Mutual Funds

Throughout my career, I have reviewed countless investment statements, and one line item continues to generate more confusion than almost any other: the load charge. It is not a management fee, nor is it an expense ratio. It is a sales commission, a one-time fee paid for the transaction of buying or selling a fund. […]

In my years of analyzing investment products, I have found that the expense ratio is the most reliable predictor of a fund’s future net performance. It is the constant, unwavering toll paid for market access, and its size varies dramatically depending on the asset class you choose to enter. To simply ask for an “average”

Introduction In my career analyzing countless investment products, I have observed a single, undeniable truth: costs matter. They are the one variable in the market’s equation that is guaranteed, predictable, and entirely within an investor’s control. When clients ask me where to start building a portfolio, my answer is always the same—with the cost structure.

In my practice, I treat expense ratios not as mere fees, but as a relentless gravitational force pulling against the compound growth of my clients’ portfolios. A difference of 0.50% may seem trivial on a statement, but over a lifetime of investing, it can dictate the difference between a comfortable retirement and a constrained one.

Introduction In my years of advising clients, I have witnessed too many moments of unpleasant surprise. An investor, contentedly tracking their mutual fund’s performance online, receives a year-end statement showing a hefty distribution. Their account value suddenly drops, and they receive a tax form demanding payment on income they never actually held in their hands.

In my career of analyzing investment performance, I have found that the most common question from investors is also the most dangerously simplistic: “What’s the average mutual fund return?” This question, particularly over a meaningful period like ten years, seeks a single number to describe a universe of thousands of funds with wildly different objectives,

In my years of analyzing investment performance, I have observed a persistent and dangerous fascination with average returns, particularly when broken down into monthly increments. A client will see a fund’s advertised “average annual return of 10%” and instinctively divide by twelve, picturing a steady deposit of 0.83% into their account each month. This mental

Introduction In my practice, I often see investors chase yield in the riskiest corners of the market, overlooking the humble, steady workhorse of the financial world: the money market mutual fund. When clients ask me about parking cash—whether it’s for an emergency fund, a near-term goal like a down payment, or simply a tactical pause

Introduction In my career, I have sat across from countless investors who pour over performance charts, agonize over asset allocation, and hunt for the next top-performing fund. Yet, almost universally, they overlook the one figure that is guaranteed to impact their returns year after year: the Management Expense Ratio, or MER. This number is not

In the world of equity investing, risk is often synonymous with volatility and the potential for loss. But in the fixed-income universe, risk has a more precise and measurable name: duration and maturity. When clients ask me to evaluate a bond fund, my first question is never about its yield. It is about its average