Mutual fund MERs explained

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 associated with the fund itself, services 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 an MER of 2.5%, the fee would be about $250.

Based on that amount, here’s what it would cover:*