 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 the US . 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 RRSPs or move your
other investments to the US . As Canadians, we are trained
from birth to put money into an RRSP 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:
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If possible, initiate the transfer from your US broker not
your Canadian broker. You want to use your US broker to initiate
a "pull" strategy versus relying on your Canadian broker to
initiate a "push" strategy here.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Document, document, document every phone call,
the subject, the person you talked to and the outcome. |
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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 |
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