Barclays Global Investors Canada Ltd. announced today that Fee Freedom Day for Canadian mutual fund investors will fall on July 28 this year.

“Fee Freedom Day is the day in the year that Canadian mutual fund investors stop paying their managers and start paying themselves — keeping the returns that their savings generate,” said Steve Rive, general manager, iUnits at BGI Canada.

“This year’s July 28th Fee Freedom Day shows just how high mutual fund costs are compared with the returns that these funds deliver.”

“To determine Fee Freedom Day we express the median management expense ratio for mutual funds in the Canadian equity asset category as a percentage of median, pre-MER five-year annual returns for that category — based on year-end 2002 data provided by Globefund.” Rive explained. “We then apply that percentage to the days in the year to arrive at the specific date for Fee Freedom Day. The Canadian equity mutual fund category is probably the one that Canadians focus on most.”