BMO Investorline

Discuss your favourite picks, broker, and trading or investment style.
thundarr
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 13
Joined: 12 Oct 2017 16:19

Re: BMO Investorline

Post by thundarr »

AltaRed wrote: 25 Oct 2017 17:30 They are also laggards in issuing monthly account statements, i.e. circa the 10th of the following month, sometimes later. Scotia iTrade gets them to me within 5 business days of month end.
Is this related to snail mail paper statements or are they also laggard when issuing them online as well? Do they have an online activities page where one could simply rely on this while waiting for their online monthly statements to be processed?
User avatar
AltaRed
Veteran Contributor
Veteran Contributor
Posts: 33398
Joined: 05 Mar 2005 20:04
Location: Ogopogo Land

Re: BMO Investorline

Post by AltaRed »

thundarr wrote: 25 Oct 2017 17:51
AltaRed wrote: 25 Oct 2017 17:30 They are also laggards in issuing monthly account statements, i.e. circa the 10th of the following month, sometimes later. Scotia iTrade gets them to me within 5 business days of month end.
Is this related to snail mail paper statements or are they also laggard when issuing them online as well? Do they have an online activities page where one could simply rely on this while waiting for their online monthly statements to be processed?
This is online issue of PDF statements. That said, yes, there is the Transaction History tab where you can get all activities... which is all that I use to update my records anyway. I actually do not look at any of the actual PDF statements...just download them to my PC. I only mentioned their tardiness since some folk seem tore up about wanting their monthly statements a day or two after the end of the month.
Imagefiniki, the Canadian financial wiki The go-to place to bolster your financial freedom
thundarr
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 13
Joined: 12 Oct 2017 16:19

Re: BMO Investorline

Post by thundarr »

AltaRed wrote: 25 Oct 2017 18:05
thundarr wrote: 25 Oct 2017 17:51
AltaRed wrote: 25 Oct 2017 17:30 They are also laggards in issuing monthly account statements, i.e. circa the 10th of the following month, sometimes later. Scotia iTrade gets them to me within 5 business days of month end.
Is this related to snail mail paper statements or are they also laggard when issuing them online as well? Do they have an online activities page where one could simply rely on this while waiting for their online monthly statements to be processed?
This is online issue of PDF statements. That said, yes, there is the Transaction History tab where you can get all activities... which is all that I use to update my records anyway. I actually do not look at any of the actual PDF statements...just download them to my PC. I only mentioned their tardiness since some folk seem tore up about wanting their monthly statements a day or two after the end of the month.
Much appreciated for the insight @AltaRed. This is good to know. Still making my mind up if i should go with them, so all of these details helps.
Wing
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 277
Joined: 12 Nov 2016 21:02

Qs on AccountLink

Post by Wing »

Considering to open a BMOIL account with AccountLink for CAD and USD. I don't have any bank accounts with them currently.

1. Is the AccountLinke feature within the online brokerage or indeed clients are opening real bank accounts with BMO?

2. Do the 2 free transactions apply to USD inter-bank transfer from/to BMO with another Canadian Bank's USD account (I know there's no ATM USD cash withdrawal)? The bank I'm using offers a higher HISA USD rate and I want to transfer money out for USD parking when not invested.

3. Is cheque printing free for the CAD and USD cheques?

4. ATM comes free (for CAD)?
User avatar
AltaRed
Veteran Contributor
Veteran Contributor
Posts: 33398
Joined: 05 Mar 2005 20:04
Location: Ogopogo Land

Re: BMO Investorline

Post by AltaRed »

1. The Account Link feature is a multi-faceted animal. It actually shows as a chequing account with BMO Banking Online and has all the features such as Bill Payment et al that a chequing account has. I can withdraw cash at an ATM if I wish. The balance of the account is the same $$ of Cash as shows in your BMO IL brokerage account. A beautiful solution if I say so myself.

2. I can't comment about whether all this applies to USD accounts. Need to phone and ask a BMOiL rep. You can open a Harris US banking account though and that might be how they do it. Not likely free though.

3. I don't use MyLink account for day-to-day banking. I doubt blank cheques are free. They do send you a few blank cheques which i've never used. IF I have to pay for something out of that account, which I don't, I simply use Bill Pay feature.

4. I imagine ATM CAD transactions are free as long as you stay within the 1 or 2 transactions per month. This MyLink account is not a substitute for a proper chequing account. It is there to facilitate money movement for those that have no need to bank with BMO (I bank elsewhere).

A few other comments:

a. BMO still does not combine its Banking Online and BMO IL interfaces on one webpage. On the banking page, it does show a line item for your BMO IL account, and a link to go to the BMO IL website without logging in again, but the reverse is not true. I've ragged on BMO iL to get that done....should be seamless with only one logon for both BMO IL and BMo Banking. I suspect they will get to it but I have some suspicions that BMO Nesbitt Burns carries disproportionate weight in the organization and doesn't want BMO IL to be "too convenient and wonderful".

b. I use BMO Savings Builder savings account in my Banking page to hold surplus cash. In other words, on the first of each month, I move all surplus cash from my BMOIL/MyLink chequing to savings to get some interest. That transfer is done on the Banking website, not the BMO IL website. Again, one needs to limit such transactions so that one does not run afoul of the 'free' transaction limit. $5 is a high price to pay for each excessive transaction.
Imagefiniki, the Canadian financial wiki The go-to place to bolster your financial freedom
pmj
Veteran Contributor
Veteran Contributor
Posts: 3412
Joined: 27 Feb 2005 18:15
Location: Ottawa

Re: BMO Investorline

Post by pmj »

AltaRed wrote: 19 Dec 2017 14:26 1. The Account Link feature is a multi-faceted animal. It actually shows as a chequing account with BMO Banking Online and has all the features such as Bill Payment et al that a chequing account has. I can withdraw cash at an ATM if I wish. The balance of the account is the same $$ of Cash as shows in your BMO IL brokerage account. A beautiful solution if I say so myself.
Specifically it is the cash balance of one's non-registered BMO IL account. Indeed, a neat feature!
Peter

Patrick Hutber: Improvement means deterioration
User avatar
always_learning
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 530
Joined: 01 Mar 2005 21:44
Location: Halifax

Re: BMO Investorline

Post by always_learning »

Wing, I have BMOIL as my broker, and I also use BMO for my chequing account. Also, I use their Smart Saver as my savings account. I'm very pleased with them.

1. As AltaRed noted, you don't have to open up a BMO chequing account in order to take advantage of the AccountLink feature.

2. I can't comment on this.

3. Blank cheques are not free. I used to order blank cheques through BMO, but now I use asap-cheques.com (much cheaper).

4. If you don't have a chequing account with BMO, I don't know the restrictions around ATM withdrawals. If you do have a chequing account with BMO, like I do, you will probably get a "Plan" -- each Plan has a monthly fee, a minimum $ required to avoid paying that monthly fee, and a certain # of free transactions (an ATM withdrawal counts as a transaction). So the answer is "it depends."

a_l
User avatar
AltaRed
Veteran Contributor
Veteran Contributor
Posts: 33398
Joined: 05 Mar 2005 20:04
Location: Ogopogo Land

Re: BMO Investorline

Post by AltaRed »

always_learning wrote: 19 Dec 2017 15:14 3. Blank cheques are not free. I used to order blank cheques through BMO, but now I use asap-cheques.com (much cheaper).
Just to close the loop on this. I use ASAP cheques as well when I need a refill, although since I rarely use cheques, i've only ever ordered from them once. I think they need a sample cheque with the account holder's credentials on it, but I am not sure of this. I suspect their website will advise accordingly.
Imagefiniki, the Canadian financial wiki The go-to place to bolster your financial freedom
chufinora
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 769
Joined: 12 Oct 2009 15:03
Location: Ottawa

Re: BMO Investorline

Post by chufinora »

Only tangental to this, but it is BMO related. Back around 1994 BMO launched MBanx, I think the concept was a fully virtual bank that you never needed to visit. My branch was/is I believe a BMO office address in Toronto (To this day I have never been in my bank branch). They sent us a lot of cheque books, so many that I am still using them today and still have a few books unopened. MBanx disappeared long ago, but I never changed accounts and the sorting code is still valid so the cheques are still good.
User avatar
CROCKD
Veteran Contributor
Veteran Contributor
Posts: 3343
Joined: 15 Aug 2008 16:59
Location: GTA

Re: BMO Investorline

Post by CROCKD »

Cheques
When I ran out of my account link cheques some years ago I ordered some new ones at my local BMO branch - since closed for consolidation. I had to pay - can't remember how much.
My initial cheque book entry shows Oct. 2011. I still have 18 cheques left so don't use them often except to transfer annual RIF withdrawals.
For dividends cash if I should want it I can transfer online into a legacy savings account with a nominal amount in it and use my debit card at the ATM.
" A verbal contract isn't worth the paper it is written on " Samuel Goldwyn
"The light at the end of the tunnel may be a freight train coming your way" Metallica - No Leaf Clover
User avatar
AltaRed
Veteran Contributor
Veteran Contributor
Posts: 33398
Joined: 05 Mar 2005 20:04
Location: Ogopogo Land

Re: BMO Investorline

Post by AltaRed »

I use Bill Pay to move money out of BMO IL. I have my Scotia iTrade non-reg account set up as a Bill Payee and my BMO IL transfers go there.....and from Scotia iTrade, I move it to Scotia chequing. There is always a way.....
Imagefiniki, the Canadian financial wiki The go-to place to bolster your financial freedom
Wing
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 277
Joined: 12 Nov 2016 21:02

Re: BMO Investorline

Post by Wing »

What's the interest rate BMO is offering under "Savings Builder Savings" account (CAD and USD)?

I called the BMOIL rep re transfer of USD to another Canadian Bank's USD account, was told it can only be done via a wire transfer ($14 each time) or issuing a USD cheque.

My current bank offers free chequing so I won't use BMOIL's Account Link for daily use. But I hold USD assets (cash and stocks) mostly, so I need to make sure either 1. BMO offers good interest rate for surplus cash (my current bank offers 0.8% for 30 day term deposit) or 2. BMO offers easy transfer in/out to my current bank.
AltaRed wrote: 19 Dec 2017 14:26 1. The Account Link feature is a multi-faceted animal. It actually shows as a chequing account with BMO Banking Online and has all the features such as Bill Payment et al that a chequing account has. I can withdraw cash at an ATM if I wish. The balance of the account is the same $$ of Cash as shows in your BMO IL brokerage account. A beautiful solution if I say so myself.

2. I can't comment about whether all this applies to USD accounts. Need to phone and ask a BMOiL rep. You can open a Harris US banking account though and that might be how they do it. Not likely free though.

3. I don't use MyLink account for day-to-day banking. I doubt blank cheques are free. They do send you a few blank cheques which i've never used. IF I have to pay for something out of that account, which I don't, I simply use Bill Pay feature.

4. I imagine ATM CAD transactions are free as long as you stay within the 1 or 2 transactions per month. This MyLink account is not a substitute for a proper chequing account. It is there to facilitate money movement for those that have no need to bank with BMO (I bank elsewhere).

A few other comments:

a. BMO still does not combine its Banking Online and BMO IL interfaces on one webpage. On the banking page, it does show a line item for your BMO IL account, and a link to go to the BMO IL website without logging in again, but the reverse is not true. I've ragged on BMO iL to get that done....should be seamless with only one logon for both BMO IL and BMo Banking. I suspect they will get to it but I have some suspicions that BMO Nesbitt Burns carries disproportionate weight in the organization and doesn't want BMO IL to be "too convenient and wonderful".

b. I use BMO Savings Builder savings account in my Banking page to hold surplus cash. In other words, on the first of each month, I move all surplus cash from my BMOIL/MyLink chequing to savings to get some interest. That transfer is done on the Banking website, not the BMO IL website. Again, one needs to limit such transactions so that one does not run afoul of the 'free' transaction limit. $5 is a high price to pay for each excessive transaction.
User avatar
AltaRed
Veteran Contributor
Veteran Contributor
Posts: 33398
Joined: 05 Mar 2005 20:04
Location: Ogopogo Land

Re: BMO Investorline

Post by AltaRed »

From the horse's mouth

The base rate is a terrible 0.2%, but as long as your balance goes up by a minimum of $200 each month, you get bonus interest of 1.1% for a total of 1.3%. Hence the name...Savings Builder I suppose. So the idea would be to keep adding $200 each month, but for that month you have to pull out a sum to make a BMOIL purchase, you get only 0.2%. I can live with that given I only make 1-2 buys a year at most.
Imagefiniki, the Canadian financial wiki The go-to place to bolster your financial freedom
Jaunty
Veteran Contributor
Veteran Contributor
Posts: 1539
Joined: 19 Feb 2007 16:41
Location: Niagara

Re: BMO Investorline

Post by Jaunty »

Like AltaRed, I use Bill Pay to move money from BMO IL to my iTrade account, but then I transfer it to my TD chequing account (it is my linked account), something iTrade lets you do.
User avatar
AltaRed
Veteran Contributor
Veteran Contributor
Posts: 33398
Joined: 05 Mar 2005 20:04
Location: Ogopogo Land

Re: BMO Investorline

Post by AltaRed »

Jaunty wrote: 20 Dec 2017 18:01 Like AltaRed, I use Bill Pay to move money from BMO IL to my iTrade account, but then I transfer it to my TD chequing account (it is my linked account), something iTrade lets you do.
Indeed. I think iTrade is one of the few discount brokerages that allows one to set up EFTs with other FIs. I did that when I had my banking with CIBC as well. I left RBC DI (RRSP) primarily for that reason.... inability to send to other FIs and that wasn't going to work when I RRIF. Idiots!
Imagefiniki, the Canadian financial wiki The go-to place to bolster your financial freedom
Wing
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 277
Joined: 12 Nov 2016 21:02

Re: BMO Investorline

Post by Wing »

Anyone rewarded with the cash incentive by BMOIL for injecting new assets into the account? Wondering if cash reward is taxable, ie. will be issued a tax slip the following year.
squid
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 323
Joined: 18 Jun 2008 14:31

Re: BMO Investorline

Post by squid »

In regards to #2. I go to a branch and withdraw the USD (free twice a month) and take the USD to deposit into my USD savings account.

(I have since transferred to BMO and now can transfer from my BMOIL USD accountlink to my BMO USD savings account online and free twice a month. And can phone and have my BMO USD transferred to Harris USD account too if a true USD chequing account is needed).
User avatar
optionable68
Veteran Contributor
Veteran Contributor
Posts: 1919
Joined: 19 Feb 2005 18:47
Location: GTA

Re: BMO Investorline

Post by optionable68 »

Wing wrote: 02 Jan 2018 14:30 Anyone rewarded with the cash incentive by BMOIL for injecting new assets into the account? Wondering if cash reward is taxable, ie. will be issued a tax slip the following year.
I'm expecting my BMO award next week. When I transfered my account, I asked that question and the BMO rep said the award would be treated like a commission rebate with no taxes payable.
3-time winner of FWF Annual Stock Market Predictions contest
User avatar
Shakespeare
Veteran Contributor
Veteran Contributor
Posts: 23396
Joined: 15 Feb 2005 23:25
Location: Calgary, AB

Re: BMO Investorline

Post by Shakespeare »

Unfortunately, BMOIL charges me $50 (52.50 with tax) to withdraw funds from an RRSP or RRIF. That means in ten years they get their $1000 back, whereas RBCDI makes no such charge. So later this year I will probably go back to RBCDI, since I see no advantage to BMOIL that makes it worth $105/year.
Sic transit gloria mundi. Tuesday is usually worse. - Robert A. Heinlein, Starman Jones
Hogwild
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 393
Joined: 18 Aug 2015 21:46

Re: BMO Investorline

Post by Hogwild »

Wow! Just got a MyLink message this afternoon. This was a reply to complaint I sent about waiting more than 2 hours on hold on Dec. 27th! So, even if you subtract a a few days to account for the holidays, it still took someone 10 days to reply to my My Message. And the best part? They didn't really answer my question.

Right now I'm on hold again. Est wait time was 40 mins. and I've now been on hold for 1 hour 20 mins. Why does this company not implement a call back feature like the major retailers, ISPs etc?

Finally, my ETF distribs that were supposed to come in last day of the month have not come in yet. Today is the 9th.
ig17
Veteran Contributor
Veteran Contributor
Posts: 3418
Joined: 21 Feb 2005 20:54

Re: BMO Investorline

Post by ig17 »

A message on the BMO IL sign in page:
Important Notice

We are experiencing exceptionally high trade volumes resulting in longer call wait times and slower responses to email and MyLink messages. We are working diligently to increase capacity on a daily basis to meet the needs of our clients. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience.
So it's not just TD. :(
fundamental
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 511
Joined: 30 Aug 2005 11:26

Re: BMO Investorline

Post by fundamental »

ig17 wrote: 09 Jan 2018 19:07 A message on the BMO IL sign in page:
Important Notice

We are experiencing exceptionally high trade volumes resulting in longer call wait times and slower responses to email and MyLink messages. We are working diligently to increase capacity on a daily basis to meet the needs of our clients. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience.
So it's not just TD. :(
CIBC Investors Edge login Page has a similar comment


"CIBC Investor’s Edge is answering a high volume of calls due to higher than usual client activity. Wait times are much longer than usual. Your time is important to us."
“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” - Winston Churchill
User avatar
deaddog
Veteran Contributor
Veteran Contributor
Posts: 3422
Joined: 19 Jan 2008 19:59
Location: Central BC/Arizona

Re: BMO Investorline

Post by deaddog »

Got the same thing from Questrade;

I wonder what the normal is?
"And the days that I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations, well, I have really good days" RW Hubbard
User avatar
Shakespeare
Veteran Contributor
Veteran Contributor
Posts: 23396
Joined: 15 Feb 2005 23:25
Location: Calgary, AB

Re: BMO Investorline

Post by Shakespeare »

My $1K showed up tonight. :thumbsup:
Sic transit gloria mundi. Tuesday is usually worse. - Robert A. Heinlein, Starman Jones
ig17
Veteran Contributor
Veteran Contributor
Posts: 3418
Joined: 21 Feb 2005 20:54

Re: BMO Investorline

Post by ig17 »

Got my bribe too. That's Spring 2017 promo ($1K / $250K).

They ran another promo in the summer ($1.2K / $200K). That one is expected to pay the week of March 12th.
Post Reply