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bank fees
They're richer than you think.
In a 2015 global study by Morningstar, Canada's investment environment was rated the worst in the developed world when it came to Fees and Expenses. Don't worry, though, there's good news; our D- score is up from the F earned in 2014. The real question is the implication of our less-than-impressive grade.
Using your RRSP in a pinch may seem like a reasonable course of action, but in practice it can be a big mistake. There are costs to dipping into your RRSP that that make it particularly unattractive for this purpose.
In case you're unaware of today's headlines, starting June 1, RBC will be introducing supplementary account fees. Why? Because they can. And few, if any will do anything about it.
Regardless of what type of investment products you're using, you should always know what it's costing you to have your money managed. If nothing is done to reduce the fees institutions are charging for investment management services most Canadians are going to be poorer then they think.
The accounts, not to be implemented until 2015, are only for low-income seniors and youth. These banks should extend this benefit to the large number of Canadians between the ages of 18 and 65 who are also currently living in poverty. It is critical that services for low-income people are universal and not create divisions between the deserving and the un-deserving poor.
It is easy to bash banks (the NDP obsession), or telecommunications and internet service providers (the Tory preoccupation) but some competition already exists in both those sectors though more is preferable to less. In contrast, both parties miss obvious policy areas that could save consumers a small fortune -- but where prices are currently jacked up in favour of existing producers.
