Frequent Trading, Price Arbitrage Trading

Frequent trading is a term used within the Market Timing Policy and short term redemption penalty is the means by-which mutual fund companies try to circumvent frequent trading. Essentially, in order to prevent individuals from frequent trading and disrupting the pricing of mutual funds, they are penalized at a rate of 2% for an early redemption (if done within 30-90 days - depending on the fund).

Here is an excerpt from the TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Account and Services Agreements and Disclosure Documents document:

12. Market Timing Policy: This policy addresses issues with regard to unacceptable mutual fund trading activity, specifically the market timing of mutual funds. The Canadian securities industry has identified mutual fund market timing as practices that include:

Frequent Trading - defined as the frequent buying and selling of mutual fund units; and
Price Arbitrage Trading - defined as buying and selling of mutual fund units in order to exploit inefficiencies in the pricing of mutual funds. For further clarity, “selling of a mutual fund” includes both a redemption to cash and a redemption that involves a switch into units of another mutual fund in the same fund family.


While many fund companies will charge an early redemption fee if a mutual fund is sold within a specified number of days of purchase, securities regulators do not specify what period of time constitutes frequent trading but consider that any repeated buying and selling of mutual funds is harmful to other unit holders, and could be perceived as being frequent trading. Market timing of mutual funds can adversely affect the mutual funds and hence the other unit holders of the fund. Market timing may present risks including, but not limited to, interference with efficient management of a fund’s portfolio, increased brokerage, administrative and transaction costs, generation of taxable capital gains for unit holders, and increased borrowing or holding of cash reserves.

All of these may have the effect of leading to a dilution in the unit value or diminished returns for long term unit holders. We will not maintain accounts that use mutual fund market timing practices, either through the use of Frequent trading or Price Arbitrage Trading. If, in a review, it is determined that mutual fund market timing has taken place, steps will be taken to close those client accounts. This policy does not apply to the buying and selling of money market mutual funds, provided that they trade at a fixed net asset value.