If the Ontario’s securities overseers are convinced that small investors are no longer wanted, they should go ahead with its plan to charge a flat rate of 50 cents for every trade made on The Toronto Stock Exchange. Alternatively, if they feel that business is just too hectic on the exchange these days, the transaction fee might be a way of driving enough business out of the TSE to let brokers and traders slow down the pace of activity during working hours.
If there is any concern at all for an equitable marketplace, however, the idea of a transaction fee should be rejected outright. Institutions trading large blocks of shares may not notice 50 cents tacked on to the bill, but an individual doing trades of a thousand shares or so will.
If Ontario’s regulators want to drive business away, there are better ways to do it than forcing retail investors to take their business elsewhere.
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