Qtrade Investor Takes Over as Top Firm for Online Discount Brokerage Services in Canada

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Jan. 31, 2012) - Qtrade Investor (84%) is the new leader in Canadian online discount brokerage services, according to the recently released Surviscor Q1-2012 Online Discount Brokerage scorCard. Qtrade Investor dethroned four-time winner TD Waterhouse (81%) who has owned the title for the past four reviews. BMO InvestorLine (78%) finished in third place, narrowly ahead of five time winner Credential Direct (77%). RBC Direct Investing (74%) rounded up the top five while Virtual Brokers had the biggest percentage change from the Spring 2011 review. Full results can be found at http://www.surviscor.com/scorView/Reviews/OnlineDiscountBrokerage/Q1-2012.

"It is always great to crown a new winner in this ultra-competitive industry and Qtrade Investor is well deserving of this recognition considering their constant efforts to improve their offering," said Mr. LaCoste, President of Surviscor, a Toronto-based research and business intelligence firm. "The true winners are the self-directed investors who continue to receive additional online features and functionality, along with aggressive pricing by the top firms," added LaCoste. The results mark Qtrade Investor's first top honour with Surviscor despite years of being ranked in the top five. "We are very proud to be recognized as an industry leader by Surviscor. Awards like this provide tremendous validation for our team at Qtrade who work extremely hard throughout the year refining our platform, tools and overall customer online investing experience. The fact Surviscor recognized us as Canada's #1 rated online brokerage confirms that we are delivering a market leading offering positioned to meet the needs of online investors better than any other firm in Canada," stated Joel Bernard, Vice President for Qtrade Investor.

Surviscor's Online Discount Brokerage scorCard is a comprehensive, impartial audit of the features and functionality offered to investors by Canada's online discount brokerage firms. The Q1-2012 edition reviewed 7 main categories, comprised of 32 sub-categories and just under 2,900 criteria questions, an increase of 9% from the Spring 2011 review. The increased analysis included a more in-depth look at mobile applications, social media and ETF education and services.

Qtrade Investor earned six sub-category top rankings along with RBC Direct Investing. TD Waterhouse led the charge with eleven sub-category honours and three top category honours. BMO InvestorLine earned two top category honours, RBC Direct Investing earned one and Virtual Brokers earned one in the important Cost of Services category. TD Waterhouse was the top Customer Email Responsiveness firm in the review as determined by Surviscor's CER rating program.

About Surviscor

Surviscor Inc. is a Canadian leader in the analysis and ranking of Canadian online services offered to retail consumers. Surviscor produces seasonal feature and functionality scorCards and email responsiveness studies, including its prominent 'Online Banking scorCard'. All studies and analyses serve as industry benchmarks for consumers and firms by identifying firms considered to be leading-edge solution providers and those whose online offerings are well below industry standards.