Montreal-based Desjardins Investments Inc. (DI Wednesday announced a proposal to change its current method of charging operating expenses to its funds by applying a fixed-rate administration fee.
The changed would be implemented on October 1, if the proposal is approved.
DI is proposing to pay its funds’ operating expenses other than taxes and some other costs.
Should the proposal go into effect, DI states the management expense ratio (MER) for all Desjardins funds would be equivalent or lower than the firm’s MER cap for March 31; the costs will be competitive; and expenses will be predictable and transparent, seeing as the key elements of the MER will no longer fluctuate from year to year, as is currently the case.
The proposal must be approved by the investors of certain classes or series of Desjardins funds at a special meeting that DI is stating will be held on or about September 9. The change must also be approved by regulatory authorities.
DI has reserved the right to postpone implementation to another date.