Frequently Asked Questions

The word Fiscal stems back centuries, as an ancient Greek term for the state’s financial purse. The present day meaning of a Fiscal Agent remains an agent for the state – however, in our case, a financial organization that acts as the conservative investor’s agent, in securing and assisting in financial matters on their behalf.

Fiscal Agents – a group of companies centred on the financial well-being of you, our clients

Fiscal Agents Saving & Investments

Since 1977, Fiscal Agents Ltd. has acted as a deposit broker, becoming a founding member of the regulatory body now named the Registered Deposit Brokers Association (RDBA). As industry advocates, we successfully challenged the federal government in 2005 to raise CDIC depositor limits to $100,000, and we instigated the Interest Income Tax Credit reintroduction and replacement discussions, culminating in the TFSA program being introduced.

Interest rates monitoring: We conduct and publish our daily interest rate monitoring results, sorting highs from lows, building company and product profiles and updating our “Best of our Best” market surveys. Our research department is considered such a credible source that our impartial interest rate surveys are published in Canada’s largest circulation newspaper the Toronto Star and across Canada in the National Post. Our interest rate monitoring is powered by MoneyGuide.ca, our own proprietary interest rate service and an industry leader.

No-fee* GIC deposit placement services: Our clients have access to our deposit rate research, GIC placement desk and exclusive MoneyGuide® GIC deposit management program via the Statement & Interest Income Planner and Account Activity Report services. You’ll be able to monitor your GIC portfolio, and at a glance review across any number of individual or registered accounts your cash and related T5 summary tax position, year over year maturity and renewing options.

For over 40 years serious savers have entrusted billions of their savings to Fiscal Agents deposit placement services, and it’s near impossible to count those investors who have followed and invested based on our editorial research published in both national and regional media.

Bigger Pay GICs: Financial institutions regularly post higher wholesale market rates – rates not advertised to the general public – and available for a few hours to certain brokers like Fiscal Agents. As a client you’ll be apprised of these special offers when you call – and they are CDIC insured and issuer guaranteed.

At Fiscal Agents, the hallmark of our GIC services is the belief that every dollar earned through seeking the best GIC interest rate available is of great value.

MoneyGuide® Calculators and interactive financial tools: We’ve developed our MoneyGuide® toolkit of propriety calculators and worksheet guides, each designed to assist your planning requirements. For retirement planning we have RRSP accumulation and RRIF payout report-producing calculators. For various other needs you’ll also find mortgage affordability, loan payment schedulers and more, all designed to assist you in exploring your financial options and opportunities.

Investment and retirement planning are daunting tasks, but our client advisors are uniquely qualified to help you create a financial plan based on your values and objectives and build in flexibility to assist you in achieving your lifetime goals.

Building your financial plan without a blueprint and the right tools is foolhardy

Self-directed services – providing the widest of options and inclusive services – represent the core element of Cornerstone Planning, and are the stuff Blueprints are made of. Sticking to the basics under the guidance of a trusted advisor is important as financial instruments become more complicated and the industry tends to skimp on important and valuable features.

This is an important and neglected point. Today some of the very simple features that previously were elements of the estate planning process are no longer available – and the consequences can be devastating, adding financial risk you never contemplated. Our Cornerstone Planning process helps removes those risks.

What is meant by self-directed services? It’s a term used to describe an account that’s held at a financial institution in which all the GIC purchases are made. The account is in your name and has its own individual account number, and you can designate a beneficiary owner for estate purposes. These are only a few of the benefits that accrue to you with this type of account.

Are their fees? Yes, nominal – and like so many things eating away at your savings, we’re all resentful towards them. However they must be weighed against the consequences of added risk and the lack of choice, which are severely detrimental to your financial well-being. Investigate your options (here).

When you open a Fiscal Agents account, you can count on consistently high yields along with many other perks geared to saving you money and time. Open an account today and begin to reap the advantages.

Canada Deposit Insurance Corp. protection is available from member financial institutions across Canada within published limits. Note that credit unions are operated provincially and deposits are in most cases* guaranteed by provincially legislated schemes (Manitoba being an exception). Further note that certain institutions offer GIC investments through marketing initiatives – for example, Oaken Financial is a unit of Home Bank and those accounts are considered together when determining deposit insurance coverage under CDIC regulations.

Insurance limits differ from province to province with Canada Deposit Insurance Corp (CDIC) coverage being available across Canada. CDIC provides $100,000 in protection to deposits with banks and trust companies, whereas coverage under provincial insurance schemes for credit unions can range from $100,000 to *unlimited.

If you invest in the products from a number of deposit-taking institutions, you could invest up to the limits in more than one protected deposit. It’s worth noting that certain financial institutions have related-company issuers. Consider this example: Each of you, your spouse, you jointly with your spouse, or a named child, can be considered separately or in trust, with each individual investor having an RSP, RIF, RESP, home ownership and/or Tax Free Saving Account (TFSA) in CDIC-protected accounts.

Yes (provisionally), depending on the type of commercial account requirements – not all institutions offer such accounts.

If the registration includes a named beneficiary such as a spouse, the GIC will then be re-registered in the beneficiary’s name. Otherwise the ownership is directed by a Will. Registered products can be transferred or re-registered to the surviving spouse or cashed in (subject to possible tax withholding).

We can help with beneficiary Estate Planning re-registration services, with prior reviews of all GIC deposits towards re-registration. Examples are joint names with rights to survivor and adding beneficiary notations to preexisting RRSPs and RRIFs etc.

We collect and report on the Canadian interest rate marketplace a number of times throughout the day. Calling our deposit placement desk at 905-844-7700 or our toll-free line at 1-888-4fiscal (1-866-434-7225) will get you the most current offing both retail and wholesale.

We provide a Canada-wide survey of deposit broker rates, by logging onto the Fiscalagents.com website for all categories of deposits, registered accounts and mortgage loan rates, you are a click or swipe away from hundreds of investment product profiles. You’ll find all of our current interest rates there. We take great pride in offering some of the highest savings rates in Canada, so you can make the most of your hard-earned money. This website provides a fluid viewing environment that travels across all mobile and hard connections by rescaling its pages.

As a client, we’ll also provide our Money Management Made Easy® newsletter and our email rate updater service – you can opt for daily, weekly or monthly updates – and we’ll plan to also contact you personally a few days before any maturity for instructions. Other benefits include our Manager Statement and Interest Income Planner with an annual T5 summary report, listing the interest earned on non-registered GICs and indicating what would have been accumulated if compounding – still a reportable income item.

Among your options, you can have the maturity amount returned directly to you by the issuer, or to our deposit placement desk for reinvestment, or if you wish we can bank the maturity cheque directly into you bank account, sending a copy of the deposit receipt to you. Clients have such e-documents posted to their account history.

Our office is located in Oakville, at 25 Lakeshore Road West.

To be eligible for our services, potential clients must complete an account application. Such documents incorporate the government’s statutory requirements regarding personal identification information and FINTRAC declarations and also provide the necessary permissions and investment information required by all financial institutions issuing investment certificates or term deposits.

Our client advisors at our deposit placement desk will arrange for your deposit to be picked up by bonded courier or under your instructions transacted as a future maturity reinvestment event.

No. We are not an issuer – as deposit brokers, we have contractual arrangements with a large number of issuers to procure GICs on behalf of clients.

Your cheque can be made payable to the chosen financial institution, or yourself (in your name).

No, Fiscal Agents are “no-fee deposit brokers,” meaning, no commission fees, no investment money management fees, nor any annual account fees.

However in certain circumstances where additional administration tasks, that you instruct us to perform, regarding re-registration transactions or early redemption instructions regarding your GIC holdings, we are thus obliged to follow, and impose fees according to Fee Schedule and Disbursements

Yes, our client advisors can arrange RRSP or RRIF transfer documentation within 30 days, and inform you of the rate guarantee in force.

You’ll receive a new updated deposit holding statement with each new investment purchase, while having online access to all details of prior investments and statements.

Under your instructions and confirmation, you will be provided secure access to retrieve by encrypted email, access to your investment profile and statements. Our servers are not linked or open to the internet.

Your investment profile and statements are kept under tight security. You’ll be issued a account login code, combined with your unique password, to provide access 24/7.

Benefits of being a Fiscal Agents client include illustrated GIC portfolio statements and special annual T5 income reports, easy reinvestment, interest rate guarantees, and structured/laddering Cornerstone planning guides.

Household Documents directory – a secure record-keeping journal

Prudent Canadian – practical investment advice and guide

The Ten Principles of Being Rich – examining real life options and situations

Jargon Buster – a most comprehensive dictionary of financial terms and expressions

Link to publication section