What is a MER?

Most mutual funds charge an ongoing fee called a management expense ratio (MER). You don’t pay the MER directly. It’s paid by the fund itself.

What does that MER do for you? It pays for costs related to the fund itself, like client statements and the advice you get from your investment representative .

In more detail, it can be broken down into a few areas. For example, if you invested $10,000 in a Canadian balanced fund, with a MER of 2.5%, the fee would be about $250.

Based on that amount, here’s what it covers:^{* Footnote *}

$121

Fund research, analysis, insight and the expertise of investment managers

$26

Processing your mutual fund investment, including quarterly statements

$74

The ongoing financial planning advice of your investment representative 

$29

Taxes