What Transactions Can I Perform in My Practice Accounts?

Practice Accounts are great for testing out trades and investment strategies. They let you mimic almost all the transactions you can do in a real account, but there are some limitations. Read on to learn what you can and can’t do with a Practice Account.

How to Open, Edit, Reset and Delete your Practice Accounts

To open a Practice Account, select “Open a Practice Account” from the Person icon.

To edit, reset or delete a Practice Account, select the Person icon > View Profile & Account Settings > Practice Account Preferences

What you can do with your Practice Account

• Buy, sell and switch mutual funds
• Place market, limit and stop limit orders for stocks listed on Canadian and U.S. exchanges
• Buy and sell options contracts
• Buy fixed-income products
• Monitor holdings over an extended period of time
• Open different account types such as investment, margin and RRSP
• Use the transfer funds feature to add or withdraw practice dollars

Limitations for Practice Account Users Who Do Not Have an RBC Direct Investing Account

• No access to IPOs and expressions of interest, calendar, multiple quotes, alerts tools and real-time quotes (Practice Account users who also have an RBC Direct Investing Account can view IPOs and expressions of interest but can’t take action in a Practice Account.)
• Practice Account trades will settle based on delayed information; trades will be filled from approximately 9:45 a.m. ET to 4:15 p.m. ET to allow for the delay in quotes
• Limited access to research
• Accounts will be closed after nine months of inactivity

Technical Limitations for all Practice Account Users

• Practice Accounts don’t allow users to place expressions of interest for IPOs
• There may be delays when making trades due to capacity on the platform; trades will execute only if the daily quantity traded is not equal to $0
• Practice Accounts cannot be nicknamed
• Practice Accounts are not reflected on monthly or quarterly account statements
• Trade confirmations will not be issued for Practice Account transactions
• Some equity trades may fill at the “last” price instead of the bid or ask price
• GICs and money market instruments are not available under fixed-income order entry
• Short-selling of stocks is not permitted
• All options will auto-exercise, including options on index funds
• “Real” funds cannot be transferred to a Practice Account
• Practice Accounts are not available for TFSA, RESP or RRIF accounts
• Practice margin accounts use a simplified calculation to compute margin excess and are updated after each transaction
• Stock splits, consolidations and de-listings are not reflected in a Practice Account
  • You can manually create the impact of these actions by visiting the “Edit Practice Account” page and adjusting the number of shares for a position; note that the Available Funds will not update until the next day
• Income earned from dividends, interest earned from cash holdings or fixed income, principal repayment from fixed-income and interest charges incurred by borrowing on margin will not be reflected in Practice Accounts
  • You can create the impact of these actions by visiting the “Transfer Funds” page and transferring practice funds manually into your Practice Account
• Maintenance/administration fees will not be reflected in Practice Accounts
  • You can manually create the impact of these fees by visiting the “Transfer Funds” page and making manual adjustments
• Practice Accounts are not accessible through the Trading Dashboard
• The following account features/services are not available for Practice Accounts:
  • dividend reinvestment
  • pre-authorized contributions
  • treasury bill rollovers
  • automatic funds transfers

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Sharpen Your Investing Skills with a Practice Account

OPEN A PRACTICE ACCOUNT