How to buy TSX stocks

The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) is a major global stock market based in Canada. It deals primarily with energy and financial companies, including Canada’s largest banks and a number of oil and gas companies. Find out how invest in the TSX, and learn more about how to buy a TSX stocks online.

How to invest in the TSX

You can follow the steps below to set up an account and buy TSX stocks:

1. Open a stock trading account. Compare different brokers in the table below. Once you’ve landed on the right broker or platform, open an online trading account with them. This will require you to supply personal information such as your full name, address, email and phone number.
2. Deposit funds. Load funds into your stock trading wallet to start trading. You may need to link your bank account to your trading account to initiate a transfer, while other platforms may allow you to pay with a credit card or Interac e-Transfer.
3. Buy stocks on the TSX. You can buy and sell stocks as well as a number of other financial products (such as bonds, exchange-traded funds and derivatives) on the TSX. This will cost you different amounts, based on which broker or platform you use.
4. Keep fees in mind. Many brokers charge commissions every time you make a trade on the TSX. This commission will be deducted from your account balance as soon as you execute a trade. You may also have to pay an account maintenance fee quarterly or once per year to keep your account active.

How much does it cost to buy TSX Stocks?

The amount you’ll pay to buy a TSX stock will depend on which broker or trading platform you use to make your trades. These extra charges can have a big influence on the cost of investing.

Trading commission fees

	Broker	Stocks (price per trade)	ETFs (price per trade)	Account fee
	Interactive Brokers	min $1.00, max 0.5%	min $1.00, max 0.5%	$0	Go to site
	CIBC Investor’s Edge	$6.95 (or $5.95 for students)	$6.95 (or $5.95 for students)	$25 per quarter	Go to site
	Questrade	Between $4.95 and $9.95	Between $4.95 and $9.95 (but free to buy)	Free	Go to site
	Qtrade	Between $6.95 and $8.75	Between $6.95 and $8.75 (or pick from 100+ free ETFs)	$25 per quarter	Go to site
	Wealthsimple	Free	Free	Free	Read Review
	National Bank	$0	$0	$100 per year	Read Review
	Scotia iTRADE	Between $4.99 and $9.99	Between $4.99 and $9.99 (but free to buy)	Free (but inactivity fee)	Read Review
	BMO InvestorLine	$9.95	$9.95	$100 per quarter	Read Review
	TD Direct Investing	Between $7 and $9.99	Between $7 and $9.99	$25 per quarter	Read Review
	RBC Direct Investing	$6.95 to $9.95	$6.95 to $9.95	$25 per quarter	Read Review
	CI Direct Trading	between $1.99 and $7.99	1.5% of principal value	$24.95 per quarter	Read Review
*Account fees for most brokers are waived if you keep a minimum balance in your account, though this minimum balance differs per platform. Read our reviews for more on this.

What is the TSX?

The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) is a stock exchange based in Toronto, Ontario. It’s Canada’s largest stock exchange, and the ninth largest exchange in the world by market capitalization. There are over 1,500 companies listed on the TSX, including a high proportion of those specializing in the financial and extractions industries.

You can use the TSX to trade shares in companies, investment trusts and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). As a more advanced trader, you can also use it to dabble in bonds, commodities, futures, options and other derivative products. Just be aware that any trades you make on the TSX will be carried out using the Canadian dollar.

What is the TSX Venture Exchange?

The TSX Venture exchange (TSXV) is for smaller, emerging companies with market-caps too small to be listed on the TSX. Many resource exploration and high-tech companies are listed on the exchange.

How to buy TSX stocks: compare trading platforms

Popular TSX stocks to buy

Our list of best Canadian stocks to buy is also a good way to find the top 20 TSX stocks of the month, determined by Finder’s algorithm.

It’s also easy to find some of the most popular stocks being traded on the TSX by looking at the S&P/TSX 60 Index. This lists out 60 of the largest companies on the exchange by market capitalization. Examples of popular stocks in Canada include:

Company Name	Stock Code	Industry	Buy Now
Air Canada	AC	Airline	Buy on Interactive Brokers
Lightspeed POS	lSPD	Software	Buy on Interactive Brokers
Absolute Software	ABST	Software	Buy on Interactive Brokers
Suncor Energy	SU	Oil and gas	Buy on Interactive Brokers
Tourmaline Oil	TOU	Oil and gas	Buy on Interactive Brokers
Enbridge	ENB	Oil and gas	Buy on Interactive Brokers
Shaw Communications	SJR.B	Telecommunications	Buy on Interactive Brokers
Telus	T	Telecommunications	Buy on Interactive Brokers
goeasy	GSY	Financial	Buy on Interactive Brokers
TD Bank	TD	Banking	Buy on Interactive Brokers
Scotiabank	BNS	Banking	Buy on Interactive Brokers
Bank of Montreal	BMO	Banking	Buy on Interactive Brokers
Royal Bank	RY	Banking	Buy on Interactive Brokers
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce	CM	Banking	Buy on Interactive Brokers

Other investment options to buy on the Toronto Stock Exchange

There are a number of other investment products available on the TSX besides equities:

• Index funds. These track the performance of a “basket” of stocks on the TSX, and let you earn money on the average gains of all the shares put together.
• Exchange traded funds. ETFs are similar to mutual funds, except they can be traded on the stock exchange and typically come with much lower trading fees.
• Options. Options are a type of contract that let you speculate and bid on how an asset is going to perform on the stock market.
• Bonds. Bonds allow you to lend money to governments or corporations so that you can collect a set rate of interest on your loan.
• New issues. New issues give you the change to invest in a company going public for the first time so that you can get in on the ground floor before share prices go up.

Why should I invest in TSX Stocks?

The Toronto Stock Exchange is the largest stock exchange in Canada and features stocks from several major Canadian companies. It even offers access to certain stocks and securities that aren’t listed in other markets. In particular, it attracts some of the world’s largest natural resources companies, which makes it popular with international investors.

The TSX may be a good fit for you if you want to invest in Canadian banks, oil and gas companies or large Canadian corporations with at at least $7.5 million in net tangible assets. To invest in smaller Canadian companies, you’ll need to head over to the TSX Venture Exchange (also known as the TSX-V).

Investing in a basket of stocks (an ETF) is generally less volatile than investing in just one single stock. The graph below shows a good example of this using the BMO Equal Weight Banks Index ETF – a collection of equally-weighted Canadian bank stocks including TD and CIBC in addition to 4 others. Comparing the return on investment between the ETF and some individual stocks over the past 11 years, you can see that TD outperforms the ETF while CIBC underperforms compared to it. That’s why investing in a basket of stocks is often less risky than riding the ups and downs of individual stocks.

Is now a good time to buy TSX stocks?

While it’s impossible to predict what will happen in the future, you may want to consider investing in strong stocks that are likely to withstand any future market fluctuations, like Canadian blue chip stocks.

To find these stocks, you’ll need to do some research and be aware of what’s going on in particular sectors. You can also make better decisions by tracking the historical trends of stocks and forecasting which companies have fared well throughout the pandemic, as well as which stocks could be on the verge of making a comeback.

Bottom line

The TSX lists stocks from over 1,500 Canadian companies, making it Canada’s largest stock exchange. You can use many different online brokerages to trade on the TSX, depending on your budget and preferences. Use this post to find out more about how to invest in the TSX and how to buy TSX stocks online.

Investing in TSX FAQs

• How can I buy TSX stocks online?

  You can buy TSX stocks online by signing up for an online brokerage account such as Questrade or Wealthsimple. These accounts will let you invest in TSX stocks using your desktop or mobile phone. You can also sign up with a robo-advisor if you'd like to invest in TSX stocks online but you would rather not have to manage your account actively.

• Can I buy US stocks through the TSX stock market?

  Unfortunately, no. You can't buy US stocks through the TSX market. That said, you can buy US stocks through Canadian trading platforms if you pay a currency exchange fee. This is because many trading platforms offer access to several different Canadian and global markets at one time.

• What's the best way to invest in the TSX?

  The best way to invest in the TSX is to sign up for an online brokerage account or a robo-advisor. You can also invest in TSX stocks using a financial planner, though this often costs more in management fees than you'll have to pay to manage your investments on your own.

• What are the most active stocks on the TSX?

  Our guide to the Best Canadian stocks to buy right now, which is updated every month, can point you in the right direction. To choose our Top 10 TSX stocks we used Finder's proprietary algorithm to rate TSX stocks based on price, performance, profit, revenue and dividends—only featuring companies with a market cap of more than CAD $200 million.