RRSP investment options while in the US
Moderator: Mark T Serbinski CA CPA
RRSP investment options while in the US
I live in the US and I have an RRSP GIC account in Canada with TD bank. The interest I earn is less than 4% (in a GIC). The bank says that I cannot have any other investment options than having a GIC - since I live in the US. This is difficult for me to believe. Do I have any other investment options to get more than 4% interest rate? Or should I just collapse it? (The GIC is less than 10K.)
Okay, so I need to transfer it to the self directed RRSP with TD Waterhouse.. This should be easy since I already have an account with TD bank. What I do not understand in your reply is this part: "with a brokerage that is licenced to manage your RRSP in the state you live in".
My RRSP account is in Canada and I live in the U.S. So do you mean that the brokerage firm should be licenced in California (if I live in CA) to manage my cdn RRSP? Can you please explain, since I fail to understand why the US state licence is required by the cdn firm to manage the self directed RRSP (which is in Canada) ? I am confused or may be I did not get it right.
[quote="nelsona"]You need to switch to a self-directed RRSP with a brokerage that is licensed to manage your RRSP in the state you live in .
TD Waterhouse is one such brokerage.[/quote]
My RRSP account is in Canada and I live in the U.S. So do you mean that the brokerage firm should be licenced in California (if I live in CA) to manage my cdn RRSP? Can you please explain, since I fail to understand why the US state licence is required by the cdn firm to manage the self directed RRSP (which is in Canada) ? I am confused or may be I did not get it right.
[quote="nelsona"]You need to switch to a self-directed RRSP with a brokerage that is licensed to manage your RRSP in the state you live in .
TD Waterhouse is one such brokerage.[/quote]
Not an expert here, but last year my advisor wanted me to move funds in my CDN RRSP while I was a resident in the US. He had been told that I could not purchase anything new in the account since I was not a resident. I could sell as much as I wanted, but could not buy.
So perhaps we are limited to what we can purchase once we change our resident status.
So perhaps we are limited to what we can purchase once we change our resident status.
cimit is correct IF you leave your account with a firm that can't deal. This is true of ALL RRSP accounts held by US residents: you can sell anything anytime, buyt can't buy.
TD waterhouse and others can. Thus the need to MOVE one's account.
TD waterhouse and others can. Thus the need to MOVE one's account.
nelsona non grata. Non pro. Please Search previous posts, no situation is unique as you might think. Happy Browsing 
Most mutual fund companies will deal with your RRSPs while in the U.S.
Some insurance companies will allow you to purchase Seg Funds while a resident of the U.S., but the paperwork must be signed in Canada. The disadvantage of Seg Funds is their fees. The advantage is that many of them offer investments from many different managers, so once you've purchased the seg fund initially, you can change from fund to fund without hassle. This would be most appropriate for people who don't plan to make a lot of changes to their investments, but might want to make a change occasionally.
For active traders and those who want to own individual stocks, follow Nelson's advice.
Some insurance companies will allow you to purchase Seg Funds while a resident of the U.S., but the paperwork must be signed in Canada. The disadvantage of Seg Funds is their fees. The advantage is that many of them offer investments from many different managers, so once you've purchased the seg fund initially, you can change from fund to fund without hassle. This would be most appropriate for people who don't plan to make a lot of changes to their investments, but might want to make a change occasionally.
For active traders and those who want to own individual stocks, follow Nelson's advice.
Arteeh
"Most mutual fund companies will deal with your RRSPs while in the U.S. "
This depends what you call a 'mutual fund company'. If it is the brokerage firm associated with the fundco, they may be set up to do this. But an account which buys mutual funds from a specific family (eg. TD Canada Trust selling TD funds, Altamira selling altamira, etc) will not, since they are not brokers.
This depends what you call a 'mutual fund company'. If it is the brokerage firm associated with the fundco, they may be set up to do this. But an account which buys mutual funds from a specific family (eg. TD Canada Trust selling TD funds, Altamira selling altamira, etc) will not, since they are not brokers.
nelsona non grata. Non pro. Please Search previous posts, no situation is unique as you might think. Happy Browsing
[quote="nelsona"]"Most mutual fund companies will deal with your RRSPs while in the U.S. "
This depends what you call a 'mutual fund company'. If it is the brokerage firm associated with the fundco, they may be set up to do this. But an account which buys mutual funds from a specific family (eg. TD Canada Trust selling TD funds, Altamira selling altamira, etc) will not, since they are not brokers.[/quote]
aah...that explains. My current account is with TD Canada trust - I need to move it to TDWaterhouse. Thanks guys!
This depends what you call a 'mutual fund company'. If it is the brokerage firm associated with the fundco, they may be set up to do this. But an account which buys mutual funds from a specific family (eg. TD Canada Trust selling TD funds, Altamira selling altamira, etc) will not, since they are not brokers.[/quote]
aah...that explains. My current account is with TD Canada trust - I need to move it to TDWaterhouse. Thanks guys!
It is *possible*. trouble is most brokerages that know you live in US, and who don't accept trades from there(many do), just turn off trading altogether.
The best practice is to move your RRSP to a broker that will deal with you.
The best practice is to move your RRSP to a broker that will deal with you.
nelsona non grata. Non pro. Please Search previous posts, no situation is unique as you might think. Happy Browsing