Size Really Does Matter

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Low-cost mutual funds can make a huge difference in your investments. Over time, even seemingly small annual costs and fees can eat up big chunks of your nest egg.

For instance, if you invest $50,000 in a fund that charges 1% per year and earns 8% annually, you'll pay almost $7,500 in fees over a 10-year period. Atop that, you'll also sacrifice more than $2,800 in lost returns on those fees. In contrast, a fund that charges just 0.15% costs less than $1,200 in fees and $400 in lost returns.

Cheap funds ahoy!
If you're shopping for lower fees from your funds, try these bargain opportunities:

• Index funds. Though some index funds are inexplicably costly, many are dirt cheap. The Vanguard Total Market ETF's (NYSE: VTI) expense ratio is a mere 0.07%, versus 1% or more for the typical stock mutual funds. With an annual turnover of 5%, a dividend yield recently around 2.6%, and top holdings that include Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), IBM (NYSE: IBM), and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), Vanguard's offering is a compelling consideration.
• No-load funds. With so many terrific no-load funds available, why voluntarily sign up for a load fund, and pay what is essentially a one-time sales fee of as much as 8.5% every time you buy shares? (In fairness, a handful of load funds may still be worth your investment -- especially if those loads are on the low side. And many no-load funds can be stinkers, levying plenty of other excessive fees on shareholders. )
• Big funds. Many funds charge less as they get bigger. That's because there are economies of scale to managing money -- that is, if you have twice as much money to invest, it won't cost you twice as much to manage it. On the other hand, larger funds often have a harder time earning extraordinary returns. Going too far to reduce your costs here can backfire on you.
• Big purchases. You may be able to score cheaper fees by investing large amounts all at once, especially in a load fund.

The trouble with turnover
Fees aren't a fund's only performance-killers. A mutual fund's turnover rate reflects how much buying and selling it does. The more it trades, the costlier a fund is to shareholders, who ultimately pay the commissions -- and the taxes -- on all its trading.

You'll often see stock funds sport turnover ratios of 100% or more, but many great funds carry far lower turnover. Index funds, of course, will have drastically low turnover, since their holdings simply reflect the rarely changing contents of a given index. Large funds also tend to have lower turnover, since they're less nimble than their smaller counterparts.

In our Motley Fool Champion Funds newsletter service, editor/analyst Amanda Kish favors funds that boast low fees and scant turnover. One of her recent recommendations had a turnover ratio of just 18%, and an expense ratio of 1.04%. With investments in Denbury Resources (NYSE: DNR), Southwestern Energy (NYSE: SWN), and Micros Systems (Nasdaq: MCRS), this fund has great potential in today's market.

Keep your money to yourself
Need help unearthing above-average funds? A trustworthy mutual fund recommendation service can help -- and hey, we not-quite-impartially just happen to have one for you! Try Motley Fool Champion Funds free for 30 days to see all of Amanda's recommended funds -- and why she made each call. She also maintains three easy-to-follow model portfolios, listing appropriate funds for conservative, moderate, and aggressive investors.

A free trial subscription will also give you:

• Full access to all past issues, so you can read about each recommendation in detail.
• Access to special reports.
• The ability to read and participate on the service's private discussion boards, where you can interact with Amanda and other mutual fund fans.

For more on mutual funds, read about:

• Don't Buy These Top-Performing Investments
• Why the Market May Not Have Hit Bottom Yet
• What Wealthy Investors Are Doing Now