Your investing questions, our clear answers.

Our response:

Yes. Assets can be transferred from one investment account to another. There may be limitations and or exceptions depending on the type of asset, account, or an institution’s policies.

You will usually have options such as:

1. Transfer assets in-kind or ‘as-is’. You may choose some or all of the assets to move from one account to the other exactly the way they are.
2. Transfer as cash. You can choose to move any available cash or sell some or all (may be called a partial or mixed transfer) of your investments and transfer the proceeds as cash.

If some or all assets are sold as part of a transfer or transferred from a non-registered account to a registered account, such as a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) or a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA), there may be tax consequences. You are considered to have sold your investments at their fair market value and will have to report any resulting gain on your tax return. If the stock value has gone down, you cannot claim the capital loss if such transfer is to a registered account.

Tax rules are enforced by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). If you have questions about tax implications, contact CRA or you may want to speak with qualified advisor.