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.
Related Reading
Join In
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.