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Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)

Benefits of ETFs

  • Low Fees and No Minimums

    With lower fees than most mutual funds and no investment minimums, ETFs are an affordable way to invest.

  • Less Risk through Diversification

    With an ETF, you can access a variety of asset types, sectors and indices, which spreads out investment risk.

  • Easy to Buy and Sell

    The assets held in an ETF can be bought and sold on major exchanges, just like stocks.

Two Ways to Invest in ETFs at RBC

Research, pick and manage your own investments

  • Use powerful online tools to make informed investment decisions and trade with confidence

  • Trade and invest using our online investing site; the customizable trading dashboard or the RBC Mobile1 app

  • View in-depth research and market news

Explore RBC Direct Investing

Leave all your investment decisions to the pros

  • Enjoy easy, hands-off investing—let our experts do all the investing work for you

  • Get a personalized investment plan in minutes

  • Easily view your investments, contribute funds and follow your progress online or on your mobile

Explore RBC InvestEase

ETF FAQs

Explore top ETF questions.

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are funds that can hold investments like stocks, bonds, commodities and currencies. They are great for individual investors because you can build a diversified* portfolio faster and with less money than if you invest in individual stocks or bonds.

How? ETFs pool the money of many investors together to buy a variety of investments. That means owning an ETF lets you to hold the underlying stocks and bonds in the “pool” proportional to your investment. ETFs that are indexed typically track a specific:

  • Market index (a composite of securities, such as the S&P/TSX Composite Index)

  • Market sector (a group of stocks representing companies in similar lines of business)

  • Commodity (such as precious metals or energy futures)

Since ETFs trade on an exchange throughout the day (like a stock), they are easy to buy and sell. And, they typically have lower fees and no investment minimums compared to other types of investments (such as mutual funds).

*Diversification is a strategy used to reduce risk by holding securities across a variety of issuers, asset types, sectors, industries and geographies.

At RBC Direct Investing, you have access to in-depth research reports, powerful tools and screeners. Find out more about the tools and resources available.

At RBC InvestEase, a carefully-selected mix of ETFs are packaged for you into a ready-to-go professional portfolio based on your responses to a few questions. Find out more about the portfolios.

RBC Direct Investing offers a variety of registered and non-registered accounts for you to buy and sell ETFs and stocks. Learn more about RBC Direct Investing account types.

At RBC InvestEase, you can choose from a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA), Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) or non-registered investment account. Learn more about RBC InvestEase account types.

At RBC Direct Investing, you’ll pay just $9.95 flat per online and mobile trade2 with no minimum balance or trading activity required. When you make 150+ trades per quarter, you’ll pay only $6.95 per online and mobile equity trade2. View fees and commissions.

At RBC InvestEase, you’ll pay a management fee of just 0.5% per year on your investment balance, plus a weighted average management expense ratio (MER) between 0.11-0.30% charged by the ETF manager will apply to the ETFs held in your portfolio. See pricing.

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RBC InvestEase Inc. provides online discretionary investment management services. Other products and services may be offered by one or more separate corporate entities that are affiliated to RBC InvestEase Inc., including without limitation: Royal Bank of Canada, RBC Direct Investing Inc., RBC Dominion Securities Inc., RBC Global Asset Management Inc., Royal Trust Corporation of Canada and The Royal Trust Company. RBC InvestEase Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada and uses the business name RBC InvestEase. In addition, the RBC iShares ETFs in which RBC InvestEase Inc. clients invest are managed by BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited. RBC Global Asset Management Inc. and BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited have entered into a strategic alliance to bring together their respective ETF products under the RBC iShares ETF brand, and to offer a unified distribution support and service model for RBC iShares ETFs.
The services provided by RBC InvestEase are only available in Canada.
RBC Direct Investing Inc. and Royal Bank of Canada are separate corporate entities which are affiliated. RBC Direct Investing Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada and is a Member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada and the Canadian Investor Protection Fund. Royal Bank of Canada and certain of its issuers are related to RBC Direct Investing Inc. RBC Direct Investing Inc. does not provide investment advice or recommendations regarding the purchase or sale of any securities. Investors are responsible for their own investment decisions. RBC Direct Investing is a business name used by RBC Direct Investing Inc. ® / ™ Trademark(s) of Royal Bank of Canada. RBC and Royal Bank are registered trademarks of Royal Bank of Canada. Used under licence. © Royal Bank of Canada 2023. All rights reserved.