Tag Archives: cash

Testing a Buy (and Sell) of AAT770 in a BMO InvestorLine Account: Part One, the Buy

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Stock prices for some of my favourites for “month trading” (like TD) have been soaring, diving and swooping back up off the grass like my favourite Penguin kite. (You do know Penguins can’t fly, right?) So I have a small pile of cash sitting in my trading account at BMO InvestorLine. I think I’ll buy some AAT770, the BMO high interest savings account fund, and then if one of my favourites starts heading for the dandelions I’ll sell it to fund a stock purchase.

Since stock prices are high on my favourites today, I can start this test now. If they start to plummet, though, I’ll want to bail quickly. So for this first stage, I’ll put in the buy order.

Tracking a Request to Purchase AAT770 from InvestorLine

Following my own instructions on how to buy AAT770,  I’ll place an order today.

At 12:55 ET on Monday, July 8 2013 I placed the order.

Immediately, when I select Order Status from the Trading Tab, I am provided with the following information:

  • the original order number
  • the symbol: AAT770
  • a description: BMO High Int Sving Account(BIL)
  • the order type: Buy
  • the original order quantity: $2,000,000 (Why don’t you believe me?!)
  • the outstanding quantity: blank
  • the entry date mm/dd: 07/08 (Good thing they clarify which one is the month)
  • the expiry date mm/dd: blank
  • the average fill price: blank
  • the status: submitted

The word submitted is a link but if I click it what opens is a definition of the term.

The original order number is also a link. If I click it the Order Status Details screen opens. That screen has the following information already (minutes after I placed the order.)

  • Original Order Number
  • Symbol: AAT770
  • Fund Name: BMO High Int Svng Account(BIL)
  • Reference Number: this is the same number as the original order number
  • Order Type: Buy
  • Order Quantity/value: $2,000,000 (Honest! Would a Crooks lie to you? OK maybe I exaggerate sometimes.)
  • Load Type: No Load
  • Most Recent Closing Price: $1.00
  • Dividend Option: Reinvest (which is what I asked for when I submitted the order)
  • Settlement Funds: CAD
  • Status: Submitted (same link to the definition)
  • Activity Date/Time: 2013-07-08 12:56

And an informational note:
“This order cannot be changed or cancelled for the following reason:
•  Mutual Fund and/or Fixed Income orders cannot be changed or cancelled online.”

My account balance is also shown in a small box in the upper right side of the screen. At this point it still shows a Cash Balance that *includes* the amount I have just committed to invest in the high interest savings account fund, AAT770.

If I click on the My Portfolio tab, I also still see the amount I just spend included in my Cash balances. That means it’s important to be careful not to overestimate how much cash I have left to spend on equities or other investments today.

At this time, the HISA fund is not appearing on my list of Investments on the My Holdings page.

If I select Transaction History from the list under the My Portfolio tab there is not yet any transaction listed. It does not list the order to buy the fund.

Stay Tuned
Tomorrow, I will check these reporting mechanisms again and see what BMO InvestorLine reports to be happening with my request to purchase this HISA fund. In the meantime, I will have to write a reminder on a sticky note on my monitor not to spend the $2,000,000 I just committed to buying the fund. ; )

Welcome Back: The Buy Continues
On Tuesday, July 9

  • By selecting Order Status under the Trading tab I reviewed my order to buy AAT770. It has now been updated to the Order Status of Filled.
  • Under My Portfolio, I selected Holdings.
    • My Cash Balance has still not been reduced by the amount I spent on the HISA. This is where having that sticky note on the monitor could be very important!
    • My purchase of the AAT770 is still not reported anywhere under My Holdings.
  • Under My Portfolio, I then selected Transaction History.
    Nothing is reported here yet either.

On Wednesday, July 10

  • Under the Trading Tab and selection Order Status I can still see the same Filled information as yesterday and nothing new.
  • Under My Portfolio, after I select Holdings, I see
    • my Cash Balance has finally been reduced by the amount of dollars I deposited in my High Interest Savings Account fund, and
    • under Investments, there is a line item for BMO High Int Svng Account (BIL) – AAT770
  • (If I select Categorize by Asset Class and click the Go button, the line is listed in the Cash equivalents section under the subheading Mutual funds. This is somewhat amusing to me as when I emailed MyLink about these accounts they replied in writing that these are not actually mutual funds. They sure look like they are when you buy them and sell them using the Mutual Funds screen and they report their values under the Mutual Funds subheading!)
  • Under My Portfolio, if I select Transaction History I can now see the line item for the Buy order. Although this is the first time it has shown up, on July 10, it states the activity had a Transaction Date of July 9 and a Settlement Date of July 9.

After the Purchase, the Sale
Now I will enter an order to sell some of my units. I will follow my own instructions in How Fast Can I Sell my BMO InvestorLine AAT770 HISA to Generate Cash to Re-invest?

You have to maintain a balance of at least $5000 but I deposited enough to remove a $5000 portion of the units and still leave over $5000 in the fund. $1,995,000 to be exact. (What do you mean you don’t believe me? Sheesh. I guess I won’t be selling you my shares in Nortel.) UPDATE As of 2017 10 03 the minimum balance is $1 000.

To find out what happens, please read Testing a Buy and Sell of AAT770 in a BMO InvestorLine Account Part Two: the Sell.

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Are you parking your cash waiting for a sweet deal? Do you use a HISA account to try to earn a few bucks while you wait? Please share your experiences with a comment.

How to Order Cheques for a PC Financial No Fee Chequing Account

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Ok, first I opened a joint PC Financial chequing account and we funded it by depositing a cheque at a CIBC bank machine. Next I paid a bill from my account online. Our first set of cheques arrived in the mail on the second Tuesday after the Saturday that we opened the account. But I wanted to order another set of paper cheques. First, they only send you 50 cheques initially and we need tons to keep up with our children’s insatiable demand for small amounts of money for activities. Second, I have this terrible fear that PC Financial will suddenly start charging a fee for cheques just because I have finally opened an account. (I have extremely good luck with this kind of thing.) So I decided to try to order a second batch of 50 cheques using their online service. You can also order cheques for your PC Financial no fee account by phoning them at 1-8. Instead, this is what I did.

Ordering Cheques from PC Financial

There are a few changes to these steps. You may want to check the newer article: President’s Choice Financial Is Closing and Becoming Simplii by CIBC So I’m Ordering More Cheques

  1. To sign In to your PC Financial account/s
    1. Go to http://www.pcfinancial.ca/
    2. Make sure Online Banking is selected from the drop down list in the top right corner of the screen, then
    3. Click the Go button.
    4. In the Card Number field, type the number on your debit card.
      Do NOT type your account number. (Weird but true.)
      Do NOT click to select Save Bank Card. This is a terrible idea. Why give someone half the information to break into your account after they steal your computer?!
    5. In the Password field, type the password. (This is your long password, not the shorter one for telephone banking.)
    6. Click on the Sign In button.
  2. From the list across the top of the screen, click on: special requests.
  3. Under the account services section, click on the link called: order cheques.
    The Order Cheques screen will open.
    PC Financial reminds you that you have to change your address at least 24 business hours before you order new cheques. If your address has changed deal with that first. If your address is fine you can continue.
  4. If you have more than one chequing account, in the Order cheques for which account? drop-down list, select the correct account.
  5. To order the free cheques, click on the button called: quick order now.
  6. You’re done!
  7. If so desired, click on the button called: return to account services; or
    If you are not going to do anything else click on the Sign Out button.
    For extra security, close your browser session.

The cheques are ordered and should arrive in 7-10 business days.

PC Financial warns you that you cannot order another batch for at least 10 business days.

To Check on the Status of your Cheque Order with PC Financial

  1. Sign in to your account/s.
  2. From the list across the top of the screen, click on: special requests.
  3. Under the account services section, click on the link called: order cheques.
  4. On the Order Cheques screen, near the top, click on the View your status link.
  5. You will see a reference number and a status.
  6. Click on the Sign Out button and close your browser session.

Interestingly enough, seconds after I ordered my cheques, the status is reported as: complete.

So I guess there isn’t much information provided here, as I certainly don’t have the cheques yet, and I doubt they mailed them seconds after I ordered them. I’ll have to try to remember to check this again (notice the little pun on “cheque”!) to see if it ever includes info like when they were mailed, etc. I suspect it doesn’t.

When Will I Get my Cheques from PC Financial?

When we opened a new account, we received our cheques in the mailbox 7 business days later.

I have just ordered my second set of cheques online and I will report when they arrive. I ordered the cheques on May 2. They arrived Monday, May 13, 2013.

The PC Financial website says that cheques should arrive by mail within 7-10 business days after the order is placed.

I have just ordered another batch on Tuesday, February 25, 2014. They arrived on Monday, March 3. That’s just 3 business days!

What If I Want Really Fancy Cheques from PC Financial?

You may have become so used to spending money to buy cheques that you have an irresistible need to keep paying for them. Or perhaps you really think the recipients of your cheques gasp in astonishment at the amazing works of art underneath your exquisite penmanship. If so, you may be pleased to know there are cheques you can order for your PC Financial account that cost you money and have elaborate graphics. These cheques are actually sold by Davis & Henderson but the money to pay for them will be directly removed from your chequing account.

If you want to order this type of cheque, you can do so from the Order Cheques screen, by clicking on the button called: custom order now.

Because I never want to spend money on cheques again (although I will likely have to) I have not tested what happens once you click on that button. Perhaps someone who has will be kind enough to share their experiences with a comment. For now, be careful about what you are agreeing to spend if you do click.

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Do you still have to use cheques? Does paying for new cheques make you wince? Please share your experiences with a comment.