however I misled, mis-spoke using the term Manulife Financial; I should have referred to it as Manulife Investment Mgmt. Ltd. which appears on all the statements. be it RIF, TFSA, or non-registered. They also refer to the holdings as GICs, not GIAs [Guaranteed Investment Annuity, or Account], which I don't fully understand, as these are definitely Insurance Co. based investments, thus the ability to use a Named Beneficiary, unlike a Bank.

The T5 for the non-registered investments, by far the largest part of her holdings, reads: The Manufacturer's Life Insurance Company.
Therefore, this should fall under the Assuris coverage, being 100% for first $100K, and 90% for the remainder.

Although MILs affairs are now pretty much finalized except for her final Tax return next spring, I am considering speaking to her advisor about my wife and my own financial situation, and at some point in the future, perhaps setting up something similar for us, and our two adult children being the joint beneficiaries ?
There is likely to come a point where self management of our affairs will become more challenging to the point I need to off-load it. 😉

Jim Sherat said

Exactly, and Mother-In-Law's advisor was confident enought in their stability, that had her entire holdings in Manulife Financial GIA's once she reached her 90s. High six figures but covered by Assuris up to 90%.
…

One can't rely on that.

Manulife Financial, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, and Manulife Bank of Canada are three separate companies in the Manulife corporate family.

The GIA's are from Manufacturers Life. The Advantage accounts are from Manulife Bank.

For the Advantage account, one needs to be comfortable with the risk of Manulife Bank. Its parent, Manufacturers Life, does not guarantee the liabilities of the bank.

JohnnyCash said

In the case of Manulife Bank, at least they're owned by an insurance company that's been around for over a hundred years. That in itself offers some reassurance.  

Exactly, and Mother-In-Law's advisor was confident enought in their stability, that had her entire holdings in Manulife Financial GIA's once she reached her 90s. High six figures but covered by Assuris up to 90%.
My wife and her 2 sisters were setup as equal beneficiaries, and when she passed a couple of months ago, they paid out in just over a week ... direct to the acct. nos. provided ! Same with an Ins. Policy. No fuss, no waiting, no lawyers, no probate.

bali said
I am an existing Manulife client with a few Advantage accounts, and tried to open the new 3% Advantage account. I was declined and received the following e-mail ...
"Thank you for your interest in a Manulife Bank Advantage Account. We are not able to complete your purchase at this time. If you have questions, you can reach out to our contact centre. Reach us conveniently through Live Chat, available in the Manulife Bank mobile app Send us an email at manulife_bank@manulife.ca Call us at 1-877-765-2265 Thank you for choosing to bank with us. Manulife Bank"
When I spoke to Customer Service all they could tell me was that it must be a problem with my credit rating. I have a sterling credit rating and have no problems opening accounts at other financial institutions, getting credit cards, etc.
Has anyone else experienced this issue?  

Might be worthwhile checking your credit file, most major banks have free reports from TransUnion. Maybe Manulife did a soft check on you when you tried open a new account and what they have on file is not jiving with what's on the report.

Norman1 said

Jim Sherat said

Wondering how others feel about exceeding the $100K CDIC insured limit, by a little, or a lot, for established Banks, like Manulife ? Personally, I've done it, sometimes by a lot, but have never been 100% comfortable.

I look at the bank's debt ratings from the ratings agencies, like DBRS and S&P Global, for estimates of the risk of default. That's what depositors do for large deposits that cannot be insured under CDIC limits.

CDIC deposit insurance doesn't really add much if the risk of default of the deposit is about the risk of default of provincial government bonds.  

In the case of Manulife Bank, at least they're owned by an insurance company that's been around for over a hundred years. That in itself offers some reassurance.

Jim Sherat said

Wondering how others feel about exceeding the $100K CDIC insured limit, by a little, or a lot, for established Banks, like Manulife ? Personally, I've done it, sometimes by a lot, but have never been 100% comfortable.

I look at the bank's debt ratings from the ratings agencies, like DBRS and S&P Global, for estimates of the risk of default. That's what depositors do for large deposits that cannot be insured under CDIC limits.

CDIC deposit insurance doesn't really add much if the risk of default of the deposit is about the risk of default of provincial government bonds.

Jim Sherat said

It's nice to know that for the next 2yrs. the Minimum interest rate for totally accessible cash will be 3%; more, if especially attractive short term promos convince me to move it, then return it after such a promo ends.

Not to forget the keywords "new deposits". Regular rate 1.5%. An additional 1.5% on new deposits only.

It's nice to know that for the next 2yrs. the Minimum interest rate for totally accessible cash will be 3%; more, if especially attractive short term promos convince me to move it, then return it after such a promo ends.

Wondering how others feel about exceeding the $100K CDIC insured limit, by a little, or a lot, for established Banks, like Manulife ? Personally, I've done it, sometimes by a lot, but have never been 100% comfortable.

I also wish that MLBK had 2-step authentication upon login. It seems they do not, unlike many other (Internet Only) FIs I have, or had, accounts with. Thoughts ?

button there. Eventually, there will be page asking whether one wishes to open an indivitual or joint Advantage account and whether one has an existing Manulife ID or not.

Looks like Manulife Bank is running this long term offer in their back office differently than their previous short term offers. The bank is not tagging the new Advantage accounts with a special offer. No indication in the account's details, as they had before, of the promo rate and promo end date.

I suspect their back office is just going to run something monthly that looks at the account opening date to recognize the Eligible Accounts for the offer and pay the 1½% top up interest.

So yes, there is some confusion on my part, and the CSR I spoke with only added more of it. Not very knowledgeable at all regards this promo offer.
I shall try again; this time after signing in first. If all goes well and is straightforward, I should be able to pull in new funds via existing FI to FI links, into the NEW Advantage account, and verify if promo interest appears in early August.
We shall see.

ponyFlower said
I called customer service, but unfortunately it wasn’t very helpful. At first, the representative told me I wasn’t eligible, even though I followed all the required steps, including opening a new account and depositing new funds from an external source. Then she said I might be eligible, but instead of giving me a clear answer, she started reading the entire terms and conditions to me. I mentioned that I could read the terms myself and just wanted a simple yes or no on whether I qualify, but she wasn’t able to provide a clear answer. Overall, the call was quite frustrating.  

If you believe that you are eligible, then that should be enough if you went through the T&C's and understood them. Your mistake was calling in as the person answering the phone did not know the answer, but that's what happens when you take customer service occupations and treat the role as an unnecessary cost of doing business.

AlainJF said

No.
In my case, the only differences between the old account and the new one are the "Opened date", the "Account number" and the "Nickname Account"/"Account name" (I gave it a nickname). Everything else seems to be exactly the same.  

Interesting, under the previous method you would see your promotional interest rate as well as the end date. Perhaps Manulife hopes people with get forgetful after a couple of years and leave large deposits in their accounts. I'll be sure to add it to my Google calendar and set a reminder. Apparently, they have a new CEO; must be their ingenious idea to replace the way previous promos were offered.

JohnnyCash said

Does it show the promotional offer end date 2 years from now?  

No.
In my case, the only differences between the old account and the new one are the "Opened date", the "Account number" and the "Nickname Account"/"Account name" (I gave it a nickname). Everything else seems to be exactly the same.