# Oaken Financial @2.75%



## Albert (Jan 19, 2012)

GIC rates: 18 months to 5 years all at 2.75%, too attractive not to take a look at.


----------



## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

A great time for those wishing to start a 5 year GIC ladder. Can get it going instantly with 5 GICs with different maturities, all at 2.75%. Mind you, you are stuck with Oaken for the ladder....I hate that sort of exclusivity.


----------



## Koogie (Dec 15, 2014)

AltaRed said:


> A great time for those wishing to start a 5 year GIC ladder. Can get it going instantly with 5 GICs with different maturities, all at 2.75%. Mind you, you are stuck with Oaken for the ladder....I hate that sort of exclusivity.


Add in Zag Bank at 2.50% if you can and slice and dice the CDIC coverage between individual accounts, couple accounts, group accounts, you and the dog accounts, etc..
and you have a quite viable ladder.

My ladder currently has a 2.77 weighted average. But I bought a buttload of BNS GICs at 3.01% (they lost their minds temporarily) In this day and age, a 2.625 average wouldn't be bad at all.


----------



## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

It works until Zag and Oaken and EQ decide not to play the game any more.... Then you are stuck with transferring out maturing GIC money, sometimes at a $25-75 fee per transfer depending on institution and whether registered or not. May not be expensive to pay a fee if you have $50k GICs, but not very effective if you have $10k GICs. 

Remember how everyone was ga-ga over ING/Tangerine, even PCF? Point being... there is a risk of the need to transfer out money, potentially at cost. Just have to keep that in mind. 

A reason why I don't have any GICs anywhere except a brokerage now. I think I am still at a weighted average of circa 2.6% on remaining GICs but it is decreasing. I am overcoming that with select corporate bonds and debentures mixed in with my GIC ladder to stay at 3% or a bit higher on a weighted average basis. Granted I don't have CDIC insurance on those bonds and debentures but I try to pick solid issuers like Manulife, Enbridge Income Fund, H&R REIT and with nothing over 6-7 years duration.


----------



## Koogie (Dec 15, 2014)

AltaRed said:


> It works until Zag and Oaken and EQ decide not to play the game any more


True but nobody knows the future. 18 months from now, maybe another of the big 5 has a momentary lapse. That is the danger/benefit inherent in a ladder.



AltaRed said:


> .... Then you are stuck with transferring out maturing GIC money, sometimes at a $25-75 fee per transfer depending on institution and whether registered or not. May not be expensive to pay a fee if you have $50k GICs, but not very effective if you have $10k GICs.


The fee concern is generally only true with registered accounts. I myself don't keep interest bearing instruments in there because I am still (barely) in accumulation phase. I know you are different so approach it from another viewpoint.



AltaRed said:


> A reason why I don't have any GICs anywhere except a brokerage now. I think I am still at a weighted average of circa 2.6% on remaining GICs but it is decreasing. I am overcoming that with select corporate bonds and debentures mixed in with my GIC ladder to stay at 3% or a bit higher on a weighted average basis. Granted I don't have CDIC insurance on those bonds and debentures but I try to pick solid issuers like Manulife, Enbridge Income Fund, H&R REIT and with nothing over 6-7 years duration.


Ahh.. but we are not comparing apples to apples anymore once you start down that slope. You are stretching for yield and equating the risk of different FI issues as being (nearly) equivalent. They just aren't. I learnt the other viewpoint on that issue once the hard way when people jumped on me for equating provincial deposit insurance schemes with CDIC. I maintain DGCM/DICO are a lot more reliable and likely to pay out than ENB will be should hard times come knocking. 
You may have a different view. But... You're wrong... 
(ha ha. kidding)


----------



## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

Oh I know my 'system' is not comparing apples with apples. Never said it was..... dipping down to BBB(high) for example. 

But I figure if everyone calls ENF common shares/units blue chip, then their debt is even better. I should only get worried if Manulife, Enbridge and H&R REIT shares start to tumble to penny status. One reason to keep durations relatively short. That said, I have gotten this thread off-topic. The Oaken 'promotion' is a good deal for those who want to jump on a 5 yr GIC ladder at this point.


----------



## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

Mailed $1 cheque to Oaken last week...waiting when I get welcome package . My 2% promo with ING gonna end mid-June... gonna see what rate ING will offer and than decide how much to move to Oaken


----------



## al42 (Mar 5, 2011)

Then you are stuck with transferring out maturing GIC money, sometimes at a $25-75 fee per transfer depending on institution and whether registered or not.

Hmm...when I signed up online it gave an option when the GIC matures where the money should go.
I selected back to the bank account the cheque was drawn on. No mention of any fees for doing this.


----------



## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

Online banks like ING , PT, EQ or Oaken don't charge any transfer fees


----------



## leeder (Jan 28, 2012)

Oaken is something I've looked into on and off for a while. For those who have an account with Oaken, how easy is it to move money between one bank to another? I used to have an Ally bank account before RBC took over. It used to be a matter of using the bill payment function from my current account to my Ally account. And then if I want to transfer back to the first account, there's a function to transfer from Ally to the first account. No fees, took about a day or two to process. Is this the same for Oaken?


----------



## Albert (Jan 19, 2012)

leeder said:


> Oaken is something I've looked into on and off for a while. For those who have an account with Oaken, how easy is it to move money between one bank to another? I used to have an Ally bank account before RBC took over. It used to be a matter of using the bill payment function from my current account to my Ally account. And then if I want to transfer back to the first account, there's a function to transfer from Ally to the first account. No fees, took about a day or two to process. Is this the same for Oaken?


I had a non registered account with Oaken for about 2 years. So far no problem very easy to deal with good support and communication. Moving monies from my bank and Oaken can be done on line, with same process you mentioned.


----------



## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

Today Oaken finished it's promo .., all GICs from 18mo and up for 2.75%. On the last day I was able to open sevreal GICs for around 200K combimed


----------



## al42 (Mar 5, 2011)

Anyone have any concerns with their Oaken GIC'S with all the scandals going on with Home Capital?
I know the GIC's are CDIC insured but will it be a headache getting the money back if HCG goes under.


----------



## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

al42 said:


> Anyone have any concerns with their Oaken GIC'S with all the scandals going on with Home Capital?
> I know the GIC's are CDIC insured but will it be a headache getting the money back if HCG goes under.


I have slight concern that expressed in HCG thread ....


----------



## al42 (Mar 5, 2011)

I just got this from Oaken after asking them a few questions.

Good Afternoon,

Oaken Financial is a Trademark of Home Trust Company and issues accounts and GICs from two separate issuers; Home Trust or Home Bank. Both Home Trust and Home Bank are subsidiaries of Home Capital Group.

Home Trust and Home Bank are each separate members of the CDIC and as such Oaken investments issued by Home Trust or Home Bank are eligible for CDIC coverage up to applicable limits, subject to the terms and conditions of the CDIC, I do hope that this knowledge can provide you some peace of mind with regards to your Oaken Investments, for specific information on CDIC coverage I would encourage you to enquire with the CDIC directly at 1-800-461-2342 or by visiting their website at www.CDIC.ca.


----------



## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

> Home Trust and Home Bank are each separate members of the CDIC and as such Oaken investments issued by Home Trust or Home Bank are eligible for CDIC coverage up to applicable limits, subject to the terms and conditions of the CDIC


Just called Oaken and they confirmed that I can have Saving account and GICs under Home Trust or Home Bank. Because we're at the top of CDIC limits under Home Trust (saving + GICs) , I opened new Saving account under Home Bank and gonna buy new GICs.
Also called CDIC and they confirmed that Home Trust and Home Bank are 2 separate entities and every insured 100K per account designations.

2y GIC with 2.95% interest looks appealing


----------



## gardner (Feb 13, 2014)

Indeed. I initiated a new 5Y ladder a few weeks ago. 3.25% for 5 years is okay by me. I drew down my EQBank deposits for it since they're paying only 2.3% these days and the Oaken 1Y 2.75% rate beats that. I filed all the new stuff under Home Bank for separate CDIC coverage.


----------



## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

al42 said:


> Anyone have any concerns with their Oaken GIC'S with all the scandals going on with Home Capital?
> I know the GIC's are CDIC insured but will it be a headache getting the money back if HCG goes under.


Yes, I have concerns. Where there's smoke there's fire. Also, I don't think the extra yield is compensating me enough for stress/hassle.

If this was a question of a 4% GIC vs an 8% GIC, then you're really getting something extra. But a 3.25% GIC vs 2.5% GIC at a safer institution? It hardly seems worth bothering.


----------



## NorthernRaven (Aug 4, 2010)

james4beach said:


> Yes, I have concerns. Where there's smoke there's fire. Also, I don't think the extra yield is compensating me enough for stress/hassle.


_Littlefinger_: Smoke is fire.
_Cersei_: No, *fire* is fire.

Quite often, where there's smoke, there's only smoke.


----------



## AMABILE (Apr 3, 2009)

James , give it a rest.--what stress / hassle - CDIC insured


----------



## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

AMABILE said:


> James , give it a rest.--what stress / hassle - CDIC insured


You saw it first hand in this forum. Read the HCG thread and look at the posts that say things like, "ARE MY DEPOSITS SAFE??"

^ that's the stress. That wasn't me posting that, it was someone else, and clearly people get stressed about it.


----------



## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

AMABILE said:


> James , give it a rest.--what stress / hassle - CDIC insured


 maybe he means "hassle" that you need to transfer cash, buy GIC etc (in Oaken to buy GIC is a pretty robust process).
I , personally, don't want to buy GIC for 5 years, hell knows what will be interest and inflation in so long period. So, I'm looking at 2 years GIC. Oaken offers 2.95% , the best rate from "safe" banks, Tangerine 1.3%. The difference is 1.65%, so if I invest 100K, I get $1,650 per year = 2 AI trips to Cuba. Not too bad for 30 min work .



> You saw it first hand in this forum. Read the HCG thread and look at the posts that say things like, "ARE MY DEPOSITS SAFE??"


 True, but those people made conclusion that deposits under CDIC limits are safe .
I, personally, had a bit of worry as at some point my principal + interest exceed CDIC limit (no more ).


----------



## fatcat (Nov 11, 2009)

the other hassle is that oaken at least, provides very poor customer service and poor and even incorrect records so if you are dealing with oaken (my dealings with home were a few years ago and i can't remember how they went) make sure you keep your records in order


----------



## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

fatcat said:


> the other hassle is that oaken at least, provides very poor customer service and poor and even incorrect records so if you are dealing with oaken (my dealings with home were a few years ago and i can't remember how they went) make sure you keep your records in order


Sofar I didn'thave any issues with Oaken customer service or incorrect records . btw, what exactly was incorrect in your case? I had worse experience from this perspective with TD and CIBC


----------



## fatcat (Nov 11, 2009)

gibor365 said:


> Sofar I didn'thave any issues with Oaken customer service or incorrect records . btw, what exactly was incorrect in your case? I had worse experience from this perspective with TD and CIBC


they screwed up my online statement and produced values that made no sense ... it remained uncorrected until the day i closed my account as far as i know ... 

also, i called for help one day right at 5pm-pst which is 8pm-est, the guy answered the phone right at about 8:01 and calmly explained to me that their help desk closed at 8pm-est, i said ok, i think i have an easily solvable problem (this turned out to be the case later) and could you just help me since we are talking on the phone, he said "no" because they closed at 8 ... 

i was dumbfounded and did the thing where you hold the phone put and look at it ... again i said, but we are talking why not just help ? ... he calmly told me that customer service closed at 8pm-est and therefore wouldn't help ... astonishing ... that interaction combined with the accounting screwup told me that it was time to look elsewhere


----------



## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

Looks like a lot of people depositing money into Oaken. .
When i opened 2nd Home Bank saving account , I was told that usually it takes 2 days to see it online. When I called today, i was told that they have too many applications and big backlog


----------



## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

fatcat said:


> i was dumbfounded and did the thing where you hold the phone put and look at it ... again i said, but we are talking why not just help ? ... he calmly told me that customer service closed at 8pm-est and therefore wouldn't help ... astonishing ... that interaction combined with the accounting screwup told me that it was time to look elsewhere


1) If the guy was a poor workng stiff at $15/hr and didn't get paid for overtime, he had no incentive to volunteer personal time to help you. 2) If he had a commitment to pick up his kid from school or day care and his logistics were tight, he had no incentive to help you. The point is you don't know what HIS particular situation was...but it DOES define potential company culture or incentives issues.


----------



## fatcat (Nov 11, 2009)

AltaRed said:


> 1) If the guy was a poor workng stiff at $15/hr and didn't get paid for overtime, he had no incentive to volunteer personal time to help you. 2) If he had a commitment to pick up his kid from school or day care and his logistics were tight, he had no incentive to help you. The point is you don't know what HIS particular situation was...but it DOES define potential company culture or incentives issues.


all good points but the important point is that he ... picked up ... the phone

if you have to pick up your kid, fine, it's 8:01, ... don't answer the phone ...

but don't pick it up and take 2 minutes calmly explaining why you won't give an easy 30-second answer to a customer question which is exactly what happened, it was comically stupid

my dealings with oaken gave me a sense that everyone was working-to-rule and the notion of great apple-amazon-level customer service was not at all part of the plan


----------



## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

Good points!


----------



## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

Oaken reduces rates Aug 2
1 Year GIC - 2.50% (currently 2.75%)
18 Month GIC - 2.60% (currently 2.85%)
2 Year GIC - 2.70% (currently 2.95%)
3 Year GIC - 2.80% (currently 3.05%)
4 Year GIC - 2.90% (currently 3.15%)
5 Year GIC - 3.00% (currently 3.25%)
Who wants to take advantage of the good rates, hurry up!
Just moved another 120K from tangerine to Oaken, already maxed up to CDIC insurance level Home Trust deposits, now doing the same with Home Bank deposits.


----------



## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

> Read the HCG thread and look at the posts that say things like, "ARE MY DEPOSITS SAFE??"


Just wanted to hear opinions what is more safe:
1. Keep 200K in Tangerine (exceeding twice CDIC limit)
2. Keep 100K in Tangerine and 100K in Oaken (within CDIC) limits


----------



## fatcat (Nov 11, 2009)

gibor365 said:


> Just wanted to hear opinions what is more safe:
> 1. Keep 200K in Tangerine (exceeding twice CDIC limit)
> 2. Keep 100K in Tangerine and 100K in Oaken (within CDIC) limits


#2 by far gibor


----------

