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Sunday, January 15, 2012

Currency Conversion - New Contact

I met a new contact at the Calgary HomExpo show:

Annelies van der Made
Private Client Manager/Trader
Firma Foreign Exchange
303-10310 Jasper Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta T5J1Y8
(780)423-2217
1(877)423-2217

www.firmafx.com

She/they do "wholesale" currency transactions of at least $10,000 (although they can do less than $10K in the case of ernest money).

From the discussion, it sounds like they may be as convenient as an online service, and potentially have even more agressive (i.e. low) rate spreads between mid-market rates we see published versus what you actually experience in a transaction. Agressive rates are important when you start looking at transferring enough for a purchase price. If you save 1-2% on $100K, for example, that's a $1-2000 saving.
Posted by at

5 comments:

  1. AnonymousJanuary 18, 2012 at 7:07 AM

    Actually, 1% of $100k is $1k!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJanuary 19, 2012 at 8:43 AM

    Okay, the savings are corrected now. Cheers. I use Knightsbridge in Toronto. On $100k I have found the rate is about 0.6% off of the spot rate that I see on fxstreet.com. I wire the money to their account and they wire the US funds directly to my US account in the US by the next day. So I exchange the money and move it to the US in one transaction.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousFebruary 2, 2012 at 12:07 PM

    I've used Firma before and their rates are not very good compared to the live market. I currently use Cambridge Mercantile and have been very impressed with their level of service and aggressive rates.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Gena S.February 11, 2012 at 2:54 PM

    Hi Gord! Really enjoyed hearing you speak in January at the Blackfoot Inn. Wish we would have had all that information before we bought our first revenue property in AZ 2 years ago! I do have one question for you, if you don't mind. Is there any taxation advantage to holding a residential revenue property in an LLP instead of personally? We are in the process of having our first US Tax return filed by our US Accountant, and just wanted to double check. I know he (the accountant) would have an opinion on it, but just wanted to get your insight as well. Thank you! Gena

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. cewusp@gmail.comApril 6, 2012 at 10:16 AM

      Hi Gena, sorry for the delay. I only see comments by chance since no alerts get sent to me.
      There should be no difference in tax treatment from an outcome perspective. However the administration is more complex since the LLP also has to file a return.

      Delete

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