Is Questrade safe? CIPF coverage, account security and the gaps to know

Is Questrade safe? Yes: Questrade, Inc. is a CIRO-regulated investment dealer and a CIPF member, so if it failed, CIPF would work to return your cash and securities and cover missing property up to $1 million per account group. The more useful answer is knowing exactly where those limits sit: which accounts share one limit, what happens to US shares Questrade lends out, and when its hacking guarantee does and doesn’t pay. This guide walks through each one using Questrade’s own disclosures and the Canadian Investor Protection Fund’s coverage rules, both checked September 24, 2026.

Questrade safety at a glance

What protects your money at Questrade in each scenario (September 2026)

Feature	What happens	Protection that applies
Questrade, Inc. becomes insolvent	CIPF works to return the cash and securities it held for you	CIPF, up to $1 million per account group (better on this row)
Your investments fall in value	The loss is yours	None: CIPF doesn't protect you from a drop in the value of your investments, for any reason
Your US shares are out on loan	They are lent to a borrower; you keep ownership and can still sell	Collateral instead of CIPF: they temporarily lose CIPF coverage; Questrade says it holds cash collateral equal to 100% of their market value instead
Someone logs in as you	Unauthorized trades or withdrawals	Online Security Guarantee, but only 100% of your direct financial loss when an unauthorized transaction happens solely because Questrade's own systems were breached
You use Questwealth Portfolios	A separate company manages the portfolio	managed by Questrade Wealth Management Inc., which isn't itself a CIRO or CIPF member, while Questrade, Inc. provides the custody, trade execution and reporting
You buy Private Credit or Pre-IPO	Value can fall and money can be locked up	No value protection: Private Credit is not insured by CDIC or any government deposit insurance program, and returns are not guaranteed

Sources: questrade.com legal disclosures, Online Security Guarantee, Securities Lending Program FAQ, Private Credit and Pre-IPO pages; cipf.ca coverage pages and FAQ. Checked September 24, 2026.

The short version: if Questrade, Inc. failed, CIPF would step in for your cash and securities up to $1 million per account group. Nothing protects you from the market, and two Questrade features change the picture in ways that are easy to miss: the Securities Lending Program and the narrow scope of the Online Security Guarantee.

Is Questrade legit?

Yes: Questrade, Inc. is a registered investment dealer regulated by CIRO, a CIPF member, and it appears by that legal name in CIPF’s member directory.

Questrade’s legal disclosures describe Questrade, Inc. as a registered investment dealer and a member of both the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) and the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF). CIPF’s own directory shows it listed as "Questrade, Inc." among CIPF's current Investment Dealer member firms. Questrade, Inc. and Questrade Wealth Management Inc. (the company behind Questwealth Portfolios) are wholly owned subsidiaries of Questrade Financial Group Inc., the parent company.

The business itself has a long record. Questrade says it has served Canadian investors since 1999, and it reports $80 billion in assets under administration, after 27 years in the Canadian market. Its group lists its privacy office at 5700 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario. Scale doesn’t make a dealer immune to failure, which is why CIPF exists, but Questrade is plainly not a fly-by-night app.

How to check Questrade is legit (and spot scams using its name)

Legitimacy is easy to check, and checking beats trusting any article, including this one:

1. Search CIPF’s member directory for the legal name “Questrade, Inc.” Firms often market under names that differ from their legal entity, so match the name on your account statement, not the logo.
2. Look at your statement. CIRO’s rules require member dealers to disclose CIPF membership to clients, so the CIPF disclosure should appear with Questrade, Inc.’s name on it.
3. Check the registration. Search for Questrade, Inc. in the Canadian Securities Administrators' National Registration Search, plus CIRO's directory and AdvisorReport.
4. Go to Questrade directly, never through a link or a caller. Questrade says its employees will never call you and ask for your password, your 2-step verification code or your full account credentials. Any caller, text or “support agent” who asks is not Questrade.

If you have a dispute with Questrade rather than a doubt about it, CIPF can’t help: it is not a regulator — a complaint about your dealer goes to the firm's compliance department first, then to CIRO. CIPF’s FAQ also suggests the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI) for help with a complaint.

Is Questrade CIPF insured, and how much does CIPF cover?

Yes: accounts at Questrade, Inc. carry CIPF protection of $1 million per account group, with general accounts, retirement accounts and RESPs each getting a separate limit.

CIPF’s limits for an individual at one member firm are $1 million for all general accounts combined (such as cash, margin, TFSA and FHSA accounts), plus $1 million for all registered retirement accounts combined (such as RRSPs, RRIFs and LIFs), plus $1 million for RESPs where you are the subscriber. Cash in those accounts is eligible too, alongside securities, if the member firm becomes insolvent, and the protection costs you nothing — CIPF is funded by its member firms, so you don't pay a fee for it. You don’t apply for it; an eligible account at a member firm is covered automatically.

Three details matter more at Questrade than at a typical bank brokerage:

• US dollars count. Questrade accounts can hold both currencies (free — every account can hold both Canadian and US dollars), and you can hold USD in registered accounts, so US trades don't force a conversion. CIPF says foreign-currency cash and securities are eligible too, with any claim converted into Canadian dollars at the exchange rate on the date of the firm's insolvency.
• Margin debt is netted off. If you borrow on margin, a CIPF claim is reduced by the amount you owe the member firm.
• The limits are per firm. CIPF protection is separate for each member firm — accounts at two CIPF members don't share one limit.

One correction to older write-ups, including an earlier version of this page: CIPF does not group TFSAs, RRSPs and FHSAs together. TFSAs and FHSAs sit with your cash and margin accounts in the general group; RRSPs, RRIFs and LIFs have their own.

Worked example: when the limits start to matter

Take an illustrative Questrade client with a TFSA, an FHSA and a non-registered account worth $1,150,000 combined, plus an RRSP worth $900,000.

• The TFSA, FHSA and non-registered account all fall in the general group, which has one $1 million limit. That leaves $150,000 above what CIPF would make good if property went missing in an insolvency.
• The RRSP is in the retirement group, so it sits inside its own separate limit.
• Holding the non-registered account at a second CIPF member instead would give it a separate limit there, leaving $400,000 in Questrade’s general group.

Two caveats keep this in proportion. If each of your account groups is under the limit, none of this applies to you. And the limit only comes into play if property is actually missing when a dealer fails; CIPF’s first job is to get back what the firm was holding for you.

What happens to your money if Questrade goes bankrupt?

CIPF works with the court-appointed trustee to return the cash and securities Questrade, Inc. held for you, and compensates for missing property up to its limits.

CIPF’s FAQ describes the usual path: because a failed firm can no longer hold client property, client accounts may be moved to another member firm so clients can reach them again. A few rules shape what you get back:

• Segregation helps but isn’t a promise. Securities your statement shows as held in segregation are not guaranteed to come back — CIPF says they may not all be available to return if a member firm becomes insolvent, and any shortfall in the pooled client property is shared proportionately across clients. That shortfall is exactly the gap CIPF is there to fill.
• CIPF returns property, not what you paid. If shares are missing, compensation is based on the value of the missing shares on the day of the firm's insolvency, not what you paid for them. Any drop before that date is a market loss.
• There is a deadline. Claims must be filed within 180 days of the date of the member firm's insolvency.
• CIPF’s protection is custodial. In CIPF’s words, coverage is custodial in nature — CIPF does not provide protection against any other type of risk or loss.

How often has this happened? CIPF’s predecessor fund dates from 1969, and CIPF’s published schedule shows the former fund provided about $38.7 million in claims and related expenses, net of recoveries, across 21 member-firm insolvencies from 1971 to 2015. Questrade is not on that list. Dealer failures are rare, but they do happen, which is the whole point of knowing your limits.

What doesn’t CIPF cover at Questrade?

CIPF doesn’t cover investment losses of any kind; it only replaces property that goes missing when a member dealer fails.

CIPF lists these losses as outside its coverage: a drop in value for any reason, unsuitable investments, misrepresentation or misleading information, poor advice, and the insolvency or default of the company that issued your security. At Questrade, four gaps are worth naming:

• Market losses. CIPF doesn't protect you from a drop in the value of your investments, for any reason. A TFSA full of ETFs is protected against Questrade failing, not against a bear market.
• Shares on loan. US shares lent through the Securities Lending Program temporarily lose CIPF coverage; Questrade says it holds cash collateral equal to 100% of their market value instead. More on that below.
• A portfolio manager’s failure. Questwealth accounts are managed by Questrade Wealth Management Inc., which isn't itself a CIRO or CIPF member, while Questrade, Inc. provides the custody, trade execution and reporting. CIPF follows the dealer. A portfolio manager’s own failure is not covered — CIPF applies only if the investment dealer holding your investments becomes insolvent, not the portfolio manager. Your Questwealth holdings still sit with Questrade, Inc., the CIPF member.
• Private-market products. Questrade now offers Private Credit and Pre-IPO funds to eligible and accredited investors. Questrade’s own pages say Private Credit is not insured by CDIC or any government deposit insurance program, and returns are not guaranteed, and Pre-IPO investments are illiquid, with no option to redeem or withdraw capital before a liquidity event such as an IPO or acquisition. Whatever the custody arrangement, CIPF never protects their value.

There is also a scope limit on the membership itself. Questrade’s disclosures say the benefits of its CIPF membership are limited to the activities undertaken by Questrade, Inc., and nothing wider. Questrade Financial Group’s privacy centre covers deposit, investment, loan, credit card, securities, mortgage and real estate products, so a product from another group company needs its own check of what protects it; don’t assume the CIPF badge follows the brand.

Does Questrade’s securities lending program affect CIPF coverage?

Yes: US shares out on loan through Questrade’s Securities Lending Program temporarily lose CIPF coverage, and Questrade holds cash collateral instead.

This is the Questrade-specific detail that is easiest to miss. Questrade’s FAQ says shares on loan temporarily lose CIPF coverage; Questrade says it holds cash collateral equal to 100% of their market value instead. CIPF’s own FAQ confirms the rule for every member firm: fully paid securities lent under a lending program are not eligible for CIPF coverage while they are on loan.

How the program works, per Questrade’s FAQ:

• What can be lent: fully paid US stocks and ETFs listed on a major exchange (shares bought on margin don't qualify). For now, Canadian-listed ETFs such as XEQT aren’t part of it.
• Who is in it: TFSA, cash and margin accounts can be enrolled, and Questrade says there is nothing you need to do to participate. So don’t assume you’re out; check.
• What you earn: on high-demand loans the fee is split 50/50 between Questrade and the customers whose shares are borrowed; on low-demand loans you get 10% of Questrade's net revenue on the loan.
• Other trade-offs: you can’t vote shares while they are on loan, and you can still sell them at any time.

Collateral is a real protection, but it is a different kind from CIPF: it is an arrangement Questrade runs, not an industry fund paid for by all member firms. If you hold a large US-stock position in a TFSA, cash or margin account and want every share under CIPF, opting out is simple: log in on a web browser, open Management from the trading screen and choose Securities Lending Program (you can also exclude single securities there). If you’d rather earn the lending income, the collateral is the protection you are accepting in place of CIPF for those shares.

Is your Questrade account safe from hackers?

Questrade encrypts your connection and offers 2-step verification and Push Approval, but its reimbursement guarantee only pays when Questrade’s own systems were breached.

The protections on Questrade’s side:

• Encryption: 256-bit SSL encryption on data moving between you and Questrade's systems.
• 2-step verification: a time-sensitive code sent by SMS text or phone call, plus authenticator apps. Push Approval is Questrade's most secure verification method — you approve or deny each login inside the Questrade app on your designated Primary Trusted Device.
• Alerts: you get an automated email when your account is accessed from a new device, and on self-directed accounts you can set up trade-confirmation alerts for completed orders.

The Online Security Guarantee is where the fine print matters. It repays 100% of your direct financial loss when an unauthorized transaction happens solely because Questrade's own systems were breached. It does not apply to a breach on your side — for example, your email is compromised and used to reset your login, you enter your login on a phishing site, or you share your credentials. Questrade itself calls these the common examples, so treat the guarantee as a backstop for Questrade’s failures, not yours. Its other conditions:

• You must have had 2-step verification (a verified phone and email, or a mobile authenticator app) set up before the unauthorized transaction happened.
• A police report is required — a report to law enforcement supports any claim.
• You must report the transaction no later than 6 days after you receive the monthly statement that shows it.
• “Direct loss” means the value of cash or securities removed, measured at the time of the transaction — not later market movement, fees or indirect losses.
• Sharing your login with anyone, including online account-aggregation services, breaks the conditions.
• Questrade says it may amend or revoke the guarantee at any time without notice.

Has Questrade been hacked?

Questrade’s security and privacy pages, checked September 24, 2026, don’t describe a breach of Questrade’s own systems; they focus on account-takeover risks such as phishing and reused passwords. The industry-wide incident that did affect dealer clients happened at the regulator itself: CIRO detected a cybersecurity incident on August 11, 2025, caused by a sophisticated phishing attack, that affected approximately 750,000 Canadian investors. CIRO says the people affected were only some clients or former clients of CIRO-regulated dealers, and it began notifying them January 14, 2026, by email or Canada Post mail. Login details were not at risk — CIRO doesn't collect passwords, security questions or PINs, so if you received a letter, the risk to watch is identity fraud rather than someone logging in to your Questrade account.

Questrade security checklist

1. Turn on Push Approval in the Questrade app’s Security Centre, so logins need your approval on your phone.
2. Add an authenticator app as a backup to text-message codes.
3. Verify your phone number and email in your Profile; 2-step verification is a condition of the guarantee.
4. Use a unique password and secure the email account tied to Questrade, since a compromised email is excluded from the guarantee.
5. Read every monthly statement promptly, because the reporting deadline is short.
6. Check your securities lending setting if you hold US stocks in a TFSA, cash or margin account.

Is Questrade safer than Wealthsimple?

For investments, neither is safer: both dealers are CIRO-regulated CIPF members with the same account-group limits, so the differences are at the edges.

Wealthsimple’s dealer is Wealthsimple Investments Inc. (WSII), a member of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) and the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF), and Wealthsimple says its investment accounts hold securities eligible for CIPF coverage up to $1M per defined account. That is the same protection type Questrade, Inc. carries, and because CIPF protection is separate for each member firm — accounts at two CIPF members don't share one limit, holding accounts at both brokers gives you two full sets of limits.

Where the two differ on safety:

• Hacking guarantees. Questrade’s pays only for breaches of its own systems. Wealthsimple’s Account Guarantee offers reimbursement of direct losses from unauthorized transactions in your accounts, as long as you use passkeys on all your devices and meet the guarantee's security responsibilities, reported immediately, and no later than 10 days after you receive the monthly statement showing the unauthorized transaction. Both have conditions; Wealthsimple’s hinges on how you secure your login, Questrade’s on where the breach happened.
• Cash outside investing. Wealthsimple Chequing is covered by CDIC up to $1 million, because funds are spread across up to 10 CDIC member institutions (Wealthsimple itself is not a CDIC member). Questrade’s brokerage cash is covered by CIPF instead.
• Crypto. Wealthsimple sells crypto directly, and that crypto is not protected by CIPF, CDIC or any other investor protection insurance scheme. CIPF excludes crypto assets at every member firm.
• Securities lending. Questrade’s program can take US shares out of CIPF coverage while they are on loan, as covered above.

Where Questrade wins, it’s mostly on features rather than safety. US-dollar holding is free — every account can hold both Canadian and US dollars, including in registered accounts, while Wealthsimple’s USD accounts cost $10 a month for Core clients; free for Premium and Generation. Questrade also offers trust, estate and partnership accounts, which aren’t on Wealthsimple’s self-directed list (TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, RESP, LIRA, RRIF, non-registered (cash and margin), and corporate accounts). The full cost and feature breakdown is in Wealthsimple vs Questrade, and the same safety analysis for the other side is in is Wealthsimple safe.

If you want a second CIPF member alongside Questrade, or an account guarantee built around passkeys, Wealthsimple is the natural option to compare. Our complete Wealthsimple guide covers accounts, fees and plans.

Who should (and shouldn’t) keep money at Questrade?

Questrade suits you if each account group fits within CIPF’s limits; split accounts or look elsewhere if you need a guaranteed value or hold more than that at one firm.

Questrade is a sound home for your money if:

• You want a CIRO-regulated, CIPF-member dealer with $0 to buy and sell Canadian and U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs, and your balances in each account group are within CIPF’s limits.
• You hold US stocks and want to keep US dollars inside a TFSA or RRSP without paying a monthly fee for a USD account.
• You’ll turn on Push Approval, keep your email secure and read your statements.

Consider splitting accounts, or using Wealthsimple for part of your money, if:

• One account group (for example, TFSA plus FHSA plus non-registered) is above $1 million at a single firm.
• You’d rather have an account-takeover guarantee tied to passkeys than one limited to breaches of the broker’s systems.
• You want chequing with CDIC coverage in the same app as your investments.

Look elsewhere for this part of your money if:

• You need a guaranteed value. CIPF protects custody, not returns; for principal protection, an insured deposit such as a CDIC-eligible GIC or savings account at a bank is the direct route.
• You’re drawn to Private Credit or Pre-IPO funds but might need the money within a few years.

If Questrade fits, you can open a Questrade account on its official site ; the Questrade review and Questrade fees guide cover costs in detail. Moving an account later costs $150 per account, for a full or partial transfer (sales tax added where applicable), so pick deliberately.

This page is general education, not financial advice. Protection rules and product terms change, so check Questrade’s disclosures and CIPF’s coverage pages before you move a large balance.

Read next

• Is Wealthsimple safe? CIPF, CDIC and account security
• Wealthsimple vs Questrade: fees, accounts and who should pick each
• Questrade review: costs, platforms and account types
• Questrade fees in 2026
• Norbert’s Gambit at Questrade
• How the Wealthsimple data breach unfolded
• Our complete Wealthsimple guide