In the fourth installment of my beginner DIY investing series, we’ll learn how to implement an ETF portfolio at RBC Direct Investing.

 

 

$9.95 trading commissions

In 2014, RBC was the first of the big six banks to lower its standard trading commission to $9.95 per trade (others quickly followed suit). Although $9.95 may not seem cheap in 2016, it’s still reasonable if you keep your trades to a minimum.

Avoid the quarterly maintenance fee

If you have combined assets across all accounts of $15,000 or more, RBC Direct Investing will waive their $25 quarterly maintenance fee. Similar to TD Direct Investing, they will also waive their quarterly maintenance fee if you set-up a pre-authorized contribution of at least $100 per month ($300 per quarter).

For smaller accounts, use less ETFs

Although I’ve shown how to build a 5-ETF portfolio in my tutorial, you can get away with using just three ETFs to cut down on trading commissions. Instead of holding separate ETFs for US, international and emerging markets stocks, simply hold the iShares Core MSCI All Country World ex Canada Index ETF (XAW).

Stay tuned next week when we’ll learn How to Build an ETF Portfolio at Scotia iTRADE.