Best Mutual Funds in Canada
What You Should Know
- Mutual Funds are Canadians' most common form of financial investment.
- Mutual Funds are designed with people who have a financial adviser managing their money in mind.
- There has been a multi decade trend of money flowing into mutual funds and their assets under management increasing.
- Recently, in the second quarter of 2022, there has been an exodus from mutual funds and assets under their management has been shrinking.
Assets Under Management (AUM) for Canadian Mutual Funds
A mutual fund is a legal structure and an old financial innovation that allows investors to pool their resources and thus enjoy diversification benefits while using savings from economies of scale. Mutual funds come in different series or classes. Mutual funds classes do not have any standard. Yet it is common to see class A, where the fund pays the adviser and charges the investor and class F, where the investor is assumed to pay their adviser directly.
This page presents a list of the most successful Canadian mutual funds. An attempt is made to have funds from each category. In the table, you will find some funds with weak returns but those returns are the best in their category. Note that we live in a rapidly changing world, so there is no guarantee for a repeat of the past returns. Then we would proceed to a concise introduction of Canada's most famous mutual fund issuers and present a list of their more successful funds.
There are at least three different types of classification for mutual funds. One classification is based on the legal structure of the fund. Mutual funds can be open-end funds, closed-end funds and unit investment trusts. Funds introduced on this page are open-end funds.
Another important classification divides funds into actively managed and passively managed funds. Passively managed funds have outsourced the selection of the securities they would hold to an index provider. Such a fund would simply replicate the composition of S&P 500, S&P TSX Composite Index or any other index. While actively managed funds need to research different securities and decide about which security and when they buy and also when to sell.
Best Performing Canadian Mutual Funds
| Name | 1-year return | 3-years annualized return | 5-years annualized return | 10-years annualized return | Underlying assets | MER | Load |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canoe Energy Alpha Fund* | 87% | 35% | 25% | NA | Energy Equity |
| None |
| Ninepoint Energy Fund | 78% | 54% | 18% | 7.5% | Energy Equity |
| None if held > 20 days |
| Fidelity Global Value Long/Short | 73% | NA | NA | NA | Unconstrained |
| None |
| Altema Diversified Equity Market Neutral* | 50% | 4.9% | NA | NA | Unconstrained |
| None |
| Wealhouse Lions Bay* | 43% | 29% | NA | NA | Unconstrained |
| None |
| North Stream Credit Strategies Fund* | 22% | 19.7% | 13.7% | NA | Corporate Bonds |
| 0.75% before 3 months |
| Rise Properties Trust | 21% | 8.4% | 8.6% | NA | Real Estate |
| NA |
| Leith Wheeler US small/mid cap | -7% | 7.7% | 8.5% | NA | U.S. Equities |
| None |
| CIBC US Money Market Fund O | 0.4% | 0.89% | 1.42% | 0.96% | Short Term Debt |
| None |
| RBC $U.S. Money Market Fund O | 0.37% | 0.84% | 1.37% | 0.92% | Short Term Debt |
| None |
| BMO Low Volatility U.S. Equity ETF | 12.5% | NA | NA | NA | U.S. Equities |
| None for most series |
| TD U.S. Low Volatility Fund | 8% | 5% | 7.5% | NA | U.S. Equities |
| None after 7 days |
| Canoe Asset allocation portfolio F | 3.85% | 11.55% | 8.28% | 8.53% | Canadian Equity and Fixed Income |
| None, A & T6 has choice of front or back load, X has front load |
| RBC retirement 2020 portfolio FT5 | -5.1% | 3.5% | 4.5% | NA | Unconstrained |
| None |
| Health Care Dividend Fund F | 6.9% | 9.6% | 8.4% | NA | Dividend Payers |
| None |
| IG Mackenzie Global Health Care F | 4.6% | 12% | 9.2% | NA | Health Related Equity |
| NA |
| Middlefield Global Agriculture F | -0.45% | 6.44% | 5.09% | 7.49% | Agriculture and Food Equity |
| None |
| Purpose Real Estate Income F | -5.2% | 3.5% | 5.6% | NA | Real Estate Equity |
| D Front |
| Ninepoint Global Real Estate F | -6.5% | 5.2% | 6% | NA | Real Estate Equity |
| None after 20 days |
| CI Preferred share Fund I | -3.8% | 8.65% | 4.9% | NA | Preferred Shares |
| None |
| Purpose Canadian Preferred Share F | -4.1% | 10.2% | 2.8% | 6.7% | Canadian Income Producing Securities |
| None |
| TD Precious Metals Fund F | -8.8% | 6% | 4.9% | 0.1% | Gold, Silver and Platinum |
| None after 7 days |
| CIBC Precious Metals Fund O | -10% | 7.5% | 6.5% | 0.1% | Canadian Companies in the Precious Metals |
| None |
| BMO SIA Focused North American Equity I | 5.9% | 8.3% | NA | NA | Technical Buying |
| None |
| Dynamic North American Dividend Private Pool O | 5.6% | 9.7% | 8.9% | NA | North American Dividend Payers |
| Front end or deferred |
Note: In preparing this table, an attempt has been made to put together best-performing funds from different categories. In this table, we use annualized total return values to compare mutual funds. Total return takes into account both capital appreciation (depreciation) as well as all distributions (dividends). You can think of annualized total return as your annualized return on investment (ROI).
*Only available to accredited investors.
Some Funds are Inaccessible for the Public
According to securities law in Canada (and the US), a prospectus document should be prepared before any investment is offered to the public. The prospectus would provide detailed information about that investment so investors can make informed decisions. Preparing a prospectus takes considerable time and effort and makes it difficult for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to access capital.
Securities law allows exceptions to the prospectus requirements to facilitate access to capital for SMEs and startups. The most important exception for providing a prospectus is accredited investor exemption. According to the Ontario Securities Commission, an accredited investor is a person who earns more than $200k per annum or earns $300k with a spouse or has net financial assets over $1 million. The accredited investor status may also result from having total net assets of over $5 million. Similar criteria in other jurisdictions make one an accredited investor.
These exceptions are justified because, on the one hand, SMEs and startups need affordable financing to be able to continue their economic activity. On the other hand, accredited investors can afford to lose a few of their investments. So accredited investors do not need the government to protect them from a risk they are willing to take. Some of the funds in the table above have not prepared a prospectus and are thus only available to accredited investors.
Mutual Fund Asset Flow
During the past six months, high inflation has forced the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Canada to increase their benchmark rates and reduce the money supply in their respective economies. As a result, asset prices deflated while savings account and GIC rates rose. Thus over the past quarter, you see a flow of money out of long-term funds. Long-term funds include equity funds, balanced funds and bond funds. Note that money market mutual funds act as a substitute for savings accounts and thus attract money while people escape from long-term funds.
| Enormous Asset Accumulation in Funds | |
|---|---|
| Fund Type | Net Assets in Billions of dollars |
| Total Mutual Fund | 1788 |
| Total ETF | 288.9 |
| Balanced Mutual Fund | 882.4 |
| Equity Mutual Fund | 626.5 |
| Bond Mutual Fund | 228.6 |
| Specialty Mutual Fund | 21.6 |
| Money Market Mutual Fund | 28.9 |
| As of June 2022 | |
Cost of Investing in a Fund: Management Expense Ratio (MER)
Expense ratio (ER) or management expense ratio measures the administrative and operative expenses of a fund as a multiple of its average assets under management (AUM) during the year.
Annual MER = (Total costs incurred by the fund during the year)/(Average AUM during the year).
Often, the most significant component of the fund expenses is the fee paid to the fund's investment manager or advisor (usually the same corporation as the fund’s sponsor). This fee is known as the management fee and is also referred to as a maintenance fee. Other necessary expenses include record keeping, auditing, accounting, custodial services, taxes and legal expenses.
Note that each time the fund spends money, that expenditure would be reflected in the fund's NAV. As a result, when calculating the fund's performance, you automatically consider the fund's ER. The cost of advertising and promotion of the fund can also be considered among the fund's expenses. Often trading commissions are not included in the MER, and the trading expense ratio (TER) is defined as the (trading costs incurred by the fund)/(Average AUM during the year).
Other expenses you might incur when investing in a mutual fund are loads, contingent deferred sales charges and redemption fees.
Most Popular Canadian Mutual Fund Issuers
TD Mutual Funds
TD Asset Management (TDAM) Inc. is a subsidiary of the Toronto-Dominion Bank. TDAM has created and is managing a sizable family of mutual funds. If you are already a TD customer, using their mutual funds would be very convenient as you would have access to your investments by the same means you access your banking accounts. Whether you are accessing your banking through EasyLine, EasyWeb or in your local branch, you would have access to your investment through the same channel. Having your personal and investment banking under the same umbrella makes it very convenient to set up a pre-authorized purchase plan for investment in mutual funds from your chequing account.
TD offers and aggressively markets six mutual funds of mutual funds which it calls Comfort Portfolios. The idea is that based on the level of risk you are comfortable with and the income you expect, you choose one of their “comfort portfolio” funds, and the fund manager will invest in a set of TD funds to achieve the highest return consistent with your risk tolerance. The problem with investing in a fund of funds is that you would be paying MER in two independent layers. In total, TD offers 144 mutual funds, the best performers of which are gathered in the table below.
| Best TD Mutual Funds and Their Returns | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fund Name | 3M | 6M | 1YR | 3YR | 5YR | 10YR | Incep | MER |
| TD Dividend Income Fund - I | -9.69% | -6.66% | -0.54% | 5.93% | 5.14% | 6.89% | 8.29% Oct 31, 1994 | 2.03% |
| TD U.S. Monthly Income Fund - C$ - H8 | -8.21% | -14.04% | -6.22% | 3.5% | 5.14% | - | 8.08% Sep 10, 2013 | 2.02% |
| TD Monthly Income Fund - I | -8.53% | -7.37% | -2.18% | 4.76% | 4.36% | 5.83% | 7.00% Jun 29, 1998 | 1.48% |
| TD Dividend Growth Fund - I | -9.86% | -3.52% | 4.4% | 8.08% | 6.68% | 8.35% | 9.02% Sep 4, 1987 | 2.03% |
| TD Canadian Equity Fund - I | -11.38% | -3.87% | 4.58% | 8.41% | 7.07% | 7.37% | 7.71% Jun 29, 1988 | 2.16% |
| TD Canadian Index Fund - I | -13.37% | -10.23% | -4.36% | 7.58% | 7.03% | 7.41% | 7.37% Sep 30, 1985 | 0.28% |
| TD Canadian Bond Fund - I | -6.08% | -13% | -12.77% | -2.8% | -0.41% | 0.95% | 5.69% Jun 29, 1988 | 1.1% |
| TD High Yield Bond Fund - H8 | -8.74% | -12.2% | -10.93% | -0.86% | 0.55% | 3.46% | 5.15% Sep 15, 2009 | 1.77% |
| TD Global Equity Focused Fund (US$) - I | -16.84% | -22.68% | -14.13% | 8.54% | - | - | 7.38% Sep 13, 2018 | 2.37% |
| TD Global Low Volatility Fund - I | -5.42% | -7.5% | 1.34% | -0.98% | 1.89% | 6.87% | 7.32% Nov 28, 2011 | 0.99% |
| TD Global Equity Focused Fund - I | -14.34% | -21.34% | -10.85% | 7.72% | - | - | 6.94% Sep 13, 2018 | 2.37% |
| TD Canadian Money Market Fund - I | 0.21% | 0.26% | 0.3% | 0.45% | 0.67% | 0.49% | 3.10% Jun 29, 1988 | 0.19% |
| TD U.S. Money Market Fund (US$) - I | 0.16% | 0.2% | 0.23% | 0.56% | 0.99% | 0.6% | 2.44% Jun 29, 1988 | 0.12% |
| TD Global Entertainment & Communications Fund - I | -21.72% | -34.33% | -34.96% | 2.5% | 7.25% | 13.88% | 11.00% Nov 28, 1997 | 2.83% |
| TD Health Sciences Fund - I | -7.86% | -17.25% | -13.87% | 6.67% | 8.36% | 15.8% | 10.47% Oct 30, 1996 | 2.82% |
| TD Health Sciences Fund (US$) - I | -10.51% | -18.68% | -17.06% | 7.29% | 8.52% | 13.12% | 10.00% Oct 30, 1996 | 2.82% |
| TD Global Entertainment & Communications Fund (US$) - I | -23.97% | -35.46% | -37.36% | 3.09% | 7.41% | 11.24% | 9.68% Nov 28, 1997 | 2.83% |
| TD Science & Technology Fund - I | -31.68% | -49.9% | -51.85% | -1.65% | 3.51% | 15.61% | 8.56% Jan 4, 1994 | 2.83% |
| TD Precious Metals Fund - I | -24.18% | -11% | -9.87% | 4.73% | 3.68% | -1.11% | 5.50% Nov 23, 1994 | 2.26% |
| TD U.S. Low Volatility Fund - I | -2.79% | -6.12% | -6.4% | 3% | 5.66% | - | 11.45% Sep 10, 2013 | 2.23% |
| Epoch U.S. Large-Cap Value Fund (US$) - I | -10.65% | -11.24% | -4.4% | 8.83% | 8.36% | 9.75% | 10.21% Oct 6, 2003 | 2.82% |
| TD U.S. Dividend Growth Fund - I | -12.88% | -18.28% | -6.48% | 7.53% | - | - | 10.12% Sep 12, 2017 | 2.24% |
| TD U.S. Dividend Growth Fund - H8 | -12.88% | -18.29% | -6.51% | 7.52% | - | - | 10.12% Sep 12, 2017 | 2.24% |
| TD U.S. Low Volatility Fund - H8 | -2.82% | -6.15% | 6.4% | 3.05% | 5.69% | - | 10.02% Apr 15, 2014 | 2.15% |
| TD U.S. Mid-Cap Growth Fund - I | -14.23% | -25.05% | -20.65% | 1.32% | 6.26% | 13.08% | 9.64% Jan 4, 1994 | 2.55% |
| TD U.S. Index Fund (US$) - I | -17.06% | -21.64% | -13.69% | 9.56% | 10.29% | 11.94% | 9.30% Sep 30, 1986 | 0.33% |
| TD U.S. Low Volatility Fund (US$) - I | -5.56% | -7.74% | 2.5% | 3.6% | 5.82% | - | 8.73% Sep 10, 2013 | 1.51% |
| Epoch U.S. Shareholder Yield Fund - H8 | -6.07% | -7.88% | 1.12% | 4.39% | 5.52% | - | 8.62% Apr 15, 2014 | 2.41% |
| Epoch U.S. Shareholder Yield Fund - I | -6.05% | -7.85% | 1.15% | 4.39% | 5.5% | - | 8.55% Apr 15, 2014 | 2.4% |
| TD U.S. Small-Cap Equity Fund (US$) - I | -15.48% | -25.35% | -24.24% | 3.66% | 7.09% | 9.52% | 8.45% Nov 28, 1997 | 2.55% |
| TD North American Dividend Fund - H8 | -9.91% | -12.92% | -3.28% | 4.7% | 6.28% | - | 8.36% Apr 15, 2014 | 2.22% |
| TD U.S. Mid-Cap Growth Fund (US$) - I | -16.7% | -26.34% | -23.58% | 1.9% | 6.42% | 10.45% | 8.17% Jan 4, 1994 | 2.55% |
| TD U.S. Equity Pool - I | -13.95% | -21.02% | -14.02% | 5.06% | 7.95% | 13.17% | 7.80% Nov 1, 2004 | 2.16% |
| TD U.S. Quantitative Equity Fund - I | -11.09% | -14% | -1.51% | 10.28% | 10.93% | 14.94% | 7.74% Jan 29, 1993 | 1.6% |
| TD Comfort Aggressive Growth Portfolio - I | -11.01% | -14.59% | -6.77% | 3.39% | 3.82% | 7.05% | 7.68% Dec 8, 2008 | 2.23% |
| TD Comfort Growth Portfolio - I | -10.26% | -14.47% | -8.01% | 2.3% | 3.02% | 5.89% | 6.87% Dec 8, 2008 | 2.13% |
RBC Mutual Funds
TRBC Global Asset Management (RBC GAM) is a subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Canada which offers a very diverse family of mutual funds. Currently, RBC GAM and its affiliates offer 317 mutual funds. Industry experts generally agree that the MER should include all expenses except for trading cost and load. But some funds, particularly those issued by RBC GAM, exclude management fees from MER. The stated reason is that institutional investors can negotiate with RBC over their management fees.
When shopping we find it more convenient to find all the products we need in the same store. Similarly it is very convenient to use investment products offered by our bank. Thus if you are an RBC customer, using investment products including mutual funds offered by RBC GAM would be very convenient. This is because you would have access to your investments by the same means you access your banking accounts. Also having your personal banking and investment under the same umbrella makes it very convenient to set up a pre-authorized purchase plan for investment in mutual funds from your chequing account, in this way you would be able to automate your investment process.
The following table lists RBC GAM’s best performing funds, information in this table is related to series F of these funds
| Best RBC Mutual Funds and Their Returns | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fund Name | 3M | 6M | 1YR | 3YR | 5YR | 10YR | Since Inception |
| RBC QUBE Low Volatility U.S. Equity | -4.9% | -10.2% | 1.5% | 5.3% | 8.9% | - | 14.3% |
| PH&N U.S. Multi-Style All-Cap Equity | -13.4% | -18% | -7.8% | 8.2% | 9.1% | 13.5% | 13.3% |
| RBC Private U.S. Large-Cap Core Equity | -13.3% | -17.5% | -7.4% | 9.4% | 10.3% | 14.2% | 12.2% |
| RBC Private U.S. Large-Cap Core Equity Pool US$ | -15.8% | -19% | -10.8% | 10% | 10.5% | 11.6% | 12.2% |
| PH&N U.S. Dividend Income Fund | -10.5% | -14.9% | -3.1% | 9.1% | 9.3% | 13.4% | 11.2% |
| RBC Global Dividend Growth Currency Neutral Fund - FT5 | -13.5% | -21.7% | -12% | 9.1% | 10.5% | - | 11.1% |
| RBC Vision Fossil Fuel Free Global Equity Fund | -12.3% | -23.9% | -16.6% | 7.3% | - | - | 10.8% |
| RBC U.S. Equity Value Fund | -10% | -14.9% | -5.4% | 9.1% | 9.3% | - | 10.7% |
| RBC Canadian Equity Income Fund | -10.6% | -3.4% | 5.6% | 10.3% | 8.7% | 9.3% | 10.6% |
BMO Mutual Funds
Bank of Montreal Global Asset Management (BMO GAM) offers a selection of 115 mutual funds.
You might already have a credit card, a checking account or a savings account with BMO. In that case using a combination of BMO mutual funds would be convenient as you would have access to your investments by the same means you access your credit or banking accounts. By having your personal banking and investment fund under the same brand you can very easily set up a pre-authorized purchase plan for investment in mutual funds from your chequing account.
The most successful BMO mutual funds are listed below:
| Best BMO Mutual Funds and Their Returns | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fund Name | Price (NAV) | 1YR | 3YR | 5YR | 10YR | Since Inception | MER |
| BMO Dividend Fund | $87.54 | -2.01% | 5.55% | 6.47% | 8.42% | 9.57% | 1.8% |
| BMO Low Volatility U.S. Equity ETF Fund | $10.97 | 11.6% | - | - | - | 9.02% | 1.53% |
| BMO Low Volatility U.S. Equity ETF Fund Series T4 | $10.25 | 11.35% | - | - | - | 9% | 1.53% |
| BMO Multi-Factor Equity Fund | $13.20 | -5.26% | 9.37% | - | - | 8.77% | 1.82% |
| BMO U.S. Dividend Fund | $17.80 | -2.14% | 5.92% | 7.49% | - | 8.69% | 1.93% |
| BMO U.S. Equity Plus | $19.63 | -13.28% | 6.19% | 7.47% | - | 8.64% | 2.21% |
| BMO SIA Focused Canadian Equity Fund | $12.35 | 5.91% | 6.86% | - | - | 8.6% | 1.96% |
| BMO Global Small Cap Fund | $13.60 | -18.71% | -0.18% | 1.3% | 8.61% | 8.34% | 2.55% |
| BMO Canadian Small Cap Equity Fund | $52.13 | -18.21% | 7.11% | 3.96% | 8.35% | 7.77% | 2.5% |
| BMO U.S. Dollar Dividend Fund | $17.10 | -5.53% | 6.33% | 7.45% | - | 7.74% | 1.93% | Minimum investment is just $500 dollars or $50 a month in a Continuous Savings Plan (CSP). |
CIBC Mutual Funds
CIBC Securities Inc. is a Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce subsidiary which offers mutual funds, among other investment products. CIBC also offers what it calls a “managed portfolio,” a fund of funds investing in other CIBC mutual funds.
CIBC funds are divided into money market funds, savings funds, income funds and growth funds. Few successful funds from each category are presented below.
| Best CIBC Mutual Funds and Their Returns | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fund Name | 6M | 1YR | 3YR | 5YR | 10YR | Since Inception | Inception Date |
| CIBC Money Market Fund Class A Units | 0.22% | 0.27% | 0.48% | 0.71% | 0.59% | 2.86% | 11/88 |
| CIBC U.S. Dollar Money Market Fund - Class A Units | 0.19% | 0.21% | 0.66% | 1.19% | 0.75% | 2.06% | 05/91 |
| CIBC Global Monthly Income Fund - Class A Units | -13.67% | -8.59% | 1.22% | 2.93% | 5.6% | 3.66% | 12/06 |
| CIBC Monthly Income Fund - Class A Units | -12.24% | -7.7% | 2.66% | 3.97% | 4.58% | 6.07% | 09/98 |
| CIBC Global Technology Fund - Class A Units | -20.69% | -21.72% | 11.95% | 14.36% | 17.53% | 7.76% | 12/95 |
| CIBC Global Technology Fund - USD2 - Class A Units | -22.06% | -24.61% | 12.95% | 14.53% | 14.8% | 11.1% | 10/02 |
| CIBC U.S. Equity Fund - Class A Units | -18.92% | -8.7% | 7.75% | 9.76% | 13.42% | 8.24% | 09/06 |
| CIBC U.S. Small Companies Fund - Class A Units | -27.55% | -22.22% | 5.97% | 4.4% | 11.32% | 5.75% | 12/95 |
| CIBC U.S. Equity Fund - USD - Class A Units | -20.32% | -12.08% | 8.37% | 9.92% | 10.78% | 7.18% | 09/06 |
| CIBC International Equity Fund - Class A Units | -16.41% | -13.29% | 5.77% | 5.85% | 8.99% | 4.38% | 09/06 |
| CIBC U.S. Small Companies Fund - USD2 - Class A Units | -28.8% | -25.09% | 6.58% | 4.56% | 8.73% | 6.75% | 10/02 |
| CIBC Nasdaq Index Fund - USD1 - Class A Units | -29.65% | -21.45% | 13.76% | 14.72% | 15.6% | 12.76% | 10/02 |
| CIBC Nasdaq Index Fund - Class A Units | -28.41% | -18.43% | 13.11% | 14.5% | 18.35% | 4.45% | 09/00 |
| CIBC U.S. Index Fund - Class A Units | -19.26% | -8.67% | 8.33% | 9.47% | 13.9% | 7.34% | 07/96 |
| CIBC U.S. Broad Market Index Fund - USD2 - Class A Units | -21.98% | -15.89% | 8% | 8.87% | 10.81% | 8.57% | 10/02 |
| CIBC U.S. Broad Market Index Fund - Class A Units | -20.61% | -12.66% | 7.38% | 8.7% | 13.45% | 8.03% | 05/91 |
Scotiabank Mutual Funds
The Bank of Nova Scotia through its subsidiary Scotia global asset management offers 125 mutual funds covering a broad spectrum of investment assets and investment strategies.
| Best Scotiabank Mutual Funds and Their Returns | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fund Name | Series | YTD | 3M | 6M | 1YR | 3YR | 5YR | 10YR | Since Inception | |
| Scotia Canadian Balanced Fund | A | -8.43% | -8.09% | -8.43% | -3.77% | 3.87% | 4.66% | 5.81% | 5.94% | |
| Scotia Canadian Dividend Class | A | -5.03% | -9.38% | -5.03% | 4.04% | 7.44% | 7.45% | 9.32% | 9.3% | |
| Scotia Canadian Dividend Fund | A | -5.02% | -9.39% | -5.02% | 4.08% | 7.42% | 7.46% | 9.36% | 9.39% | |
| Scotia Canadian Equity Blend Class | A | -9.43% | -10.62% | -9.43% | -2.17% | 6.49% | 4.91% | - | 7.71% | |
| Scotia Canadian Equity Fund | A | -7.29% | -10.53% | -7.29% | 0.5% | 8.97% | 7.98% | 9.58% | 6.04% | |
| Scotia Canadian Equity Index Fund | A | -10.39% | -13.45% | -10.39% | -4.67% | 7.02% | 6.63% | 7.14% | 6.46% | |
| Scotia Canadian Growth Fund | A | -18.19% | -13.98% | -18.19% | -6.79% | 8.91% | 5.49% | 7.06% | 6.89% | |
| Scotia Canadian Income Fund | A | -11.4% | -5.93% | -11.4% | -11.57% | -3.23% | -0.53% | 0.74% | 6.51% | |
| Scotia Canadian Small Cap Fund | A | -28.12% | -19.45% | -28.12% | -17.9% | 17.33% | 8.6% | 7.63% | 6.82% | |
| Scotia Diversified Balanced Fund | A | -13.3% | -9.99% | -13.3% | -9% | 4.32% | 4.91% | 6.77% | 6.44% | |
| Scotia Dividend Balanced Fund | A | -7.38% | -9.32% | -7.38% | -3.97% | 5.56% | 4.26% | 6.11% | 5.66% | |
| Scotia Global Balanced Fund | A | -10.28% | -6.62% | -10.28% | -8.15% | 0.37% | 1.63% | 5.58% | 5.51% | |
| Scotia Global Dividend Class | A | -8.67% | -6.45% | -8.67% | -3.23% | 2.99% | 3.66% | 8.75% | 8.94% | |
| Scotia Global Dividend Fund | A | -8.58% | -6.41% | -8.58% | -3.03% | 3.24% | 3.92% | 9.02% | 8.4% | |
| Scotia Global Growth Fund | A | -29.47% | -15.78% | -29.47% | -30.75% | 1.44% | 4.76% | 10.83% | 6.39% | |
| Scotia INNOVA Maximum Growth Portfolio | A | -16.19% | -10.25% | -16.19% | -11.12% | 2.12% | 2.89% | 6.85% | 7.15% | |
| Scoti INNOVA Maximum Growth Portfolio Class | A | -16.93% | -10.79% | -16.93% | -11.58% | 2.42% | 3.2% | 7.24% | 7.23% | |
| Scotia Partners Maximum Growth Portfolio | A | -18.3% | -11.79% | -18.3% | -13.76% | 1.78% | 3.29% | 7.09% | 5.54% | |
| Scotia Partners Maximum Growth Portfolio | T | -18.31% | -11.8% | -18.31% | -13.76% | 1.79% | 3.33% | - | 5.33% | |
| Scotia Selected Maximum Growth Portfolio | T | -16.44% | -11.79% | -16.44% | -12.51% | 5.04% | - | - | 6.63% | |
| Scotia U.S. Dividend Fund | A | -17.13% | -11.98% | -17.13% | -7.18% | 7.88% | 8.89% | - | 11.97% | |
| Scotia U.S. Equity Blend Class | A | -23.32% | -14.92% | -23.32% | -15.26% | 6.78% | 9.97% | - | 12.49% | |
| Scotia U.S. Equity Index Fund | A | -20.41% | -14.62% | -20.41% | -10.82% | 7.75% | 9.19% | 13.79% | 6.67% | |
Tax Considerations
Mutual funds are often set up as partnerships. As a result, even if you do not cash any of your investment during the year, you face tax obligations because of your share in securities sold by your mutual fund. Thus it is best to make your mutual fund investments under a tax shelter. Some tax shelters are specifically designed for a specific saving goal; they include Registered Retirement Savings Plan, Registered Education Savings Plan, and Tax-Free First Home Savings Account. There is also the Tax-Free Savings Account which is a general purpose tax-sheltered account.
Long Rise in Mutual Fund Assets
Around the year 1980, inflation was rampant in North America. The Bank of Canada and the Federal Reserve both increased interest rates and tightened the money supply to suppress inflation. Inflation dampened and stayed low for nearly four decades after that. This low inflation was despite monetary policy gradually becoming looser and interest rates (including prime rates and mortgage rates) getting lower.
An often overlooked factor was at work behind the scenes. Most of the world stage was peaceful, and trade was expanding. Increased trade improved productivity and acted as a significant deflationary force. The result was that central banks were free to print money and lower interest rates without serious repercussions, and governments could run sizable deficits without severe consequences.
Even extensive Trump-era protectionist tariffs could not stop this trend. But finally, pandemic disruptions to supply chains killed the deflationary force of globalization. So money printing and large deficits during the pandemic caused severe inflation, which we are dealing with now.
On the one hand, interest rates over the last few decades reduced the payout of safe saving accounts and inflated asset prices. During this period, those investing in savings accounts and GICs mostly lost to those who bought assets, whether those assets were real estate, stocks or even long and medium-term bonds.
People often decide based on their most recent experiences. During decades of asset prices outperforming savings accounts, more and more savings moved from savings accounts and GICs to long-term funds. This flow into funds is because long-term funds are the most convenient way of owning assets. This trend is reflected in a large amount of assets under management in Canadian funds.