Sense on Cents

A few weeks back, I chastised a local financial commentator, Julie Jason, for her condescending demeanor toward Madoff investors. This week, I am happy to praise Ms. Jason for her intuitive nature and exploratory work on mutual fund fees and expenses.

All too often we hear asset managers touting their performance and investment expertise. I have hardly ever heard an asset manager addressing the fees and expenses charged for their so-called management expertise. To this end, I tip my hat to Julie Jason for highlighting this critically important topic in writing, Helping Figure Out the Fees:

You may have heard that mutual fund 12b-1 fees, part of the operating expenses of a fund, will be eliminated, which would imply that mutual fund shareholders could benefit from lower costs. Lower costs should mean higher performance.

Don’t be so hasty! Wall Street does not merely allow fees to walk out the door. (more…)