Plenty of firms say they do cross-border planning. Few of them mean the US and Canada. When we sorted the fee-only firms whose websites mention cross-border work, about one in five named Canada. The rest work with Americans in Europe, Latin America and Asia, and are listed under international and expat planning. That leaves 37 advisor listings that name US–Canada planning on their own firm’s site.
Where the US–Canada specialists are
31 of the 37 are based in Canada, and 19 of the 37 say on their own site that they work with Canadians living in the US. If you’re searching from a particular city:
- Toronto area: Objective Financial Partners in Markham, and Modern Cents in Toronto and Mississauga.
- Vancouver area: Pacifica Partners in Surrey, 49th Parallel Wealth Management in Vancouver, and Spring Financial Planning in Surrey.
- Victoria: Beacon Hill Wealth Management.
- Calgary: Pacifica Partners has an advisor in Calgary.
- Montreal, Halifax and Kelowna: CNal Financial Planning, Eltero Financial Partners and Smarter Financial Planning.
- In the US: Peerless Wealth in Columbus and in Spring, Texas, north of Houston; 49th Parallel Wealth Management, LLC in Scottsdale; Wealth IQ in Springfield, Illinois; and RetireMitten Financial in Milford, Michigan.
We don’t list a US–Canada specialist based in California or Florida yet. That matters less than it sounds: Objective, Pacifica, Eltero and Wealth IQ all say they work with clients remotely. What matters is registration.
Check they’re registered on both sides
An advisor generally has to be registered where the client lives. US advisers register with the SEC or a state. Canadian advisers register with a provincial securities regulator. A household with a foot in each country may need both, and firms solve this in two ways.
One firm, registered twice. 13 of the 31 Canada-based listings, at Pacifica Partners and Beacon Hill Wealth Management, also appear in the SEC’s adviser database.
Two firms, one on each side. 49th Parallel runs a Canadian firm in Vancouver and a US firm in Scottsdale. Lucas Wennersten is listed with both, which is why his name shows up twice on our list.
Either model works. Before you start, ask which firm is responsible for which account, then look both up: the SEC’s adviser search for the US side and the National Registration Search for the Canadian side. Every Wellspent record links to the advisor’s SEC filing when there is one.
Two CFP marks, not one
The CFP certification is granted separately in each country: by CFP Board in the US and by FP Canada in Canada. A planner certified in one country isn’t certified in the other. Two advisors on our list hold both: Brandon Davies at Objective Financial Partners and Lucas Wennersten at 49th Parallel. Others hold the Canadian CIM or the CFA, which carries across both countries.
What they charge
Hourly work is the most common option, which suits a household that needs a plan for a move rather than ongoing management. Firms that publish prices start their one-time plans well above the typical Canadian plan:
Ongoing planning follows the same pattern. Objective starts at C$4,000 a year, Spring at C$2,500 and Modern Cents at C$2,388, against a Canadian median of C$2,300. On the US side, Wealth IQ starts plans at $1,500, below the US median of $2,000, and RetireMitten at $4,800, well above it. These are a handful of firms, so read them as a range rather than a rule. The premium fits the work: two tax systems, accounts on both sides, and a move that has to be timed.
What to ask in the first call
- Which direction of move do you handle most: Canada to the US, or the US to Canada?
- Which firm manages which of my accounts, and where is each registered?
- Do you prepare returns in both countries, or work with a preparer who does?
- What would you do with my RRSP, TFSA or Roth IRA given where I’ll live?
- How do you charge for the move itself, and what changes once I’ve settled?
For how the tax rules work on each side, from the RRSP to departure tax, read how cross-border planning works between Canada and the US.
How we built this list
Every advisor on the cross-border specialty page is fee-only under the Wellspent definition, and their firm names US–Canada work on its own website, in a quote we keep on file. A firm that only says it serves clients “around the world” isn’t counted. Firms that plan across other borders are on the international and expat page, and US-registered advisors living outside both countries are on the advisors abroad page.