We use TD Waterhouse because we have (only) bank account with TD. It's nice having everything in one place so that on payday we can transfer funds and immediately invest.
Since TD Doesn't have free ETF purchases, here's our strategy.
Accounts with ~zero activity (RRSP, for example)
- Hold ETFs only
- Dividends/interest go to cash
- Once or twice a year, invest dividends/interest into ETFs following Asset Allocation (AA) ($10 a trade)
Accounts with little activity (RESP, for example):
- Same as above, but each year add $5000 (+$1000 grant) and buy ETFs following AA ($10 a trade)
Account with lots of activity (Taxable, for example)
- Invest weekly/monthly/whenever into e-series mutual funds following AA (free)
- Once a year, sell all e-series funds and buy ETFs following AA ($10 a trade)