Category Archives: RBCDI

What Are the Minimum Purchase Requirements and the Interest Rates for GICs at RBC Direct Investing?

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UPDATE: This article is historical, from 2013. I no longer invest with RBC Direct Investing.

While I wait for the funds to transfer in to my new RBC Direct Investing RSP account, I’ve started clicking  around looking at my investment choices. I keep a solid, secure base to my RSP investments by investing a hefty amount in GICs. So one of the first things I looked at was what GICs I can buy at RBC Direct Investing, what minimum purchase amount is required and what interest rates they are offering.

What are the Minimum Purchase Requirements for GICs at RBC Direct Investing?

This was one unexpected and good thing I noticed right away about RBC DI:

For registered accounts (RRSPs, LIRAs, RRIFs, TFSAs, RESPs etc.) you can buy a GIC with a minimum purchase of $3500!

That’s quite a bit better than BMO InvestorLine and CIBC Investor’s Edge where the minimum purchase is $5000.

For non-registered accounts, RBC DI takes a unique approach. The minimum GIC purchase depends on how long the term is! For a one-year term, the minimum is $20,000. That’s quite a bit worse than at InvestorLine or Investor’s Edge. But for a 4-year term the minimum is $5,000 and for a 5-year term the minimum is $3,500. This minimum for the 5-year is much better than at BMO’s or CIBC’s self-directed brokerages.

How do the Offered GIC Rates at RBC Direct Investing Compare with Those at InvestorLine and Investor’s Edge?

I decided to check the best rate available today, November 5, at each of the three self-directed brokerages for a 1-year and a 5-year annual pay GIC.

RBC Direct Investing

  • Best 1-year annual pay GIC rate: 1.75% by Home Trust Company and VanCity Credit Union
  • Best 5-year annual pay GIC rate: 2.75% by Canadian Tire Bank

BMO InvestorLine

  • Best 1-year annual pay GIC rate: 1.75% by Home Trust Company and VanCity Credit Union
  • Best 5-year annual pay GIC rate: 2.75% by Canadian Tire Bank

CIBC Investor’s Edge

  • Best 1-year annual pay GIC rate: 1.75% by VanCity Credit Union
  • Best 5-year annual pay GIC rate: 2.71% by Manulife Bank

So it appears that RBC Direct Investing and BMO InvestorLine offer the same best rates.

It may be important to remember, though, that RBC DI allows a minimum purchase of $3500 and BMO IL requires a $5000 minimum purchase for registered accounts. So for today, RBC Direct Investing wins.

Usually CIBC Investor’s Edge is a clear loser on rates because they don’t sell GICs from Home Trust.  Today, though, they tied in the 1-year term category because they do offer VanCity GICs.

In general, I’ve found I can get better rates at InvestorLine than at Investor’s Edge.

What GICs Can I Buy at RBC Direct Investing?

Here’s the list of financial institutions from which I can buy a 1-year term annual payment GIC from RBC Direct Investing:

  • B2B Bank
  • Bank of Nova Scotia
  • BMO Advisors Advan
  • Canadian Tire Bank
  • Cdn Western Bank
  • Cdn Western Trust
  • Equitable Bank
  • Home Trust Company
  • HomEquity Bank
  • HSBC Bank Canada
  • ICICI Bank Canada
  • ING Bank of Canada
  • Korea Exchange Bank
  • Laurentian Bank
  • LBC Trust
  • Manulife Bank CDA
  • Manulife Trust Co.
  • Montreal Trust CDA
  • Nat’l Bank of Canada
  • NatCan Trust Company
  • Pacific & Western
  • People’s Trust
  • RBC Mortgage Corp
  • RBMC 30D Cashable
  • Royal Bank of Canada
  • Royal Trust Company
  • Royal Trust Corp
  • State Bank of India
  • TD Mortgage Corp.
  • TD Pacific Mtge Corp.
  • VanCity Credit Union

I’ll Test Buying GICs When I Have Some Money

I’d like to test the actual GIC purchase procedure at RBC Direct Investing but right now I don’t have any cash in my account. I’ll try to buy one, though, once my transfer comes in from ING Direct.

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Do you have a preferred self-directed brokerage for buying your GICs? Please share your experiences with a comment.

Using Your RBC Direct Investing Account for the First Time

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UPDATE: This article is historical, from 2013. I no longer invest with RBC Direct Investing.

Ok, on October 16, I mailed in my application for a RBC Direct Investing RRSP account. On October 24, they sent me an email welcoming me and telling me I could use my account the next business day, October 25. It didn’t have an account number or a client card number, though, so I couldn’t do anything. Then on October 31, I received a client card in the mail. Closer! But without the account number I still couldn’t do anything. Finally today, November 1, I have received my Welcome Kit in the mail. It has my account number. It’s time to finally access my RBC Direct Investing account for the first time.

For those of you who are trying to do the math, I finally have all the numbers I need to sign in 12 business days after I mailed in my application. That’s actually pretty fast for a brokerage.

To Sign In to your RBC DI Account for the First Time

Have your client card number and your account number handy.

  1. Go to http://www.rbcdirectinvesting.com/
  2. On the left side of the screen, click on the Sign In button.
  3. On the next screen, beside the Sign In button, click on the link: First Time Sign In.
  4. On the screen
    • In the Client Card Number: field, type your number.
    • In the Account #: field, type the first 8 digits of your number with no spaces or hyphens.
    • In the Postal Code: field, type the postal code used in your application with NO SPACES.
    • From the drop-down lists, select the year, month and day of your date of birth.

    Click on the Continue button.

On the First Time Sign In – Select Password screen

  1. Check your client card number is correct.
  2. In the Enter your password: field, type your choice of a password of 8-32 characters. You can use some special characters as well as letters and numbers.
  3. In the Re-enter your password: field, type it again.
  4. If desired, in the Email Address: (Optional) field, type your email address.
  5. Click on the Continue button.

The First Time Sign in – Complete screen should state your password was accepted.

To actually sign in to your account
Click on the link: Proceed to sign into RBC Direct Investing Online.

On the Sign in to RBC Direct Investing TM Online screen

  1. In the Client Card Number field, type your number.
  2. Do not click on the selection box for Remember My Client Card Number.
    Why make it easier for someone to hack into your account?!
  3. In the Password field, type your new password.
  4. In the Go to: field, select your choice from the drop-down list, from the choices
    • Pre-set Home Page
    • Summary
    • Order Status
    • My Portfolios
    • Markets Overview
    • Stock Order Entry
    • Mutual Fund Screeners
    • Mutual Fund Order Entry
    • Fixed Income Screeners
    • Fixed Income Advanced Search
    • Option Order Entry
  5. Then click on the Sign in button.

And you’re in! Time to start looking around the screen to see what’s where.

Fascinatingly enough, exactly after I set up my account, I received an email claiming to be from RBC asking me to click a link to Please Sign in to complete the verification process and ensure you fill in the required information.

Of course this was a PHISHING attack! The timing was a little spooky though. I reported the email to RBC at: phishing@rbc.com.

What’s Next? Trying to Use RBC Direct Investing!

Unfortunately, although the account is now set up I am still waiting. I am funding the account by transferring in funds from a RSP Investment Savings Account at ING Direct. I figure that they could not send my T2033 to ING until they assigned my account number on or about October 31. So it may be a few weeks before I can use one of my “free” trades.

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Do you use RBC Direct Investing as your brokerage? Are there any things you’d like to warn me about before I start using my account? Please share your views with a comment.