Canadian Index Funds

Every major bank in Canada—as well as a small number of other financial institutions—offers a family of index mutual funds. Their fees are typically much lower than those of actively managed funds, but most are more expensive than they need to be. Investors in the US can typically purchase index funds for less than half of what Canadians are charged.

Below is a catalogue of index mutual funds available in Canada. Use this list to compare the fees charged by each fund sponsor, and to compare the index that each one tracks. When choosing an index fund, look for one that tracks an understandable, transparent, and broadly based index at low cost.

To see our recommendations, visit the Model Portfolios page.

Mutual funds that hedge their exposure to foreign currency are marked with an asterisk (*). Funds that hold derivatives rather than the actual stocks in the index are marked with a number sign (#).

This page was last updated in August 2011.


TD Mutual Funds

TD’s e-Series funds are only available to investors who open an online account with TD Canada Trust, or through a TD Waterhouse discount brokerage account.

Fund name
Fund ID MER Index tracked
TD Canadian Index – e TDB900 0.32 S&P/TSX Composite
TD US Index – e TDB902 0.34 S&P 500
TD US Index – e *
TDB904 0.50 S&P 500
TD Dow Jones Industrial Avg – e *
TDB903 0.32 Dow Jones Industrial Average
TD NASDAQ Index – e *
TDB908 0.49 NASDAQ 100
TD International Index – e TDB911 0.50 MSCI EAFE
TD International Index – e *
TDB905 0.52 MSCI EAFE
TD European Index – e *
TDB906 0.49 MSCI Europe
TD Japanese Index – e *
TDB907 0.49 MSCI Japan
TD Canadian Bond Index – e TDB909 0.49 DEX Universe Bond

These TD index funds are also available in a higher-fee  “Investor Series,”  which can be purchased through any discount brokerage:

Fund name Fund ID MER Index tracked
TD Canadian Index TDB216 0.86 S&P/TSX Composite
TD US Index TDB661 0.53 S&P 500
TD US Index * TDB655 0.86 S&P 500
TD Dow Jones Industrial Average * TDB657 0.86 Dow Jones Industrial Average
TD NASDAQ Index * TDB981 0.99 NASDAQ 100
TD International Index TDB964 1.34 MSCI EAFE
TD International Index * TDB656 0.98 MSCI EAFE
TD European Index * TDB659 1.00 MSCI Europe
TD Japan Index * TDB658 1.01 MSCI Japan
TD Canadian Bond Index TDB966 0.81 DEX Universe Bond
TD Balanced Index TDB965 0.86 [blended]

RBC Asset Management




Fund name Fund ID MER Index tracked
RBC Canadian Index RBF556 0.70 S&P/TSX Composite
RBC US Index RBF557 0.71 S&P 500
RBC US Index *
RBF558 0.70 S&P 500 #
RBC International Index*
RBF559 0.69 MSCI EAFE #
RBC Canadian Gov’t Bond Index RBF563 0.65 DEX Universe Federal Bond

Altamira (National Bank of Canada)

Fund name Fund ID MER Index tracked
Altamira Canadian Index NBC814 0.64 S&P/TSX 60
Altamira US Index NBC846 0.63 Dow Jones Industrial Avg #
Altamira US Index * NBC856 0.64 S&P 500 #
Altamira International Index NBC839 0.62 MSCI EAFE #
Altamira International Index * NBC877 0.64 MSCI EAFE #

CIBC Mutual Funds

Fund name Fund ID MER Index tracked
CIBC Canadian Index CIB300 1.08 S&P/TSX Composite
CIBC US Index CIB500 1.08 S&P 500
CIBC US Broad Market Index CIB484 1.08 Dow Jones Wilshire 5000
CIBC NASDAQ Index CIB520 1.16 NASDAQ 100
CIBC International Index CIB510 1.11 MSCI EAFE
CIBC European Index CIB513 1.10 MSCI Europe
CIBC Asia Pacific Index CIB518 1.18 MSCI All Country Pacific
CIBC Emerging Markets Index CIB519 1.37 MSCI Emerging Markets
CIBC Canadian Bond Index CIB503 1.06 DEX Universe Bond
CIBC Canadian Short-Term Bond CIB489 1.03 DEX Short Term Bond
CIBC Global Bond Index CIB511 1.06 JP Morgan Global Gov’t Bond
CIBC Balanced Index CIB901 1.09 [blended]

ScotiaFunds

Fund name Fund ID MER Index tracked
Scotia Canadian Index BNS381 0.99 S&P/TSX Composite
Scotia US Index
BNS382 1.00 S&P 500
Scotia CanAm Index BNS351 1.02 S&P 500 #
Scotia NASDAQ Index
BNS397 1.08 NASDAQ 100 #
Scotia International Index BNS387 1.18 MSCI EAFE
Scotia Canadian Bond Index BNS386 0.84 DEX Universe Bond


BMO Mutual Funds

In 2010, BMO changed the structure of its index funds so now each one simply holds one of its ETFs. This allows advisors to sell the products even if they are not licensed to deal in individual securities.

Fund name Fund ID MER Index tracked
BMO Canadian Equity ETF Fund BMO144 1.01 Dow Jones Canada Titans 60
BMO US Equity ETF Fund BMO722 1.12 Dow Jones US Large-Cap
BMO International ETF Fund BMO727 1.11 DJ Developed Markets ex-NA

Dimensional Fund Advisors

Strictly speaking, Dimensional funds are not “index funds,” as they do not track any index. But they are passively managed funds designed to capture the returns of specific asset classes, which make them entirely appropriate for Couch Potato investors.

DFA funds are available to Canadian investors only through a select group of financial advisors. The funds listed below are the Class F versions; the Class A funds have higher fees that also include the cost of advice.

Fund name Fund ID MER
Canadian Core Equity DFA256 0.38
Canadian Vector Equity
US Core Equity DFA293 0.42
US Vector Equity DFA223 0.48
International Core Equity DFA295 0.63
International Vector Equity DFA227 0.76
Global Real Estate Securities DFA391 0.61
5-Year Global Fixed Income DFA231 0.39
Investment Grade Fixed Income DFA449 0.40

Pro-Index Funds

Pro-Financial’s fundamentally weighted index funds are available in three classes. This list includes the Class F versions available from fee-based advisors, and the MERs are taken from the 2010 Management Reports of Fund Performance. The Class A and B versions available from discount brokerages have much higher annual fees in addition to either front-end loads or deferred sales charges.

Fund name Fund ID MER Index tracked
PRO FTSE RAFI Canadian Index PRO930 1.09 FTSE RAFI Canada
PRO FTSE RAFI US Index PRO931 1.09 FTSE RAFI US 1000
PRO NA Dividend Index PRO934
PRO Global Index PRO932 1.09 FTSE RAFI Global ex-US
PRO Hong Kong China PRO933 1.09 FTSE RAFI Hong Kong China
PRO Emerging Markets PRO934 1.09 FTSE RAFI Emerging Mkts

PowerShares

The PowerShares family includes several mutual funds based on fundamental indexes (several hold the respective PowerShares ETF in a mutual fund wrapper). The funds are primarily sold through advisors. The Class F versions are listed below; Class A versions available from discount brokerages have much higher annual fees.

Fund name Fund ID MER Index tracked
FTSE RAFI Canadian Fundamental AIM43207 0.64 FTSE RAFI Canada
Canadian Dividend Index AIM44207 0.65 Indxis Select Cdn Dividend
FTSE RAFI US Fundamental * AIM57207 0.54 FTSE RAFI US 1000
QQQ Class * AIM66217 0.54 NASDAQ 100
FTSE RAFI Global+ Fundamental AIM59207 0.77 FTSE RAFI Developed ex-US
FTSE RAFI Emerging Markets AIM52207 0.99 FTSE RAFI Emerging
1-5 Year Laddered Corporate Bond AIM53207 0.38 DEX 1-5 Year Corporate Bond
High Yield Corporate Bond AIM55207 0.66 BofA Merrill Lynch High Yield
Real Return Bond Index AIM54207 0.98 DEX Real Return Canada Bond
Canadian Preferred Share Index AIM56207 0.59 Indxis Select Cdn Preferred

ING Mutual Funds

The Streetwise Funds are only available directly from ING.

Fund name MER
Streetwise Balanced Fund 1.07
Streetwise Balanced Income Fund 1.07
Streetwise Balanced Growth Fund 1.07