When Jack Bogle started the Vanguard Index Fund, he essentially changed the investment management game forever. He found a way to reduce the fee’s they charged investors, which in turn, brought Vanguard more investment money than they could have ever imagined.
If the move to lower investment fees was the first landed punch in the fight against mutual funds, the rise of the Exchange Traded Fund is the nuclear bomb in the fight against mutual funds. And well to most market participants, the reason is clear, ETFs are way cheaper and easier for all parties involved.
But, why do lower fees matter? Yes, and the math, while perhaps not simple is straight forward. The idea is that if you invest the same amount each year, we will say $10,000, and in one scenario you pay 0.1% in fee’s and commissions and another you pay 1.5% in fees and commissions. Over 30 or 40 years of investing, the difference of 0.1% and 1.5% will add up because of compounding interest. How much of a difference, well that all depends on your annual return rate, how long you stay invested and how much you are investing, but it could add up to not thousands of dollars, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, but millions of dollars.
Some quick back of the napkin math looks like this, just to prove my point. A 0.1% fee on $10,000 during one year is just $10. Now a 1.5% fee on $10,000 during one year is $150. Let’s say your account never grows higher than $10,000 over 10 years, (I know very unrealistic, but follow along.) If your fee’s where 0.1% you would pay $100 in fees throughout those 10 years, ($10 a year time 10 years). Now let’s say your fees where 1.5% on your $10,000 for 10 years, (and again it never changed from $10,000) you would pay $1,500 in fees over the 10 years. $100 in fees or $1,500 in fee’s, which would you rather pay? And again, that’s just on a $10,000 investment, imagine if you have $100,000, $500,000, $1 million or more invested. Continue reading "ETFs Will End The Use Of Mutual Funds"
