Expense ratio

ETFs and bonds

The percentage a fund keeps each year for its costs.

How it is worked out

The yearly management and running costs divided by the fund's average assets. It is taken little by little from the fund's value.

How to read it

  • It never shows as a charge: the fund's return simply comes out that much lower.
  • Over many years, small differences in cost become noticeable differences in the outcome.

Example

A 0.10% expense ratio on $10,000: about $10 a year.

Related terms

Related pages

The other pages on US stocks, free to read. On the company pages, the last three fiscal years are open to everyone, five with a free account, and every year with Ploutos Investor.

US stocksThe market today, the sectors, the largest companies and the week's results.The market's sectorsThe 11 sectors side by side: returns, share of the market, median P/E and dividend.Compare stocksTwo companies side by side: price over up to ten years, with and without dividends, and every figure.US dividend stocksEach dividend's yield next to whether the company's cash covers it and whether it was ever cut.

Explanations of terms for learning, with examples from SEC filings.