Greenline + National Bank Direct Brokerage

National Bank Direct Brokerage (NBDB) made headlines by becoming the first major Canadian bank to offer commission-free trading on stocks and ETFs. No per-trade fees, no minimum balance requirements. That’s a genuine shift in what a bank brokerage can offer, and it’s brought a lot of new investors to the platform.

But even with $0 commissions, NBDB shows you NBDB. When your investments span more than one institution, you need a way to see the whole picture.

What National Bank Direct Brokerage does well

The headline is the pricing: $0 commissions on all stock and ETF trades. No catches, no tiers, no minimum account balance. That puts NBDB on par with Wealthsimple and ahead of every other big bank brokerage on cost.

NBDB supports TFSAs, RRSPs, FHSAs, and non-registered accounts. The platform is functional and improving, and if you bank with National Bank, the integration makes funding your accounts easy.

For cost-conscious investors who still want the security of a big bank, NBDB is one of the strongest options in Canada.

Where it gets complicated

The limitation is the same one every brokerage faces: it can only show you what it holds.

Maybe you moved some accounts to NBDB for the free trades but still have an RRSP at another bank. Maybe your spouse invests elsewhere. Maybe you have a workplace group RRSP held at a completely different institution. NBDB can show you your National Bank investments, but nothing beyond that.

You can’t see:

• Your combined portfolio allocation across all brokerages
• Whether holdings at NBDB overlap with positions held elsewhere
• What your total investment fees look like across every account
• Your full net worth from investments
• Your adjusted cost base across multiple platforms

Commission-free trading saves you money on each trade. But it doesn’t give you a view of the bigger picture.

How Greenline fills the gap

Greenline brings everything together. Upload your NBDB PDF statement, add your accounts from other brokerages, and Greenline shows you one combined view.

You get:

• One dashboard covering every account at every brokerage
• Fee analysis showing what you’re 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 that works across brokerages

Greenline doesn’t replace National Bank Direct Brokerage. You keep trading where you trade. Greenline just helps you understand how all the pieces fit together.

Do you need both?

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

But if any of these apply, Greenline adds something NBDB 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 real 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 National Bank Direct Brokerage client, you can download your account statement as a PDF from the NBDB online portal. Upload it to Greenline, and your holdings are imported automatically. The process takes a couple of minutes.

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