IG Property is the everyday name investors use for the IG Mackenzie Real Property Fund, a Canadian mutual fund that owns physical commercial real estate rather than trading like a stock. When you buy in, you own units backed by real office buildings, retail centres, and industrial sites across Canada, and the unit value moves with rental income and property appraisals.
In our experience helping people compare this fund to REITs and stocks, the biggest surprise for most is how differently it behaves day to day: it doesn’t swing with the market the way an exchange-listed security does, because it isn’t priced by the market every minute.
What Is IG Property Exactly?
The fund holds legal title to its buildings through a trust structure, with a trustee managing the properties on behalf of unit holders. This setup is standard for Canadian real property funds, and it creates a clean legal line between the fund’s assets and the operations of the company running it.
Rather than locking into one province or one type of building, IG Property spreads its holdings across office, retail, and industrial real estate, and the management team can shift that mix as conditions change. That flexibility matters more than it sounds; a fund tied to one sector or region has nowhere to hide when that sector struggles.
How Does the Fund Generate Returns?
Two things drive returns: rental income from tenants, and changes in what the buildings are worth on appraisal. Office space has been the soft spot lately, with some properties marked down in value as demand patterns shift away from traditional leasing. Retail and industrial holdings have generally held up better.
Net asset value reflects all of this combined, so a strong quarter for warehouses can offset a weak one for offices, and vice versa. One recent underperformance against its benchmark, for example, traced back to a markdown on two office properties and a retail site reclassified from income-producing status to development land, a single administrative change that quietly reduced reported value for that period.
Fund Series and Fees
The fund is sold in several series, and which one an investor holds changes what they pay:
- Series F — used inside fee-based accounts, where the advisor is paid separately.
- Series B and C — common in traditional advisor-sold accounts, with fees built into the fund itself.
- Series JNL — typically carries a lower combined management and administration fee than Series B.
In some series, the fund manager pays the advisor an upfront growth bonus at the time of purchase, plus an ongoing trailing commission for as long as the units are held.
Ask directly which series applies to your account. The fee gap between series can run over a full percentage point annually, and that adds up fast over a decade of compounding.
Is IG Property a Good Investment Right Now?
That depends on what you’re solving for. This fund tends to carry a low volatility rating compared to stocks, which appeals to someone who wants real estate exposure without watching daily price swings.
Recent multi-year returns have been mixed with a stretch of negative three-year performance followed by modest gains over five and ten years, largely tied to the office markdowns mentioned above.
Someone chasing short-term gains will likely find that frustrating. Someone building a twenty-year retirement portfolio with real estate as one slice of it may find the steadiness worth the trade-off, particularly once fees and account placement are factored in properly.
Where It Fits in a Portfolio
- Diversification — real estate often moves differently than stocks and bonds, smoothing overall portfolio swings.
- Income — commercial rental income gets passed to unit holders as periodic distributions.
- Hands-off exposure — no tenants to manage, no mortgage to service, no maintenance calls at midnight.
How Does It Compare to Publicly Traded REITs?
A REIT trades on a stock exchange all day, every trading day, and its price reflects both the underlying property value and whatever mood the market is in that morning. This fund, by contrast, is priced periodically based on appraised property value, with no daily market noise layered on top.
That makes it steadier, but also less liquid units can’t be sold instantly the way a REIT position could be sold mid-afternoon. If quick access to your money matters, a REIT or a real estate ETF fits better. If you’re comfortable locking money away for years in exchange for smoother pricing, this structure is built for that kind of patience.
How Are Distributions Taxed in Canada?
Distributions typically blend interest income, capital gains, and return of capital, and the Canada Revenue Agency treats each differently. Interest and capital gains get taxed in the year you receive them. Return of capital isn’t taxed right away; it lowers your adjusted cost base instead, which increases the capital gain you’ll eventually report when the units are sold. Because the mix changes yearly, you’ll get a tax slip breaking it down at filing time.
Holding the fund inside an RRSP or TFSA shelters those distributions from annual tax, which is why most advisors raise account placement in the same conversation as the fund itself.
How Do You Buy Into the Fund?
You can’t buy units on your own through a discount brokerage; the fund is sold exclusively through licensed IG Wealth Management advisors.
Before recommending an allocation, an advisor will typically run through a risk tolerance questionnaire and ask about your time horizon and existing holdings. Given the illiquidity of the underlying real estate, this fund gets positioned as a long-term holding, not something you trade around quarterly earnings releases.
Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly is IG Property?
It’s the short name for the IG Mackenzie Real Property Fund, a Canadian mutual fund investing in income-producing commercial real estate across the country. Most advisors and clients use the shorter name in everyday conversation.
Can I buy it without an advisor?
No. It’s distributed exclusively through the IG Wealth Management advisor network, so you’ll need to work with a licensed advisor to purchase units, and there’s no self-directed option available.
Is this a good investment for a short time horizon?
Generally, no. The underlying properties are far less liquid than stocks, so this fund suits investors with a longer runway rather than someone needing quick access to cash on short notice.
What’s the difference between IG Property and a REIT?
IG Property is priced periodically based on appraised value and can’t be sold instantly. A REIT trades daily on a stock exchange, with pricing that reflects market sentiment as well as underlying property value.
