Finding The Best GIC / Term Deposit

GIC or Guaranteed Investment Certificate is often the first place investors learn to save their money. These investments are easily available at all banks and are promoted heavily by their "investment consultants".

People like them because they are safe and uncomplicated but are unhappy about the low rate of return. The average investor's fear of loss and lack of investment knowledge makes GIC's by far the most popular investment for most investors.

One easy way to increase the return without increasing risk is to simply look in your daily newspaper for a comparison of rates. You will notice that the major banks all offer the same rate. GIC rates offered by trust companies are a little higher and the highest rates are offered by small, local banks and credit unions.

Most GIC's are insured by the CDIC (Canadian Deposit Insurance Corporation) so you can invest up to $60,000 with relative safety. You should adopt the strategy of investing up to that amount in several different institutions if you want your money to be truly safe. Some banks make arrangements with other institutions to use their CDIC limits so they can offer their clients higher GIC amounts than the $60,000 limit.

Insurance companies often pay higher than the banks. However, since they are not banks they are not allowed to offer GIC's. In order to get around this, they make up a variety of names to communicate the same message. The largest insurance companies in the world have formed CompCorp to insure investments like CDIC. CompCorp offers the same limits and limitations as CDIC but covers additional products offered only by insurance companies.

Many institutions offer stepped investments where if you keep your money with them longer you can get a higher return in the final years. Some of these can be good, but be careful. Do a full calculation of how much you will actually earn over the term of the investment. There is a lot of gimmicry going on and investors can be led to think they will make more money even though the net result is the same as regular GIC's.

Another little-known way to get a high paying GIC is by investing in foreign countries. Some countries have been known to pay as much as 16%, guaranteed by the government. I think these GIC's are actually better than bonds. The value of bonds is set by the bond market, so you really don't know how much money you will make, but GIC's are guaranteed and are not dependent on any "market". The only risk you face is currency risk. If your currency goes up in relation to the country you are investing in you may not make as much as you expected.

Living Legacy's Inc. offers returns guaranteed by insurance companies. There is no $60,000 limit. Unlike GIC's, the returns are tax advantaged or even tax free.

For more information on high paying GIC's and the Living Legacy's investments call 1-877-269-0950. You can download the information package from: http://www.netman-ecommerce-guru.com/life1