USD Stocks Inside RRSP CAD Account

A1MB1G

This issue was asked years ago so not sure if anything has changed. Is there no way of including USD stocks inside a CAD RRSP Account in Quicken and have it automatically adjust market value by doing the appropriate foreign exchange adjustment? I find it strange it wouldn't support such a simple thing.

Is there any way of accomplishing this? I really don't want to have to open two separate RRSP accounts, one CAD and one USD because that's not actually how the account is setup with my broker.

smayer97

There is still no way. But you do not need to open 2 separate accounts; just have 2 separate registers. 

Typically most CDN brokers actually do track US holdings separate from CDN holdings, even though they appear to be in one account. So keeping 2 registers is still the only way. It may not be ideal but that is still the status.

jr7107

@A1MB1G At the broker there are actually 2 separate accounts for custody of separate currencies, and with the magic of report creation they merge it under one nice umbrella for you.

As @smayer97 noted, you need a USD and a CAD account (2 separate registers). Example Investorline/TD Waterhouse/RBC "CAD" and similar noted "USD". 

They don't mix currencies in the real world, or custody of stocks. 

jr7107

The portfolio view aggregates the account values (at the bottom) total correctly, but the individual account in the portfolio view by itself is in local currency.

In a portfolio with home currency of CAD and two accounts, one CAD and one USD account with $1,000 each in it, Quicken will display the individual accounts as $1,000 each and then at the bottom adjust for the currency. In my example the total at the bottom would be roughly $2,330 portfolio value.

But the USD account shown individually will be $1,000. I have a view where grouping by Investment Goal where the subtotal will show a currency adjusted number, but the individual positions are still in the local currency. Clear as mud, I know but you will get the hang of it once you start reporting on it.

smayer97

There is still no way. But you do not need to open 2 separate accounts; just have 2 separate registers. 

Typically most CDN brokers actually do track US holdings separate from CDN holdings, even though they appear to be in one account. So keeping 2 registers is still the only way. It may not be ideal but that is still the status.

A1MB1G

Not sure what you mean by I don't have to open 2 accounts, just have 2 separate registers. In Quicken, how can you have 2 registers for 1 account? Or were you referring that I don't have to have 2 accounts with my broker? If you could clarify, that would be helpful. Thanks!

jr7107

@A1MB1G At the broker there are actually 2 separate accounts for custody of separate currencies, and with the magic of report creation they merge it under one nice umbrella for you.

As @smayer97 noted, you need a USD and a CAD account (2 separate registers). Example Investorline/TD Waterhouse/RBC "CAD" and similar noted "USD". 

They don't mix currencies in the real world, or custody of stocks. 

A1MB1G

@jr7107 Thanks, that clarifies it more. Last question, I keep reading that we should be opening the account in Quicken as a regular brokerage account instead of as an RRSP account because of some quirks with Quicken - what are those quirks? Are you aware of anything related to this?

jr7107

I don't have the CAD version of the software currently (converted in 2002 once US version supported multicurrency) so I'm not sure how the RRSP accounts are currently behaving (might not allow a USD RRSP account type?).

If that is the case, regular brokerage account should be fine to track transactions, there may be a check box that says "tax deferred account"?

Also, with these types of RRSP transactions, I remember always having to make a transfer from CAD RRSP to the USD RRSP to cover trades. You might want to keep an eye on cost of currencies manually as well. Q does not handle forex gain/loss for trading positions.

A1MB1G

@jr7107 Thanks for the tips. You are correct, I was not able to setup a USD RRSP account so I setup a standard Brokerage account. I don't use Quicken for any tax reporting so it's not too much of a concern in terms of whether I'm able to use "tax deferred account".

One question I did have is whether there is a way to see all my portfolios/acounts market value in CAD. Right now, when I go to the Portfolio screen under the Investing tab, it shows me the market value of all holdings within each account but it still reports the market value for the USD in USD. I'd prefer to see everything in CAD. I do have the currency pull down menu set to "Canadian Dollar" but seems it doesn't impact how the USD is displayed.

jr7107

The portfolio view aggregates the account values (at the bottom) total correctly, but the individual account in the portfolio view by itself is in local currency.

In a portfolio with home currency of CAD and two accounts, one CAD and one USD account with $1,000 each in it, Quicken will display the individual accounts as $1,000 each and then at the bottom adjust for the currency. In my example the total at the bottom would be roughly $2,330 portfolio value.

But the USD account shown individually will be $1,000. I have a view where grouping by Investment Goal where the subtotal will show a currency adjusted number, but the individual positions are still in the local currency. Clear as mud, I know but you will get the hang of it once you start reporting on it.

A1MB1G

@jr7107 Perfect, just noticed that now as well and that helps. I've also created a custom report that I can pull which has all the relevant information. out of curiousity, do you actually use Quicken for tax reporting?

I know it has a lot of tax capabilities but it's not something I've ever used - just wondering how other users might be using that functionality, particularly since for things like Brokerage accounts I can simply pull a report from the brokerage directly with all the relevant tax info e.g. capital gains/losses, T1135 etc.

jr7107

I use Q selectively for tax reporting on investments to match to a 1099, and another trading specific package. US rules much different from Canada, but a capital gains/loss report should be accurate irrespective of tax rules.

Q is very good at tracking cash and shares and all of the transactions that can be missed if you are monitoring by spreadsheet, or worse statements only.