Morningstar Releases 2022 U.S. Fund Fee Study

In August, Morningstar released the 2022 U.S. Fund Fee Study which highlights that fund fees in the United States are generally falling due to investor demand and competition among asset managers. The study notes that “[b]etween 2002 and 2022, the asset-weighted average fee fell to 0.37% from 0.91%,” falling by more than half over two decades. The report estimates “investors saved nearly $9.8 billion in fund expenses last year.” Additionally, the report highlights that at the end-of-year 2022, “83% of all assets were invested in open-end mutual funds and ETFs that had fees that ranked among the least-expensive 40% of their respective Morningstar Category groups…Meanwhile, just 6% of investors' money was in the most-expensive 40% of funds.” The study found shareholders of sustainable funds pay a “greenium” as compared to shareholders of more conventional funds. The report notes that this “is evidenced by these funds’ higher asset-weighted average expense ratio, which stood at 0.50% at the end of 2022 versus 0.37% for their traditional peers.”

Click here to review Morningstar’s 2022 U.S. Fund Fee Study.