Toronto-based FinTech firm Questrade has unveiled several new updates to its self-directed investing platform, including becoming the first Canadian financial institution to offer agentic finance features.
“People’s preferences for how to use AI are just as distinct as their trading styles.”
At its summer product showcase on Wednesday evening, Questrade announced a new Model Context Protocol (MCP) integration that will allow users to connect their AI assistants, like Claude and ChatGPT, directly to their Questrade accounts. The company also introduced automated investing workflows, pre-IPO trading, and a brand refresh.
Questrade’s new MCP integration connects users’ accounts to AI chatbots they already use, allowing them to chat with their AI bots as usual, but now with the ability to directly view and analyze their portfolio right in the chatbot. The AI platforms can show the user their Questrade account information, as well as conduct market research and initiate trade orders on command (after confirming in-app).
Additionally, Questrade is introducing a new trade automation feature called Flows. Flows allows users to describe an investment strategy in plain language, like buying a certain stock if it’s under a certain price and other portfolio conditions are met, and the Flow will be automatically executed when the conditions are met.
Some financial institutions, like Robinhood in the US, have integrated agentic workflows into their financial services for consumers, but Questrade claims it’s the first in Canada.
Questrade’s new chapter, defined by a lighter shade of green and no triangular logo, is meant to mirror “the ambitious mindset” of its clients, president Rob Galaski said in a statement. “This is a declaration of intent: a financial platform that performs like nothing else in Canada, built for Canadians who refuse to accept the traditional trade-offs in financial services,” he said.
Founded in 1999, Questrade was one of Canada’s earliest FinTech companies, and one of the first to offer a digital investing platform. The profitable company employs approximately 2,000 people and manages over $100 billion in assets. Its new features come as it finds itself a main player in a Canadian FinTech arms race between firms like Wealthsimple, which just reported rapid growth over the past year, and new market entrant Robinhood.
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“The possibilities here are immense because people’s preferences for how to use AI are just as distinct as their trading styles,” Questrade customer engagement manager Tyler Haw said in the product presentation.
Questrade has been working on integrating more AI into its product for a while, unveiling some AI analysis tools for its Pro subscribers at its first product showcase back in November. However, it’s unclear how many consumers actually want to use AI in their finances. This past May, Questrade growth portfolio president Salim Naran noted at the Canadian Finance Summit that uptake of AI tools for financial management is “surprisingly low.” A March TD study also found that less than one in five people would use AI to help them make financial decisions.
Pre-IPO Access is another new feature coming to Questrade, allowing accredited investors to invest in private companies “well in advance” of their public listings. While Wealthsimple recently added its own ground-floor IPO feature for its users, The Globe and Mail reported that Questrade’s offering is intended to allow investors to buy in even earlier, weeks or months before a company goes public.
Questrade also announced an upcoming Equity Engine feature, which automates the setup and management of the Smith Manoeuvre, a popular personal finance strategy that allows people to convert their non-deductible mortgage interest into tax-deductible investment debt. Following its move to zero commission trading in 2025, the company is also introducing zero-dollar options contracts and offering cashback for its Pro subscribers.
Disclosure: Wealthsimple vice-president of payments strategy and chief compliance officer, Hanna Zaidi, sits on BetaKit’s board of directors.
Feature image courtesy Questrade.