The regulatory frame
Cross-border financial planning involves two regulatory regimes — the SEC or state securities boards on the US side, and the provincial securities commissions (OSC, BCSC, etc.) on the Canadian side. Some advisors are registered in both regimes; many are registered in one and coordinate with counterparts in the other. Either can work — but the registration pattern should be explicit.
Tax treaty as design constraint
The US–Canada tax treaty is not a nicety; it is the design constraint for cross-border planning. Retirement accounts (RRSP vs. IRA), employer plans, estate rules, and gifting regimes all line up differently. A real cross-border advisor treats the treaty as a first-class constraint in every plan, not a footnote.
What to look for in a canonical record
In the Wellspent graph, the cross-border specialty is explicit — the advisor's canonical record shows which direction(s) of the border they work regularly across, whether they're dual-registered, and whether they coordinate with counsel on both sides. Use those fields to narrow — cross-border is not a single category.