INVESTOR STREAM

Are Investments TFSA or RRSP Eligible?

Or other Registered Account (RRSP Spousal, LIRA. LRSP, RESP, RIF, etc.)

Can Investments on Equivesto be TFSA or RRSP Eligible?

Yes, investments on Equivesto can be made eligible to be held in a TFSA (Tax Free Savings Account), RRSP (Registered Retirement Savings Plan), or other Registered Account (RRSP Spousal, LIRA. LRSP, RESP, RIF etc.).  However, it’s not as simple as just choosing an account and clicking go. Making a private investment eligible for TFSA/RRSP investing requires working with a separate registered trust company, which has additional fees for the company raising money, and additional ongoing account fees for investors. Currently, Equivesto works with Olympia Trust Company, Western Pacific Trust Company, and Odyssey Trust Company to offer this service.  Investors must create a TFSA or RRSP with one of these firms in order to hold their investment in a TFSA or RRSP.

What is a TFSA or RRSP?

A Tax Fee Savings Account (TFSA) or Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) are two types of Canadian registered accounts that help investors either avoid or defer taxation for investments held within them. Regardless of their names, these accounts allow individuals to hold certain eligible investments in them, and are not limited to savings. Investors can open multiple TFSAs and RRSPs at one time, as long as they remain within their own contribution limits.

Explained simply, a TFSA allows investors to earn returns on eligible investments held within without paying any tax on the investment when it is withdrawn from the account.

Explained simply, an RRSP allows investors to defer paying tax on investments held within until the investor reaches retirement age, and will potentially have a lower marginal tax rate.

There are other types of registered accounts for which private investments can be eligible as well, which include RESP (registered Education Savings Plan), RIF (Retirement Income Fund), LIRA (Locked In Retirement Account), and more.

Equivesto is not a licensed tax specialist, so please speak to your own accountant or tax lawyer for details on TFSAs, RRSPs, other registered accounts and the impact of investments held within on your personal tax situation.

Click HERE to visit the Government of Canada website on TFSAs.

Click HERE to visit the Government of Canada website on RRSPs.

Click HERE to visit the Government of Canada website on other Registered accounts.

Which types of investments are eligible in a TFSA or RRSP?

Only certain types of investments are eligible to be used in a TFSA, RRSP, or other registered account.  Typically, those are public investment products like stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. 

For a private investment on Equivesto to be eligible to be used in an TFSA or RRSP, the company itself must choose to become eligible for registered investment.  This takes some additional time, paperwork, and costs, and is done by a registered trust company that Equivesto partners with.  This step is done before the company launches their campaign, and their campaign page will clearly indicate if it is eligible for TFSA and RRSP investments. This process is so the Trust company can prove that the investors investing the campaign are not related to the company, but regular third party investors, who are investing without insider knowledge. Companies may choose to work with only one, two, or all three of the trust companies: Western Pacific Trust Company, Olympia Trust Company, and/or Odyssey Trust Company. Please confirm which trust organization the company is registered with prior to investing.

So a company’s campaign says it’s TFSA and RRSP Eligible, what happens next?  

You will need to use a TFSA/RRSP with one of our partner trust companies. Equivesto has fully integrated account creation documents from both trust companies into our process to make things smoother for our clients, including documents necessary to transfer funds from an existing TFSA or RRSP, if you would like to.

BEFORE you invest, reach out to Equivesto directly by emailing support@equivesto.com and letting us know that you would like to hold your investment in a TFSA or RRSP, whether you already have an account with them or need to create a new one, and whether you would like to move funds from an existing TFSA/RRSP. 

Equivesto has connected the account creation process with both of our partners, so when you sign the investment documents on Equivesto, you will also be presented the right documents for either Western Pacific or Olympia. Equivesto will then provide the documents to one of our partner registered trust companies, where they will set up a new TFSA or RRSP account to hold your investment or connect it to your existing account with them.  

Setting up a TFSA or RRSP with this company to hold your investment will have both a one time setup cost for you, as well as an annual account cost.  The trust company will then hold your investment in your new account, and any additional TFSA or RRSP eligible investments you make via Equivesto can be held in that same account. For this reason, setting up a TFSA or RRSP for private investments is not advised by Equivesto unless your investments are large enough that you are willing to pay the ongoing fees.  

If you already have an existing registered account with one of our partner trust companies, please speak to Equivesto prior to making your investment by emailing support@equivesto.com.

Depending on the investment offering, companies raising on Equivesto may choose to partner with Western Pacific Trust Company, Olympia Trust Company, Odyssey Trust Company, or any combination.

Minimum Investment Amount

Because of the below fees, the typical minimum investment amount for TFSA/RRSP held investments on Equivesto is $10,000, unless otherwise stated, but please review the Offering Terms section at the bottom of the company’s campaign page to confirm.

What are the Fees?

The fees are different depending on which Trust company is being used.

Olympia Trust Company Fees:

Annual Account Fee: CAD $150 per account (Second plan: $75)* plus tax

Purchase of Security: CAD $75 plus tax

Document Processing Fee: CAD $25 plus tax

Olympia Trust Fee Schedule

*Discounts do not apply to all types of account

Western Pacific Trust Company Fees:

Annual Account Fee for TFSA/RRSP: CAD $165 (Second plan of any type: $75) plus tax

Purchase Fee: CAD $75 plus tax

Western Pacific Trust Fee Schedule

Odyssey Trust Company Fees:

Annual Administration Fee: CAD $125 per account (Second plan: $75) plus tax

Trade Settlement: CAD $100 plus tax

Odyssey Trust Fee Schedule

Additional Fees:

Transfer-out Fee: Typically around CAD $150** (check with your relinquishing bank/trust company)

**Your relinquishing institution may choose to charge you a fee to transfer your funds. Note: These funds may come from your requested amount, please confirm with your relinquishing institution prior to submitting a transfer request as the transferred amount may be insufficient for your investment.

Expected Trust Timelines

Account Creation: 1-3 business days

Contributions: 2-5 business days

Transfer Registered Funds between Institutions: 2-4+ weeks***

***Transfer timelines can be extended if files get rejected. Rejected files typically occur due to one of the following reasons:

  1. Transfer document typos such as account numbers, SIN number, legal name;

  2. Incorrect account type selection (ex. Selecting RRSP instead of selecting Locked-In RRSP aka. LIRA/LRSP);

  3. Requested funds are currently invested (either the account needs to be in a Cash position OR funds/stocks that you would like sold needs to be listed clearly in the transfer form).

  4. Insufficient funds (can occur from fund/stock price fluctuations during the transfer process)

Please reach out if you are having any trouble with your transfer forms: support@equivesto.com

Post Investment

After investing, you can view and download a copy of your investment paperwork in the Equivesto portal. See full walkthrough of how to access your investment documents after investing here.

Moving forward, your main view into your registered account and investment status will be via the trust company’s respective client portal: