How to setup DRIP on Questrade – A Step-by-Step Guide

If you’re looking to set up a Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP) on Questrade, you’re in the right place. As an investor, you may be looking for ways to maximize your returns while minimizing your costs. DRIP is a great way to do just that.

By automatically reinvesting your dividend payments, you can purchase more shares of the same stock or fund without incurring any additional trading fees. This can help you grow your portfolio over time and increase your overall return on investment.

Setting up a DRIP on Questrade is a straightforward process. You can do it online in just a few simple steps. Once you’ve set it up, you can sit back and let it do the work for you. Your dividends will automatically be reinvested, and you’ll start seeing the benefits of compound interest.

Steps to Setup DRIP on Questrade

STEP 1: Download and complete the DRIP application form

Fill out the account number in the top right corner. If you want to set up DRIP on multiple accounts on Questrade, you have to submit one form for every account.

Read through the terms and conditions carefully

Fill out your name, the date, account number, and sign beside “Client signature” (E-signatures accepted)

Check off either All eligible securities or Individual securities (based on your preferences)

If you’ve selected individual securities, you will need to list the ticker symbol, the names of the Stocks or ETFs and the exchange they trade on below

For mutual funds, you will need to list the fund code and the fund name

If you’ve selected all eligible securities, any eligible, dividend-paying securities will automatically be enrolled in the DRIP once you have purchased the shares or fund units. This includes new positions bought after you’ve submitted the DRIP form.

STEP 2: Log in to Questrade and go to the ‘Accounts’ section

Step 3: Press ‘Account Management from the top menu and click ‘Upload documents‘

Step 4: Select the account, and set document type to ‘Dividend purchase plan authorization’, and upload the document.

DRIP on Questrade – FAQs

What happens when the dividend amount credited is not big enough to buy a share of the underlying stock?

This is a very common scenario during the early stages of your investment journey as the dividend received will not cover the cost to purchase a new share of the same equity. In that case, the dividend $ is credited as cash to your account.

Can Questrade buy a fraction of a share based on the dividend value?

As of July 2023, Questrade does not allow fractional trading. If the dividend is not big enough to buy a share, it will be credited as cash in the account.

Is DRIP free on Questrade?

Yes, Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP) is absolutely free on Questrade.

What accounts are eligible for DRIP on Questrade?

TFSA, Margin, RRSP – All of these accounts are eligible for DRIP.

What is DRIP?

As an investor, I’m always looking for ways to maximize my returns while minimizing costs. One strategy that has been gaining popularity in recent years is the Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP), which allows investors to automatically reinvest their dividends back into the underlying stock or ETF.

Essentially, a DRIP is a program offered by certain brokerages that allows investors to reinvest their dividends in additional shares of the same stock or ETF. Rather than receiving a cash payout, investors receive additional shares, which can compound over time and potentially lead to greater returns.

It’s important to note that not all securities are eligible for DRIP, and investors should check with their brokerages to see which securities are eligible before signing up for the program. Additionally, while DRIP can be a great way to save on fees and boost returns, it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution, and investors should carefully consider their own investment goals and risk tolerance before signing up.

Why Choose Questrade for DRIP?

When it comes to setting up a Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP), Questrade is an excellent choice for a number of reasons. As someone who has been using Questrade for DRIP for some time now, I can confidently say that it is a reliable and user-friendly platform.

Low Commissions

One of the biggest advantages of using Questrade for DRIP is the low commissions. With Questrade, you can set up a DRIP for most stocks or funds, including Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), without having to pay any commission fees. This can save you a significant amount of money over time, especially if you are a frequent trader.

Easy to Use

Another reason to choose Questrade for DRIP is its ease of use. Setting up a DRIP on Questrade is a straightforward process that can be completed in just a few steps as mentioned above. Once you have set up your DRIP, you can sit back and let your dividends automatically reinvest into your chosen securities.

Reliable Platform

Finally, Questrade is a reliable platform that you can trust to handle your investments. The platform is secure and has a strong reputation in the industry. Additionally, Questrade provides excellent customer service, so if you ever have any questions or concerns, you can easily get in touch with a representative who can help you out.

Overall, there are many reasons to choose Questrade for DRIP. With low commissions, ease of use, and a reliable platform, it is an excellent choice for anyone looking to set up a DRIP for their investments.

How to build a $100 per month dividend portfolio in Canada?

Dividends from stocks are truly passive in nature.

You are doing nothing apart from holding them in your investment portfolio and they pay a share of their profits to you in the form of dividends.

If you are looking to build a dividend portfolio in Canada, you are in the right place.

Let’s look at how much you need to invest to make $100 per month in dividends.

How to find how much dividend a company pays per year?

In the picture, you should check for ‘Div yield’ in the last row, it is listed as 4.16%

This means that TD Bank pays 4.16% of its current share price as dividends to its shareholders. This is for the whole year.

Most companies pay every quarter and TD will pay 1/4^th of 4.16% of its share price as dividends every quarter.

How much do you need to invest to get $100 per month in dividends?

$100 per month means $1200 in total annual dividends.

The question here is how much you need to invest in a company to receive an annual dividend of $1200. A lot depends on the dividend yield percentage of the company/companies you invest in.

It’s simple math.

If 4.16% of your total value of TD stocks amounts to $1200, what is 100% of your total value of TD stocks?

(100/4.16)*1200 = $28,846

So, you will need to invest $28,846 in TD Bank’s stocks to receive a dividend of $1200 per year (equates to $100 per month)

Are you wondering how many shares of TD you will have to own to get such dividends? We’ve got you covered.

Divide $28846/$85.53 (current price of 1 share of TD Bank)

The answer is 337 shares.

Note: The above calculations are based on the current price of TD Bank’s shares. If the price goes up or down, your dividends may go up or down.

Things to consider while buying dividend stocks

Don’t go all-in on one dividend paying stock. Always diversify your investments.

There are stocks that offer a dividend yield of even more than 10% but high dividend doesn’t always translate to high returns in the long run. There are companies that have a low dividend yield but have grown leaps and bounds in the long term.

e.g.: Apple pays a dividend yield of just 0.59% but has grown 659% in the last ten years.

Popular Canadian dividend stocks

Stocks	Dividend Yield	Investment required for $1200/year in dividends
Enbridge (ENB)	6.33%	$18957
Manulife (MFC)	5.85%	$20512
Telus Corporation (T)	4.56%	$26315
TD Bank (TD)	4.16%	$28846
CIBC (CM)	5.38%	$22304

The above stocks are just examples and not stock recommendations. When you identify your dividend stocks, use this formula to calculate how much you need to invest to get $1200 per year in dividends.

(100/Dividend Yield %)*1200 = Investment Required

Happy Investing. Start now.

dividend investing dividend stocks investing

My Crypto Portfolio – Jan 2022 Update

Cryptos have been super hot lately with the advent of NFTs, metaverse and Web 3.0 – It’s time to share my crypto portfolio.

Disclaimer: This article is not financial advice or crypto advice. All content on this website is for educational purposes only.

I started investing in Cryptos in early 2018 after Bitcoin reached around $20000 in December 2017.

I invested around $500 in Ethereum over a couple of months in 2018 as you can see below.

I added all up, and it is 0.35 ETH

Just like every newbie crypto investor, I wanted to catch the next big thing early and ended up exchanging ETH to buy a wide array of alt coins.

Here are some of the coins I held for over 3 years – AAVE, ADA, TRX, XRP, IOST and so many other smaller and lesser-known alt coins.

Cut to January 1, 2021 this is how my portfolio looked like. Remember I started with $500

Yes, it went down by 50%

Here’s the thing with crypto. My solid advice is to only invest money that you are prepared to lose, especially with cryptos. So, I just let it ride.

In mid of May 2021, I logged into Binance, and I was in for a pleasant surprise.

My portfolio had grown by almost 8x to $1900

All thanks to 1 alt coin – AAVE which had the lion’s share in the act.

I should have sold it then, but greed got in the way, and I thought of holding it for longer.

Eventually I ended up selling AAVE at around $300 per coin in the month of November 2021.

Now its trading at around $200 a piece and glad I sold at $300.

In December 2021, I had to move all my crypto portfolio from Binance as it was shutting down in Ontario from 2022.

So, let’s look at my current crypto portfolio as of Jan 11, 2022

First is my Coinbase account that has just three coins – Cardano, Shiba Inu and Bitcoin accounting to a total of $223

Second is my DRIP portfolio. Here’s the snapshot as of Jan 11, 2022

I sold most of my alt coins on Binance and invested around $1000 into DRIP network in Nov 2021 and it has now grown to $4053.

I am planning to compound daily to increase my DRIP tokens. It pays 1% daily and you can read more about it here.

Third and final is my Crypto.com account. Snapshot below. Get $25 when you sign up to Crypto.com using this link.

So, putting everything together, my crypto portfolio is worth around USD 4300

Hope you enjoyed reading this portfolio round up and if you would like to see a snapshot every month, let me know in the comments.

Happy Investing.

crypto crypto portfolio investing portfolio update

How did the US Federal Elections affect my small portfolio?

The highs and lows in the stock market are often triggered by catalysts. What can be a better catalyst than the US Federal Elections?

I started investing right before the pandemic hit and I continued to invest around $1k every month since March 2020 in the US and Canadian stock markets.

Let’s get right into the numbers. As of November 3, 2020 I had invested a total of $12188 into my Wealthsimple Trading app and my portfolio value was a grand $9135 😂

Yes, I was in negative territory (-25% to be exact).

Here’s a snapshot of the same.

The US Federal Elections took place on November 3, 2020

As you can see, I just added another $1k for the month of November (which explains the increase from 12188 to 13188 in Net deposits).

What was really surprising was the increase in my overall portfolio value.

It increased by over $3000 in just two weeks. Talk about market volatility.

How did this happen?

During September 2020, I read multiple articles on what would happen to the US stock market if Donald Trump won again or if Joe Biden won.

I invested in a few EV penny stocks which were predicted to run on a Biden victory as he had announced plans to fund more tax credits to consumers who buy electronic vehicles.

One such stock was SOLO.

As you can see from the pictures above, I kept buying it in dips and I had around 195 shares on November 12 at an average of $3.12 per share.

It began its bull run right after the elections.

On November 20, it traded briefly around $13.60 apiece. Here’s a snapshot of my holdings in SOLO when it was at $11.50

A whopping 268% return

When it comes to stock market investing, the golden advice is to take profits every now and then, as the profits that you see on screen can disappear in a minute due to something as small as a tweet from someone influential.

So, I did take some profits along the way as well. I started with 195 shares, remember.

This is just one example of how a good stock pick can do wonders in a week and this is one of the reasons why I’m in the green territory right now.

There are many other sectors like Clean Energy, Renewable Energy, Cannabis that look poised for growth in the short term as well as long term.

To summarize – do your due diligence, buy stocks in dips, take profits every now and then, stay invested in booming sectors, and reap the rewards in the long run.

Happy Investing.

Disclaimer: This article is not to be considered as investment advice.

elections and stocks investing