Category: Audience

Spousal Loans: A good way to split income

RobH1 Comment

Disclaimer: I am neither a tax lawyer nor a tax accountant. Engage the services of a professional if you have doubts.

For most of my working career, I earned more than my spouse did and as a result, paid more income tax, too. Spousal RRSPs are a very easy way to split income down the road1, but what about the here and now? Is there a way to shift income from one spouse to another without a whole lot of complexity2 for THIS year’s tax return?

One thing I set up a few years ago was a spousal loan. The concept is pretty simple:

  • You loan your spouse funds3
  • These funds are used by your spouse for investment in a non-registered account
  • You charge your spouse interest on that loan, which you must declare as income (and your spouse can deduct as an investment expense)
  • Your spouse gets to keep capital gains, dividends and interest payments in their name and file them on their return, and thus pay less tax than you would on those gains.

Now, of course, there is the small matter of “what interest rate do you charge”? Since the name of the game is income-splitting it’s advantageous to charge as little as possible. But before you run to the exit and give an interest-free loan, there are prescribed rates set by the CRA, found here. The rate to use is called the “The interest rate used to calculate taxable benefits for employees and shareholders from interest free and low-interest loans” and it currently4 sits at 3%56.

The nice thing about setting up such a loan is that the interest rate is fixed at the time you set it up. I feel pretty smart knowing that my spouse is paying a rock-bottom 1% annual rate and has done so since the 4th quarter of 2020.

So how to go about it? Like all things involving the CRA, it’s good to have records, so

  • I set up a formal loan agreement dated, signed and archived. It spells out the date the loan was made, the amount, the payment schedule and so on. There’s lots of templates out there.
  • I transferred the funds to my spouse using a cheque to create a paper trail.
  • My spouse pays the interest due annually via eTransfer so there’s an email record
  • I declare the interest as income on my tax return
  • My spouse declares the interest expense on her tax return

One thing I haven’t figured out yet is when to dissolve this loan. In retirement, I’m not making more than my spouse, so perhaps it’s time to wrap up this arrangement7.

  1. And if you’re careful, you can arrange to have you and your spouse have the SAME amounts in your respective RRSPs when it’s time to convert to a RRIF. ↩︎
  2. I suppose there’s probably some way involving setting up a corporation and paying your spouse a salary, but that concept doesn’t work for everybody ↩︎
  3. Left unsaid, is that you have to have spare cash available to actually loan this money and your spouse needs a way to invest it ↩︎
  4. Q3 2025 ↩︎
  5. According to multiple sources this is the interest rate of the 3-month treasury bill sold at auction. Who knew? ↩︎
  6. If I were a betting man, I’d say this rate is likely to go lower before the end of the year. Returns need to exceed the interest rate charged for this to make sense but 3% is a pretty low bar. ↩︎
  7. Or perhaps I’ll just wait until my bonus payouts from Questrade are done. Decreasing my spouse’s holdings will have an adverse effect on the bonus being paid. ↩︎

The Cost of Asset Allocation ETFs

RobH4 Comments

Readers will know that I’m a fan of the asset-allocation ETF. In fact, the vast majority of my retirement savings are dedicated to them. (New to the concept of asset allocation ETFs? Here’s an intro.)

Owning asset-allocation ETFs means you can quite literally invest and forget. The target asset allocations are maintained automatically for you, eliminating the all-too-common desire to tinker/experiment/play and mess with your returns in the process.

As with all things investing, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. This automatic asset re-allocation is reflected in the MER1 of the asset-allocation ETFs. So what’s this automatic management actually costing the holder of the all-in-one?

To work out the answer to that question, you have to look at how the asset-allocation ETF in question is built. Some people refer to asset allocation ETFs as “funds of funds” and this is actually quite an apt description, since most asset-allocation ETFs are just constructed by buying up index ETFs issued by the same company.

For example, iShares and TD each have an all-equity asset allocation ETF, named XEQT and TEQT2, respectively. Here’s what’s actually under the hood of each of them:

(I tried to keep the colours consistent between the two: red is Canadian equity, blue is US Equity, and other colours are international equity).

The thing about the MER of an all-in-one is that it already includes the MERs of the funds from which it is built. The tip-off is phrases like this one in iShares’ literature:


…MER includes all management fees and GST/HST paid by the fund for the period, and includes the fund’s proportionate share of the MER, if any, of any underlying fund in which the fund has invested…

https://www.blackrock.com/ca/investors/en/literature/product-brief/core-etf-portfolios-product-brief.pdf3

What this means is you can work out what the MER would be if you decided to simply manage the underlying funds yourself, and in so doing, figure out the premium that the all-in-one is adding to the mix.

I did this exercise, and here’s what I found:

XEQTTEQT
MER of component parts40.103%0.089%
All-in-one MER50.20%0.17%
MER premium for all-in-one60.097%0.081%
Annual premium cost per $1000 invested7$0.97$0.81

I offer a few takeaways from this analysis:

  • The MER costs I’m talking about here are lower than a factor of 10 (at least) that what’s charged by typical investment advisors and bank-backed mutual funds
  • The cost premium of the all-in-one is small, but it’s higher than I expected; even small percentage differences are greatly amplified when you work out (say) the 10 year cost of using these products.

The alternative of managing the constituent parts can be a cheapskate alternative and can save real money over time8, but one must beware of

  • The added complexity inherent in managing a portfolio of multiple ETFs. The XEQT/TEQT example is the simplest one; if you add bonds to the mix (e.g. XBAL/TBAL) you will need to add a few more ETFs to replicate the all-in-one. I used to manage my portfolio without using all-in-ones. I enjoyed it (you may have noticed I have a deep interest in investing). In retirement I have chosen to be practical and have attempted to create an environment that won’t be cognitively overwhelming as I get older.9
  • The greater likelihood of straying from the plan due to inaction or emotion kicking in. I myself didn’t put a lot of credence to this argument, but people smarter than me have pointed out that this is probably the one biggest factor that derails investment plans.
  1. The MER (Management Expense Ratio) is the cost of operating the ETF, expressed as a percentage. You don’t directly pay MER fees, but they reduce the overall returns of your investments. Lower MERs = more money for you. ↩︎
  2. No points for originality here ↩︎
  3. In teeny tiny letters at the bottom of page 1 ↩︎
  4. Weighted MER of each of the component ETFs. ↩︎
  5. You can find these on the ETF pages for XEQT and TEQT ↩︎
  6. Subtract 2 previous rows ↩︎
  7. Just multiply. Watch those decimal points, though. ↩︎
  8. I’m ignoring trading costs which aren’t zero but ought to be very small. Rebalancing assets is necessary of course but is perhaps a monthly, quarterly or annual exercise. ↩︎
  9. And even a portfolio just based on all-in-ones may prove to be too much to handle at some point. I’ve started to pay a bit more attention to the services offered by robo-advisors. ↩︎

Passiv guide to investing

RobHLeave a comment

Passiv is a tool I was introduced to via my online broker of choice, Questrade1. As I mentioned elsewhere, Passiv’s main mission is offer an alternative to all-in-one ETF funds by automating trades to make sure your individual holdings support your overall target.

Anyway, Passiv is a nice add-on for me because it’s a way better way for me to see accounts for which my spouse has given me trading authority (it’s a real weakness of the Questrade platform). On one screen, I can see all the accounts in the retirement portfolio.

Anyway, since I use Passiv, I get the occasional email from them. Recently, they posted a blog called The Beginner’s Guide to Passive Investing which I think is a pretty good summary of my own approach to investing; it’s a pretty good article to share with a new investor, too. There’s lots we agree on:

  • Saving is different from investing (my view here)
  • Passive investing is the way to go (I own no individual stocks in my retirement portfolio)
  • You don’t need an advisor. We disagree on why. For me, it’s because there’s all-in-one ETFs. For Passiv, it’s because there’s Passiv 😉
  • Invest consistently, and without thinking. Pay yourself first.

They end the blog with a section called How Do I Start Investing?, which has a lot in common with an article I wrote called Ok, I’m ready to fire my advisor. What do I need to do? Let’s take a look at what I agree with and what I disagree with in that part of the article.

Open a Brokerage Account

Passiv seems to think there’s only two brokers out there, namely Wealthsimple and Questrade2. Given that the Passiv platform supports direct connections to these two brokers, this is somewhat understandable. But make no mistake, there’s plenty of other options out there. And what’s right for your neighbour may not be right for you. What broker to use will depend on a bunch of factors, and I talked about some of them here.

Set up Your Accounts

Yup, that’s something you need to do. I broke it down in some detail over here, since I switched brokers earlier this year. Since the target audience is new investors, non-registered accounts don’t get a mention here, but for many long-term investors, a non-registered account ends up being part of the mix. And RRIFs, of course.

Choose Your Investments

Passiv doesn’t have any use for all-in-ones (aka asset allocation ETFs) since that’s kinda core to what they offer. So while their recommendations are sound if you want to buy into the five funds they recommend3, it’s more complicated than it needs to be. For me, it’s a two-step process

Set up Passiv

It’s of course a bit self-serving, but a tool like Passiv is quite useful to track your allocations if you choose not to use an all-in-one. Or you can use a spreadsheet like I do.

Fund Your Account

If you’re transferring from some other financial services provider expect a lot of form filling. I documented some of the issues with transfers in a general sense here and specific to the RRIF holder here.

Buy Your Investments

No argument here; if you don’t actually invest, your money is just sitting idle. If you buy an all-in-one ETF, that’s one trade per account.

Automate and Chill

Yes, Passiv can in fact do trades on your behalf. (That’s an upcharge, though). A Passiv-run portfolio is possible4. All-in-one ETFs are also automated, since part of what they do is periodically rebalance their holdings automatically. In retirement, automation seems difficult. There’s a lot of steps to get paid.

In conclusion

Passiv’s blog is an excellent primer on how to get started; feel free to share it with your kids, colleagues and relatives. Just be aware that it promotes the Passiv approach which, if followed to its logical conclusion, requires a subscription to Passiv Elite — worth it, if that’s the direction you prefer.

  1. Like most online brokers, Questrade is good at some things, not so good at others. You can read my review here. ↩︎
  2. They are both fine providers; I have accounts at both. And QTrade too, but that should be done by the end of 2025. Anyway, buying and holding ETFs is offered by all Canadian brokers. No need to limit yourself to just these two. ↩︎
  3. Three equity ETFs for the Canadian (VCN), US (VFV), and International markets (VDU) and two bond ETFs covering the Canadian (VAB) and US (AGG) markets. Before I retired, I had a similar approach, but chose different ETFs. In retirement, I chose to simplify. ↩︎
  4. Be mindful that trades executed in non-registered accounts generally have tax implications. ↩︎

News: QTrade launches free money promo

RobH3 Comments

What seems to be normal nowadays is to have online brokers write cheques to investors in an attempt to attract new money. I wrote about Wealthsimple’s latest offer yesterday, and now I see that QTrade is the latest broker to try to entice investors to move their money. I’ve been a QTrade client for many years (you can read my take on them here), but this year moved most of my holdings to Questrade1 (my take here).

Anyway, the maximum possible free money you can earn is $2000 with this latest QTrade promotion. All the details are captured here, and the fine print is found here.

I’ll save you the trouble, the details as I see them:

  • To be eligible, you can be a new or existing client, but you have to open a new account23 with QTrade before November 30, 2025 using the promo code QTRADE20254
  • Fund your account5 before the end of the year to be eligible for your free money
    • 5% matching on the first $15k (total possible: $750)
    • 1% matching on the next $125k (total possible: $1250)
    • No matching after that (i.e. the total reward is capped at $2000)
  • Keep your money there until December 31, 2026 and get paid in a lump sum in February 20276.
  • If you’re also a new client, you get free trades7 until the end of the year

Comparing Wealthsimple’s latest offer to QTrade’s offer might be fun. In the table below, I’m ignoring the margin account bonus offered by Wealthsimple and the impact of free trades offered by QTrade8.

If you move…Wealthsimple BonusQTrade BonusWinner
$15k$09$75010QTrade
$25k$250$850QTrade
$50k$500$1200QTrade
$100k$1000$1600QTrade
$150k$1500$200011QTrade
$200k$2000$2000Wealthsimple12
>$200k1% of amount, up to $20k$2000Wealthsimple

QTrade’s offer is the clear winner for amounts up to $200k, but Wealthsimple wins if you’ve got more loose change. One big difference is how fast you get your hands on the bonus money. Wealthsimple starts paying out 1/12 of your bonus 60 days after the money lands, whereas QTrade makes you wait a whole year (and then some) before giving you the money.

As a certified cheapskate, I’m always happy to take advantage of free money, and more and more providers13 seem to be taking this route in an effort to attract new customers. It’s a good time to be a DIY investor!

  1. To take advantage of THEIR free money offer, naturally ↩︎
  2. My interpretation of the Ts and Cs is that opening multiple accounts will NOT increase your ability to collect free money. The limit is $2000 per client, across all new accounts opened by that client ↩︎
  3. There’s no restrictions that I see on the type of account. QTrade provides all of the ones you might care about: TFSAs, RRSPs, RRIFs, RESPs, non-registered. They also support USD accounts. ↩︎
  4. Speaking as a current QTrade client, opening a new account takes only a minute or two. I would expect it take a little longer for a new client, but this step needn’t dissuade you. ↩︎
  5. Has to be “net new” money, so my thought of shifting from one account to another isn’t eligible. Darn. ↩︎
  6. Paying out bonuses month by month seems to be a more common way of doing this, but to each his own I guess. ↩︎
  7. Most of the ETFs I care about are included in QTrade’s “Free to Trade” list ↩︎
  8. And the time value of money. ↩︎
  9. Wealthsimple requires minimum $25k before paying out ↩︎
  10. 5% for the first 15k, 1% after that ↩︎
  11. QTrade’s bonus cap is $2k which kicks in at $140k ↩︎
  12. Because Wealthsimple pays out faster than QTrade does ↩︎
  13. WeBull and moomoo (not making those names up, promise), two new providers on the scene, also have promotions. ↩︎

News: Wealthsimple Summer Promo

RobH5 Comments

UPDATE September 18th: Wealthsimple extended the registration window; it’s now October 15th. Still time to get free money if interested.

Summary: Wealthsimple announced a new promotion in an effort to drum up more business today. Ignoring the margin component, you could stand to make 1% cash back on new deposits, up to $2M. That’s up to $20k in free money.

The promotion is featured here, and the fine print is all here.

You may get the impression that the promotion is only targeting investors who trade on margin1, something I don’t do myself2. But no — they are paying 1% match for all money moved, margin or not. I think it’s worth taking a closer look if your current broker isn’t giving you free money to earn their business3. 1% cash back is a nice incentive, right?

The details of the promotion as I see it (you’re welcome):

  • You must first register your intent to participate no later than September 5th October 15th.
  • Once registered for the promotion, you have 30 days to initiate a fund transfer, and you have 90 days to complete it.
  • You have to move at least $25k4, and 1% bonuses will be paid out to a maximum of $2M in assets moved
  • Bonuses are paid out in 12 equal monthly instalments
  • Removing more than 10% of what you transfer in within the year will cause your bonus to be reduced accordingly

As I still have a few RRIF accounts with QTrade (reasons why here), I thought, perhaps, I could score a bit MORE free cash. Unfortunately, Wealthsimple doesn’t support self-directed spousal RRIFs (and my call to support confirmed this) so I guess I’ll have to wait this one out. As it turns out, this is indeed possible, but spousal RRIFs cannot be opened as brand new accounts; they have to be converted from an already-existing spousal RRSP account. This means that you need special agent support to pull this off without issue. As I like free money, I’ll be giving this a try.

Anyway, if you’re new to the world of Wealthsimple, want to earn $25, and want to use my referral code, it’s here.

  1. The promotion pays 2% match for margin accounts if there is active margin. They want to make money off of people who borrow money to invest which makes sense of course. ↩︎
  2. My wife does, though, thanks to a spousal loan. I really should write a bit about that. It’s a nice way to get a bit of income-splitting in certain instances. ↩︎
  3. My broker (Questrade) pays me a bonus every month as a thanks for moving my business there. ↩︎
  4. $25k is the minimum amount that has to be moved before Wealthsimple will cover transfer-out fees as well ↩︎