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How does portfolio4less.com manage to sell mutual funds with no fees?
Answer: All mutual funds sold by portfolio4less.com to clients are sold front-end 0% commission. The mutual funds in turn pay what is known as a ‘trailing fee’ to portfolio4less.com. The trailing fee paid is generally 1.00% for front-end equity funds and 0.50% for front-end fixed income funds. Very few advisors sell mutual funds for 0% commission (no load), they typically negotiate an up front commission (0-5%). More often than not though, mutual fund advisors choose to purchase back-end mutual funds for their clients. The reason for this is that in addition to the trailing fee, the fund companies pay the advisor up to 5% as soon as the purchase settles. The disadvantage to selling mutual funds back-end is that the mutual fund companies impose what is known as a ‘deferred sales charge schedule’ (DSC schedule) on all back-end funds sold to investors. If you are an investor that has had to redeem back-end mutual funds before the expiry of the DSC schedule, then you are painfully aware of the costly penalty. The fee can be as high as 6% or 7% of your entire mutual fund value if redeemed in less than one year! Because there is no up front payment for front-end mutual funds sold at 0%, the mutual fund companies do not impose any fee for early redemption after 90 days.
How does portfolio4less.com make money?
Answer: As stated above, the only source of income for portfolio4less.com is the 'trailing fee' that is paid to us directly from the fund companies represented in our portfolios. We do not charge clients any front-end fees or invest in back end funds that create a redemption fee upon redemption of the funds.
How do advisors and brokers typically make money?
Answer: In a word, commission. portfolio4less.com receives the same management fee for managing a mutual fund portfolio that any advisor or broker would. Advisors and brokers, however, usually don’t stop there. A broker charges a commission to buy and sell a stock and a mutual fund advisor can deduct a fee for the purchase of a fund or worse, invest in back end funds that create a lengthy redemption schedule for the investor. On top of commissions, there may be fees charged for planning and consulting. For a detailed discussion of different forms of compensation, please see The Ugly Truth article.
Can I choose my own investments?
Answer: Absolutely. We believe that you will not be able to build a portfolio that performs as well as ours. In fact we welcome the challenge. Feel free to use our website to enter your own portfolio and compare your portfolio to ours. We don't think you can beat us. If, however, you feel that you can do better, feel free to buy your funds through our site directly. You will still get all the benefits our other clients receive and as always there will be no commission or transaction charges.
What makes portfolio4less.com different than the competition?
Answer: There are many things that make us different. The first thing is performance. We offer the best performing mutual fund portfolios in Canada. The second difference is the ability to compare. Many companies say that they offer the best investment choices but we actually allow and welcome you to compare to our competition. Third, price. There are no commissions, back-end or front-end fees charged to invest with us. Fourth, monitoring. Your investments with portfolio4less.com are monitored daily, and with your signed approval, rebalanced automatically to take advantage of market fluctuations. Your account is treated as a separate account from our other clients and your account will only be rebalanced if your account needs to be. Lastly, service. We aim to exceed your expectations not only on investment performance but on service as well. This includes reporting and access to information. Please see our testimonials section and our portfolios.
How do I access my account on line?
Answer: As soon as you become a portfolio4less.com client, we provide you with your own account password. This allows you and only you to review your account performance, check on transactions and review your current holdings from any computer anywhere. If you are already a portfoli4less.com client and you have forgotten your password, please contact us at password@portfolio4less.com.
How does portfolio4less.com create the portfolios?
Answer: We choose from the widest range of mutual funds available in Canada and combine only the best managers in to different portfolios. Our portfolios range from Conservative to aggressive. They are monitored daily for such things as performance, style drift and risk. Our portfolios are different from our competitors in that they are designed under the principals of Dynamic Asset Allocation and Modern Portfolio Theory, Most portfolios available today are flawed in that they are based on market timing or are designed by combining institutions proprietary mutual funds in to a portfolio. Typically, if this is done, the result is in a higher fee charged to the client. For a detailed discussion of our portfolios, see our portfolios.
What fees do I pay to be a portfolio4less.com client?
Answer: We suggest a minimum account size of $50,000 and assuming your account never dips below this level due to redemptions there are no fees at all. Otherwise, there will only be a trustee fee that is payable for anything below $50,000. Every account, no matter how large or small, will be invested with no front-end fees, no back end fees and no transaction fees(for normal transactions). See fees for details and breakdowns. However,
What are your hours?
Answer: Since we are a web based business, our site, its tools and access to your accounts are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We can be reached via e-mail at info@portfolio4less.com. We pledge to respond to any and all e-mails within 24 hours on business days. Otherwise we can be reached between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. P.T. every business day at (604) 257-4745 or toll free (866) 466-4745, by fax at (604) 261-2255 or toll free (866) 804-2255.
Why should I invest with portfolio4less.com?
Answer: Simple. We provide the most efficient portfolios available in Canada at no charge. You can invest and check your accounts on line at any time and feel comfortable that your investments are being continuously monitored for performance and proper asset allocation. Should you wish to know all the specific details of your portfolio, we provide you with all the information you need on every investment. Meanwhile you can sit back and relax and let us do the work for you.
What types of accounts can I open with portfolio4less.com?
Answer: We offer all the same type of accounts you find at many different financial institutions including RRSP's, RRIF's, RESP's, Non-registered accounts and more.
How can I open a portfolio4less.com account?
Answer: You can contact our office directly at 1-866-466-4745. We will get your email address or home addres and forward off the paperwork for you to sign.
Is there a minimum amount needed to open a portfolio4less.com account?
Answer: Our account minimum is $50,000 and up per account if you wish us to cover your trustee fee. Otherwise, if your account is below that amount, a fee may be applicable. Please check out our fees to read more.
How does portfolio4less.com protect my online financial and personal information?
Answer: 1) All confidential client information is gathered through our SSL secured web site utilizing the industry's maximum 128 bit encryption.
2) All information stored on our server is protected by the latest in system security and privacy protection technologies available to maximize our ability to effectively resist security attacks against our information systems.
3) P4L's collection and retention of client information is fully compliant with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and is used only for the creation, monitoring, and maintenance of client accounts.
I have forgotten my portfolio4less.com account password, what should I do?
Answer: Please e-mail password@portfolio4less.com. Our staff will forward you the information as soon as possible.
Who is FundEX?
Answer: FundEX Investments Inc. was established in 1995 as a privately owned, national mutual fund dealer partnering with industry leading financial planning professionals across Canada. The head office is based in Markham, Ontario and Industrial Alliance is now a majority shareholder.
The main business premise of FundEX Investments Inc. is to provide the independent FundEX Associate with an automated and compliant platform as they guide their clients in the formation, maintenance, preservation and distribution of wealth.
FundEX Investments Inc. is a member of the trade associates, The Investment Funds Institute of Canada ("IFIC") and a member in good standing of the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada ("MFDA"). The MFDA is the recognized self-regulatory organization ("SRO") for mutual fund dealers in Canada. The MFDA enhances investor protection and strengthens public confidence by mandating, monitoring compliance with, and enforcing rules and practices to ensure high standards of conduct by its Members.
Which mutual fund companies does portfolio4less.com deal with?
Answer:Portfolio4less.com deals with the widest range of mutual fund companies in Canada. Click here to see a detailed list.
Who is Canadian Western Trust?
Answer:All financial advisors and dealers must work through a trustee to be able to process new accounts and make trades. Some have this in house and some go outside their firm to get this service. portfolio4less.com has chosen Canadian Western Trust for their exceptional customer service and years in business. They are one of the top trustees in Canada and we feel confident in dealing with them.
