sign up
Where some online brokerages try to convince you to take their service for a test drive with free trades or other bonus offers, BMO offers nothing of the sort.
Lack of automated tools to help simplify things and save you time
If you’re interested in features like automated tax-loss harvesting or automatic portfolio rebalancing, you’re going to have to look somewhere else. BMO doesn’t offer any tools to simplify your life, so you’ll have to be diligent about attending to your accounts.
BMO InvestorLine alternatives
So what are some of the alternatives to BMO InvestorLine? Here are a few.
 |  |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Account | BMO InvestorLine | Moomoo Financial | Qtrade | CIBC Investor's Edge |
| Genius Rating | ||||
| Why You Want It | Flat $9.95 fee for most trades + Commision-free trades on popular ETFs. |  $65 GeniusCash + Get up to $2,200 in trading perks + Extended trading hours. | $80 GeniusCash + Ditch the fees, and trade unlimited Stocks, ETFs, Mutual Funds and more for $0 | Lowest commission rate from a Big 5 Bank online broker + Free trading under 25. |
| Types Of Accounts |
|
|
|
|
| Types Of Investments |
|
|
|
|
| Minimum Investment | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Email Support | | | | |
| Live Chat Support | | | | |
Show More | ||||
| Open an account See more BMO products Compare | I Want This Deal See more Moomoo Financial products Compare | I Want This Deal See more Qtrade products Compare | Open an account See more CIBC products Compare |
BMO InvestorLine FAQ
Does BMO InvestorLine have tools for newcomers to the world of self-directed trading?
BMO offers a few tutorials and demos for newbies, but no live practice accounts, making it significantly more intimidating to dive into than some other services.
Does BMO offer any sort of support if I need help with their tools or with trading in general?
BMO InvestorLine offers support by phone, 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday.
Is there an easier way to get into investing?
Bmo also offers BMO InvestorLine adviceDirect, which is more of a hybrid investment platform. It blends self-directed investing with personalized support, so you can wade into the investing world more easily. It features built-in buy and sell recommendations, 24/7 portoflio monitoring, and access to licensed advisors. That said, it requires a minimumn balance of $10,000.
Why are user reviews for BMO InvestorLine so low?
We've noticed that quite a few users have mentioned their dissatisfaction with the customer service as the reason they're unhappy with the BMO InvestorLine product. However, it's difficult for us to track and measure this metric, so we haven't been able to add it to our rating methodology.
Editorial Disclaimer: The content here reflects the author's opinion alone, and is not endorsed or sponsored by a bank, credit card issuer, rewards program or other entity. For complete and updated product information please visit the product issuer's website.
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