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 Going Granular and Deep with Obligatory “Fund Facts”

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[By Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA CMP™]

An attractive investment and a polished sales pitch can often hide the underlying costs of the investment, leading some medical professionals to give up a significant portion of the long-term growth of their assets to fees. Fees absolutely matter.

In a good market investors have a propensity to ignore them and in challenging markets they are scrutinized, but in the end no matter what type of market we are in fees do make a substantial difference in your long-term investment returns.

Assessing the Worth of the Investment

The first step in assessing the worth of the investment under consideration is figuring out what the fees actually are.  If a medical professional is investing in a mutual fund, these costs are found in mutual fund company’s now obligatory “Fund Facts”.

This manuscript clearly outlines all the fees paid – including upfront fees (or commissions/loads), deferred sales charges, and any switching fees.  Fund management expense ratios are also part of the overall cost of ownership. Trading costs within the mutual fund can also impact performance.

The List of Fees Keep Coming … and Coming!

Here is a list of the traditional fees from investing in a mutual fund:

• Front end load: It is the commission charged to purchase the fund through a broker or financial advisor. The commission reduces the amount you have available to invest. Thus if you start with $100,000 to invest and the advisor charges a 5 percent front end load, you end up actually investing $95,000.
• Deferred Sales Charge (DSC) or back end load: Charge imposed if you sell your position in the mutual fund within a pre-specified period of time (normally five years). It is initiated at a higher start percentage (i.e. as high as 10 percent) and declines over a specific period of time.
• Operating Fees: These are costs charged by the mutual fund including the management fee rewarded to the manager for investment services. It also includes legal, custodial, auditing and marketing.
• Annual Administration Fee: Many mutual fund companies also charge an additional fee just for administering the account – usually under $150 per year. A 1 percent disparity in fees for a medical professional may not seem like a lot. But fees do make a considerable impact over a longer time period. [For example, a $100,000 portfolio that earns 8 percent before fees, grows to $320,714 after 20 years if the client pays a 2 percent operating fee. In comparison, if the investor opted for a fund that charges a more reasonable 1 percent fee, after 20 years, the portfolio grows to be $386,968 – a divergence of over $66,000! For many investors, this is the value of passive or index investing. In the case of an index fund, fees are generally under 0.5 percent, thus offering even more fee savings over an elongated period of time].

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[The Carousel of Fees]

Assessment

Fees and expenses can have significant impact on the performance of your investments. Always monitor the costs of an investment program to ensure that fees and expenses are reasonable for the services provided and are not consuming a disproportionate amount of the investment returns.

Conclusion

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Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Medical Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com

OUR OTHER PRINT BOOKS AND RELATED INFORMATION SOURCES:

• HOSPITALS: http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781466558731
• CLINICS: http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781439879900
• ADVISORS: www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org
• FINANCE: Financial Planning for Physicians and Advisors
• INSURANCE: Risk Management and Insurance Strategies for Physicians and Advisors
• Dictionary of Health Economics and Finance
• Dictionary of Health Information Technology and Security
• Dictionary of Health Insurance and Managed Care

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