Toronto’s Bloor Street luxury corridor has welcomed a new occupant, and it is neither a fashion label nor a jeweller. Moomoo Financial Canada has opened its first Canadian bricks-and-mortar presence at 95A Bloor Street West, unveiling an experience-driven hub for active investors in a heritage-listed building surrounded by Hermès, Van Cleef & Arpels and Rolex. The move places a global fintech brand on one of the most valuable retail streets in the country and signals a different kind of expansion strategy in Canada’s increasingly competitive financial services sector.
The Moomoo Experience Store Toronto, measuring nearly 10,000 square feet across 95A Bloor and an adjoining structure, is designed as a community centre for market learning rather than a traditional bank branch. For Michael Arbus, CEO of Moomoo Financial Canada, the decision to enter the Canadian market through the nation’s most prestigious retail corridor was both strategic and symbolic.
“We thought that from a brand equity standpoint, if you are going to put up a retail facing storefront, why not pick the best and the brightest and the most premium luxury to associate with our brand,” Arbus said in an interview with Retail Insider. “Globally, this is a worthwhile stand for Canadians because it shows that we are here, that we care, that we want to spend and invest in Canada.”
The lease for the 95A Bloor storefront, branded ‘Moomoo Trade’, was represented on the landlord side by Arlin Markowitz and Emily Everett of CBRE’s Toronto Urban Retail Team. Robert Weinberg of Oberfeld Snowcap represented Moomoo Financial.
A Global Platform Looks to Deepen Its Canadian Footprint
Moomoo is a substantial player in global retail trading markets. Founded in Silicon Valley in 2018 and backed by Futu Holdings, a Nasdaq-listed fintech group headquartered in Hong Kong, the company now serves more than 27 million users across seven markets. Its platform is known for real-time data, technical indicators, options trading in supported regions and social investing tools designed for active retail traders.
Canada joined that global footprint in 2023 when OTT Financial Canada rebranded as Moomoo Financial Canada Inc. The firm now operates as a regulated investment dealer and offers trading in Canadian and U.S. stocks and ETFs with registered and non-registered account types. The Canadian app emphasizes advanced analytics, Level 2 data and extended trading hours, aiming to compete directly with established discount brokerages and newer digital trading platforms.
By choosing Bloor Street as its first Canadian physical location, Moomoo is signalling that its brand belongs among the most visible and high-traffic retail tenants in the country. “We had reached a point where it was enough about being just a financial technology firm,” Arbus said. “We wanted to show that we are committed to this market.”
A Heritage Corner With a Future Super-Tall Tower
Moomoo’s new storefront occupies one of the most distinctive retail buildings on the Mink Mile. Known historically as the Georg Jensen Silversmiths location and, later, the Victorinox Swiss Army flagship, the property at 95A Bloor Street West is listed on Toronto’s heritage register as an early modernist commercial building. Its façade, with unusually large mid-twentieth-century display windows extending across two storeys, cannot be demolished.
“Architecturally, we were not allowed to touch the exterior at all,” Arbus said. “It is totally protected space because it was designed by one of the first architects in Toronto to use large open retail storefront windows.”
That façade will eventually be incorporated into a proposed 79-storey mixed-use tower that spans 83–95A Bloor Street West. Plans call for a retail podium beneath more than one thousand residential units. While zoning and site plan approvals continue, the heritage designation means the Bloor frontage will remain standing and integrated into the redevelopment.
For Moomoo, that heritage protection offers an unexpected benefit. “Our space is not even getting demolished,” Arbus said. “If the condo market takes time to advance, we have bought a decade and that is where we live out our brand development. It is a great starting point.”
The company took a second adjoining building on the corner to secure the full presence it wanted. “The second space was just the lesser of evils in order to secure that corner,” Arbus explained. “We had to take both.”
A Retail Storefront That Does Not Sell Anything
One of the most unusual qualities of the Moomoo Experience Store Toronto is that it functions without any traditional retail transactions. No accounts are opened onsite. No funds are moved. There are no teller counters and no investment products to buy.
“When we say store, what are we actually selling,” Arbus asked. “There is nothing we are selling. We are just a location for people from the community to walk in, warm up on a cold day and talk about what is happening in the investment universe.”
The space is designed to demystify market concepts, particularly for Canadians who feel disconnected from active trading culture. Visitors can explore the app on large interactive screens, ask staff about fundamentals like options or technical indicators and sit in on learning sessions in an environment that removes the intimidation factor typical of financial offices.
“Smarter trading starts with smarter investors and that is what Moomoo is all about,” Arbus said in the press release announcing the opening. “Whether you are just starting out or fine-tuning your strategy, we want Canadians to feel empowered to take control of their financial future and have a little fun doing it.”
Creating a Space for Community and Conversation
The ground floor serves as the entry point to Moomoo’s brand, but the second level is where the company wants to cultivate community life. The team has created a lounge-style venue with a large screen to host talks, demonstrations and events. The setup has been deliberately kept flexible so that visitors from a range of backgrounds can use it.
“Anyone who wants to use our space to host a community event of any kind, it is open,” Arbus said. “We want mom groups pushing strollers during the day who want a place to meet, have a coffee and maybe get their brains engaged talking about investment.”
He adds that the company will personally participate in many of those gatherings. “I love talking about this stuff. If it means that we get more people using our app, that is great. If not, it is okay. We are here.”
The plan includes regular educational sessions in partnership with post-secondary institutions. “If it is Thursday night and you are business or medical students who will be making money one day, come and learn a bit about option trading before you go out,” Arbus said. “That is the intention.”
Aligning AI Tools With In-Person Support
One of the distinctive features of Moomoo’s global platform is its integration of artificial intelligence to help traders interpret news, trends and analytics. Canadian users can already ask the app’s AI system questions about sectors, technologies or market events, with the platform surfacing data and research rather than providing advice.
“We are the first broker in Canada to have an AI platform built into the app that is focused on you,” Arbus said. “We do not give you advice, but we lead you with information.”
The store extends that digital experience into a human-led setting where staff can show visitors how to research a topic or use the tools. “I cannot advise you, but here is where I would research that myself,” Arbus said. “Can I talk you through how to do that.”
He frames the approach as part of a broader shift toward investor empowerment at a time when Canadians face rising costs, market volatility and the emerging pressures of generational wealth transfer. “We work way too hard to make money,” he said. “I hate seeing people give it up for free to someone who says, give me two percent of your funds a year.”
Challenging Canada’s Passive Investment Culture
Arbus believes many Canadians have been discouraged from learning about investing because traditional institutions reinforce a passive approach. “The typical Canadian profile seems to be more loyal to our banks, more complacent and prepared to pay for advice,” he said. “In other parts of the world, people rely on themselves. They join communities and use advanced tools.”
He argues that the middle section of the investing public, those between full-service advisory accounts and app-based novices, has been underserved. “Most people never get enough money to warrant getting a phone call from an advisor,” Arbus said. “They ignored this middle section.”
This is where the Moomoo flagship on Bloor Street is meant to intervene. The concept aims to show that active learning, community discussion and technologically advanced tools can live together in an accessible, street-facing retail environment. The Moomoo Experience Store Toronto is therefore a strategic introduction of the brand to a market that has historically leaned toward conservative investment behaviours.
A Test Case for National Expansion
The company sees the Bloor Street location as its Canadian beachhead, one that can grow into a network of similar experience stores across major cities. “We look at Canada by entering a market, hiring great Canadians and building out the brand,” Arbus said. “Then we spread across Canada.”
Other markets where Moomoo operates have adopted this model, with stores now opening internationally in tandem. “This is happening at the same time in seven different markets,” Arbus said. “Everything is becoming standardized.”
Traffic at the new location has already exceeded expectations. During Santa Claus parade weekend, close to a thousand people stepped inside over two days, driven by curiosity about the concept. For a brand that entered Canada just over a year ago, the initial footfall is promising.
Even with the site’s eventual redevelopment, the heritage designation ensures the Bloor property has time before construction begins, giving Moomoo the runway it needs to establish its presence. The company’s initial two-year lease can be extended, and Arbus suggests the team is ready for a long tenure. “We are locked into it for a long time,” he said.
