Hidden inside the prospectus for each mutual fund is
a chart showing management fees and other expenses.
If it turns out you're paying more than the average
for funds of the same kind, it could be hurting your
performance. But that chart in the prospectus does
not reveal all expenses, such as high transaction
costs if there's a lot of turnover in the fund. You
can check the overall cost of owning a particular
fund, including transaction costs, by going to
www.personalfund.com; or you can check each funds
official expense ratio against the category average,
by going to www.morningstar.com. High mutual fund
fees and hidden transaction costs have led groups
like www.funddemocracy.com to lobby for more
disclosure.