Advisors compare and contrast RESPs on Talvest Town Hall

(December 20, 2002) School is out for the holidays but education was on the minds of several financial advisors in Advisor.ca’s online forum this week.

The specific topic of class discussion in the Talvest Town Hall was Registered Education Savings Plans. Advisors penned responses to a C.D. Howe Institute report that argued RESPs do little to improve access to post-secondary education for most Canadians. The study concluded that RESPs should be phased out and rolled into the RRSP program.

“I have been marketing scholarship plans for 16 years and have hundreds of satisfied subscribers,” wrote Stanley Shoolman. “Most of the families that I have enrolled are not in the higher income category and this is precisely why they started a savings plan.”

Another advisor took issue with focusing on the potential commissions from selling RESPs.

“Is it not our job to put the client’s interest ahead of our own?” wrote advisor Brad Brain.

“Whether I get paid ‘X’ for a scholarship plan versus paid ‘Y’ for some other alternative has never been a factor for me, and it never will,” he added. (Click here to comment on RESPs.)

“For me personally I refer all RESP requests to competent professionals who I know will take the time to set up my clients properly. I would take care of them myself but RESP is not in my current area of expertise,” responded Jeremy Amott.

Among the other topics of conversation raised in the Talvest Town Hall were a proposal to raise RRSP contribution limits (in the “Mutual Funds and Other Products” forum) and discussion of Manulife’s bid to acquire Canada Life (in the “Insurance” forum).

Share your thoughts on RESPs, or any other topic concerning the advisor community, in the “Free For All” forum of the Talvest Town Hall on Advisor.ca.

Filed by Jim MacDonald, Advisor.ca, jmacdonald@advisor.ca.

(12/20/02)

The opinions expressed in the online messages posted to any of the forums of the Talvest Town Hall are strictly those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the staff of Talvest Fund Management, Advisor.ca or Rogers Media. Material contained in the Talvest Town Hall forums is for information purposes only.