Saving & investing · 2026 rules

ETF growth

A management expense ratio is quoted in tenths of a percent and charged on the whole balance every year. Over thirty years the gap between 0.2% and 2% is not small — it is often a third of the ending portfolio.

MER drag in dollars
Dividend reinvestment
TFSA vs taxable

Your numberslive

Starting balance

Monthly contribution

Expected annual returnBefore fees. A global equity index has returned roughly 7% real over long periods.6.5%

0%4%6.5%9%12%

Years invested30 years

5 years15 years30 years45 years

Fees

Your ETF's MERA broad Canadian-listed index ETF is typically 0.05% to 0.25%.

Mutual fund MER to compareBank-branded balanced funds commonly sit between 1.8% and 2.4%.

Account

Where you hold it

Taxable income

Province or territory

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Balance after 30 years

$1,015,978

$313,000 contributed, $702,978 of growth

Net return after a 0.2% MER is 6.3% a year.

Paid in fees

$43,759

0.2% a year on the whole balance

Saved versus a mutual fund

$312,277

Against a 2% MER

Tax at withdrawal

None — a TFSA is never taxed on the way out

The fee gap, compounded

Same contributions and same gross return, three fee levels

No fees
ETF at 0.2%
Fund at 2%

What the ending balance is made of

Contributions, growth, and what fees took

30%

66%

Your contributions$313,000
Investment growth$702,978
Fees paid$43,759

After-tax outcome by account

What you actually keep, net of tax at withdrawal

TFSA$1,015,978

No deduction going in, nothing taxed coming out

RRSPbetter$706,105

You received a deduction on every contribution

Non-registered$908,774

Half of the capital gain is taxable, and dividends are taxed annually

The RRSP figure looks worst here because the deduction you already received is not shown. Add the refunds back — invested — and an RRSP and a TFSA finish level when your tax rate is the same going in and coming out.

Year by year

Year 5$73,000 in, $17,477 of growth	$90,477
Year 10$121,000 in, $59,123 of growth	$180,123
Year 15$169,000 in, $133,860 of growth	$302,860
Year 20$217,000 in, $253,904 of growth	$470,904
Year 25$265,000 in, $435,978 of growth	$700,978
Year 30$313,000 in, $702,978 of growth	$1,015,978

Fees are charged on the balance, not the gainA 2% MER in a year the market falls 10% still costs 2%. That is why the fee gap widens fastest late in the horizon, when the balance is largest.

How this is calculated

Contributions are made monthly and compounded monthly at the gross return less the MER. Fees are modelled as a reduction in return, which is how an MER is actually charged — deducted daily from the fund’s net asset value.

The taxable case assumes the entire gain is realised as a capital gain at the end, with half included in income. In practice distributions are taxed along the way, which makes the non-registered outcome slightly worse than shown.

Returns are illustrative. No projection predicts a market; the point of the comparison is the fee difference, which is known in advance and the same in every scenario.

These results are illustrative estimates based on published 2026 rates and typical lender rules. They are not financial, tax, or legal advice, and they are not a mortgage or credit approval. See the methodology and disclaimer.

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