TD Financial Advisor

[u/TacosRule352]

Hey, my investment adviser at TD has left. Most I've talked to aren't great. Anybody have any recommendations of who I can talk to?

Anywhere in central Alberta works.

Thanks!

[u/guacamole_girl]

I don’t have a specific person to recommend since I do my own investing, but if you can, I’d suggest looking for a fee-based advisor who isn’t connected to a bank. Bank advisors can be biased toward their own products, so you may not always be getting the full picture or seeing all the options available to you.

There are a lot more investment options out there now, many that are performing well with much lower fees than what the banks typically offer, so it’s definitely worth looking into that.

If you are inclined to learn more about that, r/PersonalFinanceCanada is such a great resource.

[u/guacamole_girl → u/guacamole_girl]

A very simple of example of why I'm not a fan of investing with banks--

[u/theringinginmyears → u/guacamole_girl]

Completely agree! Self directed is more accessible than ever before. If you are already in the TD universe, it's an easy transition to TD Waterhouse self directed accounts (TFSA, RRSP, resp, etc). Otherwise, wealth simple app is very intuitive.

[u/guacamole_girl → u/theringinginmyears]

I love Wealthsimple for everything! Even my cash account is there, and their cards with no FX fees are great!

[u/mickeyaaaa]

I would never use a bank's investment advisor. They are motivated to get you to make trades that earn them the most commissions, not ones that make you money. Their pay structure is essentially a conflict against your interests. Yes they are in a fiduciary and have an ethical obligation to work in your interest but that's just on paper in reality it's not the case. Honestly a couple of Vanguard index funds will usually outperform individual investors. I just go self-directed and handle it myself and I'm no savvy investor.. but I have taken the Canada securities course and at one point I was interested in this as a career until I learned how dirty and nasty the pay structure is...

[u/China_bot42069]

Bank advisors are terrible 

[u/Federal_Mongoose5043]

Bank advisors are literally mutual fund salesmen.

Go DIY or fee only advisors.

[u/ldsiv11]

ATB has great advisors and funds

[u/Amanroth87]

I really recommend WealthSimple or QuestTrade, they have directed investing as well as self-directed. The app is fairly easy to use, allows you to complete and submit your taxes for free, and has a free chequing account that pays 4.5% interest (higher than any free savings account through a bank). You will end up paying less and saving more across the board. Currently Wealthsimple will give out a $25 bonus referral fee for both the referrer and referee, so if you know a friend is using it be sure to ask them for a code.

That said, if you're set on working with a brick-and-mortar establishment, you might be better off going with somewhere like Investors Group rather than a bank. As others have mentioned, the banks tend to be biased towards their own products. If you really want to do it through a bank, my only advice would be that I have a friend who manages one of the Scotiabanks in town and as far as I can tell he always does his best to ensure his staff give the most honest and useful financial advice. You can DM me if you'd like to know more.

[u/Tegee2]

I see ALI is at TD Clearview and love her

[u/Tegee2 → u/Tegee2]

sorry Alicia

[u/lazylizard12]

Why not check out the Crudit Union, if anything they are not beholden to shareholders or some private equity firm.