Tag Archives: InvestorLine

How Do I Get $9.95 Trades for my RESP Account at BMO InvestorLine

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So I opened a RESP account at BMO InvestorLine. We already had other accounts there with enough in them to qualify them for $9.95 trades. (At InvestorLine you need to have at least $50 000 in your account or in your accounts in total.) Although I added the account to my User ID and requested it be included in the calculations for the 5 Star Trader program in the future, nothing happened in the next few days to give me the Flat Trading Fee rate. So I wrote InvestorLine using the MyLink Secure email service. Here’s how they said I can get the $9.95 trades for my RESP account.

BMO InvestorLine Better Beware RBC Direct Investing and TD Direct Investing Are Making a Better Offer!

InvestorLine had better perk up its ears and pay attention. In the past few weeks, in early 2014, both RBC Direct Investing and TD (Waterhouse) Direct Investing have changed their rules to offer every customer $9.95 trades regardless of their account balance. For now, InvestorLine still requires a balance of at least $50 000, which can be achieved by grouping accounts under one User ID, or by meeting certain trading quotas.

What Did InvestorLine Say about $9.95 Trades When I asked by MyLink Secure Email

The BMO InvestorLine MyLink Advisor responded: “I have sent a request to enroll your new RESP account into Flat fee pricing. Flat fee evaluation takes place at the end of each month and any inclusion is done manually. It would be enrolled within 2 business days.”

I expect that means that the account will not be enrolled until 2 business days after the end of January. I’m not certain, though, so I’ll keep an eye on the account and see if it happens before month end.

When Did I Actually Get the $9.95 Trades at InvestorLine?

Aha!

The morning after the email arrived via MyLink telling me that it will be enrolled within 2 business days, it was enrolled! So I guess it means if you don’t phone or email InvestorLine, the automated process won’t pick up the account until the end of the month. But if you phone or email, you should be able to get them to set up the $9.95 trades in two business days.

Of course I don’t think I actually want to buy any ETFs or stocks today, so it’s almost irrelevant, but it’s still good to know.

How Long Did It Take for MyLink To Respond to My Request?

Unfortunately, MyLink isn’t responding as quickly as it used to. I sent my question on January 23, and only received a reply on January 27 (although it says it was emailed on January 26. If so, it must have been after hours, ET.)

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To get $9.95 trades in the “old days” at RBC Direct Investing, I had to phone them once the required minimum balance was in my account. Now all of their customers get that rate immediately. BMO InvestorLine seems stuck with a month end system. What does your brokerage do? Do you have to phone or email to get a better rate for trades? Please share your experiences with a comment.

How to Invest in the HISA AAT770 in Your InvestorLine RESP Account

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OK, you’ve had a RESP set up at BMO InvestorLine for years. Your combination of low-fee market-index-mirroring ETFs and a GIC ladder has been ticking along earning a reasonable profit. Now, with a shock, you realize it’s the spring of the year that your eldest child is starting post-secondary education in the fall. It’s time to have some cash ready in the account for those first horrific bills. You have 2 GICs that just matured. What should you do with that cash? Here’s how you can invest it within your InvestorLine account in the high interest savings account fund AAT 770.

Another Reason to Move your RESP to a Self Directed Brokerage Account

I just realized that this HISA fund is yet another reason why you should consider moving your RESP to a self directed brokerage account once you have enough money within it to not need to pay a minimum account balance fee.

In January 2014, for their regular RESP accounts, BMO was paying 1.0% interest.

In contrast, BMO InvestorLine was paying 1.25% on its high interest savings account fund AAT 770.

To be fair, BMO is paying 1% on any amount invested from $1 up. BMO InvestorLine requires you to buy a minimum of at least $5000 of AAT 770. UPDATE 2017 10 03, the minimum purchase is $1 000. And InvestorLine pays 0% on cash account balances.

Still, if you have the $5000 1 000 or more, you can get an extra 0.25% at InvestorLine.

And at other brokerages

NOTE: A self-directed RESP brokerage account at CIBC Investor’s Edge does not have any annual fee nor any minimum balance. (This is as of the time of writing in February 2014. Check the terms again before signing up.)

How to Park Your RESP Cash in the High Interest Savings Account Fund AAT770 at InvestorLine

  1. Sign in to your InvestorLine account/s.
  2. From the drop-down list at the right side of the screen, select your RESP account.
  3. From the Trading tab, select Fixed Income.
  4. Under the Inventory Search section, select High Interest Savings.
  5. If you’re not familiar with this product, under the heading
    BMO High Interest Savings Accounts in CAD,
    click on the Terms and Conditions link and read the details.
  6. If you’re sure you want to invest in AAT770, click on the link:
    BMO CAD HIGH INTEREST SAVINGS ACCOUNT
  7. From the drop-down Action: list, select Buy.
  8. Click on the Recent Closing Price button to confirm that AAT770 is a no load fund priced at $1.00 per unit.
  9. In the Amount in Dollars: field, type in what you want to buy.
    You have to purchase at least $5 000 $1 000 for your first purchase.
  10. For the Dividend Option: select either Cash or Reinvest.
  11. In the Contact Phone #: field type the number you can be reached at.
  12. Click on the Review Order button.
  13. If you’re putting the order in after 2 p.m. ET it will display a message:
    Warning: This order will receive today’s price on a best efforts basis.(14603)
    If that’s ok, click on the Accept All Warnings button.

The Mutual Fund Order Review screen will open.

  1. In the Please enter your password in order to submit your order: field, type your trading password.
  2. Click on the Submit Order button.
  3. Copy and paste the Mutual Fund Order Confirmation into a document and save it to a secure disk or stick for future reference.
  4. If you are finished with your InvestorLine account, click on the Sign Out link.
  5. For increased security, clear your browser cache and close your browser session.

You’re done! Now you just have to wait for that first huge bill this fall. Sigh.

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Do you hate seeing your RESP cash sitting at almost no interest? Do you have any suggestions other than a HISA fund? Please share your experiences with a comment.