Mutual funds, ETFs and hidden costs

Many mutual funds sold at bank branches have expense ratios around 2%, sometimes including a trailing commission paid to the advisor.

Broad index ETFs often have much lower expense ratios, sometimes under 0.25%. They can still involve trading commissions or bid-ask spreads.

Other costs exist: account fees, redemption charges, and currency conversion between CAD and USD. Read the Fund Facts or prospectus to find them.