In this video from The Motley Fool's "Ask a Fool" series, Fool analyst Matt Argersinger takes a question from a Fool reader who asks, "How can I understand the effect of maximum sales charges and expense ratios when determining which mutual fund is best? I tend to get seduced by the 1-, 3-, and 5-year total return percentages, and 'forget' that these funds also COST something to be in."
How large of an impact do your mutual fund's fees and expense ratio have on your long-term returns?
About the Author
Matt is the Lead Investor on Dividend Investor, Real Estate Winners, and Mogul. He joined The Motley Fool in 2008 and has spent most of his Foolish career as an analyst or portfolio manager on a number of the Fool's investing services, including Stock Advisor, Rule Breakers, and Supernova. Matt has published hundreds of investing articles that have been featured on Fool.com, AOL and MSN Money, made appearances on CNBC and CNBC Asia, and is a regular on the Motley Fool Money podcast and its weekly nationally syndicated radio show. He and his wife, Jean, own and manage several income properties in Washington, DC. Matt is a graduate of Brandeis University.