Fund fees head south

Average fee for U.S. mutual funds and ETFs declined by about 8% last year, Morningstar data show.
APR 27, 2018

The price of investing is falling at a record rate. The average asset-weighted fee paid on U.S. mutual funds and exchange-traded funds declined by about 8% last year, to 52 cents per $100 invested, according to a report from Morningstar Inc. The drop was the biggest in the research firm's data going back to 2000. The cheapest 20% of funds, a group dominated by passive products, attracted almost $1 trillion in fresh customer cash in 2017, while the rest of the industry suffered net outflows of about $250 billion, the report found. "The message investors are sending is crystal clear," Morningstar analyst Patricia Oey said in a statement. "Cost counts." (More: Morningstar: Fund fees continue to fall)

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