Generally I agree with you. However I can provide a personal counter-example. I am a student with a modest sum saved away (with great help from my parents) in an index tracking mutual fund. Due to the way my bank offers investment packages, I am far below the minimum portfolio balance required for significantly less fees. However, I can have a mutual fund in a different type of account offering which is essentially the same as an identical ETF.

This is (Canadian) RBC - Direct Investing.

In addition this particular fund also significantly outperformed other ETFs during 2008-09.