DIrect Investing | Financial Crooks

Most online self-directed brokerages offer RESPs within which you can receive the Canada Education Savings Grant, CESG. There are other grants and incentives available for some children, however, that not all brokerages are set up to handle. This is gradually changing as brokerages improve their offerings, so for the most up to date information, always speak with the brokerage you are considering. As of May 2014, however, this list summarizes which RESP grants, incentives and bonds are supported by which of the bigger self-directed brokerages.

What Government Grants, Bonds and Incentives Are on Offer for Children’s Education Savings?

I found information about the following federal and provincial government grants, bonds, incentives and programs to help save money for children’s higher education. There may be other programs: if you know of one, please add a comment to this article.

Federal Government Education Savings Programs

Canada Education Savings Grant, CESG: To read more click: http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/goc/cesg.shtml
Additional Education Savings Grant, AESG: To read more click: http://www.canlearn.ca/eng/savings/a-cesg.shtml
Canada Learning Bond, CLB: To read more click:
http://www.canlearn.ca/eng/savings/clb.shtml

Provincial Government Education Savings Programs

Quebec Education Savings Incentive, QESI, Basic and Additional Amount: To read more click:
http://www4.gouv.qc.ca/EN/Portail/Citoyens/Evenements/DevenirParent/Pages/incitf_eparg_etud.aspx
Alberta Centennial Education Savings Plan, ACES: To read more click: http://eae.alberta.ca/funding/aces.aspx/
Saskatchewan Advantage Grant for Education Savings, SAGES: To read more click: http://www.saskatchewan.ca/live/education-learning-and-child-care/saving-for-post-secondary-education

Government Education Funds and Self-Directed Brokerages

In order for your child to get paid various government funds for higher education, the financial institution managing your child’s RESP must set up systems that meet the various government requirements. Not all brokerages have set up the required computer systems so they don’t all support all of the possible government programs available.
Before you choose a brokerage for your child’s RESP, one factor to consider is whether that brokerage supports the grants, bonds, programs and incentives your child is entitled to receive.

(Other factors may include things like

whether there is an annual fee for the account;
whether both parents can be subscribers and share rights to the account;
what the costs are to make various types of investments;
how easy or difficult it is to withdraw funds from the account when your child starts post-secondary education;
etc.)

The brokerages are listed in alphabetical order.

BMO InvestorLine RESPs Can Receive

the

Canada Education Savings Grant, CESG *
Additional Education Savings Grant, AESG *
Canada Learning Bond, CLB *
Alberta Centennial Education Savings Plan, ACES *
Quebec Education Savings Incentive, QESI, Basic and Additional Amount

Source: https://www.bmoinvestorline.com/home/getting-started/il/accounts/resp
*This information is also listed on the gc site.

There is no mention on the BMO website about whether they can receive the Saskatchewan Advantage Grant for Education Savings, SAGES. On the gc website, it does not report that InvestorLine can manage this grant.

CIBC Investor’s Edge RESPs Can Receive

the

Canada Education Savings Grant, CESG
Alberta Centennial Education Savings Plan, ACES
Quebec Education Savings Incentive, QESI

Investor’s Edge is not listed on the gc site at all.

I used the LiveChat feature to ask a CIBC Investor’s Edge representative what grants were supported. The agent replied: “CIBC Investor’s Edge currently offers the basic CESG, Alberta Centennial Education Savings Plan (ACES) and Quebec Education Savings Incentive (QESI).”

If you needed to receive the AESG or QESI additional amount I would suggest you confirm with CIBC IE before opening an account. It sounds like they may not be offered at this time (May 2014.)

Questrade RESPs Can Receive

the

Canada Education Savings Grant, CESG *
Additional Education Savings Grant, AESG *
Canada Learning Bond, CLB *
Alberta Centennial Education Savings Plan, ACES *
Quebec Education Savings Incentive, QESI

* This information is listed on the gc site.

The Questrade site only mentions the CESG, AESG and CLB. So I used Questrade’s online chat to ask an agent what is supported. He replied that all of the above government programs are supported and that they do not yet support the SAGES grant.

RBC Direct Investing RESPs Can Receive

the

Canada Education Savings Grant, CESG *
Quebec Education Savings Incentive, QESI

Source: http://www.rbcdirectinvesting.com/resp-account.html
*This information is also listed on the gc site.

I confirmed by sending a question via LiveChat that at this time in May 2014 those are the only grants RBC Direct Investing is supporting.

Scotia iTrade RESPs Can Receive

the

Canada Education Savings Grant, CESG
Additional Education Savings Grant, AESG
Canada Learning Bond, CLB
Alberta Centennial Education Savings Plan, ACES
Quebec Education Savings Incentive, QESI, Basic and Additional Amount

Scotia iTrade is not listed on the gc site at all.

I wrote an email to the iTrade support team. They don’t seem to have live online chat and I couldn’t find any details easily on their website. They replied 1.5 days later with the above information. The representative said that at this time (May 2014) they do not support SAGES.

TD Direct Investing RESPs Can Receive

the

Canada Education Savings Grant, CESG
Quebec Education Savings Incentive, QESI

Source: http://www.tdwaterhouse.ca/products-services/investing/td-direct-investing/accounts/resp/#content3 which states:
“TD Direct Investing offers only the Canada Education Savings Grant and the Quebec Education Savings Incentive, not any other federal or provincial grants or incentives.”

TD Direct Investing is not listed on the gc site at all.

The gc site is at: http://www.esdc.gc.ca/eng/jobs/student/promoters/list.shtml#B

The Master List of Banks, Credit Unions and Brokerages and Which Grants, Bonds and Incentives They Support

There is a massive online list available from the federal government of which institutions support which grants, bonds and incentives. It does not list the Quebec Education Savings Initiative, QESI, but it does list the CESG, AESG, CLB, ACES and Saskatchewan Advantage Grant for Education Savings, SAGES.

Transferring RESPs Between Institutions

Be VERY CAREFUL if you transfer RESPs between two institutions. There may be special paperwork required before the transfer is initiated to ensure the grant, bond or incentive monies do not have to be given back to the government that issued them. Discuss the move in detail with both institutions before you start it!

Related Reading

Join In
Do you receive any grants in addition to the CESG for your child’s education? If so, is your RESP at a brokerage? Please share your insights into maximizing your RESP value with a comment.

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

While on the phone asking where my money is, since it left ING Direct on November 7 and it still isn’t in my RBC DI account on November 14, I asked a more important question: “How do I start getting the $9.95 trading commission fee given that I will have $50,000 in my account.”

I remember several years ago when we set up accounts at BMO InvestorLine that we had to wait till month-end after reaching the minimum qualifying balance to get the reduced trading fee. (I suspect you can now phone them and ask to get the fee applied immediately once you qualify, but I’m not sure.) I wasn’t sure if we would have to wait with RBC DI as well or not.

When Will You Usually Get the Reduced Trading Commission Fee Rate at RBC Direct Investing?

The support person told me that generally the computer system will spot new qualifiers. The check is made once a month on the 22 nd day. It checks what the lowest balance was during the previous month. [Which is not what the website says. The website says it will check the asset balance on the last day of the previous month.] If the lowest balance was $50,000 then the account will be upgraded to $9.95 trade status.

Can You Get the $9.95 Rate Immediately at RBC Direct Investing?

Yes. Once you have the $50,000 minimum in your account you can phone RBC Direct Investing support and request a change. They should be able to update your account quickly. (They didn’t tell me *how* quickly, but the implication was it would happen overnight.)

I guess if my money ever arrives in my account I can test this!
UPDATE: It did; I can; and I did. The update was made over night. So the day after I phoned in, when I placed a test trade, the trading commission correctly reported as $9.95.

What Happens If the Market Value of my Portfolio Drops Below $50,000?

While I’m sure your stocks, ETFs and Mutual Funds will always go up in value, mine don’t. In fact, I tend to buy things right before they plummet in value.

So I sent a Secure Message to RBC DI to ask whether the $50,000 qualification applies to the Book Value (when I bought my stocks) or the Market Value (what they’re worth today). I waited with bated breath for their reply.

To my surprise and dismay, they replied “In order to qualify for preferred pricing of $9.95 you must hold $50,000 in market value on the last day of every month.”

That’s right: the *Market* Value of the account must be $50,000 or higher on the last day of every month to qualify for the $9.95 trading fee! So if your stocks take even a temporary dip on the last day of the month you will be back to $28.95 trading fees. It appears that changes in the fees, up or down, occur on the 22 nd of the month after the month-end balance went below or above $50,000.

Frankly, I’m not impressed.

Can I Get the $50,000 Discount by Adding Up My Accounts with my Spouse’s?

Yes. You can ask RBC DI to add up the assets in various accounts held by members of the same household such as you and your spouse. You have to phone them to ask them to do this. It is not automatic.

Where Do I Get $50,000 to Qualify

Of course the hardest part is coming up with the $50,000 to invest in the first place. That’s a lot of packed lunches and skipped designer coffees. With time and patience, though, you may get there sooner than you think.