Scotia iTrade serves primarily as a Canadian online trading source.  They’re popular in the realm, but given the abundance of American-based sources that are available from anywhere in the world, their Canadian approach doesn’t necessarily nab them any customers they wouldn’t already have.

That’s not to say they aren’t popular—they are.  And they have a French translation on their website for those in the French speaking areas of Canada.

Regardless of their key demographic, Scotia iTrade still has a lot to offer.  Simply put, Scotia has a wide variety of stocks at their disposal for easy and quick trading.  Furthermore, they take as low as $6.99 per trade in commission, meaning traders get a better deal than with several other similar sources.

Their website is extremely user friendly, however. It doesn’t come with a full array of bells and whistles but Scotia gets something right in today’s market because they allow users to customize their own profile.  They allow investors to create their own virtual world and personalize aspects of the trading process.

Scotia iTrade also offers an array of accounts, ranging from personal to non-personal accounts.  They offer cash accounts, margin accounts, and cash optimizer accounts.  Furthermore, they also tackle personal investments and retirement accounts, such as tax-free savings accounts and retirement savings accounts (separate from your traditional IRA).

Unlike many other services there’s virtually no start-up fee or minimum balance on your account.  As their site advertises, all you need to start up is a check for $1 and a government issued ID.  From there, you can set up an account through their website, personalize your page, and watch your accounts from there.

One perk of the Scotia iTrade site is that it gives you an Extended Hours trading source.  What this does is give you access to the American markets even when the market hours are over.  You can stay up to date with speculation on the market and important announcements, that way you can always be in peak trading condition.

Similarly, they set up a “watch list” for stocks that you want to stay up to date on.  Or if you’re planning on selling a current stock at the appropriate time, it stays on top of that and notifies you when it reaches the correct point in the market.

Scotia Itrade also compiles a wide variety of analyst research as well.  It forms a database from analysis done by trained professionals across the world.  With this feature, they guide you in the right direction, help you understand the way the market works, and gives you a leg up on the competition.

Reviews of Scotia iTrade are primarily from Canadian sources, but most say favorable things.  Because of the low fees, lots of people use Scotia.  Furthermore, many people seem to favor their electronic transfer of funds.  This makes it easier to quickly get going on a portfolio, allowing you to add funds from other bank accounts instantly.

One of the most prominent aspects of the service that people like is the do-it-yourself approach.  People praise the fact that they can set up and design their own home page through the site.

Some reviews indicate a discrepancy from Scotia iTrade’s website, claiming that some trades result in up to $20 commissions for the broker, even though the service prides themselves on low fees.

For first time traders, Scotia iTrade might not be the right option.  Given their Canadian base, it’s ideal for that crowd and there are a handful of more powerful options in the US.

However, Scotia does make it easy to transfer over existing portfolios, which is an added bonus for those who have already been in the investment game.  They also give timely updates on the market, making it a useful source.