subject: What Is The Real Cost Of A Mutual Fund? [print this page] The word investment does mean that there is a risk involved. Quite a lot of people do not invest too much in a single position. In a way they manage risk by just not taking it in the first place.
Low load mutual funds work the same way as DSC funds. The financial advisor gets a lower commission, usually 3%, as a result the MER does not have to be increased as much and you are only locked in for 3-4 years instead of seven. A much better option for you, but not as good an option for your advisor since their commission is decreased. If you hold DSC funds you may want to ask your advisor way they did not offer you low load funds instead. Almost all funds that have a DSC option have a low load option as well.
There are various schemes and your manager can suggest you the paramount option according to your requirement. You can start off with a very small amount which can be directly debited from your bank account on a monthly basis. You can enter this sector with a low investment and can grow steadily. Fund managers keep a track of mutual fund NAV and accordingly suggest when to sell it off. Company that maintain records are trustworthy and you can be assured that your money is safe.
In Feb 2010 Standard & Poor's launched its most recent Canadian Indices Versus Active Funds Scorecard with data for the five year period ending December 31, 2009. Below are a couple quotes from the report. "Over longer periods, we continue to observe indices outperforming the majority of domestic funds. In three-year and five-year periods, only 12.5% and 7.4%, respectively, of actively managed Canadian Equity funds have outperformed the S&P/TSX Composite Index."
I took the most widely owned Canadian equity fund, the RBC Canadian Equity Fund and compared the holding to the RBC Canadian Index Fund. The data used is from the RBC 2009 semi annual report which had the holdings as of June 30, 2009. The majority of the investments held in the two funds, 77.36%, were the same, with 22.64% being different. It is only the returns of this 22.64% of unique assets of these two funds and total fees which will have an impact on the variance of their returns. The MER of the RBC Canadian Equity Fund was 1.97% and the RBC Canadian Index Fund was 0.68% a difference of 1.29%.
It could be really tricky to find the best fund for you. You may like to invest in a fund whose manager thinks exactly the way you do. Important is to get comfortable with the fund manager who understand your needs and accordingly take action. You may also buy an index fund which runs on autopilot. It is always better to read the annual report before investing. Fund manager compares the NAV's of various companies and suggests the best option. Just be careful with high risk portfolios to play safe in the market
