I would highly recommend to avoid at all costs. They aren't cheaper than your bank, the CST salesman is paid a $2000 commission to sign you up first of all. Your payments go directly to his/her commission before your funds are invested. If you stop payments, or not contribute for a couple years they close the account and seize the funds, yes its true. Read the small print.
They invest in government bonds and money market securities, which are very low cost, because they will tell you the average mutual fund has fees of 2.25% or more, and its true for the most part. But CST is not very accommodating with withdrawals.
There are other imitators out there also, it's group RESPs, which the salesmen are very well commissioned to sell.
Take a look at Heritage Funds, or CEFI, or CST, they are all the same. Very high fees, huge commissions.
http://www.straight.com/article-1164...rests-at-heart
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/...oup-resps.html
What a group RESP essentially is, is a 18yr contract of contributions.
I run a private wealth management practice, and these are to be avoided at all costs. I also do not sell mutual funds, they are stealth wealth killers also.