FAQ

No, the Management Expense Ratio (MER) is the only fee charged. Please contact your broker/dealer directly to inquire about any fees they may charge.

See the MERs for our Series A funds here.

All Mawer Mutual Funds have a holding period of 90 days to avoid a short-term trading penalty. We have the option to levee a 2% fee in such circumstances.

Mawer Investment Counselling requires a minimum investment of $2 million.

Mawer Mutual Funds can be purchased via an investment advisor or through a discount brokerage for a minimum of $500, per fund, per account. Once the initial minimum is met, there is a subsequent purchase minimum of $50 per fund, per account.

Learn more about the different ways to invest here.

The Trading Expense Ratio (TER) is a measure of the fund's trading costs. It represents total trading commissions (expenses) expressed as an annualized percentage of average daily net assets during the year. The TER is independent of a fund's Management Expense Ratio.

Yes, Mawer Mutual Funds are available for purchase through investment advisors and discount brokers.

A minimum initial purchase of $500 per fund, per account, is required. Once the initial minimum is met, there is a subsequent purchase minimum of $50 per fund, per account.

To invest through a discount broker or investment advisor, please contact the financial institution or investment advisor directly.

Yes, Mawer Mutual Funds are offered through RBC Direct Investing.

Yes, you can transfer funds from any existing registered or non-registered account that you hold at another institution. Please contact us to find out how we can help with the transition. 

Yes, you must be a Canadian resident to open an account with Mawer.

We require all trade instructions to be provided by 12pm (noon) MST in order to complete trades on the same day.

Mutual funds pay taxes at the highest marginal tax rate. As such, it is more tax-efficient for mutual funds to distribute their income and gains to unitholders so that the income is taxed at a more favourable rate.

Immediately following a distribution, the price of a fund drops by an amount equivalent to the payment. The offset occurs when additional units of the fund are issued to the account and these are equivalent in value to the amount of the distribution. This means that the value of your investment doesn’t change; instead you end up owning more units in the fund at a lower unit price.

For example, let’s say you own 100 units in a fund that is valued at $10.00/unit for a total investment value of $1,000. If the fund pays a distribution of $0.10/unit, its price will drop to $9.90 following the distribution ($990). But, because 1.01 units ($0.10/$9.90) will be re-invested in the fund, the value of your investment remains unchanged (101.01 units x $9.90/unit = $1,000).

Mutual funds are structured in such a way that when the fund pays out a distribution (from interest, dividend income, realized capital gains) the individual investor or unitholder pays the tax personally. This is typically a good thing for investors as most are taxed at a lower rate than a mutual fund.

The default option for unitholders is to have their distributions re-invested into additional units of the fund. Alternatively, unitholders can opt to receive the distributions in cash if they provide instructions accordingly. The tax treatment of both options is identical.

You will receive a T3 slip in mid-March for each non-registered account you own which will report all of the income and capital gain distributions paid out by the mutual funds you hold.

Any non-Canadian dividend received by the mutual funds will be subject to foreign withholding tax.  These withholding taxes are within the fund, and are deducted before the unitholders receive any distributions.

Mutual funds receive a tax credit each year to offset any capital gains realized as a result of unitholder redemptions. The tax credit the mutual funds receives is proportionate to the level of redemptions within the fund (i.e., more redemptions leads to a higher tax credit). If the Mawer Balanced Fund has a higher relative level of redemptions than the Mawer Tax Effective Balanced Fund, this would lead to a higher tax credit for the Balanced Fund. The higher tax credit could offset any realized capital gains in the Fund which may not occur to the same extent in the Tax Effective Balanced Fund. 

The following five Mawer Mutual Funds pay an income distribution monthly (on the last business day of the month):

• Global Balanced Fund
• Balanced Fund
• Tax Effective Balanced Fund
• Canadian Bond Fund
• Canadian Money Market Fund

Please note: This distribution is comprised of any interest and dividends earned by the fund for that particular month. Should the fund not accrue income in excess of the fund’s management expense ratio, it will not trigger a distribution for that month.

With the exception of the Mawer Canadian Money Market Fund, all of the Mawer Mutual Funds pay a year-end distribution. This distribution payout will be comprised of net income and net realized capital gains. In December, the Mawer Canadian Money Market Fund will pay the normal monthly distribution at month-end.

Mawer funds do not always pay a monthly distribution payment. Income received inside the fund is first applied against the management expense ratio (MER) of the fund and anything left over is distributed to unitholders. This is a common mutual fund structure as it creates tax efficiency. If the income is less than the fund’s MER, unitholders will not receive a distribution.

If you are a unitholder of record on the record date, you will receive the full distribution regardless of how many months you have been invested in the fund. This means that if you purchased a fund towards the end of the year, you will be paid out income for the entire year. It may be beneficial to speak with your Investment Counsellor or Advisor if you are considering investing in a fund closer to year-end.

The Mawer Mutual Funds are all actively managed, meaning there is a team of investment professionals who research and analyze numerous companies to determine those that they believe are best suited to be held in a particular mandate. They actively evaluate and re-evaluate these companies on an ongoing basis to either add or trim positions as necessary. Exchange Traded Funds are passively managed investments, meaning they generally track or follow an index or basket of securities. The securities in the ETF that are bought/sold are often based on the underlying index or securities it is tracking.

Mawer is independent and 100% employee owned.

What we believe distinguishes Mawer from other investment managers is our consistent adherence to our investment approach; our independence which provides an entrepreneurial mindset and closely aligns our interests with those of our clients; and, our strong culture and well-defined vision, mission, and core set of values that enables us to have an excellent work environment that is passionate, team-based, and client-focused.

If you are invested in the Mawer Mutual Funds (the Funds), you own units of the Funds and those units are recorded in your name on the books and records of the Funds’ recordkeeper International Financial Data Services (IFDS). Securities within the Funds are beneficially owned by the Funds’ unitholders and are held by the Funds’ custodian, State Street Trust Company of Canada according to the custody and recordkeeping arrangements disclosed in the offering documents of the Funds. 

If you are invested in securities other than mutual funds (stocks and bonds), a custodian is required to custody your assets. In the event Mawer faces financial difficulties or bankruptcy, your assets are protected by your custodian.

For more information, please see our Relationship Disclosure Information form. 

Please note the securities we manage are not covered by CDIC insurance (www.cdic.ca).