Index Fund
A passively managed fund that tracks a market index, with very low fees.
Instead of picking stocks, an index fund holds every name in an index (the S&P/TSX Composite, the S&P 500, MSCI World) in the same weights. In Canada the cheapest options are ETFs from Vanguard, iShares, BMO, and Horizons, with MERs of 0.05% to 0.25%. The TD e-Series mutual funds (around 0.30% to 0.50%) are the rare low-cost index mutual fund family. Decades of S&P SPIVA data show that after fees, the majority of actively managed Canadian equity funds lag a simple index over 10+ year horizons. A boring three-ETF or one-ticket portfolio (XEQT, VEQT) beats most active managers.
A 60-second lesson that puts this term in context, alongside the others, lives inside the Finlo app.