When you do the math, our fees are actually very competitive - or even lower than some other options.

Our fees may appear high to some people at first, especially since we are very transparent with our fees and ask that you pay them in the beginning so that you can start saving as early as possible. In some cases, our fees can actually be much less than the management fees of an RESP with another financial institution.

For example, let's say you make an annual investment of $2,500 in CST^TM Advantage Plan for 17 years with a 5% average annualized rate of return. If you withdraw your funds in the 18th year, you can expect to pay about $6,019 in fees which include the sales charge less CST Loyalty Bonus, an all-inclusive Management fee of 0.6%  plus applicable taxes of the average value of your Plan each year and an account maintenance fee of $13.00 plus tax per year.

In the same circumstances, if you open an RESP with another financial institution that charges a 1.0% Management Expense Ratio (MER) based on the average value of your RESP each year, you can expect to pay about $6,241 in fees throughout the life of your Plan.

Or, if you open an RESP with another financial institution that charges a 1.5% Management Expense Ratio (MER) based on the average value of your RESP each year, you can expect to pay about $9,051 in fees throughout the life of your Plan.

No matter what RESP provider you decide to save with, you should ask them to calculate for you in dollars what it will cost for you to save with them, just as we have above.