Personal Advantage Account Interest Offer – Spring 2026 | Page 4 | Manulife Bank | Discussion forum

Jim Sherat said

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.
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Manulife Investment Management is Manulife's wealth management business.

TFSA's, RRSP's, and RRIF's don't have to be structured as a life insurance contract to have a beneficiary designation. Those may well be GIC's and not GIA's.

GIA's tend to have inferior rates because of the insurance structure. That's why most people don't place money in them.