Canadian Index Funds
TweetEvery 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 |
