UPDATE: This article is historical, from 2014. I no longer invest with RBC Direct Investing.

Well, the promotional interest rate on my 2014 RRSP contribution at Tangerine, formerly ING Direct, has now expired. It’s time to transfer my cash from my Tangerine RRSP to my RBC Direct Investing RRSP brokerage account and invest it in some incredibly-low-fee buy-the-entire-market ETFs using those lovely free trades I got for opening my RBC DI account.

Like most of these transfers, I need to fill out a T2033 form to transfer my assets from one RRSP to the other. Transferring the money means I don’t pay any taxes and I don’t lose any contribution room. As usual, I need to fill out the form provided by the place where I want my money to go. So in this case, I need a transfer form from RBC Direct Investing which they will then send to Tangerine.

UPDATE: Please be aware that as of January 2015, Tangerine has started charging a fee if you transfer your RRSP or TFSA from Tangerine to another bank, credit union, brokerage or financial institution.

Before You Start the Process of Transferring Your RRSP Cash to RBC Direct Investing

You’ll need the following info before you start:

• the name and address of the bank or financial institution where your RRSP is now
• the type of account you are transferring the RRSP money out of (for example, personal or spousal or locked-in)
• the account number for the RRSP you are transferring the money out of, and also any other required identifying number such as a client number if necessary
• the amount of money you want to transfer.

You will probably need a printer ready to print out your transfer request form.

How to Get a T2033 for RBC Direct Investing

1. Go to http://www.rbcdirectinvesting.com/
2. Sign in to your RBC DI RRSP account.
3. Under the My Home tab, from the list across the top of the screen, click on the Forms link.
4. Click on the listed link: Transfer Your Personal Account from Another Institution.
5. On the Transfer Your Account from Another Institution page, click on the link: Transfer assets to your Registered account.

The Introduction Screen
Read through the information then click on the Continue button.

The My Information Screen
Review your name, address, phone number/s, email address and social insurance number. If they are correct, click the Continue button

The Delivering Institution Information Screen

1. From the drop-down list, choose the bank that has your RRSP money right now.
   If it’s not listed, select Other at the bottom of the list.
   I had to select Other for Tangerine.
2. If you had to select Other, you will also have to provide the name and address for your bank or financial institution.
   I filled in the fields for
   • Other Delivering Institution Name:
   • Address (line 1):
   • City:
   • Province:
   • Postal Code:

   with

   • Tangerine
   • 3389 Steeles Avenue East
   • Toronto
   • Ontario
   • M2H 3S8
3. From the Delivering Institution Account Type: drop-down list select
   • RSP
   • Spousal RSP; or
   • LIRA
4. In the Client Account/Policy Number: field, type the number for the account from which you are taking the money.
   I could only fit in my RSP number not my client account number.
5. Select one of the following choices by clicking to select the radio button beside it:
   • Transfer all of my assets as they are (“as is”) including any existing cash balances to RBC Direct Investing (All in Kind)
   • Sell all of my assets and transfer the cash proceeds to RBC Direct Investing (All in Cash)
   • Transfer all of my assets. However, sell a portion of them and have the cash proceeds along with the remainder of the account transferred “as is” to RBC Direct Investing (All Assets, but Mixed – in cash and in kind)
   • Transfer only a portion of my assets to RBC Direct Investing (Partial)

   Because I want to leave $1 in my Tangerine account so that it’s ready and open for a future contribution, I selected the “only a portion” option.

6. Click on the Continue button.

For my specific choice, I have to give further instructions.

The Partial Transfer Details Screen

1. Click to select the answer Yes or No to the question: Are you transferring an existing cash balance from your plan?
   I selected Yes.
2. Fill in the Transfer Details for Cash Balance table by typing in the amount of Canadian and/or US dollars you want to transfer into your RBC DI RRSP account or by clicking to select the ALL option for one or both types of dollars.
3. Click to select the answer Yes or No to the question: Would you like to sell some of your assets and transfer the cash proceeds from the sale?
   I selected No.
4. Click to select the answer Yes or No to the question: Are you moving existing securities to RBC Direct Investing as is (in kind)?
   I’m moving cash so I selected No.
5. Click on the continue button.

If you had something to transfer differently, you may have to complete some other screens.

The RBC Direct Investing Information Screen

1. Read the information about where you RSP money will be transferred.
2. From the Transfer to Account: drop-down list, select the proper RRSP account into which to deposit the money. (You really usually only have one choice for this: your RRSP.)
3. Click on the Continue button.

The Transfer Your Account from Another Institution Screen

1. Read through what they are proposing to do. This is the information they will be mailing to Tangerine to start the transfer.
   If it all looks good, click on the Continue button.
2. You must now print, sign and return the form to RBC DI. They will send a copy to Tangerine to process the transfer.
   • Click on the Print button.
   • Click on the Continue button.
   • Sign your form.
   • Because I’m like that, I also wrote my Tangerine client number and the plan number on the form beside where it listed my RSP account number. (After all there are a lot of Crooks in the world so it might help them to identify me better.)
   • Make a copy for your files.
   • If possible, RBC DI asks you to include a copy of your most recent statement from the RSP that from which you are transferring out the funds.
3. Mail the signed form and the statement to
   RBC Direct Investing Inc.
   Royal Bank Plaza
   Address: 200 Bay Street, North Tower
   P.O. Box 75
   Toronto, Ontario
   M5J 2Z5
   (Actually always be sure to check the instructions for the most recent address. This is correct as of June 2014.)
4. You should now expect to wait 2-6 weeks.
   Questions are taken at 1-800-769-2560, option 4.
5. Next
   • to start another transfer click the Transfer More Accounts button; or
   • click the Done button.
6. Unless you have anything else you wish to do, click on the Sign Out button.
7. For added security clear your browser cache and close your browser session.

And Now We Wait

Last time my transfer to RBC DI moved at the speed of a glacier retreating in winter. Let’s see how long this time takes….

UPDATE: How Long Did It Take to Transfer Cash from Tangerine to RBC Direct Investing?

Ok, so here’s what happened.

• On June 15 I put the request to transfer the cash into a big red Canada Post mail box.
• On June 21 my cash was withdrawn from my RRSP at Tangerine.ca.
• On Friday June 27 the cash appeared in my RRSP at RBC Direct Investing. In the Transaction History it was back-dated to deposit on June 26.

So the transfer wasn’t exactly fast but it wasn’t too bad. Now it’s time to start buying some low-fee hold-the-entire-market ETFs with my remaining free trades.

UPDATE: Please be aware that as of January 2015, Tangerine has started charging a fee if you transfer your RRSP or TFSA from Tangerine to another bank, credit union, brokerage or financial institution.

Related Reading

• How to Open a RRSP Account at RBC Direct Investing

Join In
Do you sometimes contribute your RRSP money to take advantage of a bonus or incentive and then transfer it later to its final destination? Do you find transferring your RRSP funds a hassle or simple? Please share your experiences with a comment.