ETF Index Investing Course
10. How to Sign Up?
Keep scrolling to the bottom if you'd like to see the comments/Q&A section. Feel free to submit a question there and I'll be happy to answer.
Kornel
Keep scrolling to the bottom if you'd like to see the comments/Q&A section. Feel free to submit a question there and I'll be happy to answer.
Kornel
16 Comments
Diana
February 23, 2021Hi Kornel,
I’ve created an account with questrade and I don’t see an option for an RRSP account. There is one for RSP which is not the same? An RRSP is a RSP but not vice versa apparently. How do I make it RRSP specific? They must have changed the layout of the website since you created this as it looks different.
Please help. Thanks!
Diana
By Kornel Szrejber
February 24, 2021Hi Diana. To answer your question, the account that you want to select for the RRSP is called “Retirement Savings Plan (RSP)”. It’s the third one from the top. I hear what you’re saying about the naming conventions, and I agree that Questrade makes it a bit confusing at times. For example, they also call their taxable/non-registered accounts “Margin account” which definitely confuses people too. Definitely just select the “Retirement Savings Plan (RSP)” as that’s the one you want for an RRSP. That’s exactly what I have for my wife and I too and it counts as our RRSP. Let me know if you have any follow up questions and I’ll be happy to help.
Kornel
Matthew
September 28, 2019Hey Kornel,
The current contribution limit for a TFSA is $6000 per year. I’ve started investing late in my life and therefore I have a gross contribution limit of $51,000.
Am I able to contribute as much as I want per year until I max out my TFSA or can I only contribute up to the $6000 limit per year?
Thank you in advance!
By Kornel Szrejber
September 30, 2019Hi Matthew.
You don’t lose your contribution room, so in your case, you can contribute the entire $51,000 in one year if you want.
Every year you’ll be able to put in an additional $6,000 plus whatever you have leftover from previous years.
The best way to check exactly how much you can put in, is to log into your account on the CRA website. Once logged in, go to the TFSA section and it’ll tell you how much contribution room you have. Keep in mind though that the current year’s contributions won’t be included in that number, so if you’ve already invested something in your TFSA this year, make sure to subtract that amount from the available room that you see.
Shawn Gibson
October 26, 2018Thank you for creating such helpful, informative content! Your teacher heart constantly gives me confidence that you have not only your best in mind, but the best of those you are attempting to reach.
My wife and I have a mutual fund RRSP through CI Investments that has the horrendous MER fees talked about in your videos (just under 2.5% in our case), and we’re curious if Questrade accepts transfers from other accounts?
Thank you for your time and knowledge!
By Kornel Szrejber
October 27, 2018Thanks so much Shawn! I really appreciate the positive feedback!
To answer your question, yes, Questrade does accept transfers from other accounts. I’ve gone through the process myself in the past, and it’s fairly straightforward.
To start, if you don’t already have an account with Questrade, go through my ‘refer-a-friend’ link which will give you a cash bonus just for opening up an account (the bonus is between $25-$250 depending on how much you deposit). Full disclosure: I’ll also receive $25 for referring you. If you’re going to be opening up an account anyway with Questrade, then it’s basically a free bonus for both of us and worth doing.
Next, once you’re logged into Questrade, go to ‘Funding’ at the top, and click ‘Transfer Account to Questrade’. Fill out the form and submit. If you’re not sure how to fill out any part of the form then let me know here in the comments area and I will help you.
One thing to keep in mind is that if you are holding mutual funds or segregated funds, then those would essentially be sold, and the proceeds would be deposited as cash in your Questrade account. You will then be able to invest that cash as you see fit.
Important: With mutual funds and segregated funds, you may have a DSC (deferred sales charges) which are basically commissions/fees that you’ll have to pay to get out of the high free fund. Make sure you find out what those are so that there are no surprises.
I hope that helps. If you require more details or have follow-up questions, just let me know here in the comments and I’ll gladly help.
Kornel
Kyle
February 10, 2018once I top out the TFSA contributions what will I have to do?
I already have a TFSA with my bank.
I understand that I can have multiple TFSA’s with multiple banks and brokers as long as I stay under the annual and cumulative contribution limits.
I just googled it and saw that the current cumulative total is 57,500 with an annual of 5,500.
once I reach the limits of contributions do I open another account with questrade?
open a margin? or RRSP?
Thanks for everything!
great course!
Kyle
By Kornel Szrejber
February 18, 2018Hi Kyle.
To answer your question: Yes, once you’ve hit your TFSA limit for the year, then you have no choice but to open up an RRSP or non-registered account (this is called a ‘margin account’ in Questrade).
In terms of what account to open: It can depend on a few things but assuming that you are in a higher tax bracket now than you will be in retirement (as is the case for most people that are currently employed), then opening up an RRSP is the next step. What I like to do is max out the TFSA every year (once you get the new contribution room annually), and then I keep on contributing to my RRSP until I hit the lowest tax bracket. In Ontario that is around 46k. Here’s the link for the link with more details and for other provinces:
https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/frequently-asked-questions-individuals/canadian-income-tax-rates-individuals-current-previous-years.html
Of course with the RRSP, I am assuming that you have enough contribution room also.
I hope that helps, and let me know if the comments section if you have any follow up questions.
Kornel
Adam Jasim
January 7, 2018Hey!
I accidentally didn’t enter the promo code when I opened my TFSA. Is there a way to do it afterward?
Thanks 🙂
-Adam
By Kornel Szrejber
October 22, 2018I think the best way to do it is to do an online chat with Questrade and ask them to apply the bonus using the code I provided. If that doesn’t work then let me know and I’ll see what I can do.
Kornel
Liana
October 13, 2016Hey Kornel,
Can you please explain the other account options in the tab you were on at the end?
Can you please also explain what’s in the other tabs? (Someone above already mentioned margin)
Thanks!
By Kornel Szrejber
October 14, 2016Hi Liana.
Sure, no problem. The FX is if you want to trade currencies (i.e. If you want to speculate on which way currencies will move).
CFDs are used to buy on margin (i.e. Leverage), as well as to trade commodities. If you want, you can learn more about CFDs here: http://www.cmcmarkets.ca/en/cfd-trading/what-are-cfds
The “Packaged” tab is just a combination of the types of accounts that you can open. For example, if you want to open a margin account and RRSP at the same time. It’s used just to save you some time during the sign-up process.
I hope that helps! 🙂
Kornel
Dave
September 21, 2016Hi Kornel,
Maybe this is just my ignorance to the investing world revealing itself, but I’m a little hesitant to give out my SIN number to a company I’m just learning about now. Is this standard practice in trading? Do you know why it’s necessary? I’m sure it’s not something to really worry about, but it was unexpected. Just wondering if you can explain the reasoning for it.
By Kornel Szrejber
October 14, 2016Hi Dave.
I did some research on this and apparently they need it so that they can issue you the required tax documents, and so that they can validate that you are a permanent resident of Canada, or a Canadian citizen.
I’ve looked at other brokerages for you and they request this too. It appears to be standard practice. It looks like it helps them report to the CRA about the income that you’ve earned in your accounts (which they are obligated to do).
It looks like some places will let you get away with not providing it but then they have to validate you in different ways. You can always call them and ask if they are open to another way.
I hope that helps 🙂
Kornel
Kim Kilroy
June 14, 2016Hi Kornell
Watching video #10.I want to sign up with Questrade but not in a registered account. Would this be a margin account?
By Kornel Szrejber
June 15, 2016Hi Kim. Yes, that is correct. You would sign up with a margin account.
The one thing to be careful of when it comes to margin accounts is that you will have the option to buy on margin which means the ability to essentially take out a loan to buy the ETFs. I don’t recommend you do this since you don’t want to get into debt in an effort to increase your investments. Therefore, just be careful when you buy, by ensuring that you only buy ETFs using money that you actually have in your account.
Does that answer your question sufficiently?