Free is the lowliest number: fund fees at the zero bound

Free is the lowliest number: fund fees at the zero bound
Even boutique classes of managed funds are cutting fees hard. (Image: Depositphotos)
David Chaplin
If price is the measure, new figures from global research house Morningstar confirm investment management has evolved from cottage industry to commodified production-line status over the first 20 years of this century.­­The regular annual Morningstar study found the average fee paid by US fund investors more than halved since 2000, falling from 0.93% to 0.41% at the end of last year.Cheap pays, too. Most US fund assets now pool in passive index strategies managed by a handful of firms, with Vanguard and BlackRock the notable beneficiari...

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