Oaken Survey. Login to your account. Log off your account........ | Oaken Financial | Discussion forum

The survey you noted has been popping for a week or so. I have not responded to it because I don't like the canned questions and pre-designated answers. It would appear Oaken is considering moving more to full service online banking. I could not move past page one without answering the questions on that page. So, I don't know what else they were looking for.

Just before this survey came out there was another questionnaire about what 3 things we would like to see change at Oaken. At the top of their list was HISA for registered money. We did respond to that. Other choices pertained to the need for full service banking.

Oaken for us has been a savings/earnings endeavour. We have no need or desire for full service banking with them. We do not live close to a brick and mortar Oaken branch.

Since 2016 we have taken out 28 GICs with Oaken, utilizing multiple accounts (joint, individual, RIF) at both Home Trust and Home Bank. The experience has been rewarding except for the fact they do not have HISA for registered money. I have also had to devise unusual accounting techniques to track Oaken's practice of paying out interest to GICs on a daily basis with no other record than their Annual Portfolio Statement that arrives far too late to satisfy my need to match our records with theirs on a timely basis.

We have 8 active GICs remaining at Oaken. They will all mature by July 2021. We are no longer investing in GICs. Our goals have changed - now I want to focus on unlocking our RIF assets and settling our considerable deferred RIF tax burden before we meet our demise. Our new outlook is more in tune with Estate Planning than pursuing more capital. The trick is to do this in a manner that will be tax efficient.

We are also eliminating individual accounts so we will be forced by CDIC limits to lower our investment at Oaken to a joint account at Home Trust and another at Home Bank.

I have been very pleased with Oaken's no fee structure and their ability to transfer matured registered GIC proceeds to another FI on the same day they mature. Can't do better than that.

It has been a good experience but now in this very low interest environment we need to adjust our goals.