Anyone familiar with ING Direct?

[300spartans]

Hey, I have been thinking of opening up one of those savings accounts with the nice interest rates, right now they are at 2.4%.

I was just wondering if anyone here uses ING Direct or if they have heard anything good or bad about them.

I realize that I still have to use my regular bank for usual services but I think the savings account looks good, especially compared to 0.50% which I get from my own bank.

Thoughts, opinions...
300S

[BlackArcher101]

A friend of mine in the accounting world opened one and tried to get my to open one too. My laziness stood strong though and I didn't get around to it. Plus I have no money to save.

Anyways, by the sounds of it, my friend knew what he was talking about and highly recommended it.

[Pagal4321]

Well I'm not familiar with it, but I know I have a PC savings account and it has a 2.5% annual intrest rate. And I think it's great because you can't actually withdraw money from that account without first transferring the funds, which takes a few days.
But in terms of service, PC is strictly telephone banking an dinternet banking. But that savings acount does have a great intrest rate...

[Claeren]

I have a no fee, internet access only, account from Scotia Bank that pays out 2.5%. To get the funds you just log on and simply move the funds to a normal account, pretty straight forward....

Claeren.

[Homer_J]

I've had an ING account for about 2 years now. I use it strictly for savings, and it's been great. No fees or charges, and transferring money between your ING account and your regular bank acccount is simple and pretty fast. No complaints whatsoever. Plus, I noticed that if you recommend someone to ING, they'll give you and your friend $13 each.

[ricosuave]

ive got both, pc for all my day to day stuff, and ing for the savings...

this is the way banking is going, imho.

as long as you have computer and phone access, and dont mind banking that way, as opposed to the normal way, its a great way to go

rico

[Mr. Ski]

Keep in mind that with inflation you're just breaking even at 2.5% You'll have no more purchasing power next year, than you do now. If you're simply building a vacation fund or saving for the like these are OK accounts to use. But... if you're interested in actually making real money on your savings, you need to look to other areas.

I'm certainly not here to shill for TD Canada Trust, but I've been in one of their "low risk" mutual funds that was originally recommended to me as a novice investor (and which I can also sell on a day's notice) and have made an average annual return of 13.92% for the past five years. On some higher risk funds such as their Energy Sector Fund (which are still lower risk than direct investing in stocks because of the diversification), I've made over 68% year-to-date.

Moral of the story: From my experience, if you're interested in savings, it's worth your while to speak to a financial services rep from any of the bigger banks or investing corps. They've got some good offerings you don't always hear about on TV.

[arsenal]

Man.. maybe i need to switch my mutual funds.. i think I am showing like a -70% return on those bad boys..

[Mike Oxlong]

Originally posted by Mr. Ski@Dec 6 2004, 07:16 PM
Keep in mind that with inflation you're just breaking even at 2.5% You'll have no more purchasing power next year, than you do now. If you're simply building a vacation fund or saving for the like these are OK accounts to use. But... if you're interested in actually making real money on your savings, you need to look to other areas.

I'm certainly not here to shill for TD Canada Trust, but I've been in one of their "low risk" mutual funds that was originally recommended to me as a novice investor (and which I can also sell on a day's notice) and have made an average annual return of 13.92% for the past five years. On some higher risk funds such as their Energy Sector Fund (which are still lower risk than direct investing in stocks because of the diversification), I've made over 68% year-to-date.

Moral of the story: From my experience, if you're interested in savings, it's worth your while to speak to a financial services rep from any of the bigger banks or investing corps. They've got some good offerings you don't always hear about on TV.

You made that much on your Mutual Funds??? You must be the only guy in Canada getting rich on those.

My mutual funds have been tanking lately so I transferred them all into an RSP eligible Land Investment. There are going to be some huge returns on this once it is developed. This is the way to make some great money.

If you want good financial advice don't go to the banks or other so called financial advisors, they just sell you their mutual funds that they get a commision on. How wealthy are the people selling you these investments? Are they buyng them themselves? If they aren't wealthy or on their way to being wealthy then you have to ask yourself how they can give you advice on how to make money. Plus if they don't own those mutual funds or whatever they are selling you then why are they pushing them on you?

Find a financial advisor who is doing well and ask what he reccomends or he buys and why....

Real Estate and Land are the way to go.....

[BlackArcher101]

Originally posted by fotze@Dec 6 2004, 04:22 PM
Ya I really dislike mutual fund sales from the ***holes at the banks. They give you the whole speil about risk and all that CRAP, but the whole time they keep saying 'IT'S A LONG TERM INVESTMENT' like they absolutely do not want you to question whether they are managing your money correctly.

"Ignore the 20 percent loss last year, look at the long term results." Which is just bullcrap, you are a ###### to ignore things like that. The attitude of 'give us you money and don't ask questions' really bothers me.

This reminds me that I have to phone Clarica to pull my money out of there because they will not stop pestering me about buying insurance.

Anyone around here a financial planner or anything, bad place to be asking but a lot better odds on finding someone better here then phoning a big bank.

A close relative of mine was a financial planner with a good company, and he quit because he couldn't take it anymore. Couldn't take what, you ask? The people complaining about their short term losses when they have a long-term plan. Everyday he would get a call by someone reaming him out because their portfolio dropped a certain amount within a day, a week, or a month. If you want a gain right away, a mutual fund is not for you. My relative just told them to take their money elsewhere and try day trading if they want it that way.

Best part is when these people come to my relative and tell him to put their money into a certain mutual fund, against his recommendation. Turns out the fund is crap and they blame the financial planner. And the bad part is, the planner can be sued.

The "give us your money and don't ask questions" attitude is for a good reason. A planner might have hundreds, if not thousands of clients to look after, and with everyone asking questions, nothing would get done. There has to be a certain amount of trust between planner and client, and reputation is a key part in choosing one.

Never go to a bank and get one for that very reason. All they know is how to sell them to you.

[Mike Oxlong]

"The give us your money and don't ask questions" attitude is because they make a comission whether your funds or investments make money or not. They just want you to keep pouring your money in and keep giving them comissions no matter what your investments do. This is such and old school way of thinking.

You need to be making 4% on your mutual funds just to be breaking even. The first 4% gets paid to the bank or the company that sold you those mutual funds. If you make 3% a year then you are losing money. These guys get paid no matter what.

Does that seem fair to you?

I am telling you, Land and Real Estate is the way to go.

[Mr. Ski]

To answer a number of questions from above:

1) Yes, I'm really making that much.

2) I do have a long standing relationship with the financial advisor I use at TD. We went to Business School together and he too is doing very well for himself following much of the same advice he has given me. He's never been the "give me your money and don't ask questions" type. I'd never deal with someone who was.

3) The M.E.R or Management Expense Ratio (the part of the mutual fund that the Bank takes as their fee) varies by fund. While some are as high as 4%, most of my investments are well under 1.0% with some as low as 0.33%. With that, keep in mind though, that no stock-market transaction is ever comission-free, and always, always read the prospectus before you invest! BTW: the percentage gains I listed above are all after the M.E.R. has been taken out.

4) You really do have to be cognizent of your investing time-frame. If you want short term, buy GIC's or go with Money Market Funds or one of the 'high-interest' savings accounts mentioned above. The principal is secure, and the rate of return is generally set ahead of time... but, you're never going to get the big pay-day that way. If you're honestly willing to look Long-Term, manage risk through diversification, and not loose sleep over peaks and valley's in the daily price, the possibilities are very great.

5) Land and Real Estate can be an excellent place to make money. I take nothing away from them in that respect. It's not like there's anybody making 'more' land, so the price will always go up (simply supply and demand). Your own home/residence is an excellent place to start. If you buy smartly (location-location-location), prices will appreciate at or above the market average, and if it's your primary residence, your capital gains are tax free. However, beyond that, the entry threashold is often too much for the average person. You can buy into good mutual funds with less than $25 per purchase. That same amount doesn't buy you many investment-class real-estate opportunities.

[300spartans]

Originally posted by Mr. Ski@Dec 6 2004, 12:16 PM
Keep in mind that with inflation you're just breaking even at 2.5%# You'll have no more purchasing power next year, than you do now.# If you're simply building a vacation fund or saving for the like these are OK accounts to use.# But... if you're interested in actually making real money on your savings, you need to look to other areas.#

I'm certainly not here to shill for TD Canada Trust, but I've been in one of their "low risk" mutual funds that was originally recommended to me as a novice investor (and which I can also sell on a day's notice) and have made an average annual return of 13.92% for the past five years.# On some higher risk funds such as their Energy Sector Fund (which are still lower risk than direct investing in stocks because of the diversification), I've made over 68% year-to-date.#

Moral of the story: From my experience, if you're interested in savings, it's worth your while to speak to a financial services rep from any of the bigger banks or investing corps.# They've got some good offerings you don't always hear about on TV.

Hehe I work for TD so I just go talk to the Financial Planners on my lunch break and pester them about investing.

Thanks to everyone for their comments. I think I will go ahead and open the savings account. Another bonus is that ING Direct now offers mutual funds as well so once I have a few savings I can always invest them.

And yeah, I could certainly go through TD but I don't want my co-workers looking at my finances!

[Mr. Ski]

Originally posted by fotze+Dec 7 2004, 12:39 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (fotze @ Dec 7 2004, 12:39 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteBegin-Mr. Ski@Dec 6 2004, 04:29 PM
4) If you're honestly willing to look Long-Term, manage risk through diversification, and not loose sleep over peaks and valley's in the daily price, the possibilities are very great.

So I should just not worry about a seven year valley, or actually it's been a 7 year saskatchewn landscape? I'm just curious, not being a dink.[/b][/quote]
First off, no worries, we can certainly discuss the point...

Without knowing a tonne of additional details about what you're in (fund wise) it's hard to nail down exactly what's wrong, but drops in prices can work in your favour as long as your buying, not selling. I always look at it as the fund going on sale. That's why everyone preaches dollar cost averaging in such a situation. In "buy low, sell high", people get stuck on the sell high part, forgetting about the buy low side.

Out of curiosity, what are you investing in? Index Equity Funds, Managed, Sector, Growth, Value, Futures, Emerging Market, Asian, European, Global, Dividend Equity, Bond, Fixed Income Securities, etc.

My best performers have been: Index funds of the TSX, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 (since 9-11-01), Financial Services Sector (basicly investing in the big banks, wherein their record profits become my findfall as well), and the resourse sector (everyone's aware of the price of oil lately!). In the past six months, I've also done well with a new Emerging Market fund (investing in China, India, and S.E. Asia).

[Cowboy]

Originally posted by 300spartans@Dec 6 2004, 12:13 AM
Hey, I have been thinking of opening up one of those savings accounts with the nice interest rates, right now they are at 2.4%.

I was just wondering if anyone here uses ING Direct or if they have heard anything good or bad about them.

I realize that I still have to use my regular bank for usual services but I think the savings account looks good, especially compared to 0.50% which I get from my own bank.

Thoughts, opinions...
300S

Well I am very familiar with these accounts. However as Mr. Ski said they are not going to make you money, but they are a good place to put money for short term savings.

I can put you in contact with some ING wealth managers, they have plenty of Mutual Funds to choose from. They are great.

Just PM me.