Category Archives: Money Tips

Journalling (or Moving) Shares from the Canadian Dollar to the US Dollar Portfolio in a BMO InvestorLine Account

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I hold a few Canadian stocks that pay their dividends in US dollars. If I hold them in the Canadian side of my BMO InvestorLine portfolio, BMO charges me a small fee built into the exchange rate when it credits the dividends and distributions to my Canadian dollar portfolio. I’ve decided to move those shares by journalling them into the US dollar side of my portfolio so that no exchange rate is charged until and unless I move the cash back to my Canadian dollar portfolio.

How to Journal Shares at InvestorLine: Sometimes, All You Got to Do Is Call

Moving the shares from the Canadian side of my portfolio to the American side is as easy as making a phone call.

I phoned BMO InvestorLine, chose my preferred national language, entered my account number and my password. Then I went on hold waiting to speak to an agent.

Within 3 minutes early on a Tuesday morning, my call was picked up. Within another two minutes, the agent had journalled two sets of shares from the Canadian dollar side of my account to the US dollar side.

When Will My Shares Show Up on the Screen as In the US Side of My Portfolio at InvestorLine?

Although the shares are now in the US side and I could sell them on the US exchange, they do not yet appear on the US side listing on screen.

It will take tonight’s batch update to fix that. Tomorrow, the next business day after I requested the change, the shares will show up properly.

So that’s another tidying up job done for the day.

Why Did My US Dollar Dividend or Distribution Still End Up in my Canadian Dollar Account at InvestorLine?

NOTE: If you are trying to get paid the dividend or distribution in US dollars, be sure to request the transfer before the ex-dividend date. If you leave it too close to the date of payment, the paper trail will not go through in time to the company processing the dividend and distribution payments.

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Do you enjoy getting paid some of your dividends or distributions in US dollars? Does it help with getting vacation money without paying an exchange rate? Please share your experiences with a comment.

 

 

Will Tangerine Offer a Good Interest Rate in Early October Now That PC Financial Is Changing to CIBC’s Simplii?

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For the past year or two, Tangerine and PC Financial have been in a bit of a competition for customers. One would offer a good interest rate for a short time, usually 3 months, and the other would either match it or offer a higher rate. Now in the fall of 2017, PC Financial is about to become Simplii Financial by CIBC. Will Tangerine still offer a good interest rate for October to December 2017 with PC Financial gone?

What Kind of Bonus Interest Rates Did Tangerine Offer in 2017?

My husband and I both bank with Tangerine and the former PC Financial. In 2017, I was not offered any special interest rates for my Tangerine or PC Financial savings accounts. My husband, however, received two offers from Tangerine, one for January – March and one for April to June. Both rates were above 3% annually.

Others listed quite a variety of rate offers from Tangerine from around 1.5% – 3.25% on RedFlagDeals.

Neither of us was offered a good rate for July to September though. So we transferred our money out to EQ Bank which was paying 2.3% annually during those months. (We won’t get 2.3% for only 3 months, of course, only about 1 /4 of what 2.3% would be if we had kept the money deposited there for an entire year.)

It’s coming up towards the end of September and I’m curious whether Tangerine will offer ANYONE a bonus interest rate for October to December. If so, who will they be competing with? EQ Bank at 2.3% per year? Or Simplii Financial, the new incarnation of PC Financial.

Will Simplii Financial Offer Short-term Bonus Interest Rates for Savings Accounts?

PC Financial did often offer a promotional interest rate on savings accounts. The rate was often only good for 2.5-4 months.

Now, though, PC Financial will no longer be in business. Instead, the newly named Simplii Financial, owned and run by CIBC will take over. Will CIBC be interested in playing this kind of interest-rate game to attract customers?

Unfortunately, neither I nor anyone else knows for sure. We’ll have to wait till November 1 and see what, if anything Simplii Financial announces.

In the meantime, our money will stay parked at EQ Bank. It’s CDIC insured up to the usual $100 000 limit.  The current (as of September 13 2017) rate of 2.3% is much higher than we can get with Tangerine (0.9%) or our traditional Big Canadian banks. I would be happier to be getting 3%+ again, though, so I’m hoping either Simplii Financial or Tangerine makes us an offer soon!

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Do you try to maximize your interest rate on savings by moving your money around? Please share your strategy with a comment.

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