Cross-Border Investors

Private Wealth Management for Canadians, Americans and Expatriates

Pacifica Partners is a licensed Portfolio Manager in Canada and a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) in the USA.  We have clients in 24 States and 8 Provinces, and in several countries abroad.

We are able to overcome limitations other investment managers may have and provide seamless, collaborative portfolio management of Canadian and US accounts, on a competitive, fee-only basis.

We understand that moving between the US and Canada creates unique investment management and planning challenges and expert advice is often difficult or expensive to obtain.

Questions we hear on a regular basis

  • What can I do with RRSP and TFSA, or 401K and IRA accounts?
  • How can I convert my 401K to an RRSP?
  • How do I reconcile my Canada Pension Plan and Social Security Credits?
  • What is the FBAR or FinCEN 114, and what reporting do I need to do as an Expatriate?
  • What are my tax reporting requirements to both CRA and the IRS?
  • How can I ensure my US and Canadian investments are working together?
  • How do I manage currency risk as a Crossborder investor?

What we deliver for our clients:

  • Professional collaboration of US and Canadian investments.
  • Advice regarding the unique opportunities and risks borne by having Crossborder investments.
  • Helping to manage currency issues and matching currency with your future cash flow needs.
  • Comprehensive tax reporting (for both CDN and US returns) as well as meaningful tax and estate planning information.
  • Fee-only discretionary management with full transparency of fees and activities.
  • Complimentary 60-minute consultation that includes a summary of major issues and actionable items.

Seamless, Sophisticated Portfolio Management

A key advantage our clients have is seamless, collaborative portfolio management for the following types of accounts:

Canadian accounts, held at National Bank Financial:

  • Investment (brokerage or non-registered cash accounts)
  • Registered Retirement Plans (RRSP, Spousal and RRIF) and Locked-in Retirement Plans (LIRA)
  • Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) and Registered Education Plans (RESP)
  • Individual Pension Plan (IPP) and Retirement Compensation Agreement Plans (RCA)
  • Trust and Estate Accounts
  • Corporate Investment Accounts

US accounts, held with TD Ameritrade Institutional Services or Millennium Trust.

  • Investment (cash or brokerage accounts), including Joint Tenancy or Community Property accounts.
  • Individual Retirement Accounts (Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Rollover IRA, Beneficiary or Inherited IRA)
  • Company 401k, SARSEP plans, 403b plans.
  • Education Savings Accounts (ESA, 529 or Coverdell)
  • Trust and Estate Accounts
  • Corporate Investment Accounts

If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it

As a Crossborder investor, you might have investment accounts on both sides of the border, such as an RRSP in Canada and an IRA in the USA.  Usually, these accounts are held with various advisors and are managed independently.  As a result, you may have experienced management and performance measurement challenges when evaluating your total portfolio. In our experience, investors with several accounts and Crossborder investments often don’t realize that there are significant risks to having a fragmented investment approach that can hinder a productive retirement portfolio.

  • A lack of collaboration and diversification with some sectors ignored and opportunities missed.
  • Significant overlap of similar positions and highly correlated funds and holdings, leading to redundancies and unnecessary trading costs.
  • Impaired tax planning and portfolio structure, leading to management inefficiencies.
  • No portfolio management with an eye towards strategic currency management and future cash-flow needs.
  • Accurate bottom-line performance analysis and attribution becomes very difficult, if not impossible.
  • Partnering with accredited tax and legal professionals to provide a 360-Degree approach to Crossborder Wealth Management

Partnered with Independent Tax & Legal Experts

To provide comprehensive Crossborder financial expertise, we’ve partnered with recognized independent tax, legal and estate professionals to ensure that your needs are met by experienced industry professionals.  Of importance, we do not perform tax and legal services in-house, as we wish to avoid conflicts of interest. In addition, if you have existing accounting and/or legal specialists that you work with, we will be pleased to establish a relationship and collaborate with them.  If not, we can recommend qualified individuals that will help you meet your goals.

Complimentary Consultation

As every client is different, unique circumstances apply and we do provide complimentary confidential consultations, which include:

  • Review of a detailed confidential questionnaire
  • Review of investments in light of tax-efficiency and long-term planning.
  • Review of your portfolio strategy and optimizing your return potential.
  • Market outlook and portfolio positioning.
  • Actionable next steps
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