BMOIL: 2 year = 5.08% (Fairstone Bank) | GIC discussions | Discussion forum

I want to thank Norman1 for bringing this 'new' (to me) source of GIC investments to our attention. I had not considered GICs through broker before but decided to give it a shot.

October was fast coming to a close and I still had not made my 2-yr GIC purchase for this month. I was really looking for 5% on this purchase. Equity CU withdrew their 5% rate earlier and I was on the lookout. Norman's post was very timely.

I had little cash in my BMOIL account and the lowest interest rate at the FI's I use where I had cash to cover the purchase was at Hubert. I attempted to create a link between these accounts but it failed. Instead of working on fixing that I decided to push funds from Achieva where I did have an established link to BMOIL. The delay put me into October 28 (a Friday) to make the transfer. A 3 business day delay was advised and that meant 5 calendar days before the money would be available for the GIC purchase. The money did show up by Nov 1 and I proceeded to secure the GIC. Unfortunately, on Nov 1, the 5.02% rates had disappeared. The BMO rates were now 4.97% (Haventree was available at 5% but I decided against that FI for this first effort). I selected BMO for my GIC @ 4.97%. IL advised the settlement date would be next day Nov. 2. Moving forward 2 years puts Nov. 2/24 on a weekend so the maturity date is Nov 4/24.
I don't know if the interest will be adjusted for the extra days but I will live with the outcome. If not, I have 7 days this money will not be earning any interest - or 5 days if the extended maturity date is compensated. C'est la vie.

It's been an interesting exercise. Thanks again Norman1 for the incentive to pursue this.

I recently got 5.5 for 10 years paid monthly without the investor line account with BMO. I think they are the most aggressive bank around as of now. Also wondering with the yield curve inverted how that will be affecting longterm rates going forward? Hope someone on here has more experience then I. Kind regards

Hey there Hayman. What kind of guaranteed investment was that 5.5 10 yr investment? Not a conventional GIC considering the monthly payout? Please enlighten us. I would take that everyday of the week

Norman1 said
....... I was able to link to the associated AccountLink chequing account of my BMOIL account at Hubert. .....
If one adds the AccountLink account to a BMO banking card, one can deposit to the account at a BMO ATM or by teller at a BMO branch. ....

Norman1, thanks for the info on AccountLink. My problem is that I only have a BMOIL account but no BMO unregistered account required for AccountLink. I should look into correcting that. I have always dealt with moving funds in and out of the IL account directly at a Branch. Not that convenient.

Previously I advised that I had a link to BMOIL from Achieva. That was misstated. It is really a bill-payer connection to BMOIL and the transaction was by PAD. I believe that is the only way to move external money to BMOIL directly. It got the job done this time but in the future it might be faster to move funds using the AccountLink method you describe. Thanks for the tip.

Norman1 said

Rates are usually quoted per annum. However, the term isn't always a whole number of years. If the rate is 4.97% per annum and the term is 2 years and 2 days, then I expect the interest will be paid for two years and two days, not just for two years.  

I agree, especially since the issuer stated the settlement date and the maturity date, not just 2-years.

The difference between 2-years (731 days) and 733 days will be $15.04 according to my home-brew calculator which also calculates interest for the first day but not the last. Nothing to get overly excited about either way. I do appreciate your comment and your conclusion.

BMOIL may automatically provide AccountLink chequing account with new account applications in recent years, but when I opened a BMO IL account over 10 years ago, I actually had to tick a box on the application form requesting it. Later on, I had to phone in to request it for a USD chequing account.

Regardless, it is an easy phone call to BMO IL to get it if one does not already have it.

Norman1 said

As AltaRed described, the special AccountLink chequing account comes with a non-registered BMO InvestorLine account, even if one already has a BMO chequing account already.

You actually have it already! Have a look at the first page of one of your BMO InvestorLine monthly statements. Look for text "AccountLink Service".

Sorry if I confused the situation in my earlier posts. You are correct my BMOIL statements do indicate an "AccountLink Service" with an appropriate account no. On the top right of the same statement the account is designated "Order execution only account".

The issue is that I do not have any other BMO accounts and according to this video from the BMO site "AccountLink is exclusive to BMO IL customers who do their personal banking with BMO". Without a personal BMO account there is no access to AccountLink. Under the present situation the only way to electronically transfer funds into BMOIL is by 'bill-payer' method which I used for my initial GIC purchase.

AltaRed said
BMOIL may automatically provide AccountLink chequing account with new account applications in recent years, but when I opened a BMO IL account over 10 years ago, I actually had to tick a box on the application form requesting it. Later on, I had to phone in to request it for a USD chequing account.

Regardless, it is an easy phone call to BMO IL to get it if one does not already have it.  

I opened my BMOIL account in August, 2004. I intended to use it more extensively than I have. It turns out I am not much of a 'trader'. More of a 'buy-and-hold' type of investor. I drifted to another form of stock purchases through a DRIP (Dividend Reinvestment Program) that I used much more extensively and still have those investments today. These investments are held with a couple of Transfer companies. My goal is to maintain 20% of our assets in equities.

If I am going to be more active with GICs or other forms of investments with BMOIL it makes sense to open personal accounts to facilitate the faster electronic form of transfers.

My method of retrieving earnings from BMOIL cash account is pretty crude. I visit local BMO Branch twice a year and get a draft that I walk up the street and deposit at a Big 5 bank that I use as a hub for links to all our other FIs.

We will leave it at that. Thanks for your guidance on this topic.

Agree with Norman1. I never had any prio relationship with BMO when I opened my BMO Investorline non-registerd account. At the time of opening, I asked for an AccountLink related bank chequing account with all the features of a regular chequing account, albeit with limited free transactions. A bank card came in the mail and I even got a half dozen free cheques which I have never used.