Investors Conquered Fees. Next Up Is Their Own Behavior.
They led a revolution to slash costs. Now they have to face the ones they impose on themselves.
Investors need to face their financial demons.
Photographer: Modesto Bee/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Investors have beaten the money managers. Their next adversary will be even more difficult: themselves.
It’s impossible to overstate the magnitude of the changes that have swept through the investment industry over the last decade. Until recently, investors looking to grow their money encountered high fees everywhere, from brokerage commissions to fund and advisory fees. The combined tolls routinely amounted to more than 2% of their savings every year and much more in some cases. There were few avenues of escape despite mounting evidence that higher fees lead to lower returns, the industry’s emphatic denials notwithstanding.