In this article:
Overview
You can move investments, like stocks or ETFs, directly between your Wealthsimple accounts without selling them for cash first. We call this a "holdings transfer." This can be useful if you want to rebalance your portfolio or consolidate your investments.
Some holdings transfers are tax-free, while others might lead to tax implications, especially if you're moving holdings between different account types. We'll explain the details below.
Important information about holdings transfers:
- Settled trades: Your trades must settle before you can transfer your holdings.
- No reversals: Once you submit a transfer, we can't reverse it.
- Timing: Transfers generally take one business day to complete.
- Contributions: Moving shares from a non-registered account to a registered account is treated as a contribution to the registered account.
- Margin Requirements: If transferring from a margin account, the system automatically validates requirements to ensure the transfer won't trigger a margin call or create negative equity.
- Pending Orders: You must cancel any pending limit orders in your margin account before initiating a transfer.
- Loaned Stocks: Securities currently out on loan through stock lending cannot be transferred until the lending position is closed.
- Covered Calls: Securities used as collateral for covered call options cannot be transferred.
Taxable vs tax-free transfers
Taxable
We transfer assets between accounts based on their current market value. Because of this, transferring from a non-registered to a registered account may trigger capital gains taxes.
After the transfer, the asset's book cost in the new account is updated to reflect its current market value. This affects how much tax you might pay when you sell those assets in the future.
Tax-free
Holdings transfers between accounts of the same type with the same owner are tax-free.
Assets are transferred at their book cost from one account to the other, and there are no associated tax implications.
How Wealthsimple determines a stock's value
When you transfer holdings, their value is important for tax purposes and for updating their original purchase price (book cost) in the new account.
- For in-app transfers, we use the fair market value of the asset at the time of transfer, which becomes the new book cost of the asset.
- For transfers submitted through our support team, we use the previous business day's closing price and foreign exchange rate to value and move your assets.
Eligible accounts
You can transfer holdings between eligible Wealthsimple trade and managed investing accounts. Some account combinations may not be available.
Eligible account combinations
You can move your funds between the following:
- Managed to Trade
- Trade to managed
- Managed to managed
Transfers you can do in the Wealthsimple app
You can only transfer shares in the Wealthsimple app between the following account combinations:
- From Non-registered to:
- Non-registered
- Margin
- TFSA
- RRSP
- FHSA
- Spousal RRSP
- From TFSA to:
- TFSA
- Non-registered
- RRSP
- FHSA
- Spousal RRSP
- From RRSP to:
- RRSP
- FHSA
Moving holdings to your Margin account:
- Moving margin-eligible securities to your Margin account allows you to use these securities as collateral when you trade on margin.
- This increases your margin available, allowing you to purchase more securities without having to deposit cash.
- Your additional margin available depends on various factors such as the margin rate, market value, concentration limit of the transferred securities, and current holdings in the account.
- The system prevents transfers out of a margin account that would cause the account to fall below required margin levels.
Moving holdings from your TFSA account:
- You can now transfer holdings in-kind from a self-directed investing TFSA that's being used to boost your margin buying power, provided the transfer doesn’t result in a margin call in your linked Margin account.
Learn more about tax implications for transfers to registered accounts below.
Transfers requiring the support team's assistance
Please contact our support team if you want to:
- transfer shares and the account combination isn't listed in this section, or
- transfer non-qualifying investments (NQI).
In-kind share transfers processed by our support team take 1–3 business days to complete.
How to submit a holdings transfer
Follow the steps below to make a holdings transfer:
- Log in to the Wealthsimple app
- From the Home tab, select your desired account to transfer shares from
- Scroll down and tap Move holdings
- Select the account to transfer the holdings to
- Review the information about tax implications
- Tap Next
- Enter the number of shares to transfer or select All
- Tap Review
- Tap Submit to confirm the holdings transfer
Tax implications
The tax implications of a holdings transfer depend on the account types involved.
Transfers to registered accounts (TFSA, RRSP, FHSA)
When you move holdings from a non-registered account to a registered account (like a TFSA, RRSP, or FHSA), we consider this a contribution to the registered account. There will be tax implications for any unrealized gains (meaning the holdings have increased in value since you bought them, but you haven't sold them yet).
- Transferring holdings showing a loss: If you hold holdings with a loss in a non-registered account and transfer them into your registered account, you can't claim a capital loss.
- Transferring holdings showing a gain: If you transfer holdings that have increased in value, the CRA considers this a "deemed disposition." This means it's as if you sold the holding at its current market value, even though you didn't physically sell it. You'll be responsible for reporting and paying tax on any capital gains.
Transfers from a TFSA to a non-registered account
Moving holdings from a TFSA to a non-registered account is considered a withdrawal, also known as a redemption. We send redemption information for TFSAs to the CRA during tax season.
When you move holdings out of a TFSA, you lose contribution room for the year based on the total market value of all holdings combined. You'll get this contribution room back in January of the following year.
Frequently asked questions
What types of assets aren't supported for holdings transfers?
The assets below aren't supported for holdings transfers:
- NQI assets
- Note: Please contact our support team to transfer these assets. NQI transfers from a TFSA to a non-registered account are now supported in the Wealthsimple app.
- Security not active
- Assets on loan
- Asset status is not trading (for example, delisted, halted, suspended, or undergoing corporate action)
- Asset type is anything other than stocks or ETFs (for example, cash, bonds, mutual funds, crypto, options)
- Securities not supported for fractional trading
- Gold
- Note: Please contact our support team to transfer gold between two self-directed investing accounts. This isn't supported for Portfolios, such as Classic or Direct Indexing accounts.
What happens if I can't transfer my holdings as-is?
In some cases, we may sell the holdings in your original account and transfer the value as cash. We then use that cash to buy the same holdings again in your new account.
This process may create a taxable event. If you move money between a non-registered and registered account, it's important to know that this could affect your taxes and contribution room.
Can I transfer all my assets from my margin account?
You can transfer any assets that won't trigger a margin call or violate margin requirements. The system will automatically calculate and display the maximum amount available for transfer based on your current margin position.
What if I have a debit cash balance in my margin account?
A debit cash balance indicates active use of margin credit. For full transfers, you'll need to deposit funds or sell securities to eliminate the margin usage before transferring.
Are there any account types where I can't make in-kind transfers?
You can't use portfolio line of credit (PLOC) accounts to move holdings in-kind.
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