Lobbying your Broker

One of the shameful things we have witnessed is when some brokers turn from being "Dr. Jekyll" when your investments are under their management, to "Mr. Hyde" when you tell them it is in your best interest to move them to Canada.  Typically these are people you have had a long relationship with and have treated you well but when it no longer suits them, they suddenly turn on you.  You need to be cognizant of these changes in your broker and understand what is going on so you can expedite the process of moving your assets without it taking a lifetime. 

The first thing you need to understand is these brokers are compensated for the assets housed under them.  Typically, at the end of the month, a "snapshot" is taken for compensation purposes so the broker will try to delay the transfer of assets at least until then.  Second, brokers typically get compensated more for stock holdings in your portfolio or loaded mutual funds they don't want to lose that recurring revenue stream! You will see some foot dragging no doubt. The third thing is your broker will simply not understand why it is in your best interest to withdraw your IRA or move your other investments to Canada.  We are trained from birth to put money into an IRA and never take it out so when the request is made, it is very "counter-cultural."  To ensure you expedite the movement of your investments, we recommend the following:

	If possible, initiate the transfer from your Canadian brokerage firm not your American broker. You want to use your Canadian institution to initiate a "pull" strategy versus relying on your American broker to initiate a "push" strategy here.
	If necessary, have a nice, but firm conversation with your broker and make it clear you are doing this and there is no changing your mind.
	Follow up, follow up, and follow up. Create a sense of urgency about this move and keep hounding your broker for an update/status of the transfer so the message is clearly sent.
	Be sure to obtain the name of your broker's supervisor so if your broker is suddenly "on vacation" or "out of the office," you have a back-up person to keep moving the transfer forward.
	Document, document, document every phone call, the subject, the person you talked to and the outcome.
	Follow-up and keep a history of emails on the issue to those involved so if you have to escalate the issue, you have firm documentation