Fund Investors are Watching Expenses

In his Wall Street Journal column (subscribers only) today, Jonathan Clements comments on a 2006 survey conducted for the Investment Company Institute.

• Over the past decade, 90% of new stock-fund money has been invested in funds with below-average expenses.

• 74% of recent fund buyers considered fees and expenses, while 69% looked at performance, 61% at risk and 25% at the manager.

Total annual costs for stock funds, including sales loads, dropped to 1.07% of assets in 2006 from 2.32% in 1980.