MIC Minimum Investment and Getting Started: What It Actually Takes

“How much do I need?” is usually the first practical question a new investor asks about a mortgage investment corporation (MIC). The honest answer has two parts. The MIC minimum investment is a number each issuer sets for itself. Securities law then sets a separate ceiling on how much some individuals can put in through the most common exemption. Neither number tells you how much of your own money it makes sense to commit.

This page explains both, with a small-account example and the documents where the real figures live. It is general education, not investment, tax or legal advice.

What is a MIC minimum investment, and who sets it?

A MIC minimum investment is the smallest subscription the issuer will accept, and it is set in the issuer’s offering memorandum (OM), not by regulation. Some OMs also set a minimum for additional purchases, or a minimum balance that must remain after a partial redemption.

Others can add thresholds: the exempt market dealer (EMD) may have account minimums, and a self-directed plan trustee charges account fees that make very small registered accounts proportionally expensive. The issuer may also change its minimum between offerings. Minimums change, so the only reliable figure is the one in the current OM; this page deliberately does not quote any issuer’s minimum, including Lendmax Capital MIC’s.

Private mortgage investment minimums by structure

The amount needed to start depends far more on the structure than on the lender. The comparison below is on the basis of how the minimum is set and what it buys; it does not compare risk or return.

The table shows the real trade-off. A pooled structure lets a smaller amount spread across many loans; holding a mortgage directly requires funding a whole loan and concentrates the risk in one borrower and one property.

How the offering memorandum exemption caps what individuals can invest

Most MIC shares are sold without a prospectus, under exemptions in National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions. The two used most are the offering memorandum exemption and the accredited investor exemption, and the first carries individual investment limits in six provinces.

In Alberta, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Québec and Saskatchewan, an individual buying under the OM exemption can invest:

An eligible investor, in summary, has net assets alone or with a spouse above $400,000, or net income before tax above $75,000 (above $125,000 combined with a spouse) in each of the two most recent years with the same expected this year, or is advised by an eligibility adviser, where the province allows. An accredited investor, in summary, has financial assets above $1,000,000 net of related liabilities, or net income before tax above $200,000 (above $300,000 with a spouse) in each of the two most recent years with the same expected this year, or net assets of at least $5,000,000. The full tests are in are you an accredited investor?. Thresholds summarised; confirm current definitions with a registered dealer.

Other provinces and territories apply the OM exemption differently, so do not assume the six-province limits apply where you live. The limit is generally measured across all your OM-exemption purchases in the 12 months, not issuer by issuer, which is why a dealer asks about other recent exempt purchases. Where the exemption requires it, you also sign a risk acknowledgement form. The background is in the exempt market and offering memorandums. This regulatory summary is current as of October 2026.

Can I invest in mortgages with $10,000?

Possibly, if an issuer’s minimum is at or below $10,000 and you qualify under an exemption. Ten thousand dollars is also exactly the 12-month OM-exemption limit for an individual who is not an eligible investor in the six provinces above, so for many first-time investors it is the ceiling as well as the starting point.

Whether it makes sense is a separate question. A small first holding is concentrated in one issuer, the money is illiquid, and fixed costs take a larger bite.

Worked example (illustrative)

Assume a MIC distributes the equivalent of 8% a year, paid quarterly and already net of its management fees and expenses. The rate, the fee and the tax rate below are assumptions for arithmetic, not any issuer’s figures. Higher target returns come with higher risk, and mortgage investments are not guaranteed: returns are targets, not promises, and principal can be lost.

$10,000 in a non-registered account, assumed 30% marginal tax rate

• Annual distributions: $10,000 × 8% = $800, or $800 ÷ 4 = $200 a quarter.
• Tax: $800 × 30% = $240. MIC dividends are taxed as interest, as at October 2026.
• After tax: $800 − $240 = $560, which is $560 ÷ $10,000 = 5.6% on the amount invested.

$10,000 in a TFSA, assumed $100 annual trustee account fee

• Distributions: $800, not taxed inside the TFSA.
• After the fee: $800 − $100 = $700, or 7.0%.

$100,000 in an RRSP, same assumed $100 fee

• Distributions: $100,000 × 8% = $8,000. After the fee: $8,000 − $100 = $7,900, or 7.9%, with tax deferred until withdrawal.

The same assumed yield produces 7.0% on the small registered account and 7.9% on the large one only because of the fixed fee. Check the trustee’s actual fee schedule, and confirm tax treatment with a Canadian tax professional.

How much money do I need to invest in mortgages?

You need enough to meet the minimum, within any exemption limit, from money you will not need for several years. The second condition matters more than the first.

MIC shares have no secondary market. Redemptions run under the OM, with notice periods, and the board can usually defer or suspend them; Lendmax Capital MIC’s OM, for example, gives its board that right. Unlike a bank deposit, MIC shares are not covered by CDIC deposit insurance, which protects eligible deposits at member institutions up to $100,000 per insured category. The guide to liquidity and redemption explains how delays happen.

How much do I need to start investing in a MIC, and what are the steps?

Beyond the money itself, getting started takes a registered dealer, an eligibility check and time to read the documents. The usual sequence:

1. Find a registered EMD and check its registration on the CSA National Registration Search.
2. Complete know-your-client and suitability review. The dealer records your finances, objectives and risk tolerance and confirms which exemption you qualify under.
3. Read the OM, including risk factors, fees, redemption terms and audited financial statements.
4. Sign the subscription agreement and, where required, the risk acknowledgement form.
5. Open a registered account if needed. For a registered plan, a self-directed trustee holds the shares; Lendmax Capital MIC uses Olympia Trust Company or Western Pacific Trust Company. Section 207.01 of the Income Tax Act contains prohibited-investment rules that can apply where a plan holder has a significant interest in the MIC; see holding mortgage investments in an RRSP, TFSA or RRIF.
6. Fund the subscription and keep the confirmation.

The full process is in how to invest in mortgages step by step, and newcomers may want a beginner’s guide to mortgage investing in Canada first.

Where to find the real numbers

• Minimum subscription and minimum balance — offering memorandum.
• Exemption relied on and your limit — subscription agreement; dealer’s know-your-client form.
• Risk warnings you are acknowledging — risk acknowledgement form, where required.
• Account fees — the plan trustee’s fee schedule.
• Redemption notice periods and minimums — offering memorandum, redemption section.

Common mistakes

• Treating the minimum as a recommendation. It is the issuer’s administrative floor, not a judgement about your finances.
• Investing money needed within the notice period. Redemptions can be delayed beyond it.
• Forgetting other exempt purchases when counting against the 12-month OM limit.
• Assuming accredited status without applying the net-of-liabilities tests. Terms are defined in the glossary.

What this means for a mortgage investor

The minimum is the issuer’s number, the exemption limit is the regulator’s number, and neither is a measure of what an individual can afford to leave tied up. Check both in the current documents, then judge the amount by how long the money can stay invested and how concentrated it would be. Whatever the size of the cheque, the investment still varies along seven axes — the borrower, the property, the loan-to-value, the security position, the term, the jurisdiction and the investment structure — and a small investment deserves the same scrutiny on each.