投资共同基金
如果你没有时间或专业知识管理自己的资金，那么你就可以选择共同基金，首先你需要了解它的成本：
1、 前期收费（预付费），资金的2%~8%（平均为4%~4.5%）。
2、 管理年费为资金的1%~2%。
3、 隐性收费高达2%每年。
4、 有些共同基金会有后期收费（取出资金的费用）。
股息收益
我们投资基金有以下两方面原因：获得股息收益和从价格增长中获利。价格增长可以带来股息的增加（详见巴菲特关于股息的论述）。所以我们可以说购买基金的唯一原因是股息收益和股息收益的增涨。
现在标普尔500股票的平均股息收益是2.0%（除去没有股息的基金，所有基金的平均股息收益是1.5%）。我们预期股息收益会随着通货膨胀以每年5.0%的速度增长（这与GDP的增幅一致）。那么未来十年内的收益率将是7.0%。我们将很难再次达到20世纪90年代互联网泡沫期18%的股息收益。
如果基金管理费每年高达2.0%，那么意味着基金管理公司拿走了你的全部投资收入。而1.0%的年费则表明他们很慷慨的只拿走您投资收益的一半。下面对比了20年后在是否有各种收费情况下您的总收入。
高收费意味着20年后的$100,000！在决定购买基金之前，要反复对比基金管理公司的收费水平，并记住：经纪人推荐的往往是那些收取佣金最高的基金---而不是给你带来高收益的。
无佣金基金（低收费）没有前期收费可以显著的降低你的支付费率。你或许会认为高佣金（高收费）的基金会带来更高的投资回报，但是结果恰恰相反。相对于高佣金的基金来说，无佣金的基金往往会表现得更好。
但是，为什么无佣金的基金数量在减少？因为大多数的投资者是通过经纪人或投资顾问购买共同基金。无佣金基金使得投资机构无法获得足够的资金来源，并且，只有很少一部分精明的投资者自己购买基金。
隐性收费
基金管理人或其关联公司的隐性收入包括承销费，安置费和佣金。
承办上市或配股的公司面临一个选择：它们可以发行远低于市场价格的基金，以确认该基金会被充分认购；或以接近于市场价发行基金（这不会危及现有股东利益），并支付银行或其他大型机构承销费。承销商会认购所有未被投资者认购的股票，承销费通常是2%（如果基金发行总金额为一亿，那么承销费用将是200万）。聘请承销商对股东有利，因为该费用低于发行低价股票的折扣价。
和很多图书出版商一样，承销商自己不承担任何风险。通过次级分销协议，承销商把风险下放给各种次级分销机构。而次级分销机构将会很容易的吸收该风险，因为它们控制着投资者的大量资金。如果这些次级分销机构把所占有的该股票卖出，那么很有可能该股票将会出现在你的投资组合中，由你承担风险。
如果投资银行或经纪人不承销该基金，那么安置费大体相似。安置费只充当股票发行者和机构投资者之间的中介作用。
基金经理通常所属于投资银行或机构的经纪业务部门，佣金并没有作为操作费用的一部分被披露。有一点你可以确认的是，这种情况下共同基金的佣金会更高：更多的隐性收费。
基金经理通常是由投资银行或机构也有经纪部门所拥有。经纪费用没有披露为共同基金的运营费用的一部分，他们是隐藏在公众视线。可以肯定，在这种情况下，该基金支付券商佣金的最高税率：更多隐藏费用。
表现最佳的基金
基金经理经常宣传他们最新的，表现最好的基金，不论是俄罗斯或阿富汗的石油或技术。并且有相当高的短期收益。这时请你问自己以下两个问题：
1、 他们3年或5年前就推出该基金了吗？
2、 如果不是，那么他们3或5年前推出的是什么？又有什么样的表现？
许多基金都有收益周期，现在看起来营利性非常高的或许在5年后将会带来非常低的收益。不要只买一时兴起的基金。
那些5年前推出的基金现在怎么样呢？他们或许在某人的柜子里积累灰尘或者被尘封在小册子里面——等待下一个周期。
诚信
与具有诚信的基金经理合作非常有必要:
•寻找利益冲突 – 远离那些有自己经纪部门、投资银行或管理对冲基金的基金经理;
•远离宣传短期收益的基金经理
•避免那些见好就收的基金经理。因为他们不追求长久盈利。
•远离那些收取过高前期费用和年费的基金经理。
Fund Managers
Investing in Mutual Funds
If you do not have the time or expertise to manage your own investments then mutual funds may be your only option, but just understand how much it is costing you:
• up-front (front-end) fees vary between 2% and 8% of your capital (averaging 4% to 4.5%);
• annual management fees (operating expenses) vary between 1% and 2% of capital;
• other hidden fees may amount to as much as another 2% per year;
• some funds may even have exit (back-end) fees as well.
Dividend Income
The reason that we invest in equities is two-fold: to receive dividend income and to benefit from price gains. Price gains are a result of expected increases in future dividends (see Warren Buffett v. Dividends); so we could say that the sole reason that we buy stocks is for dividends and future dividend growth.
Now the average dividend yield paid by a stock in the S&P 500 is 2.0% (excluding the +/- 120 stocks that did not pay a dividend -- the average over all stocks is 1.5%). And we can expect dividends to grow at roughly 5.0% per annum above the rate of inflation (in line with GDP growth). So our total return is likely to average around 7.0% over the next decade. We are unlikely to see a repeat of the heady 18% p.a. returns from the dot-com boom of the 1990's.
If a fund has a heavy 2.0% annual management fee, they are taking the entire income during the life of your investment! A 1% annual fee would mean that they are generous enough to leave half of the income from your investment. Compare what your investment capital will be after 20 years with and without fees:
No Fees Low Fees Full Fees
Front-end fees 0.0% 5.0%/2.5%*
Annual fees 1.0% 1.5%
Real annual return (net of fees) 7.0% 6.0% 5.5%
Future Value of $1000 per month invested for 20 years $520,000 $462,000 $413,000
Future Value of a $100,000 lump sum* invested for 20 years $387,000 $320,000 $284,000
Full fees amount to more than $100,000 over a 20 year period! Shop around carefully for the best deal and remember that brokers are going to recommend funds that pay the most commission -- not necessarily the ones that give you the best deal.
No-load funds (low fees) have no up-front fees and significantly lower expense ratios. You would think that high-load funds (full fees) would offer better investment returns but the opposite is often true. No-load funds frequently out-perform their high-load counterparts.
Why is the number of no-load funds shrinking?
Because most investors buy mutual funds through a broker/investment advisor. No-load funds do not pay commissions so they find it difficult to source sufficient funds. There aren't enough astute investors who buy their funds direct.
Hidden Fees
Fund managers or their associate companies also benefit from other hidden income such as underwriting fees, placement fees and commissions.
Underwriting Fees
Companies undertaking large listings or rights issues face a choice, they either:
• Issue new stock at a substantial discount to existing market price, to ensure that the issue is fully subscribed; or
• Issue new stock at close to the full market price (thereby not diluting existing shareholders interests) and pay a bank or other large financial institution to act as underwriter.
The underwriter undertakes to subscribe for any shares in the issue that are not taken up by investors. Underwriting fees are normally around 2% of the total share issue (e.g. for every $100 million raised the fees will be $2 million). It is often beneficial to existing stockholders to employ an underwriter: their fees are less than the discount that would otherwise have to be offered on the new stock.
The underwriter doesn't carry the entire risk him/herself, like any good bookmaker they lay it off, entering into sub-underwriting agreements with various institutions in return for a share of the fees. All of these institutions control large blocks of investors funds, so it is easy for them to absorb the risk. If they have to take up stock you can be sure that some will end up in your portfolio/managed fund. You carry the risk and they take the fees.
Placement fees are similar except that the investment bank or broker does not underwrite the issue. They merely act as an intermediary between the issuer and the institutional investors; in return for a fee.
Fund managers are often owned by investment banks or institutions that also have a brokerage arm. Brokerage costs are not disclosed as part of the operating expenses of mutual funds, they are hidden from public view. You can be sure, in that case, that the mutual fund pays brokerage commissions at the top rate: more hidden fees.
Top-performing Funds
Fund managers often promote their latest, best-performing fund; whether this be Russia, Afghanistan, Oil or Technology. And the returns look pretty impressive in the short term. Ask yourself two questions:
1. Were they promoting this fund 3 or 5 years ago?
2. If not, what funds were they promoting 3 or 5 years ago and how well have they performed since then?
A lot of funds perform in cycles and the ones that show the most attractive returns now may deliver the worst returns over the next 5 years. Don't always buy the flavor of the month.
And the funds that were being promoted 5 years ago? They are probably collecting dust at the back of someone's cupboard -- or on the back page of the brochure -- waiting for the next cycle.
Integrity
It makes sense to only deal with fund managers with integrity:
• look for conflicts of interest - avoid managers who have their own brokerage arm, investment bank or manage hedge funds;
• avoid fund managers who advertise short-term performance; and
• avoid fund managers who do not close off funds when they reach a reasonable size - those who don't are chasing fees, not performance; and
• avoid fund managers who charge excessive front-end or annual fees.
本文翻译由兄弟财经提供。
文章来源：http://www.incrediblecharts.com/economy/fund_managers.php