An informed investor knows where his money is going. For an investor in mutual funds, it is essential to understand the expenses of mutual funds. These expenses directly influence the returns and cannot be neglected. The expenses of mutual funds are met from the capital invested in them. The ratio of the expenses associated with the operation of the mutual fund to the total assets of the fund is known as the "expense ratio." It can vary from as low as 0.25% to 1.5%. In some actively managed funds it may be even 2%. The expense ratio is dependant on one more ratio - "the turnover ratio".
"The turnover rate" or the turnover ratio of a fund is the percentage of the fund's portfolio that changes annually. A fund that buys and sells stocks more frequently obviously has higher expenses and thus a higher expense ratio.
The mutual fund expenses have three components:
The Investment Advisory Fee or The Management Fee: This is the money that goes to pay the salaries of the fund managers and other employees of the mutual funds.
Administrative Costs Administrative costs are the costs associated with the daily activities of the fund. These include stationery costs, costs of maintaining customer help lines and so on.
12b-1 Distribution Fee: The 12b-1 fee is the cost associated with the advertising, marketing and distribution of the mutual fund. This fee is just an additional cost which brings no actual benefit to the investor. It is advisable that an investor avoids funds with high 12b-1 fees.
The law in US puts a limit of 1% of assets as the limit for 12b-1 fees. Also not more than 0.25% of the assets can be paid to brokers as 12b-1 fees.
It is important for the investor to watch the expense ratio of the funds that he has invested in. The expense ratio indicates the amount of money that the fund withdraws from the funds assets every year to meet its expenses. More the expenses of the fund, lower will be the returns to the investor.
However it is also essential to keep the performance of the funds in mind too. A fund may have higher expense ratio, but a better performance can more than compensate higher expenses. For example, a fund having expense ratio 2% and giving 15% returns is better than a fund having 0.5% expense ratio and giving 5% return.
Investors should note: It is not sensible to compare returns of funds in different risk classes. Returns of different classes of funds are dependant on the risks that the fund takes to achieve those returns. An equity fund always carries a greater risk than a debt fund. Similarly an index fund that invests only in relatively stable and thus less risky index stocks, cannot be compared with a fund that invests in small companies whose stocks are volatile and carry greater risk.
Avoiding funds with high expense ratio is a good idea for the new investor. The past performance of a fund may or may not be repeated, but expenses usually do not vary much and will certainly reduce returns in future too.
As a novice investor, if you think you can do better than investing in mutual funds, guess again? Mutual funds will certainly not make you the wealthiest, however, it will give great returns over the long term while providing significant security on your investment. More importantly, as you learn what a mutual fund is, you will begin to earn greater returns as you diversify your investment portfolio.
Increasing In Popularity
Novice investors are having a hard time investing in the stock market, hence the reason mutual funds investments are increasing in popularity. Investors want to know for themselves what a mutual fund is. Simply, because it maximizes returns and minimizing risk. Today, most investors who know just about anything about investing have made investments in mutual funds because it is easy and you really do not need to be an expert on what is a mutual fund to invest your money wisely.
In learning what a mutual fund is, you will discover it has four advantages. They allow you to professional manage you money, they provide liquidity, they minimize risk through diversification, and the fees for investing are low.
When you start learning about mutual funds you will realize that professional fund managers manage the funds. Their objectives are to keep investing your money to yield the greatest return. What's more, you will realize that paying for such professional expert is expensive and you are getting the advise at very low fees. More importantly, mutual funds will offer you liquidity. You will be able to sell and buy anytime you want, as long as the stock market is open. That, is could you imagine selling a peace of real estate? How liquid is that?
When you learn more about what a mutual fund is, you will understand the level of diversification it provides. Mutual funds are diversified because they are invested in hundreds of stocks, money markets, and bonds. As you can well imagine, how could one investor achieve this level of diversification on his or her own? Its impossible, hence the reason mutual funds are a great vehicle to invest in. In addition, because mutual funds get the advantage of large scale investments, their fees are low and range between two and three percent.
Both Sachin Asher & John Caldwell are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.