Tag Archives: Oaken Financial

Where Can I Get the Best Rate of Return on my RRSP GIC?

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If you’re planning to take money out of your RRSP for the Home Buyers’ Plan or Lifelong Learning Plan you may need to keep it safe in either a cash account of a short-term GIC. Or you may just want to keep some of your fixed income RRSP investments in GICs. Whatever the reason, it’s getting harder each year to find a decent interest rate for your GICs. Today I went searching around the internet to see what types of rates are on offer. I was disappointed to find that very few places are offering a promotion with a good rate for this RRSP season. Here’s where I found the best (and worst) rates for RRSP GICs.

RRSP GIC Rates Vary Daily: Be Wary

These are the rates being offered on Monday February 9 2015. They are subject to change without notice but may give you some idea of where to start looking. Please be sure to call and confirm a rate before applying!

A Comparison of RRSP GIC Rates February 2015

Place Cash deposit rate 1 year GIC 5 year GIC Insurance and Other Comments
BMO 0.1% 1.0% min $1000 1.5% min $1000 A 5-year RateRiser Max GIC has an annual equivalent rate of 1.82%CDIC insured
CIBC 0.25% 0.65% min $500 or0.75% on Bonus Rate RRSP GIC min $500 1.5% min $500 or1.5269% on Escalating Rate GIC min $500 CDIC insured
DUCA n/a 1.8 % min $500 2.6% m in $500 DICO insured
Meridian n/a 1.4% min $500 2.1% min $500 3 month term GIC with an annual rate of 3% min $500 DICO insured
Oaken Financial n/a 1.9 min $1000 2.6 % min $1 000 1.75% min $2500 cashable after 90 days CDIC insured
PC Financial 0.50 % 1.05% 1.8% CDIC insuredFee to transfer out
People’s Trust n/a 2.4% min $1000 2.65% min $1000 Currently no transfer fees! CDIC insured
Tangerine 1.05 % 1.05 1.8 % CDIC insuredFee to transfer out
BMO InvestorLine 1.00 % min $5000 1.5% min $5000 2.05% min $5000 CDIC insured
CIBC Investor’s Edge 1.1% min $1000 1.4% min $5000 2.05% min $5000 CDIC insured
RBC Direct Investing 1.0% min $500 1.5 % min $3500 2.05% min $3500 CDIC insured

Note: None of these GICs can be cashed before maturity unless otherwise noted. Be sure to check the terms and conditions before buying any GIC.

People’s Trust Is Offering the Best RRSP GIC Rate and Deal (At Least for Today!)

So the best rate I could find today for a 1-year term, RRSP GIC was from People’s Trust. They are offering 2.4%. They are also insured by CDIC. That’s the same one that insures big bank GICs like those offered by BMO and CIBC.

At this time, People’s Trust is also advertising that it does not charge any fees for transfers. That’s great news but always be aware that they could change that just like Tangerine did.

Upon maturity, your People’s Trust RRSP GIC will be re-invested for the same term if you don’t give alternate instructions. You can also change the instructions for 10 days after it matures. I’m not quite sure how you are supposed to handle it if you want to transfer the money out to another RRSP at maturity. I think you could do it by specifying on your transfer form that you want the transfer to be effective on the date the GIC matures. (It may also be possible to transfer the GIC in kind to a brokerage. You can discuss that with your brokerage ahead of time.)

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Do you have some of your RRSP in GICs? Are you finding an acceptable rate? Please share your experiences with a comment.

 

How to Transfer Funds Into Your Oaken Financial Savings Account

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When we opened our Oaken Financial daily interest savings account, we asked for it to be electronically linked to our chequing account by submitting a void cheque. That was done so the next step was to test the link by transferring some money from our “big bank” account to our Oaken Financial Savings Account.
Then we’ll be able to use that money to buy our next GIC in January as part of my strategy to put our emergency fund to work.

How to Move Money Into an Oaken Financial Savings Account Online

  1. Log in to your Oaken Financial online banking account.
  2. Click on the Transfer tab.
  3. Click on the New Transfer button.

In the Add a Transfer Section

  1. From the From Account: drop-down list, click on the “big bank” from which you wish to make the transfer.
    Ah, and here the veils are parted and the true identity of PC Financial is revealed: instead of listing PCF as a source of money it says “Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce” but lists the PCF account number.
  2. From the To Account: drop-down list, click on the Oaken Financial account into which you wish to deposit the money.
  3. In the Amount: field, type the number of dollars to move.
  4. If desired, click on the Repeating: drop-down list to select how often you want to make the transfer.
    You can choose

        * Weekly
        * Bi-weekly
        * Semi-monthly
        * Monthly
        * Every 4 weeks
        * Bi-monthly
        * Quarterly
        * Semi-annually or
        *Annually
      Or NONE like I selected
  5. If desired, in the Date: field, select when you want the transfer to occur.
    In the Memo: field, type an explanatory note, if desired.
  6. Click on the Request Transfer button.

On the Step 2: Verify Section

  1. Review your request.
  2. If it’s correct, click on the Submit Transfer Request button.

On the Step 3: Confirmation Section

  1. Copy the confirmation information, especially the Reference number to a safe location until the transfer is processed.
  2. Click on the Exit button
    Ta da! You’re done.

If you click on the Account Management tab, you should see your bank balance updated with the transferred funds (on hold) if you requested an immediate transfer and it’s within regular banking hours.

The transaction will include the Reference number as well.

If it’s after hours, you can Click on the Transfer tab, then make sure the Pending tab is selected. You should see the requested transfer and the reference number.

When You’re Finished

  1. If you are finished banking, click on the Log Out link.
  2. Clear your cache and close your browser session.

I’ll try to keep an eye on when the money leaves PC Financial and when it comes off “hold” at Oaken. If I catch it, I’ll update this with a note.

Status: Updates

  • Monday December 15: Sent in a fund transfer request in the evening using Oaken.
  • Tuesday December 16: Oaken Financial says the funds are in the account on hold. PC Financial does not report the funds as having left yet.
  • Wednesday December 17: The funds have left PC Financial and Oaken still says they have them on deposit. So it’s done!

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Do you like transferring your money electronically or do you prefer writing a cheque? Please share your views with a comment.