Last week, I reported a story about continuing efforts to lobby the federal government into regulating fees and timelines for transferring tax-advantaged investment accounts, such as tax-free savings accounts, or TFSAs, and registered retirement savings plans, or RRSPs. The article clearly resonated with many Globe readers.

The vast majority of comments on that piece are from people sharing their frustration at how costly and slow it is to move investments from one financial institution to another in this country. This issue exists for both registered and non-registered accounts, although my story focused on the former.

The investment industry seems to have coalesced around charging a hefty $150 per account in what’s known as exit or transfer fees. That’s the amount you have to pay to your old bank or investment dealer for the privilege of moving your money to the competition.

Sometimes the receiving institution will cover that cost for new customers, but those rebates are often available only for investments over a certain threshold (think $15,000 to $25,000). And new clients typically have to know to ask for a refund.

Then there’s the time it takes to actually transfer your investments, which can easily take anywhere from several weeks up to a few months. That’s a whole other – and potentially costlier – financial hit.

Your money sits idle while financial institutions coordinate the transfer, a process that typically involves fax machines and paper cheques. (It’s a wonder, really, that the industry isn’t relying on communication through homing pigeons.)

My article has more details on various efforts currently underway to set standards for transfer times and fees, but there’s one practical tip that didn’t make it into the story.

You can’t ask the stock market to sit still while your money is in transit. But in a conversation about transfer woes, a reputable source once told me they asked the receiving institution if they would grant them the GIC interest rates that were on offer when they initiated the transfer. (GIC stands for guaranteed investment certificate, a type of very safe investment.)

Lo and behold, by the time the customer’s money made it through, the institution had cut its GIC rates – but they did make good on their promise and held the old rate for the new client.

With interest rates heading lower right now, a similar request could spare GIC investors who are moving their funds from losing out on hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in interest income. You may not get your wish granted, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.

As always, email me at ealini@globeandmail.com with any questions or thoughts you have on this topic.

Speaking of GIC rates, highinterestsavings.ca is a good place to compare rates. They also have a similar savings account comparison chart that includes updates about recent rate changes at various institutions.