Quote:
Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger
And if you don't like doing any work go buy a balanced mutual fund pretty much anywhere. Most of the big 5 or your local credit union or whatever will have some stuff available with little or no commission.
My two cents is that while you have less than $100k or even $250 or $500k you are probably better off not paying large transaction fees. And if you're like most people ETFs or online brokerages seem daunting and can get you into a lot of trouble if you follow bad advice. A balanced fund, or something with 60-70% equity and 30-40% bonds and such, will probably do fine for most people who don't have a ton of savings/RSP/TFSAs and don't want high fees.
Yeah the MERs aren't exactly cheap but you'll probably avoid commission if you buy some front end sales charge at 0% commission. Even if there are some DSCs you can avoid them by holding the fund for a while, which won't be a problem if you have a decent portfolio fund that gives you Cdn/US/Int exposure and some safe stuff to keep you from getting all suicidal when the markets are down.
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I just wanted to comment on this because I definitely agree with a few of the points you make. I also think that anyone, anywhere should be disclosing all of the fees that you will pay before you buy. Its required now, so you should know exactly what you're paying for fees and don't be afraid to ask!