Mutual funds may be OK for you ... but they're darn expensive. So, if you have the slightest inclination to "do it yourself" -- and make more money -- you should probably read this.
I just want what's coming to me!
With the possible exception of local property taxes, nothing I've encountered picks our pockets more efficiently than the U.S. mutual fund industry. And yes, that includes the IRS.
How so? Well, Uncle Sam takes a piece of every penny we earn, and that's bad. But our mutual fund managers aren't content with a cut of what our money earns each year (we'll assume they actually make us money, unlike this year).
No, your fund manager wants more -- much more. When I tell you how much more, you may be angry. So I'll warm you up with a quick example.
Woohoo! My manager's a genius!
The year is 1990. The economy is stagnant, Saddam Hussein is rattling his saber, and President Bush assures us "this will not stand." You just dumped $10,000 into the greatest mutual fund in the history of the world.
That's because your fund manager doesn't buy the gloom and doom, and doesn't buy diversification. Your manager buys technology, rolling the dice on just three stocks: Microsoft
You hit paydirt! Now it's New Year's Day 2000, and just look at what's become of your $10,000 stake before expenses:
- Microsoft: $313,395
- Dell: $2,833,333
- Oracle: $155,611
You're sitting on $3.3 million, right? Wrong. Mutual funds have a price, and that price may be higher than you imagine.
Your $10,000 isn't worth $3.3 million!
You see, assuming your fund manager hits you up for a 2% fee (not cheap, but hardly unheard of), you would owe about $55,000. That seems fair enough. After all, he or she just made you $3.3 million. But there's a catch.
That $55,000 is for the last year alone. You've been paying out every year along the way. In fact, by New Year's Day 2000, you'd have paid that rascal about $130,000 in fees, and the lost profits on those fees have cost you a lot more -- another $600,000 or so. And that's over 10 short years!
That's about $730,000 -- a high price, but it gets worse. Imagine if you'd invested $20,000 instead of $10,000. You'd be paying twice as much. And what do you get for all that extra money -- for paying twice as much? Not a darn thing, as far as I can tell.
It gets worse
Now, what if it turns out that you're paying for nothing? I mean, let's face it; you're not going to find a miracle fund like the one I just described. Your fund manager isn't a genius. More likely, your manager's an Ivy League MBA wanting to keep his job and follow the herd -- or worse.
Don't believe me? Look no further than the list of widely held institutional stocks. I guarantee you'll find at least two of the three we just discussed, plus General Electric
Worse, even if your fund manager did stumble on a game-changer like Electronic Arts
And it gets worse ...
In any given year, the IRS can tax you only on what you earn. Your mutual fund managers take a cut of everything you have ... year after year after year.
Worse, your manager might not only fail to keep pace with the market in any given year (remember, most do), he might actually lose you money. Yet, even if you don't make a penny in year 11 of our previous example, you'll still have to hand over another few thousand dollars.
OK, even after all we just discussed, you may have no interest whatsoever in buying your own investments -- even with the help of someone you can trust. If so, mutual funds may be the only game in town. It definitely beats staying out of the market, but you can agree that it's a broken model.
Something better to consider
If you balk at buying a house in the Hamptons for somebody you don't even know, try Motley Fool Stock Advisor free for 30 days instead. David and Tom Gardner can't guarantee that they will always outperform the S&P 500, but they have over the past six-plus years. And that's their sworn mission, and something 75% of mutual fund managers do not do.
Best of all, as your portfolio grows, your costs won't. It won't set you back two grand a year to join the $100,000 club ... or $120,000 a year to be the $6 million man or woman. That should be your goal, after all -- and it isn't one you should approach with mixed feelings.
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This article was originally published on June 13, 2006. It has been updated.
Fool contributor Paul Elliott doesn't own any of the stocks mentioned. Electronic Arts is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendation. Dell, Intel, and Microsoft are Inside Value picks. The Fool owns shares of Intel as well as covered calls on Intel. You can see all of David and Tom's Stock Advisor picks instantly with your free trial. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy that prefers Assateague to the Hamptons.
