Oaken Maturity Dates and Rate Guarantee | Oaken Financial | Discussion forum

Just a prequel to previous GICs interest rates vs new rates announced.

I do believe quite awhile ago Oaken announced rate increases about a week in advance.
I also believe they used to advise you, in the rate increase announcement, that any GICs purchased x days before, that the new rates in affect would apply to the recently purchased GICS.
They may have mentioned the same, somewhere on the website as well.

Today and yesterday I cannot find any info on web site as a policy to cover this situation.

My recent RIF payment was under the new rules as was taken from the wrong GIC. I did not pursue.

Over the past months I have made 3 calls about, what seems to be a boogy man.....called a RIF. Obviously the questions were over their head and they promised they would call back with an answer. Those 3 calls never happened. Not impressed.

I also do believe when you call them that possibly from the caller ID it may also bring up your account. And ID’ing you is just a process and a verification that must be done.

In the past I had a policy not to use Oaken for registered funds. But I do want to use them for non registered and they have a Vancouver office. Some good rates tantalized me to go against my policy. Now I regret it....they don’t deserve my registered funds business and more so, no flexibility as there are no associated savings accounts to park funds.

Inconsistencies are going to reveal them as having extremely poor service, inconsistent responses and policies.

Prequel over.

I called and asked. They did not ID me and was told NO. That it has be be in 15 days. If you count from June 1 backwards by 15 you get to May 17. I guess I count wrong. ):

So I called again. Once again, not ID’d. This time was told 15 days and count backwards from May 17. <= Not a typo. That was a wasted call!! ):

So I called again and spoke to management. This time I was ID’d. Was advised the policy is 10 working days. And of course NO.

Huge inconsistencies.....how am I supposed to trust the words at a first point of contact. Why is this not covered on the web site?

Truly, the only thing Oaken is good for is non registered GICs. Can do everything online and no need to call back to pay interest annually or to pay out to savings at maturity.

My TFSA registered accounts are well under control to exit.

Next step is to develop our RIF exit strategy.

Any suggestions for RIF Accounts?

Different maturity dates comments will follow up in a few days.

So just to follow up on the maturity dates. We decided not to call Oaken as their track history of not following up and not being all on the same page, that it would be pointless and an added frustration.

The pic above, if Oaken knew how to be up front, should say that maturity dates will be different (longer out) if a weekend or statutory holiday occurs. With the May 17 date my maturities hit a few weekends and a few Victoria days. They should also mention that those extra days will also pay out interest. I disagree that a leap year is a year......it is 366 days and the GIC should pay out, interest wise, 365 days plus 1 day of interest.

Our past 6 months of dealing with Oaken over the phone (because their website is uninformative) has been an exercise in futility and we have jointly decided to totally transfer out all registered products upon maturity.

And what’s next with the new “American” ownership?

Norman1 said
In the May 25, 2022 Oaken rate increase notice, only GIC's booked May 18 or later would be adjusted upwards to the May 25 rates. That's only four business days because of the Victoria Day Monday in the period.

Their non-registered application form says "For mail-in applications, these rates remain active up to 5 business days from the application date."

I think there may be confusion between a 30-day rate hold for registered account transfer-ins and a 30-day rate betterment in case the rate increases after a GIC purchase.  

Thank you.
They need to publish their rare protection options.

Sold to.
https://www.oaken.com/oaken-news-and-update/#:~:text=Home%20Capital%20Enters%20Into%20Definitive%20Arrangement&text=We%20would%20like%20to%20share,in%20the%20financial%20services%20industry.

I was not going to complain. But inquire.

The old old and needs to be modernized is,,,,, banking days are Monday to Friday. I’m in my 7th decade and can accept any day as a business day and that computers can accept GIC applications and pay out with out human intervention on the maturity date. Time for banking and banking systems to be modernized.

If Oaken can post rates are per annum (365 days), then should clarify the exceptions. And it’s not up to me to just know how they work. If they think I only deal with them, they would be incorrect. I desk with at least 6 banks, and I do believe that some do GIC and interest payouts on non banking days.

The short of it all,,,,they have crappy customer service and should offer much more clarity. Less hassle for me and less calls for them to answer.

RetirEd said
I always ask whether interest is calculated by days (30-day months and 365/366-day years) or calendar years. Different outfits have different policies! I haven't tried to figure out whether banks, trust companies or credit unions have distinct category rules. On the other hand, many rate listings cite 180-to-359, 360-to-729, and terms like that. Such listings would indicate the by-the-day method.

I know Peoples goes by the day, because my terms there move their interest dates up during leap years. I can't name a calendar-year institution at the moment, but I am pretty sure I've found them - that's why I always check.
RetirEd  

Interesting. I was always aware that compounding can be done in different ways...but assumed all FIs would do the same and give the least. I run a large excel program that consolidates my investments and shows it in matured value. I use the same excel calculation for all and very rarely are my numbers incorrect and if they are it is usually only a few dollars more that I receive.

That is why I need Oaken to tell me how much of my RIF payment is interest vs principal so I can adjust the calculation. But being the boogy man RIF....they can never answer yet they will show these numbers at year end. While I must be more careful at recording in my calendar, my maturity date vs issue date, I find that People’s Trust pays out the day after maturity.

Good point, also, about the length of a GIC in days. I have dealt with an FI that would say like, 3 years and 3 days, etc. Which only compounds the dislike I have for Oaken as they always display fair market value for a GIC that has ie 3 years and 2 days as 3 years.