Transfer Your Account to Wealthsimple

No — a direct institution-to-institution transfer does not reduce your RRSP contribution room and does not count as a withdrawal. The CRA treats it as a direct transfer under Subsection 146(16)(a). Wealthsimple handles the paperwork (T2033) automatically. Never withdraw from your RRSP and recontribute — that permanently destroys your contribution room and triggers withholding tax.

No — a direct TFSA-to-TFSA transfer between institutions does not count as a withdrawal and does not affect your contribution room in any way. If you were to withdraw the money yourself and redeposit it at Wealthsimple, that would count as a withdrawal, and you would not regain the room until January 1 of the following year — risking an over-contribution penalty.

Yes — Wealthsimple reimburses transfer fees up to $150 per account when you transfer $25,000 or more. The reimbursement appears in your account within 2 business days of the transfer completing. Your funds must stay at Wealthsimple for 90 days or the reimbursement may be reversed. Transfers under $25,000 do not qualify. DSC (deferred sales charge) fees on mutual funds are not reimbursed.

An in-kind transfer moves your existing holdings (stocks, ETFs) to Wealthsimple exactly as-is — nothing is sold. This is generally better because you avoid selling at a bad time and there are no reinvestment commissions. In-cash transfers liquidate your holdings first, then move the cash. Bank proprietary mutual funds are typically force-liquidated regardless of which option you choose since they are not available on Wealthsimple's platform.

Bank-branded mutual funds (TD Mutual Funds, RBC Select Portfolios, etc.) cannot be held at Wealthsimple. They will be sold by your old institution during the transfer and the cash proceeds will be moved. For non-registered accounts this may trigger capital gains — consider speaking with a tax professional before initiating the transfer. For registered accounts (RRSP, TFSA), there are no immediate tax consequences.

It depends on your institution. Questrade and online brokerages typically take 5–8 business days. Big bank transfers take 10–20 business days. Desjardins/Disnat can take 4–5 weeks due to paper-based processes. Do not trade in your old account after initiating the transfer — pending transactions can delay completion by 30+ days.

No. The T2033 is the CRA form historically used for direct RRSP transfers, but Wealthsimple handles this electronically via the ATON (Automated Transfer of Accounts Network) system on your behalf. You only need to upload a recent statement from your current institution when initiating the transfer in the app.