Frequently Asked Questions |
Trading Inquiries
How
do I place my first trade?
I'm
already a BMO InvestorLine client, do I need to register to trade
online through your web site?
How
do I trade bonds on your site?
Can
I get real-time quotes?
What
types of orders can I place online? Do you support sell on stop
orders?
Can
I retrieve quotes or place orders on US Over-The-Counter securities?
What
do the numbers beside bid and ask on a quote mean?
What
happens if I place an order online but I do not have sufficient
margin to cover the trade?
How
do I exercise my options?
How
do I participate in US after hours trading?
How
do I participate in the TSX "Last Sale" trading session?
How
can I identify TSX stocks with an unusual voting structure?
Can I settle my trades in another currency besides Canadian dollar?
How do
I place my first trade?
Payment is required to be made in advance of first trades. For margin
accounts, please ensure that the amount required to meet BMO
InvestorLine's prescribed margin requirement is in your account
before making your first trade.
Here's how
you can deposit funds into your BMO InvestorLine account:
For Cash/Margin
Investment Accounts:
You can use the AccountLink®
service to deposit funds. AccountLink Service consists of
your regular securities account at BMO InvestorLine and a BMO
Bank of Montreal Canadian Dollar Chequing account and, if requested
a US Dollar Chequing Account. AccountLink is a service that we
include for all investment (non-registered) accounts at BMO InvestorLine.
It is designed to give you quick and easy access to the cash in
your investment account and to provide you with a convenient way
to settle your trades.
You can
contact us by phone
and arrange for funds to be transferred from your BMO Bank of
Montreal bank account or transfer funds between accounts online
through BMO Bank of Montreal Online Banking.
You can
also mail us a cheque. Make sure
your BMO InvestorLine account number is on the cheque. Please note
that your cheque must clear before you can place a trade.
For RRSP
Accounts:
You can contact us
by phone and arrange for funds to be transferred from your BMO
Bank of Montreal bank account or your BMO InvestorLine cash/margin
investment account.
You can
also mail us a cheque. Make sure
your BMO InvestorLine account number is on the cheque. Please note
that your cheque must clear before you can place a trade.
Once
your funds are in your BMO InvestorLine account, you can place a trade:
- over
the Internet by signing
into your account, or
- by touch-tone
phone using Automated
Telephone Trading, or
- by contacting a BMO InvestorLine representative at 1 888 776 6886 during our business
hours from 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. ET, Monday to Friday.
I'm already
a BMO InvestorLine client, do I need to register to trade online
through your web site?
There is no need to register. Once your BMO InvestorLine account
is open, you may access your account information and place orders
online provided you have a strong
encryption browser. Simply
sign into your account at the top right-hand corner of this page. Be sure to follow
the instructions for entering your account number and password on
the account sign-in screen.
How do
I trade bonds and other fixed income products on your web site?
Once you have signed into your BMO InvestorLine account online,
entering a fixed
income purchase is as simple as an equity order. In addition
the primary benefit of our online service is the ability to view
our entire inventory of fixed income products.
Can I get
real-time quotes?
Free real-time quotes are available only to BMO InvestorLine clients
once they are signed into their account online or through our Automated
Telephone Trading system. Otherwise quotes are 20 minutes delayed.
What types
of orders can I place online? Do you support stop orders?
You can place equity, options and mutual fund orders online. For
equity orders, you can place buy, sell, or sell short orders at
either market or at limit price. You can also place stop orders on those markets which support this type of order.
Can I retrieve quotes or place orders on
US Over-The-Counter securities?
Online quotes and trading is available for Pink Sheets and
US Over-The-Counter Bulletin Board (OTC-BB) securities. Due to
the speculative nature of these markets, please be aware that a
very high degree of risk is involved when investing. For more information,
please visit www.otcbb.com and www.pinksheets.com. What does
Bid Lot and Ask Lot on a quote mean?
The numbers denote the board lots available at the bid and ask prices.
A board lot is a regular trading
unit. The board lot size of a stock can be 1000, 500, or 100 shares
depending on the price of the stock and the exchange. Generally,
for stocks that trade at $1 or more, a board lot is 100 shares.
What happens
if I place an order online but I do not have sufficient margin to
cover the trade?
All online orders are screened for sufficient margin, as per securities
regulations. When you place an order to purchase securities, sufficient
margin must be in your account in advance of the trade.
To ensure
that you have sufficient margin to cover the trade before placing
the order, simply make a deposit to your BMO InvestorLine
account beforehand.
How do
I exercise my options?
Please call your local BMO InvestorLine office and give the instructions
to a BMO InvestorLine representative. Regular
commission applies on exercise of options.
Note: Effective June 2008, both Canadian and U.S. Equity Options automatic
exercise threshold price for in-the-money options has changed from $0.05
to $0.01.
How can I identify TSX stocks with an unusual voting structure?
Effective May 2006, the “special voting” stock
symbol extension program introduced in 2004 to indicate unique
voting structures has been discontinued by TSX Group’s equity
exchanges (Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange).
Eg. The symbol for Bombardier, BBD.SV.B, will be changed to BBD.B.
The
following voting structure identifiers will no longer be used:
- NV – non-voting shares
- MV – multiple-voting shares
- SV – subordinate-voting shares
- LV – limited-voting shares
- RV – restricted-voting shares
Non-convertible note securities will be identified by the note
identifier extension – NT.
Please find attached a complete
schedule (excel format) outlining the migration. These changes
will be made throughout the months of May and June
2006. You may also retrieve the complete list of all securities
listed on TSX and TSX Venture affected by this change on www.tsx.com.
If you have any questions about this information or the changes,
please contact TSX at info@tsx.com.
Note: All Canadian open orders using these "special
voting" stock symbol extensions will be cancelled by the exchanges. BMO
InvestorLine will be automatically resubmitting your cancelled
order with the new trading symbol for your convenience.
Can I settle my trades in another currency besides Canadian dollar?
You can settle trade in U.S. dollar for cash/margin accounts and most registered accounts
including:
- Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs)
- Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs)
- Registered Retirement Income Funds (RRIFs)
- Life income funds (LIFs)
- Locked-in Retirement Income Funds (LRIFs)
- Prescribed Retirement Income Funds (PRIFs)
- Restricted Life Income Funds (RLIFs)
- Locked-in Retirement Accounts (LIRAs)
- Restricted Locked-in Savings Plans (RLSPs)
For Registered Education Savings plan, you can only settle trades in Canadian dollar.
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