Mutual Fund Fees

According to The Wall Street Journal (December 2011), Over 10 years, an investor with $200,000 already invested in mutual funds and adding another $20,000 a year, could end up with an extra $48,000 if he could save one percentage point in yearly fees. A study done by IndexUniverse for the WSJ looked at returns of five well-known U.S. stock funds (Dodge & Cox Stock, Windsor, ICA, Fundamental Investors and GFA)) showed that their active management was explained entirely by three factors—beta, size and style (traits that can easily be duplicated by an ETF). For example, the Dodge & Cox Stock mutual fund can be mimicked by an investment in the iShares Russell 3000 Value Index ETF (reducing the expense ratio down from 0.50% to 0.25%).