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Email this1:18 pm
February 27, 2015
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Hello all
I am new to contribute to the forum but have been reading for over a year. I have learned a lot from everyone's opinions and experiences. The forum helped me turn away from Tangerine (they have been seriously annoying me with their unattractive rates for some a few years) and head towards hopefully greener pastures. Based on reading posts, I opened an account at CDF and am considering Oaken as well.
I would like to have feedback from this forum regarding Savings Account Rates at Canadian Direct Financial and Oaken Financial as I have no historical experience with them.
Their current rates are at 1.90% and 1.75% respectively for their savings accounts. And 2.00% for TFSA at CDF.
Do these banks generally hold their savings accounts relatively steady? I realize rates have been decreasing for savings accounts and GICs for quite a number of years now and we cannot predict changes, or surprise interest rate announcements from the Bank of Canada. Nonetheless, some banks change their rates more often than others and was looking for comments from those experienced with these banks.
I am also wondering about relative rate differences between savings account and GIC from these institutions. For instance at CDF the savings account rate is 1.90%, but a 1 year GIC is 1.50%. Does CDF normally have a higher savings account rate than their 1 year GIC rate? Does the CDF TFSA rate fluctuate throughout the year - eg. is it at 2% now as a teaser rate, but will drop below this rate after March?
Oaken has a 1.75% Savings rate and their GIC rate start at 1.85% for a 1yr, which is traditional and easy to understand.
Thanks in advance for your opinions!
3:17 pm
February 20, 2013
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I don't have accounts at either but if you go to the comparison chart tab select the rate for the institution you are interested in. It gives you the rate history as far back as this site was tracking it. Hopefully that is enough to give you an idea.
6:33 pm
February 27, 2015
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Thanks jgclghrn! I didn't know that feature was there.
10:38 pm
October 21, 2013
Online
If you bank with Oaken, they always send you an email advising of any upcoming rate changes. I presume that if rates ever go up, they will also give you a heads-up on that. While it doesn't make decreasing rates go away, this is still more than most financial institutions will do. They usually give approx 10 days notice.
In terms of the savings account rate, CDF has maintained it with more consistency than Oaken over the last year or so. However, Oaken only opened last year, so it's hard to say how they will behave over the longer term.
9:29 am
September 5, 2013
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Both financial firms are better than big banks in term of interest rates on saving account. CDF is more well established especially when you need chequing accounts and bill payments. GIC is better in Home Trusts, especially when promotion.
Both are better than PCF and people trusts in term of customer service. But my recommendation is to diversify your banking options if you can. Why not have all of them since there are no fee at all.
5:14 pm
October 21, 2013
Online
I agree with BrimleyChen's approach, although most advisors etc think you should have all your eggs in one basket - usually theirs.
On the downside, having a lot of accounts requires that you pay more attention to them. It can also be a pain for your executor, should you die while all these accounts are active. Also an even bigger pain for the person who holds your power of attorney if you become incapacitated, as not all of them will accept direction from a POA. These two are both banks, so i think the odds are better that they will accept a POA, but worth inquiring.
Depends on your age to some extent. If you are younger, you are less likely to have to worry about POA or dying.
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