Investment Fee Analyzer

Understanding the Investment Fee Analyzer

Investment fees, while often small in percentage terms, can have a surprisingly large impact on your portfolio's growth over the long term due to the power of compounding. This calculator is designed to make that impact tangible, showing you exactly how much of your potential earnings can be consumed by fees.

How It Works

The tool projects your investment growth under two scenarios: one with no fees, and one with the fee percentage you provide. It then calculates the difference to reveal the total cost of fees.

• Investment Details: You provide your initial investment, monthly contributions, and the number of years you plan to invest.
• Annual Return: The expected gross annual return of your investment portfolio before fees are considered.
• Annual Fees (%): This represents the total annual fees, including fund expense ratios, advisory fees, or any other recurring charges.

The Hidden Cost of Fees

The calculation demonstrates a crucial concept: fees don't just subtract from your portfolio; they also eliminate all the future growth that the lost money would have generated. For example, a 1% fee on a $100,000 portfolio costs you $1,000 in the first year. But it also costs you the 7% or 8% that $1,000 could have earned in the following year, and the year after that, and so on. Over decades, this "opportunity cost" adds up to a substantial sum, which this calculator clearly illustrates as the "amount lost to fees."

Frequently Asked Questions