Overview
Protecting our clients’ assets is our top priority. As a client of Wealthsimple, you're entitled to insurance coverage ensuring that your money stays your money.
Here are the different types of coverage we offer for our products to help keep your assets safe.
Wealthsimple managed and self-directed investing accounts
For Wealthsimple investing clients, our affiliated custodial broker, Wealthsimple Investments Inc., is a member of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) and customer accounts are protected by the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF) within specified limits. In the extremely unlikely event that Wealthsimple were to go out of business, your account would remain safe. All securities are beneficially held under your name, which means you could choose to keep your money with Wealthsimple Investments Inc. or transfer it to a new advisor or your bank account.
Wealthsimple Crypto accounts
We hold your crypto in trust, which means in the unlikely event something happens to us, your crypto is protected. This is because property held in trust is protected from claims by creditors.
We hold the majority of our clients’ crypto with regulated third-party custodians that specialize in crypto custody, and have appropriate insurance and sufficient capital, in turn reducing risk for all our crypto clients.
Our affiliated custodial broker for crypto clients, Wealthsimple Investments Inc., is a member of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO), which means the cash balance held within customer accounts is protected by the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF) within specified limits. Learn more about the CIPF.
Wealthsimple chequing accounts
For individual and joint Wealthsimple chequing accounts, any balance in your account(s) is held in trust for you with members of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC), a federal Crown corporation. CDIC protects eligible deposits held at CDIC member institutions in case of a member institution’s failure.
We've partnered with a number of tier 1, CDIC-member, regulated Canadian financial institutions to take advantage of a combined CDIC eligible coverage amount of up to $1,000,000 CAD for our clients in their chequing accounts.
This means that we hold our clients’ chequing account balances over $100,000 CAD in trust with multiple members of the CDIC, allowing the extension of coverage to funds in your chequing account for up to $1,000,000 CAD, against the failure of any of Wealthsimple’s partner banks.
Although Wealthsimple isn't a CDIC member institution, under the trust framework, CDIC insures eligible cash balances up to $100,000 per beneficiary, per member institution, provided certain disclosure rules are met.
For chequing account holders, Wealthsimple may spread client funds across one or multiple CDIC members in order to extend the CDIC coverage to up to $1,000,000 for eligible deposits. Coverage is free and automatic.
Full details about our regulated products, entities and coverage can be found on our legal page here.
Wealthsimple Corporate Save Account
For Wealthsimple Corporate Save account(s), balances up to $100,000 will be covered by CDIC in partnership with tier 1, CDIC-member, regulated Canadian financial institutions.
Wealthsimple Registered Savings Account
All cash balances from your Wealthsimple Registered Savings Account(s) are held in trust for you with members of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC).
Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation insures cash balances up to $100,000 in all Registered Savings Accounts, no matter the account type (like TFSA or RRSP). This coverage applies to all Registered Savings Accounts you open.
Frequently asked questions
My bank only insures my accounts up to $100,000, how are you able to offer $1,000,000 coverage?
We partner with schedule 1, CDIC-member, regulated Canadian financial institutions to take advantage of a combined CDIC eligible coverage amount (up to $1,000,000). Instead of holding your funds in trust at one partner institution, we spread funds across multiple institutions to increase your coverage.
Since Wealthsimple isn’t a bank, how are you insuring me?
As a client of Wealthsimple, you are entitled to insurance coverage so that your money stays your money. Although Wealthsimple is not a bank, we are partnering with a number of schedule 1, CDIC-member, regulated Canadian regulated financial institutions to take advantage of a combined CDIC-eligible coverage amount (up to $1,000,000) which can be enjoyed by Wealthsimple chequing clients. Wealthsimple chequing deposits over $100,000 are held in trust with these Canadian banks resulting in increased coverage on eligible deposits.
What happens if Wealthsimple goes out of business?
In the improbable event that Wealthsimple goes out of business, client funds are to be recovered in accordance with Canadian bankruptcy laws and proceedings.
Which partner banks does Wealthsimple use for chequing account balances?
We partner with tier 1, CDIC-member, regulated Canadian financial institutions. Due to contractual reasons, we can't disclose the names of the partners we use.
How are the funds in my chequing account split between the partner banks?
The funds are split to maximize your eligible CDIC coverage.
What if my chequing balance exceeds $1,000,000?
Any amounts over your CDIC coverage are not eligible for additional coverage. Should your balance across all of your chequing accounts balance exceed your CDIC coverage, we recommend that you speak to one of our Portfolio Managers. Our Portfolio Managers are on hand to offer financial advice at any stage and they are best positioned to advise on alternative options for your excess cash.
How does coverage work for a joint chequing account?
The funds in a joint chequing account are covered under the client who opened the account (the “inviter”).
For example, client A (the “inviter”) has $100,000 in their individual chequing account and $1,000,000 in their joint chequing account with client B. $1,000,000 of their total balance across their chequing accounts is eligible for CDIC coverage, which means that the leftover $100,000 isn't covered (regardless of how much client B has in their other chequing accounts).
Terms and conditions
Wealthsimple chequing accounts are offered by Wealthsimple Investments Inc. (“WSII”), a member of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (“CIRO”), and Wealthsimple Payments Inc. (“WSP”), a FINTRAC registered money services business. WSP has appointed WSII as its agent to perform certain payment activities offered through the chequing account(s). The funds added to chequing account(s) (the “Funds”) are ultimately held securely in trust in the name of the primary account holder with a single or multiple members of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (“CDIC”). CDIC protects eligible deposits held at CDIC member institutions in case of a member institution’s failure. WSP and WSII are not CDIC member institutions. Under the trust framework, CDIC insures eligible cash balances up to $100,000 per beneficiary, per member institution, provided certain disclosure rules are met. Coverage is free and automatic. Learn more about how CDIC protection works. Funds must be spread across at least 10 CDIC member institutions in order for up to $1,000,000 in deposits to benefit from applicable CDIC coverage. The advertised interest rate for the chequing account is derived from interest earned by Wealthsimple on the funds. The rates are annualized rates, calculated daily, and paid monthly. Subject to change. For more information see here. The Funds are settled with any CDIC member(s) one business day following the date that Funds are reflected in the Account.
The Wealthsimple Prepaid Mastercard® (the “Card”) is issued by KOHO Financial Inc. pursuant to license by Mastercard International Incorporated. All terms applicable to the Card and all applicable fees and transaction limits with respect to the Card and the services may be found in the Wealthsimple Cardholder Agreement between you and KOHO Financial Inc. Mastercard and the circles design are registered trademarks of Mastercard International Incorporated.
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