Can I transfer an RESP without losing the government grant?

Yes. RESPs move between institutions on a direct transfer form. Your contributions, the Canada Education Savings Grant already paid, and your remaining contribution room all transfer with the plan. Grant is only repaid if the plan is collapsed and the money is withdrawn for something other than education.

How much difference do RESP fees actually make?

A one percent difference in annual fees compounds against you for the entire life of the plan. On a plan funded from birth to age 18, that commonly works out to thousands of dollars of end value — money that came out of the child's tuition, not the institution's pocket.

What information do I need to run the comparison?

Where the RESP is held, roughly how it's invested (conservative through aggressive), the current balance and your monthly contribution. If you know the exact fund or ETF, you can search it for a more precise comparison.

Are these projections guaranteed?

No. Both sides use published fees and historical 10-year annualized returns applied to identical contributions and grants. Past performance does not guarantee future results, and the figures are an illustration for discussion, not advice.

Free RESP comparison

Your RESP is invested somewhere. Is it the right somewhere?

Enter where the plan is held today — a bank, a robo-advisor, an insurer, or the exact fund or ETF you own — and see the fee, the 10-year track record, and what the difference adds up to by the time your child starts school. Same contributions, same government grants, on both sides.

Run my comparison Apply for a statement review

Step 1 — where is it today?

Banks

Online / robo

Discount brokers

Insurers

Advisor firms

Step 2 — what's in it?

Step 3 — the numbers

Current RESP balance

Monthly contribution

$/mo

Child's age today

yrs

We run the projection to age 18, and again to 25 for a longer plan.

Projected difference by age 18

$90,489

Same contributions, same government grants, same child. The only things that change are the fee you pay and the track record behind the portfolio. Left to run to age 25, the gap is $282,285.

Where it sits today

RBC — balanced portfolio

Representative branch-sold Series A portfolio · 60% equity / 40% fixed income

Fee (MER): 1.94%
10-yr return: 7.10%
Value at 18: $120,079
Fees paid by then: $16,908

Published figure from the fund company's own Fund Facts (as of May 31, 2026), net of MER.

Check the source

Figures transcribed from RBC Select Balanced Portfolio (Series A).

Fund companies restate returns monthly. If the source page shows a newer figure than ours, the source page is right — tell us and we'll update it.

Managed with us

Optimize Growth Balanced Portfolio

57% equity / 20% fixed income · managed in partnership with Optimize

Fee (all-in): 1.70%
10-yr return, net of fees: 12.37%
Value at 18: $210,568
Fees paid by then: $20,940

Optimize portfolio Where it sits todayYear-by-year ups and downs are simulated; end values follow the published returns.

Return advantage

+5.27% / yr

Fees saved by 18

-$4,032

Grant captured

$7,200

We take on new families by application. A 20-minute review confirms the numbers on your actual statement before anything moves — no obligation, no paperwork today.

A transfer doesn't cost the grant. RESPs move between institutions on a direct transfer form — the contributions, the CESG already paid, and the contribution room all come with it. It's paperwork, not a restart.

How this comparison is built

Both sides use identical contributions and the same Canada Education Savings Grant schedule, so the only differences are fees and historical return.
Comparison portfolios are representative of each institution's published retail portfolio for the risk level you chose, using their disclosed MER and 10-year annualized return net of that MER. They are illustrative, not a specific recommendation, and not every series or fund at that institution will match.
Optimize figures come from the published fund reports as of 30 April 2026. We subtract the account-level management fee from the published return so both sides are shown after all fees.
The chart's year-to-year swings are simulated from each portfolio's equity/fixed mix so it reads like a real market; the ending values follow the published annualized returns.
Past performance does not guarantee future results. This is an illustration for discussion, not investment, tax or legal advice.

Common questions

Can I transfer an RESP without losing the government grant?: Yes. RESPs move between institutions on a direct transfer form. Your contributions, the Canada Education Savings Grant already paid, and your remaining contribution room all transfer with the plan. Grant is only repaid if the plan is collapsed and the money is withdrawn for something other than education.
How much difference do RESP fees actually make?: A one percent difference in annual fees compounds against you for the entire life of the plan. On a plan funded from birth to age 18, that commonly works out to thousands of dollars of end value — money that came out of the child's tuition, not the institution's pocket.
What information do I need to run the comparison?: Where the RESP is held, roughly how it's invested (conservative through aggressive), the current balance and your monthly contribution. If you know the exact fund or ETF, you can search it for a more precise comparison.
Are these projections guaranteed?: No. Both sides use published fees and historical 10-year annualized returns applied to identical contributions and grants. Past performance does not guarantee future results, and the figures are an illustration for discussion, not advice.

Starting from scratch instead? Build a plan from one monthly budget, or see how it fits with our managed investment portfolios.