What this area covers: investment firm in Canada
Investment firm is one of 7 parts of our “Licensing — MSB / VASP / EMI” practice. It covers the full cycle from initial scoping to operational launch, run by a single named partner from our Canada practice.
What it is in Canada: MiFID II · RIA · MAS RFMC.
How we handle investment firm
The “Investment firm” project in Canada is structured as a 4-stage process run by a single named partner.
MSB registration with FINTRAC (it processes most complete applications within three months), the Quebec licence from Revenu Québec, and VASP and payments advisory.
The same desk that runs investment firm handles your banking, bookkeeping, compliance and — where needed — your wind-down.INNOVA · Operating model
Why Canada
Canada is our primary launchpad for MSB registration and fintech projects. We know where you can genuinely open a corporate account, how to prepare a FINTRAC application to the regulator's requirements, and how to avoid the common pitfalls in provincial corporate law. A G7 country with a developed banking system, a broad network of tax treaties, and a bilingual operating environment.
A reliable regulatory environment
Banking ecosystem
Corporate tax 26.5% federal + provincial blended (Ontario)
Local execution, one plan
Why INNOVA
What changes for you when INNOVA runs the project. If a company or a second jurisdiction is not needed yet, we will say so plainly.
Turnkey, without the extra hassle
One window and one contract: we take the task whole, handle everything on your behalf with our own team and trusted contractors, and you buy the result. From you we need decisions and signatures; we get in touch only when the next step depends on you.
We handle banks and regulators
A bank refusal, a registry query, a regulator's request, a stalled deadline: we answer, rework the file and resubmit at no extra charge for our work until the matter is closed.
We see it through
The partner who opens your project carries it through to the result, even when the process runs for months, and stays on afterwards: renewals, filings, changes to the structure. Where the law requires a licensed professional, we bring one in and remain answerable to you.
A boutique, personally involved
We have worked in international business since 2012. An experienced partner runs your project personally, and unusual structures are our field: where you hear “that can't be done”, we look for the lawful route.
Your affairs stay yours
Information about you, your structure, your beneficial owners and your deals reaches neither competitors nor third parties. Banks, registries and regulators receive exactly what the law or the procedure requires, and the contract says so.
Faster and more precise
We build the file around the specific bank's and regulator's requirements before filing. Experience means we get the work right straight away, where some firms need three attempts. A partner replies in writing within 24 hours.
How the work is structured
A 4-stage process led by a single named partner — from scoping to the operational hand-over.
Feasibility analysis
Jurisdiction selection and assessment of approval prospects
Document preparation
Application and supporting documents
Submission and review
The regulator's review process
Post-licence setup
Banking, operating model and monitoring
What we need from you · what you get from us
What we need from you to begin — and what you walk away with. We won't pester you with needless questions: we already have most of the answers.
- Activity scope + product matrixstructured
- Beneficial-owner packall UBOs
- Business plan10–30 pages
- Financial projections3 years
- Proof of capitalminimum thresholds
- Senior-management CVsfit & proper
- Licence issuedin name
- Regulator approval lettersissued
- Licence-conditions registertracked
- Ongoing-reporting calendarset up
- Bank onboarding initiatedlinked
Four ways to work together
We don't quote a fixed price without understanding your situation — cost depends on the complexity of your case. Send a written request or book a paid consultation, then we pick the right format.
Consultation
A paid 30-minute video consultation with a partner. We discuss your situation, define the project scope, and propose a structure and timeline.
Written analysis
A written consultation with a full review of the business — tax positioning, structure options, jurisdiction comparison, banking path. Turnaround: 5 business days.
Operating roadmap
For complex situations — multi-jurisdiction structures, regulated activity, founder relocation. A full plan with stages, dependencies, deliverables and timing.
Direct execution
You know what you need — we execute. No advisory mark-up and no discovery phase.
Fill in the questionnaire
Complete the online questionnaire: a partner studies your case and replies in writing within 24 hours.
Fill in the questionnaire
4 steps · a partner replies in writing within 24 hours.
A partner reads the questionnaire, replies in writing at the email you gave within 24 hours, then a written quote follows. Work starts after you accept it.
Frequently asked questions
The questions we're asked most often. If yours isn't here, a written request is the fastest way to get an answer.
Most “Investment firm” projects in Canada run 4–9 months start to finish. The fastest stage is document filing; the longest is post-registration onboarding (banking, tax registration). A single named partner runs the project throughout.
From US$ 18,000 · depends on licence type. The lower bound is for clean, standard profiles; the upper bound is for complex ownership structures, multi-jurisdiction projects or regulated activity. A fixed quote follows once we have scoped the task.
In most cases, no. The entire process runs remotely under a notarised power of attorney. A handful of jurisdictions require an in-person visit (typically biometrics for a residence permit) — we plan those as efficiently as possible.
FINTRAC MSB registration runs through the online portal, with no government fee. FINTRAC states that the majority of complete applications are processed within three months of receipt; more complex files take longer. Incorporation (1–5 days) and account opening (2–6 weeks) come on top of that, so the full path to a working MSB is longer than the FINTRAC step alone. The package, and the back-and-forth with FINTRAC, we handle.
Yes. FINTRAC is a federal registration covering all ten provinces and three territories — no separate provincial MSB licence needed, unlike the US with its state-by-state licences. The exception is Quebec: Revenu Québec issues a separate provincial licence for MSBs under the Money-Services Businesses Act (Loi sur les entreprises de services monétaires). Provincial requirements, we assess at the outset.
To register you provide: the company legal name and CRA business number (BN), a description of the specific MSB activities (foreign exchange, transfers, virtual assets, etc.), names and addresses of all agents and branches, details on the compliance officer and beneficial owners (25% or more), and confirmation that a PCMLTFA program is in place. No registration fee. The registration is valid for two years and is renewed before it expires.
MSB (Canada) is a licence for fiat money services. VASP (EU and others) covers virtual assets. EMI (EU/UK) is an Electronic Money Institution — a broader status, regulated like a quasi-bank. The choice depends on your activity, jurisdiction and capital.
Yes — the licence application and the AML/KYC programme are developed in parallel. Filing an application without the programme leads to conditions or a refusal.
Investment firm in other countries
The same service — in every jurisdiction we run. One desk, one standard.
