Federal budget attempts to balance many priorities
Canada is at a critical stage of our evolution. The federal budget highlighted some of the challenges we face as a nation, writes Peter Watson. The goal of a federal budget is to outline the income and expenses and how the government navigates between different priorities. I cannot remember a time where there have been […]
What is the future for Robo Advisors?
Canada’s best known Robo Advisor’s founder was full of enthusiasm in 2017 at the opportunity to disrupt the mutual fund distribution business. This included financial advisors and the big five banks that distribute funds through their branch network. Disruption then, and now, is the dream of many entrepreneurs who try and take innovative technology methods […]
DIY investors charged fees for advice not received
There is trouble brewing on how the investment industry collects mutual fund fees from some individual investors. Approximately $25 billion of mutual funds are owned by do-it-yourself (DIY) investors. These are investors who have decided to forgo professional financial advice and make their own investment decisions. Many do this to avoid paying fees to a […]
The advantages of the mutual fund structure
The structure of a mutual fund has a number of significant advantages for investors that may not be clearly understood. A common misunderstanding about mutual funds is to classify funds, in general, as either good or bad. This categorization has nothing to do with the fund structure, but what investments the funds hold and what […]
Mutual funds Survivorship
The investment of choice for most Canadians is mutual funds. If you own a mutual fund this column might be of particular interest. There are endless numbers of mutual funds to choose from and most investors are aware of that. What most investors are not aware of is how often mutual funds are closed down. […]
Proposed changes to mutual fund fees
Proposed changes to how mutual funds are sold will benefit investors. After five years of study, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) propose prohibiting deferred sales charges (DSC) on the sale of mutual funds. Many investors don’t understand how DSCs work. When a mutual fund is sold with a DSC sales commission, that commission is shared […]
The 411 on mutual fund fees – the news isn’t good
It’s time to see if all the talk about decreasing investment fees has actually resulted in lower costs for those who own mutual funds. Don’t get your hopes up. The news isn’t good. To put mutual fund fees into proper perspective we should understand that mutual funds are very popular with Canadians. Strategic Insight reports […]