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The Complete Guide to Mutual Funds

Uncover the hidden costs of mutual funds and learn smarter, low-fee investing with ETFs.

Created byDavid Trahairworkspace_premiumBest Instructor
IntermediateUpdated May 4, 2025

What You'll Learn

  • check_circleBecome familiar with visible fees (front-end, rear-load, low load, no load, fee based)
  • check_circleDiscover how invisible fees drain your investments (Management Expense Ratio MER and Trading Expense Ratio TER)
  • check_circleFind out how to get all the key data about any mutual fund you own
  • check_circleLearn all about Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and why they are better
  • check_circleUncover the secret: How poorly actively managed mutual funds have done versus ETFs
  • check_circleGet a free spreadsheet that calculates the horrible effects of mutual fund fees

About This Course

This eye-opening course reveals how mutual funds are often designed to benefit the sellers—fund companies and advisors—at the direct expense of investors. You'll learn the mechanics behind how mutual funds generate ongoing fees, even in years when your investments lose money, and uncover the inherent conflicts of interest that many investors never realize.

We'll break down the true costs of mutual fund investing, including advisor compensation and your money-weighted rate of return after fees. You'll also explore a better alternative: exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which offer lower fees and more transparency. Finally, you'll learn how to exit mutual funds with minimal cost and take control of your financial future. The ultimate goal of this course is to empower you to make smarter investment decisions and build a more secure retirement.

Course Content

11 activities • 60 videos • duration: 2h 13m

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Intro-Part12 videos • 1 min
  • videocam1. Introduction
    Duration 1:04
  • videocam2. Learning outcomes
    Duration 0:52
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The basics-Part118 videos • 40 min
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Required disclosures-Part110 videos • 24 min
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Problems with mutual funds-Part15 videos • 8 min
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How the MER makes them rich-Part13 videos • 6 min
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The main alternative: ETFs-Part13 videos • 2 min
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Active vs passive investing-Part111 videos • 24 min
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Mutual fund fee calculators-Part12 videos • 10 min
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Comparing mutual funds and ETFs-Part11 videos • 7 min
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Getting out of mutual funds-Part14 videos • 5 min
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Conclusion-Part11 videos • 0 min

Your Instructor

David Trahair

Acclaimed Author and On-demand Course Developer

menu_book39 courses
star13,044 reviews

David Trahair, CPA, CA, is an author and eLearning developer who creates on-demand video courses for CPAs across Canada. His courses cover topics including personal finance, ethics, AI, and Microsoft Excel. David is also the author of six personal finance books, three of which are national bestsellers. Through his firm, he helps CPAs build practical skills through engaging, self-paced learning.

Credit Information

Is this course eligible for my CPD requirements as a Canadian CPA?

Provincial regulators of CPAs in Canada do not require that independent providers of CPD be approved to offer courses. Instead, individual CPAs are responsible for assessing whether a CPD activity meets their requirements, and may take activities from any source provided those requirements are met.

Every course offered on LearnFormula is delivered by a qualified subject matter expert or learning organization, and advances learning objectives that are relevant to the responsibilities or professional competencies of Canadian CPAs. All activities on LearnFormula are quantifiable in terms of hours, and are also verifiable, in that users receive documented evidence of their attendance via a certificate of completion after finishing a course (and this certificate is stored by LearnFormula indefinitely). Nearly 100,000 Canadian CPAs successfully satisfy their CPD requirements via LearnFormula on an annual basis.

What Students Are Saying

4.4 out of 5
Student's Choice
130 reviews
  • SP
    Sumitra P.
    starstarstarstarstar

    very interesting.

  • DR
    Deborah R.
    starstarstarstarstar

    Thanks for sharing about your research on mutual funds and ETFs. It doesn't seem to be advertised.

  • ML
    Michael L.
    starstarstarstarstar

    well done. Clear and concise

  • YX
    Yiran X.
    starstarstarstarstar

    Very informative lecture with useful tools introduced. However, this session is definitely longer than 2 hrs.

Frequently Asked Questions

We are a registered provider with 300+ associations and regulatory bodies worldwide. We operate across 27 global markets including Canada, the US, Australia, and the UK. Every course page clearly displays its specific accreditations. Upon completion, you receive a professional certificate that can be validated online. Our certificates include all necessary accreditation details, credit hours, and completion dates, and are formatted specifically to meet the submission requirements of most global regulatory bodies.

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