When I got started in the world of index investing, there was a lot to learn. I had decided to go with the TD e-Series Index Funds as my investment vehicle and using my TD TFSA Mutual Funds account to do the investing (as opposed to a TD Direct Investing account). There were some good guides to get the account started, but I couldn’t find specific instructions on how to use the TD EasyWeb website to start purchasing my TD e-Series Index Funds.
Before you start
Before you get started, you need to ensure that you have a Mutual Fund TFSA and/or a Mutual Fund RRSP account setup with TD Bank, and have converted these accounts to be e-Series accounts. You will need to physically mail in the TD e-Series Funds Account Application form, which takes a few weeks to be approved. If you’ve already mailed in this application, TD will email you when the accounts have been converted.*
*UPDATE: TD has now updated their website to indicate that in-person representatives are now available to help setup a TD e-Series account.
Logging in to EasyWeb
This is the easy part. You can purchase the TD e-Series index funds through the same EasyWeb portal that you do your regular online banking.
Find your investments
Once logged in, click on the ‘Investments’ section on the left hand menu.
This page will list all of your different investment accounts, and you will see your Mutual Fund TFSA and Mutual Fund RSP. Unfortunately, TD doesn’t show any distinction if your account has been converted to an e-Series account, it is still just listed as ‘Mutual Fund RSP’ or ‘Mutual Fund TFSA’.
Purchasing TD e-Series Index Funds
Click on the ‘Purchase Mutual Funds link’ on the left hand menu.
Ensure that you are purchasing through the correct account by selecting the account you wish to use at the top and selecting ‘OK’.
Now if you are purchasing e-Series Index Funds for the first time, you will have to find them in the “Select a New Fund” section. This is where it can be a bit confusing finding the correct fund. Here is how to find the TD e-Series Index Funds recommended by the Canadian Couch Potato:
TD Canadian Bond Index Fund – e TDB909
| Fund Category: | Fixed Income |
| Fund: | TD CDN Bond Index-e** |
TD Canadian Index Fund – e TDB900
| Fund Category: | Canadian Equity |
| Fund: | TD CDN Index-e** |
TD U.S. Index Fund – e TDB902
| Fund Category: | US Equity |
| Fund: | TD US Index-e** |
TD International Index Fund – e TDB911
| Fund Category: | Global Equity |
| Fund: | TD Int’l Index-e** |
Make sure you select the funds that include the ‘-e’ at the end!
You will only have to do this the first time you purchase each fund – after that you will be able to buy additional funds by selecting them from your Current Holdings.
Once you’ve selected the correct fund, press the ‘Purchase New Funds’ button at the bottom of the page.
Selecting amount
Once you’ve selected the fund you would like to purchase, you will need to fill in your details. Make sure you double check everything!
Check the account that you are purchasing into, the fund category and fund name, and input the dollar amount that you would like to purchase. Also fill in your email address and daytime phone number. Once this all looks right, select ‘Next’.
Final verification
You’ll get one more chance to check all of your information – I suggest reading over everything one more time just for a little piece of mind. Once you are sure everything looks correct, you can submit your order pressing the ‘I accept’ button at the bottom
What now?
Your order has now been submitted! You can repeat this process for each of the index funds that will make up your portfolio. Purchases made after 3:00pm ET will be processed at the next business day’s closing price. Even if you make the purchase before 3:00 ET, the index fund purchase won’t show up until the next business day.
You will receive an email indicating that a purchase has been made, but it won’t provide any details about the purchase.
Where does the money for the fund purchase come from?
Mutual Fund purchases will come from the main account associated with your EasyWeb online banking account. For me, it’s my main chequing account associated with my debit card.
And there you have it!
Congratulations! You have now made your first purchase of TD e-Series Index Funds. It’s a simple process once you get used to it, but it’s nice to see an example for your first time, especially when you are moving around large amounts of money.