A MIC, or mortgage investment corporation, is a lending company that takes investor funds and lends them out on mortgages.
MICs mostly serve non-prime residential customers, but many finance commercial projects and also prime borrowers with a need for fast flexible financing.
MICs are a fixed-income investment that provides investors with diversification (since funds are generally invested in a large pool of different mortgages). They typically pay quarterly distributions to shareholders and have an above-average yield.
Large MICs, like Antrim Investments, can have over 1,000 residential mortgages under management and hundreds of millions in assets under management.
MIC shares are qualified investments under the Income Tax Act (Canada) for RDSPs, RRSPs, RRIFs, TFSAs, or RESPs. MICs must have at least 20 shareholders, and at least half of their assets must be residential mortgages and/or CDIC-insured cash/deposits.
MICs are generally provincially registered and licensed, with the management of the mortgage fund under the direction of provincially licensed mortgage brokers.