Investing

HSBC InvestDirect

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  • Nov 13th, 2022 9:41 pm
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Sr. Member
Apr 6, 2003
805 posts
145 upvotes
Toronto
saturna wrote: I understand HSBC is looking into offering actual USD-denominated TFSAs and RRSPs (like most other brokerages), but they have no timeline and I understand they have been "looking into this" for a number of years...
Any idea as to the status of this?
Deal Addict
Jan 30, 2013
1432 posts
414 upvotes
RICHMOND HILL
Does not mean Norbert's Gambit is not possible with their RRSPs?
since you cannot hold us dollars in their account?
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Feb 1, 2006
6494 posts
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Ontario
Ron wrote: Any idea as to the status of this?
Check back in a few years!
Cards:HSBC WE MC 1.5%/3% travel 0 FX MC acceptance 31 day med AF $49
CTC WE MC 3% grocery, 3.54% CTC, RA, billpay, AF $0
MBNA RWE 5.4% grocery/resto
Bank: EQ (1.5%)
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May 7, 2017
1359 posts
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These guys messed up reporting trades to CRA. In the end I had to go through history and adjust cost basis everywhere.

IB on the other hand was top notch. Save a few short options that expired with 0 value, everything was reported correctly.

I’d say, invest direct is horrible. No good UI, incomplete reporting and painful setup. Every change to enable an option at invest direct resulted in a hard pull of credit report for me too - which I only realized recently. Avoid!!
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Dec 27, 2017
1035 posts
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Ontario
bend3r wrote: These guys messed up reporting trades to CRA. In the end I had to go through history and adjust cost basis everywhere.
Can you clarify what type of screwups they made in CRA trade reporting (without revealing your individual details of course), just so others can be on the look out for similar issues?
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May 7, 2017
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Optimizer88 wrote: Can you clarify what type of screwups they made in CRA trade reporting (without revealing your individual details of course), just so others can be on the look out for similar issues?
Forgot to mention - this was a taxable CAD and USD cash account.

I did multiple trades in the same day on same security and I believe invest direct isn’t able to calculate cost basis and returns for them. Which meant that my tax accountant had to manually calculate each trade and fix it. It took two hours to reconcile everything with prior statements.

All in all I am not confident Invest Direct can handle anyone’s taxable account. They run their brokerage on top of National banks platform - why not switch to something more reliable like TD.
Deal Addict
Dec 27, 2017
1035 posts
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Ontario
bend3r wrote: Forgot to mention - this was a taxable CAD and USD cash account.

I did multiple trades in the same day on same security and I believe invest direct isn’t able to calculate cost basis and returns for them. Which meant that my tax accountant had to manually calculate each trade and fix it. It took two hours to reconcile everything with prior statements.

All in all I am not confident Invest Direct can handle anyone’s taxable account. They run their brokerage on top of National banks platform - why not switch to something more reliable like TD.
Just to clarify - my understanding is that they don't report cost basis to the CRA. They just report the proceeds of the sale of securities, no? Are you referring to the additional summary information they just provide to you and not the CRA per chance? If so, I agree the reporting on that is fairly useless for anything complex including same day trading or any sort of complex option positions. I haven't found any errors on the actual forms they report to the CRA though in the years I've been with them thought which is why I'm curious to get a bit more detail about where you found the errors exactly.

Also, did you let your RM know about the errors? I think if more of us do so they may get their act together.
Deal Guru
Feb 4, 2015
10331 posts
6697 upvotes
Canada, Eh!!
Never wholly rely on brokerage trading statements when filling taxes... I believe brokerage themselves have a disclaimer as such.

For 2018 went thru RBC and CIBC trading stmts and they both had errors.

Also, used TD trading stmts for sister and it had error as well including a math error which means they simply copy over amounts and do not actually do calculation [in this case the gain was wrong even though the proceeds and acb were correct!!].
2022/3: BOC raised 10 times and MCAP raised its prime next day.
2017,2018: BOC raised rates 5 times and MCAP raised its prime next day each time.
2020: BOC dropped rates 3 times and MCAP waited to drop its prime to include all 3 drops.
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May 7, 2017
1359 posts
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Optimizer88 wrote: Just to clarify - my understanding is that they don't report cost basis to the CRA. They just report the proceeds of the sale of securities, no? Are you referring to the additional summary information they just provide to you and not the CRA per chance? If so, I agree the reporting on that is fairly useless for anything complex including same day trading or any sort of complex option positions. I haven't found any errors on the actual forms they report to the CRA though in the years I've been with them thought which is why I'm curious to get a bit more detail about where you found the errors exactly.

Also, did you let your RM know about the errors? I think if more of us do so they may get their act together.
I closed the invest direct account mid last year so didn’t raise it up with RM. At this point HSBC Premier is just a checking account and credit card to me.
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Feb 1, 2006
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bend3r wrote: I closed the invest direct account mid last year so didn’t raise it up with RM. At this point HSBC Premier is just a checking account and credit card to me.
Do you keep 100K in your chequing acct to qualify for Premier?
Cards:HSBC WE MC 1.5%/3% travel 0 FX MC acceptance 31 day med AF $49
CTC WE MC 3% grocery, 3.54% CTC, RA, billpay, AF $0
MBNA RWE 5.4% grocery/resto
Bank: EQ (1.5%)
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May 7, 2017
1359 posts
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minimalist wrote: Do you keep 100K in your chequing acct to qualify for Premier?
Hardly. I keep just enough to pay rent and bills. Rest of income ends up at IB. Other than no FX debit and credit card, I don’t see the reason to stick with HSBC Canada. On USD account they also charge withdrawal fees and incoming transfer fees which I find odd. HSBC premier status is supposed to free people from measly fees - and they do it abroad really well.

I have Premier setup with HSBC Expat if you wanted to know how I’d qualify.
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Dec 27, 2017
1035 posts
1114 upvotes
Ontario
bend3r wrote: I closed the invest direct account mid last year so didn’t raise it up with RM. At this point HSBC Premier is just a checking account and credit card to me.
Just to follow-up and close the loop - were the errors in the actual CRA filings or just in the additional summary information they just provide to you and not the CRA?
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May 7, 2017
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Optimizer88 wrote: Just to follow-up and close the loop - were the errors in the actual CRA filings or just in the additional summary information they just provide to you and not the CRA?
CRA filings had errors.

The summary they gave me was actually correct and I confirmed that with my trade logs.
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Dec 27, 2017
1035 posts
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Ontario
bend3r wrote: CRA filings had errors.

The summary they gave me was actually correct and I confirmed that with my trade logs.
Which CRA filing had errors? The T5 or T5008? I've never seen cost basis reported on either of those - so I'm guessing it is some other form?
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May 7, 2017
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Optimizer88 wrote: Which CRA filing had errors? The T5 or T5008? I've never seen cost basis reported on either of those - so I'm guessing it is some other form?
It was T5008 with Box 19, 20 and 21. https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency ... tions.html The accountant downloaded the data from CRA website to see what was missing and it looked like all the trades where I traded multiple times during the day were missing these three details. The trades which were only done once a day were fine.
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Dec 27, 2017
1035 posts
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Ontario
Interesting! The T5008 they provide to us as consumers doesn't even list what they enter for Box 20. So I've never realized that box even existed. Interestingly the canada.ca website states explicitly it shouldn't be trusted and the taxpayer may have to update the ACB. Very interesting. I suppose that is why they just leave it off the T5008 they send to customers, and leave it up to you to calculate it on your own.

Thanks for the details!
Deal Addict
Dec 12, 2010
1048 posts
784 upvotes
I recently switched my portfolio from BMO investorline to HSBC investdirect to consolidate & take advantage of their 6.88 trading fees and transfer in promo. took almost a month to have the account created after the forms was filled in at the branch with HSBC calling me multiple times for questions like how did i come up with all this money and my parent's birthday.

the GUI was massively updated sometime in the last 2 years to bring it up to speed with design from this decade so no complaints on there.
I dont really use their charting, RSI/MACD and other technical tools so can't comment on that.
I do hate how they dont have a mobile app when literally everyone else does - it's 2019, everyone is using mobile now!

overall, if you can bear with the account opening pains and not rely on their tools, they are just like any other online brokerage (minus the mobile app) with cheaper trading fees.
Deal Addict
Jan 15, 2009
1081 posts
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Just north.
bend3r wrote: I have Premier setup with HSBC Expat if you wanted to know how I’d qualify.
Do you mean you opened a Premier account overseas?
Deal Addict
Jan 15, 2009
1081 posts
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Just north.
bend3r wrote: Yes.
Just looked up the HSBC expat website, looks like the main benefit is that the relationship balance is a lower, at 50,000 pounds, which translates to about $87k CAD. Any other benefits?

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