Search
IFIC logo
Search Full Site
Search Policy Only
The Voice of Canada’s Investment Funds Industry

Explaining Investment Fund Fees

With the recent arrival of CRM2, advisors may see an increased interest by investors in understanding the costs of their financial products and how those costs compare across products or with the costs in other countries. Of course, there are costs to owning any type of any financial product, be it insurance, a deposit account, securities or an investment fund. For mutual funds and ETFs, it’s important to know that the costs are fully disclosed and reported as a total amount, usually including the cost of advice, and net of returns, so the investor knows what the real return is and how much s/he is paying. Investors in other countries, such as the U.S., may have to tally up management costs, trading costs and advisor and other hidden costs and then try to calculate their returns.

We offer some tools to help explain costs to investors along with more detailed studies and reports from independent third parties on investment fees.



Documents

2022
IFIC Enhanced CRM2 Model Statement (March 2022)

2019
Monitoring Trends in Mutual Fund Cost of Ownership and Expense Ratios A Global Perspective (2019 Update)

This report has been commissioned by The Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC) as an update to the data, analysis and information originally developed in 2012 as part of a study into the cost of ownership (CoO) of mutual funds in Canada and the United States. The analysis was expanded to include the cost of ownership of fund in the U.K. and Europe.


2019 Your Guide to Investment Funds

Helpful information for every stage of your financial journey


2018
Advisor Insights: Global Regulatory Developments in Investor Protection (May 2018)

This issue of Advisor Insights focuses on regulatory developments in 16 countries and is based on a research report that was updated in May 2018. It summarizes report findings in a number of areas, including expanded disclosure, targeted reforms, best interest standard and embedded commissions and includes key points for advisors to discuss with clients.


Your Guide To Investment Funds (Winter 2018)

Understand your investments and secure your future


Advisor Insights Modest Investors – Easy Access and the Freedom to Choose are Keys to Successsful Long-term Investing (January 2018)

This issue of Advisor Insights contains data on the household assets of Canadian investors and provides insights on the difference that access to advice can make in their long-term savings.


2017
"It's your money. Find out more." – A Toolkit for Dealers and Advisors (November 2017)

The Investment Funds Institute of Canada has created this toolkit to help advisors engage with clients about the new information investors will receive about the performance of their investments and the fees they paid to their dealer under the initiative known as “CRM2”. The materials in this toolkit were created to encourage investors to open their statements and read the new information.


Advisor Insights: Answering Your Clients’ Questions about Services and Fees (November 2017)

This is part of a special three-part series of Advisor Insights. The series focuses on helping advisors have better conversations with their clients about their investments as the final stages of CRM2 are implemented. The other two bulletins in the series are: Advisor Insights: An Opportunity to Strengthen Your Relationships with Clients and Advisor Insights: Answering Your Clients’ Questions about the Performance of their Investments.


Your Guide to Investment Funds – Winter 2017

Understand your investments and secure your future.