This is an interesting article that looks at the various pluses and minuses of different fee structures.
I often comment about the need for investors to reduce fees so their long-term returns can be significantly enhanced. All successful investors are ALWAYS cognizant of the fees that pay, as fees can easily erode what would be great performance.
My proclivity is to buy and hold individual securities which has even a lower fee structure than that discussed in the article. But, that slant requires more understanding of individual securities.
The article does provide a framework that investors should consider in evaluating investments should you not want to buy individual securities.
An interesting point is that funds are compared to benchmark, but individual portfolios managed by brokers are not subject to the same oversight. If individual's portfolios managed by brokers had their true returns calculated, the market for brokerage would be more efficient for the investors and they would be better informed. But, on the other hand, those investors would be more likely to "play musical chairs" with advisors!
