Do Your Homework To Understand Mutual Funds and Their Fees

The Supreme Court finally examined the problem with mutual funds with regards to their fees. The result – not much protection for the average retirement investor. The Court decided to rule against further legislation and to keep the onus of fee due diligence on investors. You can imagine that the $11 trillion mutual fund industry that collects a whopping $90 billion in annual fees rejoiced. To read more about this, read Reuters’ article Supreme Court hands victory to mutual fund industry.

So when it comes to investing in any type of fund, be it index mutual funds, exchange traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds, investors need to be their own advocate. Do your homework to understand your true costs as no two funds are exactly alike. ‘Americans save trillions of dollars for college education and retirement by investing it with funds managed by industry and giants like the Vanguard Group and Fidelity Investments.’

If you are new to the game, beginners should brush up on Investing 101 basics. There are a lot of choices. Make the smartest choice for YOU. Just remember, time is your friend. Money spent on fees today, compounded over time, is money that could be sitting in your retirement account. Do your homework, you will thank yourself later!