Transferring CAD to USD

[buncho 0]

Hi all, I have some money with a Canadian bank (in CAD) that I want to bring over to the US for investing following a move. Normally I would do Norbert's gambit with my Canadian broker to convert a large sum like this, but since become a non-resident, they wont let me trade in my account, and I can't open any new accounts with other brokers either. In any case, I think doing the conversion in Canada may have some undesired tax consequences.

In light of that I was thinking it may make sense to transfer the money to a CAD account with a US bank/broker, and do Norbert's Gambit that way. My Canadian investment broker had the option to hold both USD and CAD accounts, but I haven't seen much of that with the US brokers (Fidelity, Vanguard).

Is this an option that some brokers offer? Do I have better options available? I'd like to avoid paying thousands in foreign exchange fees.

[JP John 65]

If you are near a TD or any other Canadian based bank in the US open a US dollar account with them?  There are a few online companies that will do the conversion for you at better rates than the banks.  If you search the forum this has been discussed before

 

[buncho 0]

Yes I considered that but, I've gotten a few quotes with various exchanges and they are all around 0.5% which is still not great especially if I can simply do Norbert's Gambit and save thousands. I'm just not sure if there's some flaw in my plan 

[achenli 0]

Hello,

 

you could see if there are HSBC banks where you live in America. You'll have to open an account with both Canada and America. There is no conversion fee.

but you may need to have X amount in both banks.