Investment Fees and Charges Comparison

Who this is for

Put every charge of up to four investment options side by side. Entry, yearly and platform charges in percentages, flat and dealing fees in money and the cost of leaving are applied to the amount you plan to invest, giving each option's cost in the first year and over the years you choose.

Anyone choosing between investment funds, pension plans, platforms or other investment products, or checking whether one they already hold costs more than an alternative.

What this helps you track

• Every charge for each option on one line, as the provider states it
• Percentage charges turned into money on your own amount
• Flat account fees and dealing fees for the trades you expect
• The first-year cost of each option
• The total cost over the number of years you choose

How to use it

1. Write the amount you plan to invest, the trades you expect to make in a year and the number of years to compare; all three are your own figures.
2. Ask each provider for a written list of every charge and copy each into its column: percentages as percentages, fees in money.
3. Leave a column blank where an option has no such charge, and note anything that does not fit, such as a performance fee.
4. Year one and Over years are worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, take each percentage of your amount and add the fees.
5. Go through the questions below with each provider before you decide.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Why does the cost over the years ignore growth?

Percentage charges rise and fall with the value, and future growth is not known, so the sheet applies them to the amount you enter. That keeps the comparison like for like; the real cost will differ once values change.

Which charge goes in which column?

Entry is any initial or allocation charge, Annual the management charge plus the fund's ongoing charge, Platform any percentage account fee. Flat fee is a yearly fee in money, Per trade the dealing fee and Exit the cost of leaving.

What is a fund's ongoing charge?

The yearly cost of running a fund, taken from inside the fund rather than billed to you. It is shown in the fund's key information document, and because you never see it deducted it is easy to leave out of a comparison.

Does the cheapest option win?

Not on its own. Cost is one part of the choice alongside what the investment holds, its risk and how and when you can get your money out. The sheet compares charges only and is not advice on which option to choose.