Fund management performance in Canada has just hit a new low

Zero Funds beat the 5-year S&P500

Quote1:” Most managers do tend to beat the index, before fees, Mr. Hallett said. “The skill is there, but it’s being diluted by relatively high retail costs.”

Quote2: “The management fee on iShares Core S&P 500 Index ETF, for example, is 10 basis points. A typical Canadian mutual fund offering the same exposure would come with a fee in excess of 200 basis points, after management fees and adviser compensation. Even factoring out dealer compensation would still result in an average fee of more than 100 basis points.”

Note: I’d love to see this article extended from 5 years to 10 years, to start the comparison from the top of the market in 2007.   It’s critical that Performance be measured through a complete market cycle, the complete Bear and complete Bull, because that is the only way to assess Performance & Fees (akin to the vows “for better, for worse”).