Nov 25: Vancity offers best online broker in Canada

Credential Direct® jumps to first place in the Q4 2004 Watchfire® GómezPro Scorecard

Vancouver, November 25, 2004 – Vancity’s online brokerage service, Credential Direct, has been ranked Canada’s top online broker in the latest Watchfire GómezPro Online Broker Scorecard. This follows on the Globe and Mail’s ranking of Credential Direct as one of the top three online brokers in Canada in its own September Online Broker Survey.

In the Watchfire GómezPro Scorecard, Credential Direct, owned by Canada’s credit union system, displaced industry heavyweight BMO InvestorLine out of first place — a position the latter held in five consecutive Scorecards. On the strength of continued enhancements to its service offering, Credential Direct also surpassed CIBC Investor’s Edge, another perennial top three favourite.

“Credential Direct has made significant inroads in the industry over the past two years,” says Karen Hoffmann, Vancity’s Vice-president of Investments and Insurance. “We are proud that our service appeals to any investor who wants top notch investment tools and research while paying the most competitive commissions for an online broker in Canada.”

Credential Direct earned eight Scorecard honours, including top spot in the all-important Life-Goal Planner profile which, according to Watchfire GómezPro, represents approximately 75 per cent of the online brokerage market segment. The service also topped the One-Stop Shopper profile as well as the Overall (Best) Cost category. It placed second in the Active Trader and Serious Investor profiles as well as the Ease of Use and Relationship Services categories.

In their Scorecard analysis, Watchfire GómezPro stated that Credential Direct has effectively positioned its offering as one of the most diverse Canadian online brokerages for all investors.

Lothar Fabian, Vice-president for Credential Direct, agrees with their assessment, stating, “We’ve always been committed to turning investor insights into service enhancements. The Scorecard results validate that commitment, and prove our ability to deliver outstanding value and quality to Canadian credit unions and their members.”

Vancity is Canada’s largest credit union, with $9.0 billion in assets, 305,000 members, and 41 branches throughout Greater Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and Victoria. Vancity was chosen as the best place to work in Canada for 2005 by Maclean’s Magazine as part of its annual Canada’s Top 100 Employers issue. Vancity owns Citizens Bank of Canada, serving members across the country by telephone, ATM, and the Internet. Both Vancity and Citizens Bank are guided by a commitment to corporate social responsibility, and to improve the quality of life in the communities where we live and work.

Credential Direct is an online brokerage service that provides credit union members and independent investors access to self-managed investment services. Launched in 2000, Credential Direct enables investors to access powerful online trading tools and investment research directly, or through their credit union’s Internet portal. Credential Direct is a division of Credential Securities Inc.

Brokerage services are offered through Credential Direct, a division of Credential Securities Inc., operating as a separate business unit. Credential Securities Inc. is a Member-CIPF. ®Credential and Credential Direct are registered marks owned by Credential Financial Inc, and are used under licence. Gómez is a registered trademark of Gómez Inc., used under license.