CSI IFC - Investment Funds in Canada (IFC) Exam

 C is correct because bond funds receive fixed interest payments from most of their investments, as they invest mainly in bonds and other fixed-income securities that pay a regular coupon rate. Dividend funds receive variable dividend payments from most of their investments, as they invest mainly in stocks and other equity securities that pay dividends based on the company’s earnings and policies. The return of dividend funds does not rely only on interest rates (A), but also on other factors such as stock prices, earnings growth, dividend yield, and dividend payout ratio. The return of bond funds also depends on interest rates, as well as other factors such as credit quality, maturity, duration, and yield curve. When interest rates rise, the NAVPU of both bond funds and dividend funds decreases (B), not rises, as it lowers the present value of their future cash flows. Bond fund distributions do not receive more favorable tax treatment than that of dividend funds (D), but rather less favorable, as interest income is fully taxable at the investor’s marginal tax rate while eligible dividends receive a dividend tax credit that reduces their taxable amount.

Implicit costs of principal protected notes include performance participation caps, which limit the potential returns and are not always explicitly disclosed. The feedback from the document states:

"Implicit costs include fees borne by investors that may or may not be immediately visible and that may or may not be openly disclosed in the documents. Of the items listed, three are explicit costs, and only Performance Participation Caps are an implicit cost."

An individual can legally sell mutual funds only after receiving notification of registration from the securities administrator, not merely after completing exams or filing applications. The feedback from the document states:

"Despite receiving notification of successful completion of the required proficiency examination, filing a registration application and paying the required fee, an individual is not officially registered to sell mutual funds until notice has been received from the applicable securities administrator."

Rakesh will not be subjected to a switch fee if it is outlined in the prospectus. A switch fee is a charge that may apply when an investor switches from one fund to another within the same fund family. The prospectus is the legal document that provides information about the fund, including its fees and charges. If the prospectus states that there is no switch fee or that there are certain conditions under which the switch fee is waived, then Rakesh will not have to pay a switch fee. The type of fund (no-load, low-load, or sales charge) does not determine whether there is a switch fee or not, as different fund families may have different policies regarding switch fees. References: Mutual Fund Fees, Prospectus

The Investment Funds in Canada course explains that volatility measures the degree of price fluctuation over time and is commonly used as a proxy for investment risk. Among major asset classes, common shares (equities) exhibit the highest expected volatility due to their sensitivity to business performance, economic cycles, interest rates, and investor sentiment.

Common shareholders are residual claimants on a corporation’s earnings and assets. They are paid dividends only after all other obligations—such as interest on debt and preferred share dividends—have been met. As a result, common share prices fluctuate widely based on changes in earnings expectations, economic conditions, and market psychology. The CIFC text highlights that equities offer higher expected returns precisely because they carry higher risk and volatility.

Preferred shares are generally less volatile than common shares because they provide fixed dividend payments and have priority over common shares. Government bonds have the lowest volatility due to high credit quality and predictable cash flows. Corporate bonds are riskier than government bonds but still far less volatile than equities.

Because common shares are most exposed to market and company-specific risk, they experience the greatest price variability. Therefore, Option C is the correct and fully verified CIFC answer.

The custodian, typically a trust company, receives and holds all funds from investors and other sources, managing the fund’s assets and expenses. The feedback from the document states:

"The Custodian. When a mutual fund is established, a separate organization, most often a trust company, is appointed as the fund’s custodian. The custodian receives and holds the fund’s money obtained from all sources – investors buying the fund’s units or shares, income earned by the fund’s investment portfolio, proceeds from the sale of the fund’s investments, holds all the fund’s assets and distributes the fund’s money to pay the fund’s expenses."

The current yield of a bond is the annual interest payment divided by the current market price of the bond. The annual interest payment is the coupon rate multiplied by the par value of the bond. In this case, the annual interest payment is:

6.75%×10,000=675

The current market price of the bond is $9,200. Therefore, the current yield is:

9200675​×100%=7.34%

The current yield is higher than the coupon rate because the bond is selling at a discount, meaning that its market price is lower than its par value. This implies that the bond is offering a higher return than the prevailing market interest rate. However, the current yield does not take into account the capital gain or loss that will occur when the bond matures or is sold. A more accurate measure of the bond’s return is the yield to maturity (YTM), which is the annualized rate of return that accounts for both the interest payments and the price change of the bond over its remaining term.

Canadian Investment Funds Course (CIFC) Study Guide, Chapter 5: Fixed-Income Securities, Section 5.2: Bond Pricing and Yield, page 5-61

Current Yield Definition - Investopedia2