A Regular RRSP account is established at a specific financial institution such as a bank, credit union, or life insurance company.
A Regular RRSP account will have limited investment options available to the account holder. The investments that are available will be restricted to the proprietary investments offered by the financial institution. For example, opening a Regular RRSP with a credit union will enable the account holder to invest only in GICs, mutual funds and savings accounts created and managed by the credit union. A Regular RRSP cannot invest in common shares, preferred shares, bonds and the various additional investment options available to a Self-Directed RRSP account.
Note: The only fundamental difference between a Regular RRSP account and a Self-Directed RRSP account is the number of investment options available to the RRSP owner. All other characteristics, rules and guidelines are the same for both account types.