06/27/2026
📈 Self-Directed Investing, or Do-It-Yourself (DIY) investing❓
➡ building and managing your own investment portfolio directly through an online brokerage without an advisor or robo-advisor
➡ this approach lowers management fees but requires you to handle your own research, ex*****on, and portfolio rebalancing
1️⃣ To get started, you will need to open a self-directed account with an online discount brokerage 🏦
- Wealthsimple - user friendly
- Questrade - user friendly
- Interactive Brokers - more advanced trader
- Canada's Big 6 Banks (RBC, TD, ScotiaBank, BMO, CIBC, National bank) - all have pros and cons
- And many more
⭐ When choosing a platform, what are you going to use it for, consider factors like fees, investment options, user experience and customer support.
2️⃣ What type of account(s) are you going to open up within the brokerage?
- TFSA
- RRSP
- FHSA
- RESP
- Non Registered Investment Account
3️⃣ Once you choose the type of investment accounts you are going to open up within the Online Brokerage, its now time to start thinking about what you are going to invest in?
➖ Stocks: Buying fractional or whole shares in individual companies
➖ ETFs (Exchange-Traded Funds): Baskets of stocks or bonds that track a specific index (e.g., the S&P 500). Many Canadian DIY investors favor broad-market, all-in-one ETFs to simplify diversification
➖ Mutual Funds & Bonds: Pre-packaged funds or fixed-income products
⭐ maybe you want a mix of individual Stocks, ETFs and Bonds depending on your risk tolerance.
💥 for myself in my Self Directed Account I currently own approx 15 stocks and 6 ETFs
💥 my favourite strategy is dollar cost averaging ETFs - buying a certain amount of shares each month. my goal is long term / risky investing and I will be buying shares monthly no matter if the shares are high or low for that particular month.
💥 I currently use Interactive Brokers as my Online Brokerage - only cause I do some day / swing trading periodically and its a more advanced platform.
💥 I have heard many good things about Wealthsimple and Questrade. Maybe one day I will make the switch.
If you have any questions regarding Self Directed Investing, the different Online Brokerages and the different Account Types to set up or what Stocks / ETFs I invest in, feel free to reach out.
📍 Jon Rogers REALTOR / Money Coach
☎️ 778 999 5296 call or text
📧 [email protected]