Disnat (Desjardins Online Brokerage): the self-directed brokerage of the Desjardins ecosystem, strongly regulated but priced above zero-commission rivals? My 2026 review

Disnat operates as a division of Desjardins Securities Inc., a member of CIRO, the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization. Client assets are covered by the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF) up to $1,000,000 per account category should the dealer become insolvent, and the firm is registered across the provincial securities commissions that form the CSA. For a Canadian investor this is about as mainstream as regulation gets: a well-established cooperative banking group behind a CIRO-registered dealer. Registered accounts are held natively, so any Canadian tax slips are issued directly to you. Nothing here is tax advice; confirm your own situation with the CRA or an adviser.

Pricing is where Disnat shows its age. Stocks and ETFs cost $6.95 per trade, and options add $1.25 per contract on top of that base commission. There is no account minimum, but a $30 quarterly inactivity fee applies when you place fewer than 10 trades and hold under $15,000 in assets, and a currency conversion spread of roughly 1.5% applies on CAD/USD trades.

Deposits and withdrawals themselves are free. For a buy-and-hold investor who trades rarely, the commission and inactivity fee add up quickly compared with the zero-commission Canadian brokers, so the value depends heavily on how actively you trade and how large the account is.

The catalogue is broad and traditional: more than 2,000 Canadian and US securities, over 600 ETFs, options, more than 100 bonds, mutual funds and GICs. That range suits an investor building a diversified long-term portfolio across registered and non-registered accounts within one Desjardins relationship.

What you will not find is leveraged or alternative trading: no CFDs, no forex, no commodities and no direct cryptocurrency. Disnat is a cash-and-registered securities broker, not a derivatives venue, and there is no demo account to practise on before you fund.

Disnat is a dependable, strongly regulated Canadian broker with the full set of registered accounts and a broad traditional catalogue, backed by the Desjardins group. For an investor already inside the Desjardins ecosystem who values that integration, it does the job.

The reason it lands mid-table in our review is cost. Per-trade commissions of $6.95 and a quarterly inactivity fee are hard to justify when Canadian investors can access CIRO-regulated, zero-commission platforms. As a reference review we place no affiliate link here; if low cost is your priority, compare the regulated options in our broker comparison first.