“For decades, the most compelling investment opportunities — companies like Uber and Airbnb before they went public — were only accessible to institutional investors and the ultra-wealthy,” said Chief Product Officer at Questrade Hwan Kim. “By the time these companies reached public markets, much of the value creation had already happened. That’s always struck me as fundamentally unfair.”
What is private markets investing and why has it been off-limits to most Canadians?
Private markets include any investment in a company or fund that is not traded on a public stock exchange. That covers pre-IPO shares, private equity, venture capital and certain forms of private credit. Until now, accessing these products in Canada has required meeting the accredited investor threshold under National Instrument 45-106 — the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) framework governing exempt market securities.
To qualify as an accredited investor under CSA rules, an individual generally needs either a net income exceeding $200,000 in the past two calendar years or net financial assets above $1 million. This threshold effectively locked out most retail investors.
Accredited investors opt for private market investments because these opportunities offer higher potential returns than public equities, but they carry less regulatory disclosure, fewer investor protections and significantly lower liquidity. Capital can be locked in for years with no easy exit.
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What’s different about Questrade’s pre-IPO platform?
While the pre-IPO private market launched by Questrade will still only be available to accredited investors, it will offer these investors easier access to this market.
“Accredited investors have historically had to go through private wealth managers or institutional channels to access these opportunities,” Kim told Money.ca. “Questrade is changing that, opening access to a broader segment of qualified investors, including those who are income-based rather than wealth-based alone. We’re also dropping the minimum investment well below the $25,000 [floor that is] typical in the industry today.”