# Anyone Using RBC??



## 72camaross (Apr 26, 2010)

Hey, 

I was wondering what you guys use for bank accounts, RRSPs and TFSAs?? Currently I'm with RBC with all my accounts (chequing, e-savings, VISA, Line of Credit) but I don't know how to contribute to my RRSP plans that are through work (one from my old job and one from my new job). I would like to be able to sign in and just put 100$ or whatever into an RRSP or TFSA if I could but RBC doesn't recognize Great-West or Manulife in their online banking...

Anyone use RBC RRSP accounts? or TFSA? 
Thoughts?
Guidance?

I guess I'm just looking to have all my accounts available and if I have any extra money then I can throw it in an RRSP or TFSA. But I have no idea of how to go about setting this up. Maybe a different bank all together? 

I need help..haha


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

I think you should approach the bank in person and arrange a face to face meeting with someone.

Or call their 1800 number. I think their investment branch has a special number. Those are the experts who can advise you on your questions.

You can only move money into a TFSA, once you've set up a TFSA with them. Then it will show in your online banking but it only works one way. To withdraw the funds, once again you'll need to call or see them in person. Can't move money OUT of your TFSA into some other account via online banking.


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## OhGreatGuru (May 24, 2009)

I think you are starting at the wrong end. How is RBC supposed to have access to your RRSP(s) at Great West and ManuLife? They aren't even banks, and RBC certainly can't give you access to those RRSP accounts through its web site. Talk to the administrators of your RRSPs and find out how (or even whether- if one is from a previous employer is it still open to contributions?) you can make contributions outside of payroll deductions; and whether or not they have on-line access. Maybe you can set it up as a bill payment on your RBC acccount. But RBC will never be able to give you a Manulife or Great West Life account statement.

If you want to open separate RRSPs with RBC; or transfer your existing RRSPs to RBC, that's a different question.


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## 72camaross (Apr 26, 2010)

the-royal-mail said:


> I think you should approach the bank in person and arrange a face to face meeting with someone.
> 
> Or call their 1800 number. I think their investment branch has a special number. Those are the experts who can advise you on your questions.
> 
> You can only move money into a TFSA, once you've set up a TFSA with them. Then it will show in your online banking but it only works one way. To withdraw the funds, once again you'll need to call or see them in person. Can't move money OUT of your TFSA into some other account via online banking.


I would love to meet with someone but everyone I've dealt with at my local branch is useless. My old banker who was a good friend and good at what he does moved on in his career haha. Thanks for pointing out that I can't withdraw money online from the TFSA, I couldn't find that info anywhere.



OhGreatGuru said:


> I think you are starting at the wrong end. How is RBC supposed to have access to your RRSP(s) at Great West and ManuLife? They aren't even banks, and RBC certainly can't give you access to those RRSP accounts through its web site. Talk to the administrators of your RRSPs and find out how (or even whether- if one is from a previous employer is it still open to contributions?) you can make contributions outside of payroll deductions; and whether or not they have on-line access. Maybe you can set it up as a bill payment on your RBC acccount. But RBC will never be able to give you a Manulife or Great West Life account statement.
> 
> If you want to open separate RRSPs with RBC; or transfer your existing RRSPs to RBC, that's a different question.


Thanks ohGreatGuru! I never even thought of it that way and I also forgot to even check if I can still contribute to it. I will have to contact my HR and see what the deal is. Maybe I would open up separate RRSPs at RBC if they were worth while. 

Does anyone have RRSPs with RBC? Are they any good? Sorry this is new to me and I'm not quite sure how to go about selecting RRSPs.


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

72camaross said:


> Does anyone have RRSPs with RBC? Are they any good? Sorry this is new to me and I'm not quite sure how to go about selecting RRSPs.


Yeah I do. Check the thread I started in the investing section. I don't really know what I'm doing when it comes to investing and selecting RRSP's either. What I do know is that a TFSA is good (but you probably already know there is no tax deduction for contributing to it) but that it does have limitations and even there you need to know a bit about investing if you're going to do anything beyond sticking pure cash in that account.

I don't know what else to tell you. You'll probably get a lot of links (many of which are absolutely infested with advertising banners and popups) and book recommendations if you ask for advice on investing. The good news is there are a lot of firecrackers in this forum who are really informed about what they are doing.

Another thread you might enjoy is the one I started: "What's a dividend?"...I got some really good responses in that thread.

Lastly, I believe MG makes her living helping out folks such as yourself. Might be worth getting some comments from her and reading the links she sends. A true asset to this forum.

Stick around and learn.


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## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

the-royal-mail said:


> You'll probably get a lot of links (many of which are absolutely infested with advertising banners and popups) and book recommendations if you ask for advice on investing.
> QUOTE]
> 
> It's called "not reinventing the wheel". If someone asks a standard basic question I would rather give them a link to a relevant article rather than spend a lot of time rewriting what I think the article says.
> ...


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## Ihatetaxes (May 5, 2010)

First post here, great site. I use RBC for almost everything (Avion Visa, banking, direct investing, mortgage, HELOC) and have for 15 years. Very happy with them.


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## Sampson (Apr 3, 2009)

72camaross said:


> Does anyone have RRSPs with RBC? Are they any good? Sorry this is new to me and I'm not quite sure how to go about selecting RRSPs.


The majority of my household assets are held with RBC Direct Investing. While I have experienced some downtime with their online site, I find the service at least as good as TDW and National Bank.

I think you might want to slow down a little if you are asking how you go about selecting RRSPs. RRSPs are a type of account only - you select to put money/investments into this type of account mainly for they tax advantages they can provide. RRSPs (the account itself) have nothing to do with the type of asset (real estate, stocks, bonds, cash etc) that are held within the account.

To me, it sounds like you are now asking about the investments and not the account type.

Depending on how much capital you have to invest, you'll have to determine if it is advantageous to buy mutual funds, which can have lower or 0 transaction fees association with them, or directly hold individual securities (whether stocks, bonds, or baskets of them- ETFs).

For new investors, it is often best to keep it simple until you have some time to gain more knowledge. Passive strategies like the "Couch Potato" portfolios are a great way to start. If you don't have enough to buy ETFs while keeping transaction costs low, then the e-series mutual funds offered by TD seem to be the consensus choice. This might mean you'll want to open an account at TDW despite the slight inconvenience of not having the account at RBC.

Good luck!


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## 72camaross (Apr 26, 2010)

the-royal-mail said:


> ...Check the thread I started in the investing section. I don't really know what I'm doing when it comes to investing and selecting RRSP's either. What I do know is that a TFSA is good (but you probably already know there is no tax deduction for contributing to it) but that it does have limitations and even there you need to know a bit about investing if you're going to do anything beyond sticking pure cash in that account.
> ...
> Another thread you might enjoy is the one I started: "What's a dividend?"...I got some really good responses in that thread.
> 
> ...


Thanks I'll search those threads to see what I can find. It is definitly worth it for me to stick around here that's for sure! I definitly need to learn some more before I just open a TFSA for no reason haha.



Four Pillars said:


> It's called "not reinventing the wheel". If someone asks a standard basic question I would rather give them a link to a relevant article rather than spend a lot of time rewriting what I think the article says.
> 
> Don't complain when people try to help or they will ignore you in the future.


You are correct here. I like being able to search old threads and find it without having the 1000th post of "what should I do" haha. If you have any useful links, I'll take them! The more I read, the more I'm learning.



Sampson said:


> The majority of my household assets are held with RBC Direct Investing. While I have experienced some downtime with their online site, I find the service at least as good as TDW and National Bank.
> 
> I think you might want to slow down a little if you are asking how you go about selecting RRSPs. RRSPs are a type of account only - you select to put money/investments into this type of account mainly for they tax advantages they can provide. RRSPs (the account itself) have nothing to do with the type of asset (real estate, stocks, bonds, cash etc) that are held within the account.
> 
> ...


Thanks Sampson. Yes I started out wondering basically which bank was good to deal with for RRSPs. I have decided for now to just stick with my RBC accounts and I've looked into the online contributing for my RRSPs with other financial institutions and that seems to be easily doable. Now that I know I want to use the existing RRSP accounts I currently have, the next step will be deciding what my RRSPs should be invested in (I hope that makes sense). I think I closed my eyes and pointed on a sheet of investments when I first did it so it would be nice to actually have an understanding of what I was doing. Right now I have no idea what my money should be in and if what it is currently in is any good or not... I have a feeling I'm on a steep steep learning curve.. haha 

I will definitly be keeping it simple for a while until I can grasp some of these things - ETFs, stocks, bonds, mutual funds etc... maybe once I get there I can look into investment strategies and portfolios. First I'd just like to understand how the RRSP world works and what I can do to maximize my money with it.


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## Canadian Finance (Apr 3, 2009)

I started my first RRSP with RBC’s Dividend Fund, but after reading some books and blogs, I was convinced that TD e-Series funds were a better choice since I greatly reduced my fees.

I also moved my mortgage from RBC to Scotiabank since they offered me a better rate, plus I wanted their STEP mortgage to invest with the readvanceable credit line.

I still have a credit line and a rarely used chequing account with them. On top of all that, my regular chequing account is PC Financial. I have accounts with 4 of the 5 major banks so I understand the want to view everything all at once. Have you looked into something like Wesabe or PocketSmith, or even maintaining an Excel spreadsheet to keep on top of everything?


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## mogul777 (Jun 2, 2009)

I'm not aware of any area where RBC is best of class... I'd keep looking if I were you.


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## OhGreatGuru (May 24, 2009)

mogul777 said:


> I'm not aware of any area where RBC is best of class... I'd keep looking if I were you.


"Best of Class" is a pretty selective bar when there are 6000 funds out there. FundLibrary rates about 20 of RBC's funds as Class A, meaning they performed in top 10% for at least past 24 month period.


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## mogul777 (Jun 2, 2009)

OhGreatGuru said:


> "Best of Class" is a pretty selective bar when there are 6000 funds out there. FundLibrary rates about 20 of RBC's funds as Class A, meaning they performed in top 10% for at least past 24 month period.


I was referring to RBC accounts and services, not mutual funds. But since you mention it no reason not to select the best funds as well.


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