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I am 19 years old (in Canada) and have heard that "Low Cost" index funds are a safe and highly profitable way to invest small amounts of money each month.

My aim is to invest every month until I am ready to retire (I'm guessing about age 65), and then withdraw my investments for a solid profit.

I am not looking for Index Funds in general, but specifically low cost index funds.

I have tried looking online, and have found "Vanguard FTSE All-World ex Can". However, I am unsure if this is even a low cost index fund, at all.

If anyone knows of any good-great low cost index funds, please share them with me. Mind you, my money will be in the index-fund for 40 years or more, so I would prefer if the company is stable in terms of the "long term".

Thank you for any help. All help is greatly appreciated.

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  • It may help to state where you live as options could be different for those in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia as different countries may have differences in how accounts are handled.
    – JB King
    Mar 11, 2015 at 19:50
  • I am in Canada, Alberta, Calgary.
    – Kelsey
    Mar 11, 2015 at 19:50
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    SPY...the ETF tracking the S&P 500 is a low cost ETF. You can start there.
    – Victor123
    Mar 21, 2015 at 2:53

1 Answer 1

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Just saw the update: Here's some ETFs for Canada from Vanguard.

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  • I forgot to mention that I am living in Canada. On a different note, isn't an ETF not a low cost index fund?
    – Kelsey
    Mar 11, 2015 at 19:52
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    Updated; second part of your question, you can read the difference here: investopedia.com/articles/exchangetradedfunds/08/…. Mar 11, 2015 at 20:01
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    @Kelsey The lowest cost index funds are indeed exchange-traded index funds. Mutual funds (as offered by banks and fund companies) come at a higher ongoing cost (subtracted from your returns) but if you are just getting started and investing small amounts each month, mutual funds aren't a bad place to start. Compare the overall "management expense ratio" (MER) of funds to get an idea about their cost. ETF MERs often come in at a fraction of their mutual fund equivalent. Mar 11, 2015 at 20:04
  • Yeah, I think I will go with an ETF rather a mutual fund. It seems that, generally speaking, ETFs perform better than mutual funds and have a lower MER, as you say, than mutual funds. Furthermore, the FTSE Canada Index ETF seems great, as it only has a 0.05% management fee, and has had a market price increase of at least 10% for the past three years.
    – Kelsey
    Mar 11, 2015 at 20:08

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