Investment Account Transfer Fees: What to Check Before Moving
Ask the departing institution’s exit fees and check whether the receiving one reimburses them before moving an account.
Published 2026-07-21
Moving an investment account for better fees is often worthwhile, provided the trip's own costs are known. The departing institution charges transfer fees per account; the new one frequently reimburses them, but under conditions — a minimum amount and a written request — a commitment to secure by email before starting anything. The decisive choice then pits the in-kind transfer, positions travelling as they are, against the cash transfer, everything sold and repurchased, with days out of the market and, in the taxable account, crystallized gains. Then come the refused passengers: some proprietary funds do not travel and will have to be sold — sales to plan with tax in mind rather than endure mid-journey. This article lays out the complete checklist, the order of steps and the documents to keep until the statement confirming the promised reimbursement — the one that arrives two months after everyone else has forgotten it.
Know the exit bill
Leaving an investment institution costs transfer fees, billed per account: an RRSP, TFSA and non-registered account departing together generate three bills, often around a hundred and fifty dollars each. These fees appear in the departing institution's fee schedule, a document to consult before any move, and add to any closure charges. The complete exit bill, known in advance, enters the move's profitability calculation: on a small account it can eat a year of management-fee savings; on a substantial one it becomes reimbursable dust. The exact figure prevents surprises and arms the negotiation with the receiving institution, which knows these schedules perfectly.
Secure the reimbursement before leaving
Most receiving institutions reimburse transfer fees, but under conditions: a minimum transferred amount, often around twenty-five thousand dollars, and an explicit request, the reimbursement not triggering itself. The commitment is obtained in writing before starting the transfer — an email specifying the accounts and amounts suffices — and kept until the actual reimbursement, which generally appears on a statement one or two months after the funds arrive. Without a prior written commitment, the after-the-fact request negotiates less well. Transfer promotions sometimes sweeten the deal, cash bonuses by amount: they are compared across receiving institutions, with their retention conditions, the money often having to stay a year or two.
Choose between in kind and in cash
The transfer happens two ways with opposite consequences. In kind, the positions travel as they are: no sale, no time out of the market, no tax consequence, ownership simply changing address. In cash, everything is sold at departure and repurchased on arrival: days or weeks out of the market, during which any rise is missed, and above all, in the non-registered account, the crystallization of all accumulated gains — an immediate tax bill that can exceed years of fee savings. The default rule: in kind wherever possible, especially for the taxable account. The cash transfer is reserved for situations that demand it: non-transferable positions, or a complete portfolio overhaul already decided.
Spot the passengers that will not travel
Some positions refuse the trip: the departing institution's proprietary funds, absent from the arrival's shelves, and certain in-house products. The transfer blocks them or converts them into a forced sale — ideally discovered before launching the process: the position list is submitted to the receiving institution, which identifies the non-transferables. For those, the sale gets planned, in the taxable account with tax in mind, the timing chosen rather than endured. The overall transfer calendar is then monitored, a few weeks in normal times: the positions appearing at the arrival are checked against the departure list, and the stragglers are claimed, the documented follow-up keeping the move from dragging into a brokerage dispute.
Quebec scenario: compare before confirming
Drawn by lower fees, a financial controller in Saint-Georges wants to move his $240,000 investment account. Before signing, he tours the trip's hidden costs. The departing institution charges $150 per account transferred, $450 total for his RRSP, TFSA and cash account. The new institution reimburses those fees, but only on written request and for transfers above $25,000: he gets that commitment by email before starting anything. Then comes the decisive choice: transfer in kind, his positions travel as they are, or in cash, everything sold and repurchased. He chooses in kind, to avoid spending weeks out of the market and, in the cash account, to avoid crystallizing taxable gains. Two proprietary funds from the old institution refuse to travel, however: non-transferable, they will have to be sold, and he schedules those sales with the tax bill in mind. The transfer takes five weeks. The fee reimbursement lands on the second statement, exactly as promised in the email he had archived — which is why the email was archived in the first place.
Checklist
- Ask for the exit fees per account
- Get the reimbursement commitment by email
- Choose the in-kind transfer when possible
- Avoid the cash transfer's weeks out of market
- Protect the taxable account from needless sales
- Identify non-transferable positions in advance
- Plan their sales with tax in mind
- Track the transfer through the final statement
- Verify the promised fee reimbursement
Frequently asked questions
Who pays the transfer fees on my accounts?
The departing institution charges them, often around $150 per account; the new one frequently reimburses, but under conditions — a minimum amount transferred and a written request. Get the reimbursement commitment by email before starting anything, and keep it until the statement confirms it.
In kind or in cash: which transfer should I choose?
In kind whenever possible: your positions travel as they are, without time out of the market or taxable sales in the non-registered account. In cash, everything is sold and repurchased, with days or weeks out of the market and, outside RRSPs and TFSAs, crystallized gains.
What about non-transferable positions?
Some of the old institution's proprietary funds do not travel: they will have to be sold. Identify them before launching the transfer and plan the sales with tax and timing in mind. A position discovered mid-process to be non-transferable delays everything.