Greenline + BMO InvestorLine

BMO InvestorLine is a solid choice for self-directed investors who bank with BMO. The platform gives you access to stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, and fixed income, and the integration with your BMO banking makes moving money straightforward. If you’re a BMO client, it’s the natural place to invest.

But BMO InvestorLine shows you BMO. When your financial life extends further, you need a wider lens.

What BMO InvestorLine does well

BMO InvestorLine offers a full range of investment products, including BMO’s own ETF lineup (ZSP, ZAG, ZEB, and others) which are among the most popular in Canada. Stock and ETF commissions are $9.95 per trade, in line with other big bank brokerages.

They also offer adviceDirect, a hybrid option that gives you access to professional advice while still maintaining control over your own trades. For investors who want occasional guidance without a full-service advisor, it’s a useful middle ground.

The platform integrates with BMO banking, so transfers are quick and account management is centralized under one login.

Where it gets complicated

The challenge appears once your accounts aren’t all at BMO.

Maybe you opened a Wealthsimple account for commission-free trades. Maybe your spouse invests at a different institution. Maybe you have a pension or group RRSP through your employer. BMO InvestorLine shows you your BMO investments, but nothing beyond that.

You can’t see:

• Your real portfolio allocation across all brokerages
• Whether your BMO ETFs overlap with holdings at other accounts
• What you’re paying in total fees across everything you own
• Your full investment net worth
• Your adjusted cost base across platforms for tax reporting

That’s not a shortcoming of BMO. No brokerage can show you what’s held at another institution.

How Greenline fills the gap

Greenline connects all the pieces. Upload your BMO InvestorLine PDF statement, add your other accounts, and Greenline gives you one combined view.

You get:

• One dashboard covering every account at every brokerage
• Fee analysis showing what you’re actually paying across all your investments
• Net worth tracking that includes your full investment picture
• Holdings deep dive with your real allocation by region, sector, and asset class
• Tax reporting with ACB tracking across brokerages

Greenline doesn’t replace BMO InvestorLine. You keep trading where you trade. Greenline just helps you see how everything works together.

Do you need both?

If BMO is your only brokerage and you’re happy with their reporting, you may not need Greenline right now.

But if any of these apply, Greenline adds something BMO can’t:

• You have accounts at more than one brokerage
• You want to see your total net worth across all your investments
• You want to understand your combined allocation, not just one account
• You need ACB tracking for tax season
• You want one daily summary that covers everything

How to get started?

If you’re a BMO InvestorLine client, you can download your account statement as a PDF from the BMO online portal. Upload it to Greenline, and your holdings are imported automatically. The whole process takes a couple of minutes.

From there, add your other accounts and you’ll have the full picture.