As market uncertainty erodes the risk tolerance of Canadian investors, a new high-interest investment account from trust company B2B Trust could have widespread appeal.

The advisor-based savings account allows investors to earn interest of 3.1% on investments up to $1 million. It has a guaranteed minimum interest rate that ensures investors will always earn an interest rate that is greater than, or equal to, Prime minus the set differential amount.

No other similar industry accounts offer this guaranteed minimum floor, according to B2B Trust vice-president of marketing Susi McCord. “That is actually a very unique feature on this type of product,” she says.

Although the account has been a project in the making for quite some time, its launch on Tuesday is timely given the uncertain economic environment.

“In these difficult economic times, advisors are looking for stable investment options that offer competitive rates of return for their clients,” said François Desjardins, president and CEO of B2B Trust — a wholly owned subsidiary of Laurentian Bank of Canada.

The high interest account is accessible to advisors through the electronic networking platform FundSERV. While B2B Trust already offers investors a high interest savings account, it is only accessible by investors themselves. The new one lets advisors access the account and make transactions with it.

“Advisors wanted an account that they could access, so they could look at a client’s full portfolio,” says McCord. “There’s a high likelihood that advisors would use it for the cash component of a client’s portfolio.”

The account could also provide a substitute for GIC products that advisors normally use for the cash component for their client’s investment portfolio, says Judy Chu, B2B’s senior manager of product development.

“Depending on the GIC products these days, they may not be paying a terribly attractive rate, and they have term restrictions,” she says, explaining that the new account has no lock-in period or maturity date. “This product is fully accessible at any time.”

The account offers eligibility for both registered and non-registered accounts. Interest is calculated daily on the closing balance and paid monthly as a reinvestment into the account or as cash into the account.

IE