Transferring money? Get ready to wait…

These days, a lot of Canadians are moving their investments out of big banks to discount brokerages or low-fee investment companies. Just be prepared wait an average of 19 days for your money to be transferred, during which time those funds are out of the market and out of your control. That’s the major finding from new proprietary data compiled by online investment service Wealthsimple. They found that the fastest transfer by any financial institution was five days, with the slowest one taking more than two months. “Interestingly, Canadian financial institutions have the technology required to transfer funds out of a client’s account in a timely matter, but they end up dragging their heels,” says Wealthsimple’s Dave Nugent. “It’s a frustrating experience for investors.” While Scotiabank charges the highest fees in the market ($150), they also have the best average transfer time of seven days. RBC, TD and CIBC, meanwhile, average transfer times of 20 days or more.