Equity Mutual Funds Rake In $77 Billion in Fees

According to the Investment Company Institute the value of equity mutual funds in February 2006 was 5.197 trillion dollars. Given an average annual expense ratio of 1.49 percent per year, these funds will charge investors about 77.5 billion dollars in fees.

How much is 77.5 billion dollars? One billion dollars is one thousand piles of one million dollars each. Or it's one million piles of one thousand dollars.

Is there any other service industry that charges this amount of "tax" just to do business with them?

Posted April 18, 2006.