​​Fees

  • Annual MER (management expense ratio), measured as a percentage of your account balance.
  • Withdrawn annually from your account.
  • Make sure that the fee you're looking at is all-inclusive and that there won't be additional fees (for taxes or trading within the fund).​​
  • ​The lower the MER, the faster your money grows.​​

For each provider you're considering, go online and check what mutual funds they offer. They will list portfolio index mutual funds representing various asset mixes along with other index mutual funds.

  • ​​​Portfolio index mutual funds can be tricky to distinguish from other mutual funds. Some can be identified by the word "portfolio" in their names.  Others are  called 'asset-allocation funds'. They should have the word 'index' in their name - if they don't, they are probably actively managed funds, rather than funds that mimic the index.
  • If the words 'portfolio' or 'asset allocation' are both missing, look for asset mix descriptions, like "Growth Fund", "Income", "Aggressive",  "Conservative", or "Balanced".  
  • If you're not sure about a specific fund, check that fund's "Fund Facts" document or call a branch and ask - they should know which of their mutual funds are portfolio index mutual funds.


​​​You may run into several series of the same fund, like A, D, F, or I (the MER will be different). 

  • You are looking for “D” and may have to call the bank to clarify. There is an important difference - series A and series F are sold through financial advisors and may automatically charge​ a fee for advice, which you should not be paying when buying the fund online.

  • For TD, 'e-series' means the funds can only be purchased online. They are low-MER.


When you research providers, make sure to ask if their mutual fund accounts can be easily connected to either your chequing  or savings account. You want to make sure it's quick and easy to transfer money to / from your investment account. It's can be quite difficult if your investment account is at a different institution than your chequing / savings account. 

​​Minimum Size

  • Initial purchase: you may need a certain amount of cash in your account to start investing. 
  • Additions: the smallest amount you can add to your investment at a time.​ 
  • The lower, the better - you can put your money to work for you sooner.

​​​​​​​​​Key Features ​​

Choose a provider

We’ve done some research for you  comparing providers of portfolio mutual funds

​Use our table as a guide and remember to do some research on your own.​

Updated on September 2, 2022.