You can transfer your existing investment account at another banking institution into one of Wealthsimple’s investment products. It generally takes 2 - 4 weeks to complete a transfer.

Set up your transfer

Transfer into Wealthsimple Invest
Wealthsimple Invest is our automated investing service that manages your investments for you. There are lots of different types of accounts you can transfer into Invest:

• Transfer a RRSP, TFSA or personal investment account into Invest
• Transfer an existing RESP
• Transfer a pension
• Transfer shares from an employee stock plan

Transfer into Wealthsimple Trade
Wealthsimple Trade is our commission-free trading service. It’s a good choice if you’re looking to actively manage your portfolio yourself.

• Transfer an RRSP, TFSA or personal investment account into Trade

Transfer timelines

After you submit your transfer, it has to go through several different stages before it is complete:

1. We generate a transfer form and send it to your institution: Wealthsimple will fax the transfer form to your institution.
2. Your institution receives the transfer form, locates the account, and processes the transfer: Once they have located your account, your other institution will process your transfer. To do so, they will withdraw the amount of cash needed for your transfer and deduct their transfer fee (which we will reimburse if eligible). If there is any issue or anything is blocking your transfer, your institution will send us a rejection notice.
3. Your institution deducts funds from your account for the transfer: You may notice that the funds have been deducted or that your account no longer appears on the online portal of your other institution. There is often a delay between the funds being deducted from your other institution and the funds appearing on your Wealthsimple account. Your funds should appear within a couple of days.
4. Wealthsimple receives your funds: Most often, a cheque with your funds is sent to us via Canada Post or UPS. Typically, cheques are in transit for 1-3 weeks If the cheque hasn't been after four weeks, our team will follow up with you and/or your other institution to determine the next steps and rectify the situation.
5. Your transfer is complete: We notify you when your transfer is complete.

Note: The transfer process is slightly different for an in-kind transfer.

Most transfers take 1 - 4 weeks to complete, although in some cases it can take up to 8 weeks if the transfer is more complex. Here are some of the things that extend transfer timelines –

The transfer method
An institution will transfer your funds to Wealthsimple as either an electronic funds transfer or as a cheque in the mail. An electronic funds transfer is typically much faster than a cheque in the mail.

Mis-matched information
When the information we have on file doesn’t match what your banking institution has, it can introduce a delay into the process. Common reasons for mis-matched information include:

• Information in your Wealthsimple account – like your account number, full name, SIN, residential address and date of birth – doesn’t match the information your bank has on file.
• Your digital signature is dramatically different from the signature your banking institution has on file.
• You’re transferring one account into a different type of account.

Note: You can also view and cancel your pending transfers.

Tips for a successful transfer

• Make sure the information in your Wealthsimple account matches the information your bank has on file
  Double-check that your account number, full name, SIN, residential address and date of birth are up to -date. Ask your bank to update your details if the information doesn’t match. Alternatively, send us an email and we can amend the transfer form for you.
  
  
• Create the most accurate digital signature you can
  If you notice that the signature on your transfer form is drastically different from your regular signature, then it is possible that your financial institution may reject our request.
  
  
• Be aware of transfer fees from your institution
  Your institution may charge a transfer fee of up to $150, and this will be deducted from your account value. If there are insufficient funds to cover the transfer fee, then your bank may reject the transfer request.
  
  
• Make sure you’re transferring into the same type of account
  When transferring investment accounts, it is important that the account you have with your bank matches the investment account you have at Wealthsimple. For example: if you're transferring a Spousal RRSP, make sure you open a Spousal RRSP at Wealthsimple.