If you do not know what a MER (Management Expense Ratio) is you’re not alone. The fact is that few investors are aware that every Mutual Fund Company charge management fees and expenses for each fund that it manages. Do you know how much these fees affect your returns? These management fees and expenses range anywhere between .5% and 4% of the net assets under management. These fees and expenses are not billed directly to the investor, but rather deducted annually from the total sum of all the capital invested in the mutual fund, whether the fund has a positive or negative annual return. As such, these fund expenses decrease the ultimate returns to the investors. The Management Expense Ratios (MER) represents the total of all management fees and other expenses charged to a fund, expressed as a percentage of the funds total assets. The mutual fund industry has many funds to select from, all of which have different MER`s. Do you Know How Much Your Funds are Charging? My clients do and you should too. Call today for a complimentary complete investment portfolio evaluation.

Impact of MERs on Clients' portfolios

Let's take the following example of a client who invests $100,000 and achieves a gross annualized rate of return of 12% (before MERS) over a 10 year period.