I have been extremely pleased with my ING Direct experience so far. I opened a Balanced Growth mutual fund within a TFSA. For more information on this type of investment, see the link below:
http://www.ingdirect.ca/en/mutualfunds/index.html
The Balanced Growth Fund involves a mixture of bonds and stocks, which are indexed. This means that the mixture of stocks and bonds chosen reflect those that are doing well on the stock market, mimicking the chosen indexes. Rather than have the funds actively managed (where a fund manager chooses the stocks based on experience, luck, hope, etc) the stocks included in the fund are those that are performing best against the chosen index (for instance Canadian stocks are measured against the S&P TSX 60 Canadian Stock Index). The Balanced Growth fund is considered to be "riskier", that is it contains a higher percentage of stocks within the fund. If you are looking for less risk, ING Direct Canada offers other mutual funds that have a greater number of bonds included in the investment mix.
The important thing to remember is that when investing in this type of mutual fund, growth occurs over the long term. So if you are expecting returns right off the bat, you are looking at the wrong type of investment vehicle. When you invest in this type of fund, expect to be in for the long haul.
Another advantage of ING Direct Canada is the low MER (Management Expense Ratio). The MER represents service charges that investment banks charge for their services. As an index fund, which requires little active management, the MER for ING Direct Canada is low, thereby allowing you too keep more of your investment. And being located within a TFSA, remember that your investment earnings are tax free.
The Orange Key program is the icing on the cake. I unfortunately didn't know about this program when I first opened an account with ING Direct. Had I known, I would have gotten an extra $25! Now that I have an account I can see what a great program it is!
The short of it is that when you use my Orange Key and deposit at least $100, we both get $25. Once your account is established, you will get an Orange Key that gives you the same opportunity. I have had one person so far (as of May 1, 2011) use my Orange Key so far, and we both got $25. That means there are still 49 opportunities (Each account gives you 50 referrals per Orange Key) for you to make $25! Since I have a mutual fund account, ING Direct Canada opened me an Investment Savings Account, which currently has an interest rate of 1.5%. Compare that to my other bank, BMO, which offers a pitiful 0.25% on the Premium Rate Savings Account, and 1.35% on the Smart Saver Account, which requires a minimum balance of $5,000!!! And remember, there are the inevitable fees on top of those pitiful interest rates that will eat away any of the gains made. ING Direct Canada has no service fees.
In addition to 2,300 abm's (no fees charged using the EXCHANGE Network) ING Direct Canada also has the option to link an external account to your ING account to transfer funds in and out. This way, if you need to access the money in your investment account, you can simply transfer the money to your external account and use your regular chequing account. ING also offers the THRiVE chequing account should you wish to change exclusively to ING Direct. I prefer to keep my existing chequing account, so this is a convenient option for me.
So if this sounds good to you, then head on over to
www.ingdirect.ca, and choose the account that most appeals to you. Remember to enter Orange Key
35638912S1 to get your $25!
