RBC US$ GIC at 3% for one year | GIC discussions | Discussion forum

rhvic,

Did you actually get a US$ 3.00% GIC rate? Today I spoke to an RBC financial planner who said he could not find it anywhere in his system. The best he can do is 2.6% for 100K or more, and a fraction less for lower amounts.

I got the 3% rate a few months back for USD 1 yr GIC. (I posted about it at the time).
But I was somewhat shocked to learn that some financial advisors at RBC are on commission, and some on salary.
I guess I was naive enough to think that the financial advisors are employees. What was I thinking??

This is an update to my post of Feb. 11. When a financial planner in a local RBC branch could only find a 1 year GIC for US dollars with a 2.60% return, I went home and called a toll-free RBC investor number I found on their website. The first person I spoke to could not find anything at 3.00%, so I read to him the paragraph posted in this thread that includes the line "speak to an invest-by-phone advisor" whereupon he said, "Oh, you want invest-by-phone, not us" and transferred me. The next guy said, "Oh sure, we have a 1 year GIC, US funds, 3.00%" and I'll send a message to the planner at your local branch so he can give it to you.

I went back to the branch and met the planner again, and he had the 3.00% GIC up on the screen in seconds. (The screen showed that the offer began on Nov. 18, 2018 and could change at any time.) Today I opened that account, as well as a (free) US funds savings account so there will be a simple place to park those funds 365 days from now, should I not roll them immediately into another GIC.

Some background: Until today I was not a current RBC client, but in the past I did have both a mortgage and a GIC (Canadian funds) there. I was still in their database.

The end result is very satisfactory to me, but it sure felt like a complicated bit of maze navigating to get there. I extend my thanks to you others who have posted. Without the information posted here, this would not have happened for me.

Looks like the mentioned Invest-By-Phone advisors are with Royal Mutual Funds.

They are mentioned in the answer to these two questions from the FAQ for the Investment Advantage Account (IAA) offered by Royal Mutual Funds:

What value is there to family grouping besides lower fee rates?

Accounts small or large can benefit from the advice offered by an RBC financial planner, Digital Financial Specialist, or an Invest-by-Phone advisor, including family goal planning, family wealth transfer and estate planning.

Can I open an RBC IAA online?

No, you will need to contact a Financial Planner, Digital Financial Specialist or an Invest-by-Phone advisor, depending on your total assets.

I'm guessing the 3% rate on one-year Royal Bank US$ GIC's is a special offer from the Invest-By-Phone section of Royal Mutual Funds and not from the Royal Bank retail bank.

The RBC Royal Bank branch has employees from at least three companies:

1. The bank Royal Bank of Canada
2. Mutual fund dealer Royal Mutual Funds
3. Investment dealer RBC Dominion Securities

That the branch manager and teller didn't have access to the offer suggests that the 3% rate on the one-year US$ GIC's wasn't a bank branch offer.

It is likely an offer negotiated by Royal Mutual Funds with its parent, Royal Bank of Canada, rather than by the bank branches with the bank.

I expect the issuer of the US$ GIC to be one of the usual issuers, as if the GIC was purchased through one of the Royal Bank of Canada branch representatives:

• Royal Bank of Canada
• The Royal Trust Company
• Royal Trust Corporation of Canada
• Royal Bank Mortgage Corporation

Both "Royal Trust Corporation of Canada" and "The Royal Trust Company" have been alive and well all these years. They have continued to be deposit insurance premium paying members of CDIC too.

What happened was their ownership was transferred from Royal Trustco to the Royal Bank of Canada. Afterwards, all the account statements and bank cards were rebranded with the Royal Bank colours and logo.

But, if one looks at the details of the monthly account statements since then, one sees that Royal Trust is still there as the issuer of the accounts.

The grandfathered Royal Trust accounts are included in the Royal Bank Discontinued Accounts brochure.

Situation is similar with Canada Trust accounts after TD Bank bought Canada Trust. This is from the bottom of the last page of Account Related Information and Administration Fees:

Account Issuers: Chequing, Youth, TD Wealth Private Banking, and U.S. Dollar Accounts offered by The Toronto-Dominion Bank. Savings Accounts offered by TD Mortgage Corporation, except in British Columbia or Yukon, which are offered by TD Pacific Mortgage Corporation. All Savings Accounts are guaranteed by The Toronto-Dominion Bank. Any accounts opened at Canada Trust prior to conversion to TD Canada Trust are issued by The Canada Trust Company.