Wall Street’s hidden fees are crippling your investment returns …and you’ll never see them on a statement.

I’m talking about the “expense ratio” of your funds.  This is a hidden fee within your investment.

Loading clients up with high-fee funds is a sneaky way some companies extract more money without you being able to directly see it on a statement.  This is a common practice at the “big box” firms.  If your advisor at XYZ Investments has you in a portfolio full of XYZ funds… Your Spidey sense should start tingling!

“Are they really working in my best interest?”

Here’s how to audit your portfolio fees:

Google the 3-5 letter ticker symbol for each fund and see what comes up for expense ratio.

For example if you look up the fund NEWFX, it has an expense ratio of almost 1% which is HIGH. 

     – If the fund gains 10% in a year, you get 9%.
     – If the fund loses 10% in a year, you lose 11%.

Best practice is to keep expense ratios below 0.3%.  (Most that I invest in are at or below .08% and there are even some very well performing index funds that have a 0% expense ratio.)

BUT WAIT – THERE’S MORE!

That fund steps up to a HORRIBLE rating because it also comes with a 5.75% front load.  What’s that mean?

If you put in $100, only $94.25 actually gets invested.

You lose 5.75% right off the bat as a sales charge.

And then the ongoing expense ratio kicks in.

Crazy, right?

As John Bogle (Founder of Vanguard) said, “Fund performance comes and goes. Costs go on forever.”  Cost is one aspect of investing you can control.

How much are you losing to hidden fees every year?

In the early 1900s, Charles Schwab was running a steelmaking company called Bethlehem Steel. His company provided materials for buildings, bridges, rail, ships, and tanks. 

Thomas Edison once famously referred to Schwab as the “master hustler.” Schwab was constantly pushing towards progress. 

As the story goes, sometime near World War 1, Schwab was frustrated by his team’s lack of productivity and went on a quest to increase output for himself and his staff. 

He came across a recommendation from a consultant named Ivy Lee. Schwab said this was one of the most valuable pieces of advice he had ever heard.

Here’s what it was:

1. Before finishing work each day, write down 6 of the most important tasks to accomplish the next day
2. Prioritize them in order of true importance
3. When you start the next day, focus only on task #1
4. Only move on to task #2 when task #1 is complete
5. Repeat this process as you complete each task
6. Repeat this daily

After putting into action this simple advice, Schwab wrote Ivy Lee a check for $25,000 (worth hundreds of thousands in today’s dollars.) 

Simple advice and methods are often the most impactful because they stick. 

This method forces you to decide what’s truly important.

It gives you the clarity to tackle the most important task and be clear on what to do next.

It helps you not get in your own way and stay focused on what actually matters. 

In the end doing the thing is the best way to do the thing. 

The hardest part is just making sure the most important thing is what you actually do next.

Time to put on my techie hat and modernize this. I will recommend you use the Microsoft To-Do app that helps you accomplish the advice Ivy gave to Charles on a daily basis.  I use this app daily to handle all of my tasks (Even keep my Grocery Shopping list within this App!).  You can get it for free here:  https://www.microsoft.com/en-US/microsoft-365/microsoft-to-do-list-app  There is a Web, PC, and Mac version along with Android and iOS apps that all keep in sync via the cloud.

“O Captain! My Captain!” is a famous poem written by Walt Whitman as an elegy to honor the assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. The poem is a poignant expression of grief and admiration for the fallen leader. Its powerful and emotional words have resonated with readers for generations.

The poem transcends a simple eulogy for Lincoln. It reflects on the human cost of war and the burden of leadership. Even in victory, there is a heavy price to pay. The speaker’s grief, despite the surrounding joy, highlights the loss of a leader who guided the nation through its darkest hour.

While written about a specific event, the poem resonates today:

• Loss after Victory: It captures the bittersweet feeling of achieving a goal but losing someone crucial in the process. This could apply to any situation where success comes with sacrifice.
• Leadership and Cost: It highlights the burden of leadership. Big victories often require tough decisions, and leaders may face criticism or even violence.

The poem reminds us to celebrate achievements while acknowledging the sacrifices made. It also serves as a tribute to those who lead us through difficult times. (And is also part of a great scene in the movie Dead Poets Society where Robin Williams intellect and compassion is honored by his students)

O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills,
For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head!
It is some dream that on the deck,
You’ve fallen cold and dead.
My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will,
The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done,
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;
Exult O shores, and ring O bells!
But I with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

You Matter!