Transferring an existing RESP account into an account managed by Wealthsimple is a good choice if you’re looking for an automated, low-fee investing service that manages your investments for you.

It generally takes 4 - 8 weeks to transfer an RESP account into Wealthsimple. The process is slightly longer for RESPs because we need to work with your current institution to understand the grants and contributions made to the account.

Step 1. Open a managed RESP in your Wealthsimple profile

You’ll need to open an RESP at Wealthsimple before you can begin the account transfer. If you have a co-owner they will need to log in to their Wealthsimple account and digitally sign the forms as well.

When setting up the RESP, make sure to include all the same beneficiaries as the RESP at your current institution. Please also make sure that the owners of the account at Wealthsimple are identical to the owners at your other institution. If they are not, the transfer will fail.

Step 2. Download an account statement

Download an account statement from the investment account you’re looking to transfer into Wealthsimple. We’ll ask you to upload this when you set up a transfer request.

Double-check that your current information matches the details on your investment account statement. If your bank has information that is out of date, consider asking them to update it before requesting a transfer.

If the information we have doesn’t match what your bank has, they may reject the transfer request.

Step 3. Choose how to transfer funds

You have two options for transferring funds to your managed account with Wealthsimple:

1. Entire account as is (Recommended)
   We move your holdings to us as they are today. Once your transfer is complete, we’ll sell all the transferred assets and reinvest them in a timely manner. However, if your transfer includes mutual funds that would result in fees upon sale, we’ll email you to set up a call with one of our Portfolio Managers before we sell the assets.
2. Entire account as cash
   Your institution will sell your holdings and move the money to us. Keep in mind your bank may charge trading fees to sell your investments.

Step 4. Request a transfer

You can only request a transfer on the Wealthsimple website.

To request a transfer:

If you already have a Wealthsimple Family RESP and are looking to add a beneficiary, please get in touch with our team. Note that for a Family RESP, all beneficiaries must be related to you (more on this here).

If you already have a Wealthsimple RESP and you'd like to add a beneficiary who isn't related to you, simply open a new RESP under “Add another account” in your profile.

If you want to check on the status of your transfer, you can view and cancel your pending transfers.