Investor Economics Insight February 2017

Advisor preferences for different investment fund load options have changed rapidly in recent years. As distributor practices have adapted to a new, leaner business reality, and fees—especially dealer compensation—have become more visible to unitholders, shifts in load option usage have been reflecting the new economics of advice-giving: a higher reliance on ongoing servicing fees (both embedded and unbundled) and a declining dependence on options with point-of-sale commissions. The current issue of Insight examines trends in load options from an asset growth, sales, redemption and net flow perspectives. The Trendlines article at the end of the report looks at market-linked note (MLN) issuance activity, paying special attention to the notes that use investment funds as the underlying investment.