A Canadian investor who likes Brookfield can buy Brookfield Corporation, Brookfield Asset Management, Brookfield Infrastructure, Brookfield Renewable or Brookfield Business Corporation. On a brokerage screen that looks like a choice between five companies.

It isn’t.

It’s a choice about where you want to sit inside one capital-allocation system, and who gets paid first.

Here’s the short version. Brookfield Corporation (BN) owns about 74% of Brookfield Asset Management (BAM), the manager. BAM collects fees for running capital, including capital invested through Brookfield’s listed vehicles. Brookfield Infrastructure (BIP), Brookfield Renewable (BEP) and Brookfield Business Corporation (BBUC) own operating assets and carry much more of the financing, construction and operating risk.

A Canadian can buy a Bitcoin ETF that costs about 0.33% a year, or one that costs more than 1.5%. Either way, the investor ends up with exposure to the same Bitcoin. On CAD 100,000, that is roughly CAD 330 a year versus CAD 1,540 a year, before any compounding.

So what is the more expensive fund doing for the extra money?

The answer is more nuanced than “buy the cheapest one.” The annual fee recurs, but bid-ask spreads are paid when you trade. Custody structures differ. In a taxable account, some of these funds have paid out large capital-gains distributions. And Canadians are not limited to Canadian-listed funds, even inside an RRSP or TFSA.

This article assumes you have already decided you want Bitcoin through an ETF. It does not argue for or against owning Bitcoin. Figures are dated throughout because they come from different measurement periods and are not simultaneous quotes.