Lesson IPO Centre

Questrade’s IPO Centre

Learn more about Questrade's IPO centre and the products offered.

An IPO (Initial Public Offering) is the process by which a private company goes public for the first time by selling shares of their company to investors on a stock exchange.

For most retail traders, the first opportunity they have to buy the stock is when it starts trading on the open market. However, at Questrade we offer an IPO Centre that can help you get earlier access to certain securities before they launch to the public.

Note: As a Canadian brokerage, Questrade will generally only be able to list Canadian IPOs, or those in the U.S. that are seeking wider subscription. In most cases, U.S. IPOs will have enough demand domestically, so unfortunately Canadian residents are not able to participate.

How does this work?

Using our IPO Centre, customers can access select IPOs before they launch publicly, as well as purchase a variety of different Canadian equities, including:

Canadian Equities

  • Large cap
  • Min cap
  • Small cap

Fixed income

  • Corporate Bonds: blue chip, investment grade, and high yield
  • Hybrid: convertible bonds, preferred shares, real estate investment trusts, income trusts, and master limited partnerships

Structured notes

  • Equities (Individual stocks and indices)
    • Principal protected notes
    • At risk notes (your principal is not guaranteed)
  • Hybrid (Fixed income, commodities, and other investment sectors)
    • Principal protected notes
    • At risk notes (your principal is not guaranteed)

How do I get started?

If you want to stay informed about upcoming IPOs and other equities we’ll be offering in our IPO Centre, you can subscribe to our IPO Bulletin.

If you see a security of interest to you, register to purchase it through the IPO Centre and we’ll take care of the rest. Customers interested in participating in an IPO must commit to purchasing at least $5,000 of the security.

Please note: Questrade allocates shares based on the total allocation we receive from the company itself. This means that if a particular IPO is oversubscribed (ie. more people are requesting shares than the total number that has been allocated to Questrade), you might not receive any, or the full amount of shares you requested.

Note: The information in this blog is for information purposes only and should not be used or construed as financial, investment, or tax advice by any individual. Information obtained from third parties is believed to be reliable, but no representations or warranty, expressed or implied is made by Questrade, Inc., its affiliates or any other person to its accuracy.

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