Making my Campaign TFSA/RRSP Eligible

Can my campaign be TFSA or RRSP eligible?

Yes, investments on Equivesto can be made eligible to be held in a TFSA (Tax Free Savings Account) or RRSP (Registered Retirement Savings Plan).  However, its 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 an additional ongoing account fee for investors. Currently Equivesto works with Western Pacific Trust Company and/or Olympia Trust Company to offer this service. 

What types of investments are eligible for TFSA or RRSP? 

Only certain types of investments are eligible to be used in a TFSA or RRSP.  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 TFSA and RRSP eligible.  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.  

I’m interested in offering this to my investors, what next?

If you are interested in offering this to investors in your company as part of your campaign, let us know during the due diligence phase.  We will need to prepare a package of documents to provide to our partner trust company, who will need to review that separately in order to confirm your status.  There is an additional fee for this. In addition to the documents required by Equivesto, you will also need to provide a copy of your most recent company internal financial statements to the trust company, as well as a letter from your accountant or lawyer. Speak to us directly at support@equivesto.com to learn more.  

Western Pacific Setup Fee: CAD $1,000

Olympia Trust Setup Fee: CAD $1,000