The federal grant rules are the same whoever holds an RESP, but not every provider offers every grant, and the provider decides how the money is invested, what that costs, and how easy it is to change course later. This page compares the main types of provider and what to check before opening a plan. How the grants and the account work is covered in the complete RESP guide, and every related guide is listed in the RESP hub.
Types of RESP provider
| Provider type | Who manages the investments | Typical cost | Flexibility | Good fit for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Online brokerage (self-directed) | You | Trading commissions (often none on ETFs) plus the funds’ own fees | High | Families comfortable choosing ETFs |
| Robo-advisor | The robo-advisor, in a portfolio you pick by risk level | An annual management fee plus fund fees | High | Families who want it done for them at lower cost |
| Bank or credit union branch | You, with branch advice | Mutual fund fees, which vary widely; GICs have no fee | High | Families who want to deal with their bank or hold GICs |
| Group scholarship plan | The plan dealer | Enrolment and sales fees plus management fees | Low | Families who want fixed contributions set for them |
Fees change often, so the current fee schedule on the provider’s own site is the one to rely on. Our reviews of individual providers keep those details:
- Self-directed: Wealthsimple, Questrade, TD Direct Investing, RBC Direct Investing, CIBC Investor’s Edge and National Bank Direct Brokerage
- Managed: Questwealth, Justwealth and the wider robo-advisor comparison, with fee levels side by side in the robo-advisor fee comparison
What to check before opening a plan
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Does it offer a family plan? | Lets brothers and sisters share one pool; see can siblings share an RESP |
| Does it apply for the Additional CESG, the Canada Learning Bond and provincial grants? | Lower-income families and BC and Quebec residents can lose money if the provider doesn’t offer them; the Government of Canada publishes a list of RESP providers showing which incentives each one offers |
| What investments are available? | Some bank plans are limited to the bank’s own mutual funds and GICs |
| What does it charge, including fund fees? | Fees come out of the same pool as the grants and growth |
| Is there a transfer-out fee? | Matters if you might move the plan later |
| Does it offer an age-based portfolio? | Some managed portfolios become more conservative automatically as the child nears school |
How the grants add up, and which ones need a request, is explained in our guide to maximising the CESG.
Group scholarship plans
Group plans (also sold as scholarship or pooled plans) work differently from the individual and family plans offered by banks, brokerages and robo-advisors. Money from families with children of the same age is pooled, invested conservatively by the dealer, and paid out under the plan’s contract. Common features:
- a fixed contribution schedule, with consequences for missed payments;
- enrolment or sales fees, often collected from the first years of contributions;
- contract conditions on which programs qualify and when payments are made;
- rules for what is refunded if the plan is cancelled early or the child doesn’t enrol (the general RESP options for that case are in what happens if your child doesn’t go to university).
Group plans are registered RESPs, so the same federal grant and tax rules apply, but the contract terms decide how and when the investment earnings are paid. Reading the prospectus, and asking what happens in the situations above, lets families compare a group plan with an individual or family plan on equal terms. Some group plans can be moved to an individual plan at another provider, depending on the contract, and fees can apply. A family that leaves a group plan early gets its contributions back less the fees, while the investment earnings can stay with the other members of the group.
Moving an RESP to another provider
- Open an RESP at the new provider (an individual or family plan that names the same beneficiary).
- The new provider sends the transfer request; you sign its transfer form.
- The contributions, grants and contribution history move together, and a transfer between plans for the same beneficiary has no tax cost.
- The old provider may charge a fee to transfer the plan, so it is worth asking both providers about fees and timing before starting.
Check that the new provider’s records show the full contribution history once the transfer completes, since the lifetime limit counts every dollar ever contributed; our RESP overcontribution guide explains why.
Investing by the child’s age
Whatever the provider, families often hold more stocks while the child is young and move toward bonds, GICs and cash as school approaches, so a market drop just before enrolment has less effect. The RESP calculator shows how different returns change the projected balance, and all-in-one ETFs with different stock and bond mixes are compared in our best all-in-one ETFs guide.