Your investing questions, our clear answers.

Our response:

We try to provide general information to help you get started; however we are not always able to provide answers to your questions. The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) is an independent Crown corporation that administers and enforces securities law in Ontario. Because guaranteed investment certificates (GICs) are not considered securities, but rather a banking product, we suggest you speak to your financial institution (typically the bank where you purchased the GIC) for specific questions related to your investment.

Generally speaking, GICs come in one of two forms: redeemable (or cashable) GICs and non-redeemable (or regular) GICs. If they are non-redeemable, your financial institution may not allow you to cash them early, and if they do, you may have to pay a penalty and/or lose interest on your investment. Learn more about GICs.

If you have a complaint about your GIC, it may be helpful for you to know that complaints about banks and banking products should be directed to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC). Learn how to contact the FCAC.