Wealthsimple Rethinks Registered Education Savings Plans for Digital Era

Wealthsimple has relaunched its Registered Education Savings Plans to make them smarter, simpler and paperless.

The Toronto-based financial technology firm says new and existing clients can now open and fund an RESP online through its mobile or web app and have the money invested in a low-cost portfolio.

“Our mission is to make investing simple, and what we were hearing from our clients was that RESPs could be made a lot simpler,” said Jason Goldlist , general manager at Wealthsimple. “Our digital accounts solve the biggest pain points our clients had with RESPs, like the arduous sign-up process, inconsistent funding experiences, and the high fees charged by many providers.”

Through Wealthsimple, clients can register for an RESP digitally and e-sign their documents. RESPs are invested in diversified, low-cost ETF portfolios. Wealthsimple charges a standard management fee of 0.4-0.5% with no administrative, trading, account transferring, or rebalancing fees.

Michael Katchen, the founder of Wealthsimple, was named Entrepreneur of the Year 2016 at the last Canadian Startup Awards.

Wealthsimple Expands Online Investment Tool to US