There are a lot of things in life that are more important than money. Family, friendship, love, personal satisfaction, and optimism are all part of quality living. That said, in a world driven by consumerism, money can make living a lot more comfortable. That’s why your money should make money for you.
There are a few ways to do this. You can keep your money in a savings account and accrue interest, buy bonds (whatever those are), pay a fee to invest in mutual funds, or go the less diversified route of ETFs.
All of these vehicles are relatively, safe, but don’t necessarily provide the same return as the stock market. You’ve probably heard people refer to the stock market as glorified gambling. That’s not entirely inaccurate, but for the most part, the market goes up over time. This is why millions of people invest their hard-earned money in the stock market.
It wasn’t always that way. For decades, the stock market, run by the banks and their stock brokers, was a place for the rich to get richer. As the internet became mainstream, investing got easier. Everyone could access much of the information that the banks had. In effort to stay relevant, banks developed their own trading platforms – anyone could buy and sell stocks for a fee of $10 per transaction.
While $10 may sound insignificant, it still represents a significant barrier for the investor with an average income.
$10 is 10% of a trade that’s worth $100, it’s 0.01% of a trade worth $1000, and 0.001% of a trade worth $10,000. You can see how this model still favours the wealthy investor. Starving students can’t make the same returns as CEOs because banks won’t let them.
Enter Questrade, Wealthsimple, and low-trading commissions. These companies set out to level the playing field – or, at the very least, to not extort the Canadians just trying to make their way in the world.
According to their LinkedIn page, Questrade puts people first because they’re investors, savers, and dreamers, just like you. Wealthsimple brings smarter financial services to everybody, regardless of their age or net worth. Their website claims they’re building the world’s most human financial company – and I believe them.
Questrade has trading fees, but they take volume into account. Most people can trade for half the cost that banks charge. Not to mention the UX is way more human-friendly.
Wealthsimple’s millennial-favourite service uses a robo-advisor to help you invest in ETFs for a diverse and balanced portfolio. All you have to do is contribute money and watch it grow for a low fee. They also offer a trading platform – with no fees – and a cash account – again, with no fees. They help you keep your money in your pocket.
These companies have embraced a business model that’s good for people and profit.
Questrade has been around since 1999. Today, their team is over 700 people, that’s 36% growth in the last year. As of the time I’m writing this, December 22, they have 16 job postings on LinkedIn. I guess you could say they’re still growing strong.
Wealthsimple employs over 400 people across Toronto, New York and London. They grew 29% in 2020… and there’s no signs of slowing down. The makeup of their employees is a healthy ratio of engineering to sales and marketing, suggesting that there is innovation in the works.
About a quarter of the team has been promoted since they started working at Wealthsimple. This is a company that recognizes the value of their people, and promotes accordingly. Hiring-from-within is a great way to ensure your culture stays intact and that all your key players have deep knowledge of your product and offering.
Wealthsimple and Questrade are Canadian businesses putting money and financial literacy in the hands of Canadians.
Wealthsimple’s career site hasn’t been updated in quite some time (it still says they employ over 200 people), but their core values remain the same. If you want to know more, checkout their Culture Code. If you’re not sold on their business model, rest assured that their exemplary UX and marketing campaigns alone could propel Wealthsimple’s growth.
If a larger company is more your speed, Questrade is well established and their model has been proven for over two decades.
If you’ve been thinking about a career at the bank, don’t overlook Canadian companies Wealthsimple, Questrade or Koho. Your career is a powerful way to make a statement, choose people over profit.