While high interest rates are painful for those paying a mortgage, for those looking to park cash they are a boon. Here we present a round-up of the best high-interest savings ways to park your cash in Canada in 2024.
Whether you want to do that with the security of GICs, the convenience of a High Interest Savings Account (HISA), or want to park cash within your brokerage account, read on.
Park Cash in Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs)
GICs have been a popular investment vehicle for many years as they offer a high level of security. In return for lending your money out for a fixed amount of time, you’re given a generally favourable interest rate. Generally, up to $100,000 of GICs per holder per institution are insured via CDIC — thus protecting your investment.
Since their heights in 2023, many GIC interest rates have been trimmed, but they are still relatively good investments. You will also notice that longer-term GICs now sometimes have lower rates than short-term — a sign that institutions are starting to price in overnight interest rate cuts.
The downside to a GIC is, despite it being “guaranteed”, you lose the upside potential you would get from the stock market.
For GICs like the ones listed below, you generally get your interest when you get the principal back at the end of the investment term or annually. Check with the institution to make sure you understand when you will get paid!
Motive Financial
| Term | Rate |
| 1-year | 5.30% |
| 2-year | 4.90% |
Laurentian Bank
| Term | Rate |
| 1-year | 4.90% |
| 2-years | 4.75% |
| 5-year | 4.50% |
EQ Bank
| Term | Rate |
| 1-year | 5.50% |
| 2-year | 5.00% |
| 5-year | 4.45% |
Park Cash in Traditional High Interest Savings Accounts
A few years back, branchless banks appeared on the Canadian finance scene. One of their differentiators was having High Interest Savings Accounts that paid reasonable amounts of interest.
Today, they continue to do that and generally outperform the “bricks and mortar” major Canadian banks in terms of interest rates.
Tangerine
Tangerine is currently offering a whopping 5.75% introductory rate on their HISA and up to a $500 bonus if you open a new account and use the promo code EARNMORE. Do read the fine print, though: the rate drops to 1% after five months!
Motive Financial
For those wanting no introductory rate gimmicks, Motive offer a 4.10% interest rate as standard on their HISA (up to a $5m balance).
Park Cash In a High Interest Savings Account In Your Investment Account
Most investment brokerage accounts pay little or no interest on cash balances.
There is a group of special investments that pay monthly distributions at a high-interest rate when you buy them. They operate similarly to a savings account within your investment account. Be warned, though: some brokerages block the trading of some of these investments in favour of their versions.
Rates for these “HISA in your brokerage” products have recently been reduced slightly. This was in response to the regulatory bodies requiring better collateralization from the fund companies.
Purpose High Interest Savings Fund (PSA.TO)
| Current yield (net) | 4.90% |
| Management Fee | 0.15% |
| MER | 0.16% |
| Assets Under Management | $5.7B |
| Distribution Frequency | Monthly |
This was one of the first ETFs to replicate a high-interest savings in your investment account and continues to be one of the most popular products.
Purpose High Interest Savings Fund (PFC8501)
| Current yield (net) | 4.61% |
| Management Fee | 0.40% |
| MER | 0.45% |
| Assets Under Management | $5.7B |
| Distribution Frequency | Monthly |
This is a mutual fund version of Purpose’s HISA fund for those who are prohibited from holding HISA ETFs in their brokerage accounts. Note that the net yield (interest rate) is lower in the mutual fund version.
Horizons High Interest Savings ETF (CASH.TO)
| Current yield (net) | 4.80% |
| Management Fee | 0.10% |
| MER | 0.11% |
| Assets Under Management | $4.6B |
| Distribution Frequency | Monthly |
Horizons Cash Maximizer ETF (HSAV.TO)
| Current yield (net) | 4.90% |
| Management Fee | 0.18% |
| MER | 0.20% |
| Assets Under Management | $2.2B |
| Distribution Frequency | Monthly |
iShares Premium Money Market ETF (CMR.TO)
| Current yield (net) | 4.02% |
| Management Fee | 0.12% |
| MER | 0.14% |
| Assets Under Management | $577M |
| Distribution Frequency | Monthly |
TD Canadian Money Market Fund (TDB164)
| Current yield (net) | 4.50% |
| MER | 0.39% |
| Assets Under Management | $3.1B |
| Distribution Frequency | Monthly |
Wrapping Up
As you can see, there are a number of high interest options to match circumstances. With inflation so high right now, it’s important to make your cash work hard for you otherwise it will erode over time!
Disclaimer: This blog post is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial or investment advice. Please consult with a professional investment or tax advisor before making decisions of your own. The author may hold some of the securities mentioned in this article.