US Cash Alternatives

Banking and Saving strategies, maximizing interest rates, budgeting, GICs, HISAs.
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Arby
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US Cash Alternatives

Post by Arby »

I'm looking for alternatives for stashing $25K in US currency for around 6 months at TDDI/TDCT/TD Bank US. The best options I can find are:
- $US ISA TDB8152 (yielding 0.4%)
- 6 month $US term deposit (yielding 0.45%)
- TD US Money Market TDB166 (yielding 0.55%)

Are there any other alternatives? If not, I 'll go with TD US Money Market.
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Re: US Cash Alternatives

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Imagefiniki, the Canadian financial wiki
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Re: US Cash Alternatives

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Thanks Adrian. Your suggestions look much better than TDDI's fund. I'll check tomorrow whether there is any purchase/redemption fee if these funds are bought through TDDI.
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Re: US Cash Alternatives

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Arby wrote: 26 Mar 2017 16:47 Thanks Adrian. Your suggestions look much better than TDDI's fund. I'll check tomorrow whether there is any purchase/redemption fee if these funds are bought through TDDI.
Both of them are money market; there are no fees and no minimum holding periods at TDDI.
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Re: US Cash Alternatives

Post by gobsmack »

adrian2 wrote: 26 Mar 2017 17:51 Both of them are money market; there are no fees and no minimum holding periods at TDDI.
Can anyone confirm whether USD MM funds and HISA are taxed differently? This thread appears to indicate this is the case but I am not sure: http://www.financialwisdomforum.org/for ... p?t=117031
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Re: US Cash Alternatives

Post by gsp_ »

Arby wrote: 26 Mar 2017 14:39 - 6 month $US term deposit (yielding 0.45%)
The standard rate for 25k at TDCT is .65%. Bank employees have a further 10-15 basis point discretionary ability which should get you to .8%.

Better yields available by taking more risks, not personally interested for so little extra benefit but to each his own. Analyzing what's in those MM instruments seems like a headache, very few familiar names.
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Re: US Cash Alternatives

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The yield numbers from Fund Library don't appear to be accurate. The Fund Library links show a yield in $ rather than %. For CIB483, Fund Library shows a yield of $0.9994 on Mar 24 2017. That number doesn't make any sense. Also Fund Library shows a different yield every day, which also doesn't make sense, since the distribution is paid monthly at the end of each month, so there is no way to determine a daily yield.

TDDI says CIB483 has a yield of 0.73%. That corresponds with Globefund which shows the TTM distribution as $0.0731, and also corresponds with Morningstar which shows the TTM yield as 0.73%.

It's a similar situation with the Fund Library numbers for RBF261. So I would disregard the numbers in the links from Fund Library.
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Re: US Cash Alternatives

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Arby wrote: 27 Mar 2017 12:07
The yield numbers from Fund Library don't appear to be accurate. The Fund Library links show a yield in $ rather than %. For CIB483, Fund Library shows a yield of $0.9994 on Mar 24 2017. That number doesn't make any sense.
I agree that the column heading is wrong, it should have been Yield [%].
Also Fund Library shows a different yield every day, which also doesn't make sense, since the distribution is paid monthly at the end of each month, so there is no way to determine a daily yield.
The yield does fluctuate daily, even though distributions are paid monthly. With enough data available, it would make perfect sense to display a daily yield.
TDDI says CIB483 has a yield of 0.73%. That corresponds with Globefund which shows the TTM distribution as $0.0731, and also corresponds with Morningstar which shows the TTM yield as 0.73%.
TTM yield is not necessarily the same as the current yield.
So I would disregard the numbers in the links from Fund Library.
I have used the information from them in the past and it was reliable.
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Re: US Cash Alternatives

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gobsmack wrote: 26 Mar 2017 18:05 Can anyone confirm whether USD MM funds and HISA are taxed differently? This thread appears to indicate this is the case but I am not sure: http://www.financialwisdomforum.org/for ... p?t=117031
USD MMF and USD HISA and USD cash under your mattress or in your wallet are all subject to the Capital gains rules. See this article, for examples http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-in ... e28440263/
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Re: US Cash Alternatives

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DavidR wrote: 27 Mar 2017 13:45
gobsmack wrote: 26 Mar 2017 18:05 Can anyone confirm whether USD MM funds and HISA are taxed differently? This thread appears to indicate this is the case but I am not sure: http://www.financialwisdomforum.org/for ... p?t=117031
USD MMF and USD HISA and USD cash under your mattress or in your wallet are all subject to the Capital gains rules. See this article, for examples http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-in ... e28440263/
Sorry. I should have been more precise. My question had to do with the following comment: http://www.financialwisdomforum.org/for ... 31#p522241

It says that moving USD cash to USD MMF might trigger capital gains (unlike moving USD cash to USD HISA).
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Re: US Cash Alternatives

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gobsmack wrote: 27 Mar 2017 14:02 Sorry. I should have been more precise. My question had to do with the following comment: http://www.financialwisdomforum.org/for ... 31#p522241

It says that moving USD cash to USD MMF might trigger capital gains (unlike moving USD cash to USD HISA).
I believe that is correct. A MMF is a different type of financial instrument than a chequing account or a savings account.
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Re: US Cash Alternatives

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I've decided to stash my USD in a 6 month USD GIC. CRA bulletin IT-95R says that USD can be moved between cash and term deposits (i.e. GIC's) without being considered as a disposition, so I won't have to worry about triggering any capital gain.
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Re: US Cash Alternatives

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Arby wrote: 27 Mar 2017 17:31 I've decided to stash my USD in a 6 month USD GIC. CRA bulletin IT-95R says that USD can be moved between cash and term deposits (i.e. GIC's) without being considered as a disposition, so I won't have to worry about triggering any capital gain.
I had similar situation sometime ago. What's the rate for 6 month USD GIC? Is it with TD?

I know Hubert offers 0.75% on USD savings account but that's not covered by CDIC but Manitoba Credit Union.
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Re: US Cash Alternatives

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Wing wrote: 29 Mar 2017 19:09 What's the rate for 6 month USD GIC? Is it with TD?
I bought my USD GIC through TDDI, but the GIC is issued by TD Bank. The rate varies, depending on the amount of the GIC. The 6 month rate is 0.6% for amounts of $5K-$25K, and 0.75% for amounts of $25K-$100K. If you have a TDDI account, you can see the rates online - go to Trading > Fixed Income > GIC.
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Re: US Cash Alternatives

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Arby wrote: 30 Mar 2017 10:00
Wing wrote: 29 Mar 2017 19:09 What's the rate for 6 month USD GIC? Is it with TD?
I bought my USD GIC through TDDI, but the GIC is issued by TD Bank. The rate varies, depending on the amount of the GIC. The 6 month rate is 0.6% for amounts of $5K-$25K, and 0.75% for amounts of $25K-$100K. If you have a TDDI account, you can see the rates online - go to Trading > Fixed Income > GIC.
Thank you for the information. I wanted to open a TDDI account but its promotion was ending when I thought about that so I postponed.
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Re: US Cash Alternatives

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Arby wrote: 30 Mar 2017 10:00
Wing wrote: 29 Mar 2017 19:09 What's the rate for 6 month USD GIC? Is it with TD?
If you have a TDDI account, you can see the rates online - go to Trading > Fixed Income > GIC.
You can also see them here without an account. The US dollar GICs are not backed by CDIC.
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Re: US Cash Alternatives

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Arby wrote: 30 Mar 2017 10:00
Wing wrote: 29 Mar 2017 19:09 What's the rate for 6 month USD GIC? Is it with TD?
I bought my USD GIC through TDDI, but the GIC is issued by TD Bank. The rate varies, depending on the amount of the GIC. The 6 month rate is 0.6% for amounts of $5K-$25K, and 0.75% for amounts of $25K-$100K. If you have a TDDI account, you can see the rates online - go to Trading > Fixed Income > GIC.
Apparently, TD bank offers not as good rates on USD GIC without a TDDI account. Did you buy the USD GIC online in your TDDI account or do you need to phone in to do that?
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Re: US Cash Alternatives

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Wing wrote: 14 Apr 2017 13:49 Did you buy the USD GIC online in your TDDI account or do you need to phone in to do that?
I bought the USD GIC over the phone with TDDI.
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Re: US Cash Alternatives

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Wing wrote: 14 Apr 2017 13:49
Arby wrote: 30 Mar 2017 10:00
Wing wrote: 29 Mar 2017 19:09 What's the rate for 6 month USD GIC? Is it with TD?
I bought my USD GIC through TDDI, but the GIC is issued by TD Bank. The rate varies, depending on the amount of the GIC. The 6 month rate is 0.6% for amounts of $5K-$25K, and 0.75% for amounts of $25K-$100K. If you have a TDDI account, you can see the rates online - go to Trading > Fixed Income > GIC.
Apparently, TD bank offers not as good rates on USD GIC without a TDDI account. Did you buy the USD GIC online in your TDDI account or do you need to phone in to do that?
This is incorrect. TD bank has at the very least the same listed rates and in many instances higher rates. Plus you can get another 10-15 basis points on top through your branch rep.
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Re: US Cash Alternatives

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gsp_ wrote: 15 Apr 2017 13:39
Wing wrote: 14 Apr 2017 13:49
Arby wrote: 30 Mar 2017 10:00
I bought my USD GIC through TDDI, but the GIC is issued by TD Bank. The rate varies, depending on the amount of the GIC. The 6 month rate is 0.6% for amounts of $5K-$25K, and 0.75% for amounts of $25K-$100K. If you have a TDDI account, you can see the rates online - go to Trading > Fixed Income > GIC.
Apparently, TD bank offers not as good rates on USD GIC without a TDDI account. Did you buy the USD GIC online in your TDDI account or do you need to phone in to do that?
This is incorrect. TD bank has at the very least the same listed rates and in many instances higher rates. Plus you can get another 10-15 basis points on top through your branch rep.
Then I must have reached an unhelpful branch rep.
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Re: US Cash Alternatives

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gsp_ wrote: 15 Apr 2017 13:39TD bank has at the very least the same listed rates and in many instances higher rates.
It depends on the time period and the amount of the term deposit. In some instances, the posted rates for TDDI's USD term deposit is higher than the posted rate for TD Bank. For example, a USD $25K term deposit for 120-179 days, TDDI posted rate is 0.6%, and TD bank is 0.55%. There are other instances where the TD bank posted rate is higher.
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Re: US Cash Alternatives

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Arby wrote: 15 Apr 2017 19:27
gsp_ wrote: 15 Apr 2017 13:39TD bank has at the very least the same listed rates and in many instances higher rates.
It depends on the time period and the amount of the term deposit. In some instances, the posted rates for TDDI's USD term deposit is higher than the posted rate for TD Bank. For example, a USD $25K term deposit for 120-179 days, TDDI posted rate is 0.6%, and TD bank is 0.55%. There are other instances where the TD bank posted rate is higher.
If you step away from the term being discussed(6 months) and ignore the rate discretion at the branch level, sure. Perhaps the rate discretion isn't available at all investment levels? Not sure, I have several of the higher level ones.
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Re: US Cash Alternatives

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Arby wrote: 30 Mar 2017 10:00
Wing wrote: 29 Mar 2017 19:09 What's the rate for 6 month USD GIC? Is it with TD?
I bought my USD GIC through TDDI, but the GIC is issued by TD Bank. The rate varies, depending on the amount of the GIC. The 6 month rate is 0.6% for amounts of $5K-$25K, and 0.75% for amounts of $25K-$100K. If you have a TDDI account, you can see the rates online - go to Trading > Fixed Income > GIC.
I'm being offered by my bank with 0.85% on 90 day term deposit and 0.70% for 30 day term deposit for USD 50k and more (bank, not investment account). That's an increase of 0.25% from a month ago. Do you get an increase in TDDI as well? I still want to open an account at TDDI but only if their rates are good for my USD.
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Re: US Cash Alternatives

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Wing wrote: 19 May 2017 17:56I'm being offered by my bank with 0.85% on 90 day term deposit and 0.70% for 30 day term deposit for USD 50k and more (bank, not investment account). That's an increase of 0.25% from a month ago.
Which bank? Is it a posted rate or do you have to negotiate?
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Re: US Cash Alternatives

Post by Wing »

Wondering if these USD MMF and GIC/term deposit follow the rate hike this week. My bank, HSBC, doesn't follow.
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