What do many of Canada’s wealthiest individuals have in common, other than being in the 45-plus age group?

They’re grandparents.

And Trimark Investment Management is targeting these individuals ­ and their offspring ­ with a new campaign that focuses on the importance of investing now for a child’s university education.

The Legacy for Learning program, consisting of a disk and pamphlet which explain the advantages of long-term investing for education, is for grandparents and parents of young children.

‘Young parents can discuss this with their parents,’ says Elizabeth Hoyle, vice-president of marketing for Trimark. She points out many Canadian grandparents are sitting on a healthy nest egg and that investing in a grandchild’s future is a form of transferring the wealth to the next generation. For the most part, she says, investing money this way has the added benefit of being tax-free.

Although Registered Education Savings Plans (resps) and in-trust accounts have been around for a long time, they’ve never been a money-making proposition for investment houses ­ and they still aren’t, says Hoyle.

What they are, however, is a good draw to get people in the door where other investment vehicles await, she says. ‘The point is to get them interested.’

The campaign, which consists of a full-page ad in Maclean’s annual university issue on Nov. 25th, along with print ads in several parenting magazines, is part of Trimark’s overall strategy to make money management relevant to everyday life, says Hoyle.

The ad plainly states, ‘In the year 2014, they say it will cost over $65,000 for an undergraduate degree’ and offers details on where to get more information.

‘The interest in this campaign is female-driven,’ says Hoyle, adding that inserts about the program and software order forms have also been included in 140,000 hospital baby packs.

The Gaylord Group helped with creative. Media was handled by Leo Burnett. Both are Toronto agencies.

Scudder Canada Investor Services has a similar program, Tuition Planner, which, according to Cheryl Young, vice-president of marketing at the Toronto-based investment firm, is a bit more detailed than Trimark’s program in that it allows the user to compare future costs of all Canadian and some u.s. universities.

The Tuition Planner campaign, created by Saatchi & Saatchi, consisted of print ads in The Financial Post, The Globe and Mail and the university issue of Maclean’s, along with a direct mail program by Taylor Tarpay Direct, targeting those with children and a computer.