RBC Asset Management Inc. today announced that it will change the way it calculates operating expenses for each of the RBC Funds, resulting in lower costs, compared to 2006, for the vast majority of RBC Funds, and greater transparency for investors.

Beginning July 1, RBC will pay certain operating expenses of each of the RBC Funds, in return for a new fixed administration fee, which will be paid by the funds to RBC. Expenses that will continue to be paid by the funds include those related to the board of governors of the RBC Funds, the cost of any new government or regulatory requirements and any borrowing costs.

“Investors will benefit, as more than 80% of the RBC Funds will see lower management expense ratios this year, as a direct result of this change. This is part of our ongoing commitment to unitholders and we will continue to actively benchmark the MERs of each of the RBC Funds versus the industry,” said Brenda Vince, president, RBC Asset Management Inc., in a news release.

As a result of this change, the MER for each series of units will be more predictable for future years and will consist of each series’ management fee, fixed administration fee, GST and other costs (all expressed as a percentage of the fund’s average net assets for that year).

“We are creating more transparent pricing and greater certainty for our unitholders,” said Frank Lippa, chief operating officer and CFO, RBC Asset Management Inc. “Currently MERs are variable and investors may not know what they paid to invest until after a funds’ financial statements are issued each year. This change will make it much easier for investors to compare the cost of investing in an RBC Fund with other investment options.”

RBC referred this issue to the board of governors of the RBC Funds, the group that provides independent oversight and advice to the manager, for its review and input. The board was of the opinion that the proposed change will achieve a fair and reasonable result for the RBC Funds.

Unitholders will receive a written notice in mid-April, as required by securities regulations, detailing these changes. Further details and information about the impact and fixed administration fee for each series of individual funds are available at www.rbcam.com.

Advisor Series units of certain funds require unitholder approval prior to implementing this change. Unitholders of record on May 15 in Advisor Series units of the following funds will be mailed meeting materials by May 29. Meetings of these unitholders will be held on June 22. If approved, this change will take effect on July 1.