Your Paying Too Much if…

Mutual funds are not necessarily known for their low fees, especially in Canada. In fact, as I wrote about in an earlier post, Canada holds the distinction of having some of the highest mutual fund fees in the world. There is an interesting blog out there by Tom Bradley, who is the former President and CEO of Phillips, Hager & North Investment Management, a Canadian mutual fund company. I think he raises some interesting points in one of his articles that can help an investor think about fees. He specifically responds to the question of when is it too much by responding to the phrase,

Your Paying Too Much if…

…you don’t need advice

…you need help, but aren’t getting it

…you’re a steady, disciplined investor who is sticking to a long-term strategy (i.e. not making changes all the time)

…you’re a large investor

Take a read through his article as he expands on each of these. The key take away is that at the end of the day, most people are being charged way too much by the fund companies and those of you who fall into any of the scenarios outlined above are really getting hosed. Don’t believe the marketing hype.