UPDATE: This article is historical, from 2013. I no longer invest with RBC Direct Investing.
Some of you may have noticed me whinging about opening my new RBC Direct Investing RRSP. I was mostly complaining about the time it took to transfer in cash. Here’s how long the whole process took.
| Date | What Happened |
| Oct. 16 | Mailed signed application forms to RBC Direct Investing. |
| Oct. 24 | Received an email advising me my RRSP account had been created. It says I can start using it the next business day. |
| Oct. 31 | Received a letter with my new Client Card Number to access my account. |
| Nov. 1 | Received a welcome letter with my new RRSP account number. |
| Nov. 1 | Signed in successfully to my new RRSP account but there was no money in it yet. |
| Nov. 7 | My money left my RRSP account at ING Direct. |
| Nov. 19 | My money was finally deposited into my RRSP account at RBC Direct Investing. |
| Nov. 19 | I phoned to request $9.95 trades as I had moved in more than the required $50,000. It took 6 minutes to speak to an agent but the request was handled immediately. |
| Nov. 20 | As I was told on the phone, over night the system was updated and it shows that I will pay a $9.95 fee if I complete a trade. |
| Nov. 25 | Received a message when signing in to my account asking me to read and sign the Trade Agreements to permit me to receive real time exchange quotes. (I was surprised I wasn’t prompted to complete these agreements the first time I signed in.) |
| Nov. 28 | Received my letter welcoming me again and advising me that my first 25 trades will be free, per my signup offer. The trading costs will be credited to my account before the trade settles so I will not have to under-trade to compensate for the requirement to pay for the trade before it is reimbursed. |
Did It Seem a Reasonable Amount of Time to Open and Fund a New Brokerage Account
Yes.
Most online discount brokerage accounts seem to take 4-8 weeks to get open and funded. I’m sure some accounts can be processed faster, especially if you’re just sending in a cheque to fund your account. This one took about the same time to get going as similar accounts at CIBC Investor’s Edge and BMO InvestorLine.
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Did your brokerage get your account up and running within hours of your application? If so, please be sure to share your experiences with a comment!