Financial Product Reviews

RBC car insurance has quite a lot to offer Canadian consumers, including a wide array of options that let you customize your insurance policy to meet your needs. If you’re looking for the cheapest car insurance available, however, you’ll have to look elsewhere, as RBC’s premiums tend to fall somewhere in the middle of the pack, and they offer few ways to earn any discounts on your premiums.

You’ve probably never heard of Alterna Bank, even though their parent company has been in business for over 100 years. They started as a credit union in Eastern Ontario, and now they’re mostly an online bank. Like other Canadian banks, they’re members of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC), meaning your money is protected if the bank goes under.

If you’re in the market for a new mortgage because you’re looking to buy your first home or just looking to refinance your existing mortgage, a CIBC fixed rate mortgage might be a good choice for you. Not only are they one of Canada’s tried-and-true big banks, they also have a variety of mortgage terms available, some very competitive special rates, and a few extra features to boot.

If you’re looking to buy a house and would like to have some predictability in what your mortgage payments will be every month, then a fixed rate mortgage is probably for you. Scotiabank offers 7 closed fixed rate mortgages and a 6-month convertible mortgage. In short, you have some options with Scotiabank, although these aren’t that unusual and are available through other lenders as well.

A TD closed variable rate mortgage is an interesting option if you’re looking to stick with the big banks for your mortgage. Though their prime rate is currently higher than most other big banks (at 6.6% instead of 4.45%), TD variable rates are quite competitive.

While you may have heard of Wealthsimple, did you know that Wealthsimple also offers Wealthsimple Self-Directed Investing? And it’s a little different. They advertise it as “a simpler way to trade,” and it’s hard to argue with that. You can only open a handful of account types. You can trade stocks, ETFs, options, margin, and corporate products on Canadian and U.S. exchanges. And that’s about it.

TD GICs are an easy way to earn a modest guaranteed investment on some of your money. Like most banks in Canada, TD offers several types of Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs) to give their clients low-risk alternatives to more traditional stock market investing.

Investing with an RBC GIC is an easy way to get guaranteed return on the money you want to put aside. Though the return tends to be quite low, they’re still a decent way to make your money work for you – thanks to the low risk involved. RBC offers Canadians GICs backed by a well-known big bank, plus has industry-standard minimum investments of $1,000 for most options.

Wealthsimple has a high interest spending account known as the Wealthsimple Chequing account. It’s actually a hybrid account that gives you fairly easy access to your money for no monthly fees. With a maximum interest rate of 2.25%, unlimited e-Transfers, and no FX fees, this account is worth taking a look at – especially for investors.

CIBC variable rate mortgages are a solid option for people who don't mind balancing a bit of risk with some potential savings. Variable rate mortgages fluctuate with the prime interest rate, so while you can save money if interest rates stay low, you are risking a higher payment if the prime rate goes up.