Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Mutual Funds

There has been a lot of discussion lately about the high cost of mutual funds in Canada. First of all I do not much buy mutual funds and when I do, I buy low costs ones. Secondly, I think that if you want someone else to work for you, you have to pay them. In buying mutual funds, you need to pay the fund company and in some cases you need to pay both the fund company and an advisor.

What I have in mutual funds is TD MMF with a MER of 0.77% and with a current yield of 0.36%. Not a great deal, but this is for cash in my RRSP accounts and I need this money to be safe. The other Mutual fund I have is TD Dow Jones Industrial Avg Index - e U$TDB953 to soak up extra money in the US Trading account. This has a MER of 0.33%.

I think that people have a responsibility to know what they are paying for mutual funds. They can ask and make sure that they get an answer. There is also a number of different ways to get the information on the internet. Most mutual fund companies have internet sites and there is Sedar.

I used TD Waterhouse site to get information on my funds. Most Mutual Fund companies have web sites that tell you about their different funds. You can also go to Sedar to get information on various Mutual funds. You go to "Search Data" base and then, "Search for Investment Fund" Documents. I could get information on my TD DJIA fund by inserting "TD Dow Jones Industrial Average Index Fund" in the Investment Fund Name box and then search for documents.

This blog is meant for educational purposes only, and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. See my site for an index to these blog entries and for stocks followed. Follow me on Twitter.

6 comments:

  1. Hello Susan,
    I am surprised to hear that you have money in a Money Market Fund when you can invest in a secure high interest savings account at 1.25%. I have done this in both my RRSP and LIRA. One is invested in a high interest account from RBC and the other is with Dundee, both purchased through my discount broker. Let me know if you need more info.
    Regards,
    MG

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  2. Yes, I should not be so lazy and get this money into something with a bit more return, possibly a 1 year GIC.

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  3. Here is what I believe is accurate stats on mutual funds, I got my information many years ago from Peter Lynch's book "One up on Wall Street" and more recently from morningstar.

    85% of mutual funds do not beat the index. Of the 15% that do, only a few can do it consistently.

    Why pay for under performance.

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  4. I totally agree. I generally do not like mutual funds and think that they are not very good investments. I just was trying to make the point that if you go the mutual fund way, you should expect to pay someone to handle your investing. You do not work for free, so you cannot expect others to work for free.

    The only reason I have some mutual funds is laziness. I am too lazy to find a US small cap to invest the dividend income of my US account. (I do this for money in my TFSA.) Also, I have MMF because it just seems like a lot of work to be bothered with another account to make about ½ of 1% more in return. I am sorry, but it is just not something I can get excited about.

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