This is a great question, but the short answer is "No, we do not offer self-directed investing". However, if you are a do-it-yourself investor, you are likely asking this because you are one of the following:

• An investor looking to pick and choose specific stocks or markets that you believe will outperform the market, or
• An investor pursuing a similar passive investment strategy as Wealthsimple but are just doing it on your own! 

1) If you are looking to pick and choose specific stocks or markets to invest in, we strongly recommend that you consider our passive investment strategy. Over the past 100 years, the markets have survived depressions, world wars, tech bubbles, and real estate collapses and guess what strategy most investors would have been best off going with? You guessed it - the boring old passive strategy of buy and hold. 

2) For those pursuing a similar passive investment strategy as Wealthsimple, the main reason you are likely doing it yourself rather than with us is because we charge a 0.5% management fee. However, below are some of the benefits of Wealthsimple for those who are achieving cost efficiencies through self-directed accounts.

• Time: With Wealthsimple, we take care of the investing for you. This includes diversification, asset allocation, automatic rebalancing, and tax-loss harvesting. We aim to help you be an effective investor while putting the time you spend investing back into your day. No need to spend holiday season revisiting your spreadsheet of investments.
• Professional Advice: All our clients have access to our team of portfolio managers for financial planning and advice. Whether saving for a home, planning for a family, or planning for retirement, we are here to help you shape your future. You can book an appointment at no extra cost!
  
  
• Discipline: One of the biggest reasons self-directed investors come to Wealthsimple is to drown out the noise. Markets are volatile and can often pressure investors to make harsh decisions. Over the long term, Wealthsimple offers a solution that helps investors avoid costly mistakes. Since the investing and rebalancing is all automatic, we take the emotion out of it.
  
  
• Cost: After all the trading fees (for investing new deposits, rebalancing and dividend reinvesting), a self-directed portfolio isn't that much cheaper than the solution we offer. At Wealthsimple your trades are made for free. 

Besides these advantages, one of the biggest differences between Wealthsimple and other institutions is that we are a technology company. As such, our mobile and web applications offer an experience that is guaranteed to be fast, paperless, secure, and reliable. Please don't take us at our word. Test us out and see for yourself! We have won back-to-back Webby Awards (an international award that recognizes the best of the Internet) for the Best Financial Services/Banking website.