A guide to the best robo-advisors in Canada for 2022 + MORE Aug 7th

“You had me at low fees!” That was our reaction to the arrival of robo-advisors in Canada, beginning in 2014. Faced with few alternatives to mutual funds and self-directed brokerage accounts, young and middle-income investors embraced the option of having their savings passively managed in a bundle of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) matched to their goals and risk tolerance for about a penny on the dollar per year: A perfect set-it-and-forget it solution for people with better things to do. It would seem all robo-advisors are the best, right?
Fast forward to today and the honeymoon atmosphere has dissipated. Against the backdrop of an extraordinarily long-lived bull market in stocks, active management has made a comeback (not least in the ETF space), exotic asset classes like cryptocurrency are on the rise, and new competition is coming from asset-allocation ETFs that do the job of portfolio management all in one security.
Suddenly robo-advisors find themselves having to prove their worth anew, all the while trying to establish a profitable business model in a low-margin corner of the investment universe…

I have EPD stock in my RRSP for their dividend payments (about 7%). What a surprise I had—even when in an RRSP—I had to pay about 30% tax on these dividends. EPD is registered in Louisiana. —Wanda

How much is withholding tax on U.S. dividends?

I am going to provide a brief summary of U.S. withholding tax on investments, Wanda, before addressing Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) specifically.

First, U.S. stocks are generally subject to 30% withholding tax on dividends for non-residents. Many countries, including Canada, have tax treaties with the U.S. to ensure a reduced rate of withholding tax. For qualifying Canadian residents, the tax can be reduced to 15%. In a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP), the tax may be reduced to 0%. 

Qualifying to reclaim U.S. withholding tax

In order to qualify, an investor has to fill out this form and provide it to their investment firm: Form W-8BEN Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding and Reporting (Individuals)…