Know-Your-Client (KYC) & suitability

Clients move. A snowbird spends five or six months a year in Arizona and keeps a Canadian account. A client takes a job in Texas and keeps the house in Ontario. A client retires to Portugal and calls you from a different time zone.

Residence changes which rules reach the account. A client who becomes a resident of the United States drags tax reporting obligations onto the account, and the firm's ability to serve that client may narrow or end. A client who moves to another province changes the securities rules that apply and may change their tax position.

The wrong answers in a scenario are always the two extremes. "Close the account" ignores the client. "Carry on as before" ignores the law. The right answer is a process:

1. Identify that the change is happening, and when.
2. Tell the firm, because the firm carries obligations the representative does not.
3. Follow the firm's written procedure for that jurisdiction.
4. Document the advice the client received, in their words and yours.

Part year residence is its own trap. Six months in Arizona is not a change of residence in the ordinary sense, but it is enough to trigger cross border requirements. Ask about time spent outside Canada at account opening, and ask again when a client mentions a second home.