TORONTO, ON - December 17, 2014 /CNW/ - Scotiabank's Bob Grant, Managing Director and Head of Global Online Brokerage, Scotia iTRADE, says that following these five tips will help Canadians become more informed and confident investors:

• Educate yourself on the resources and comprehensive array of educational material available to help you optimize your investment knowledge.
• Evaluate and understand your individual investment plan, which includes your financial goals, risk tolerance and time horizon, to help you make investment choices.
• Discover different securities and what role they play in a diversified portfolio -- stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds).
• Analyze the tax benefits and implications of investing in registered (e.g., RRSP, TFSA) and non-registered accounts.
• Explore research, tools and price charts to help you identify optimal market trends to implement investment strategies.

Whether you're just getting started and need help with placing your first trade, or you're an experienced trader looking for support with complex investment strategies, Scotia iTRADE's award winning education portal provides tools and resources for all investor levels, including webinars, online demos and interactive learning modules.

About Scotia iTRADE

Scotia iTRADE is Scotiabank's online brokerage service. At Scotia iTRADE, direct investors can choose from a range of trading platforms and benefit from low commissions, a variety of online tools and resources, as well as investor education customized by skill level. For more information please visit www.scotiaitrade.com.

About Scotiabank

Scotiabank is a leading financial services provider in over 55 countries and Canada's most international bank. Through our team of more than 86,000 employees, Scotiabank and its affiliates offer a broad range of products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management, corporate and investment banking to over 21 million customers. With assets of $806 billion (as at October 31, 2014), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (TSX: BNS) and New York Exchanges (NYSE: BNS). Scotiabank distributes the Bank's media releases using CNW. For more information please visit www.scotiabank.com.

Scotia iTRADE® (Order-Execution Only Accounts) is a division of Scotia Capital Inc. ("SCI"). SCI is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund and the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada. Scotia iTRADE does not provide investment advice or recommendations and investors are responsible for their own investment decisions. ®Registered trademark of The Bank of Nova Scotia. Used under license.