Where should I park cash within TFSA/RRSP?

[Kaitlyn]

I'm with TD Waterhouse and just wondering where I should park my cash before I buy other things.

If I'm buying efunds I may just go ahead and do that, but if I am buying stocks I don't want to put, say, $800 into a stock (it's not enough money yet...)

So, where do you park it in the meantime? Buy an eFund temporarily or something else? The eFunds do have the 90 day window, although it's also not like I am going to be taking out regularly. HOWEVER, if I do regularly put dividends into the eFunds, I could more easily lose track of that 90 day window...

[Sampson]

How much cash?

I typically leave anything I want to mobilize in an instant simply in 'high' interest savings that can move a the click of a button. When not available, like in registered plans, I let it collect nothing since I highly prize/value the liquidity.

[Eclectic12]

Depending on the amount, there are MFs that can be bought that are really HISA deposits with a Canadian bank paying 1.5% or so each month. Just make sure you've checked out which ones will charge an early redemption fee and which ones don't.

There's a bunch of threads about this but my search parameters aren't finding them.

Here's what I was able to find quickly using Google:
http://www.canadiancapitalist.com/hi...count-brokers/


Likely a search with the name of the account will find the CMF threads.


Cheers

[CanadianCapitalist]

Just to clarify: my post on high interest savings accounts may be a bit dated now. Renaissance High Interest Savings Accounts is now not available at TDW but TD's own savings accounts are. That's probably true of other brokers as well.

[Eclectic12]

Good point CC about the posting being dated.

The CMF search wasn't finding the latest threads that indicated this and in my rush to be at a meeting, used Google.

Aren't you glad that Google has your dated post, up front of their search?


Cheers

[Jets99]

I'm in the same boat Kaitlyn.

In my Waterhouse account in registered plans I don't see a good alternative to HISA available.

So if I have cash more than $5K I'm parking it in bond ETFs. XBB, CBO, XLB.

Not as liquid as leaving in cash but for 10 bucks I can move it out if I need to.

If less than $5K I leave it alone.

[CanadianCapitalist]

I'm in the same boat Kaitlyn.

In my Waterhouse account in registered plans I don't see a good alternative to HISA available.

Yes, there is. It is called TD Investment Savings Account that can be purchased with mutual fund code TDB8150. Pays 1.25%. No cost to buy or sell and no minimum holding periods. Minimum investment is $1,000. A couple more that I mentioned in the following post are also available.

http://www.canadiancapitalist.com/hi...count-brokers/

I would not park cash in a bond ETF. They may be low risk but bonds do fluctuate in value and are not a suitable replacement for cash.

[Young&Ambitious]

Nice. I wish Questrade had something like that (crosses fingers hoping someone actually knows of such a high-interest savings account available with Questrade)!

[KaeJS]

Nice. I wish Questrade had something like that (crosses fingers hoping someone actually knows of such a high-interest savings account available with Questrade)!

Questrade used to pay interest on cash balances.
Due to the economy, they no longer provide interest on cash balances.

I would assume when the economy picks up again, they will reintroduce this.

[P_I]

One of the more recent developments has been the tendency of the various discount brokers to reduce their HISA funds to only their own in house. I found that (MIP710) Manulife Trust Investment Savings Account has historically offered one of the best returns. Since sometime in the summer, TDW stopped allow new purchases of MIP710 and also allows their own in-house funds.

Another useful resource is High-Interest Savings Accounts - finiki, the Canadian financial Wiki.