Insight July 2010 Monthly Update

The July issue of Insight addresses two subjects of major importance. We document the evolution of mutual fund MERs and also measure the assets in different classes of shares. MERs have continuously declined during the past five years,but this trend is about to reverse. The introduction of the Harmonized Sales Tax in Ontario and British Columbia will add to the cost of funds. In this report we measure the impact of this new tax and discuss what some companies are doing about it. The subject of MERs is examined from multiple points of view,with emphasis on the impact of special series such as F and T on the current level of the cost of funds. Through a methodology that attributes changes in MERs to various factors,we measure the contribution of changes in the industry’s asset mix, the rise of fund wraps, the continuous growth of no load funds and other causes.