Webinar Archive: Marking Two Decades of Falling Fund Fees: Key Takeaways From Morningstar’s Annual Fund Fee Study

The average expense ratio paid by fund investors is half of what it was two decades ago. Between 1999 and 2019, the asset-weighted average fee fell to 0.45% from 0.87%. Investors have saved billions as a result.

There are several factors that have driven fees lower. Investors are increasingly aware of the importance of minimizing investment costs, which has led them to favor lower-cost funds. Intensifying competition among asset managers has resulted in many cutting fees to vie for market share. Changes in the economics of advice have also played a role. The move toward fee-based models of charging for financial advice has been a key driver of the shift toward lower-cost funds, share classes, and fund types—most notably exchange-traded funds.

Morningstar’s Ben Johnson and Gabrielle DiBenedetto shared the key findings from Morningstar’s latest research on trends in fund fees.

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