Mutual fund investing offers an investor access to a number of professional money managers in a cost effective manner. By pooling your money with other investors, a professional money manager will make use of their industry exerience and market knowledge to make informed investment choices on your behalf within a set of predefined parameters as outlined in the prospectus.

Pooled investments such as mutual funds also offer an investor an efficient manner to diversify their investment holdings since the investment pools are large and spread between many securities rather than a select few which are often associated with larger swings up and down.

What are the costs associated with mutual fund investing? Investing in a mutual fund can be a very cost effective way of building a diversified portfolio. The management expense ratio (MER) is indicated in the fund's simplified prospectus and generally falls between 2% and 3%. These expenses cover the administration costs of the fund, the brokerage fees for trading on your behalf and also include a commission trailer which is shared with the investment representative. A portion (1/12th) of this MER is charged each month to the mutual fund.

Are there other costs associated with mutual fund investing? Some mutual funds are sold on a deferred sales charge basis where the investor incurs a charge for withdrawing from the fund early as outlined in the mutual funds simplified prospectus. Some mutual funds may also be sold where the investor is charged up front for investing in a mutual fund. Except where we accommodate mutual funds that have already been set up in one of these two manners, we generally recommend mutual fund investments that incur no sales related charges.

We would be happy to help you determine if a mutual fund fits into your overall financial plan.

Please note all investors should read the a mutual fund's simplified prospectus before they purchase any mutual fund. A prospectus clearly defines a fund's investment objective, the investment style of the manager and the types of securities in which the fund will invest. Mutual funds are not a guaranteed investment and their values change on a frequent basis both up and down and as a result past performance is not a predictor of future performance.