All Answers for: Mutual Funds, Fees 
                  What is redemption fee on a mutual fund?

                  Many mutual funds charge a redemption fee when you sell your 
                  shares in the fund. The fees help to cover expenses involved 
                  in executing the sale and processing the paper work. 
                  Redemption fees also discourage investors from constantly 
                  moving in and out of the fund. This makes managing the fund 
                  easier and also helps reduce operating expenses. 

                  What are no-load funds? 

                  A no-load fund is a mutual fund that does not charge a sales 
                  fee, commonly called a "load." Shares in most no-load mutual 
                  funds are sold directly by the fund through advertising. Money 
                  market mutual funds, even those sold by banks and 
                  stockbrokers, are virtually all no-load. Over the years, 
                  no-load funds have generally outperformed load funds, largely 
                  due to the lack of a sales commission.

                  What is a load fund? 

                  A load fund is a mutual fund whose shares are sold by 
                  stockbrokers, financial planners and some types of financial 
                  institutions for a commission. The professional or institution 
                  that sells the funds charges a commission, or "load," every 
                  time you buy new shares. For example, if you invest $10,000 
                  but the broker charges an 8% load, only $9,200 of your money 
                  will actually be used to buy shares in the fund. Paying a load 
                  wouldn't be so bad if there was any evidence that load funds 
                  have outperformed no-load funds, which charge no commissions. 
                  However, no such evidence exists. If you don't need a 
                  professional's help in selecting a fund, choose a no-load fund 
                  and save the commission.

                  What is a contingent deferred sales load on a mutual fund?

                  A contingent deferred sales load is basically an "exit fee" 
                  that some mutual funds charge to customers who sell their 
                  shares within five or six years of making their investment. 
                  It's a little misleading for the company to call itself a 
                  "no-load fund" because you'll have to pay a load if you sell 
                  early. Contingent deferred sales charges can be hefty, so 
                  don't invest in the fund unless you plan on leaving the money 
                  there for several years. It's not unusual for the funds to 
                  levy a 6% charge if you pull out the money in the first year, 
                  a 5% penalty if you leave in the second year, and so on. Even 
                  worse, some funds base their contingent fees on the amount you 
                  have in the account when you actually make a withdrawal rather 
                  than on the amount you originally invest. So, if you invested 
                  $10,000 and closed the account after it had reached $15,000, 
                  the effective rate of the penalty could be much higher than 5% 
                  or 6% when applied to the higher ending balance.

                  What kinds of fees are associated with mutual funds?

                  Here's a rundown of the typical fees according to "The Wall 
                  Street Journal Guide to Understanding Money & Investing": 
                  Management fees are annual charges to administer the fund. All 
                  funds charge this fee, though the amount varies from a 
                  fraction of 1% to more than 2%. Distribution fees (known as 
                  12b-1 fees) cover marketing and advertising expenses, and 
                  sometimes are used to pay bonuses to employees. About half of 
                  all funds charge them. Redemption fees are sometimes assessed 
                  when shares are sold to discourage frequent in-and-out 
                  trading. In contrast, a deferred sales load, a kind of exit 
                  fee, often applies only during a specific period -- say the 
                  first five years -- and then disappears. Reinvestment fees are 
                  similar to loads; they're charged when distributions are 
                  reinvested in a fund. Exchange fees can apply when money is 
                  shifted from one fund to another within the same mutual fund 
                  company. The total fees charged by mutual funds can be as low 
                  as 0.1% of assets to as much as 8.5%, counting loads. No-load 
                  bond mutual funds tend to charge the lowest fees. 
                  International equity funds tend to charge the most.

                  What are 12b-1 fees on a mutual fund?

                  It's getting harder and harder for investors to tell the 
                  difference between "load" and "no-load" mutual funds, in part 
                  because so many funds that claim to charge no "sales 
                  commission" are hitting their investors with a variety of 
                  fees. One of the most common, levied by load and no-load funds 
                  alike, are 12b-1 fees. The money raised from 12b-1 fees is 
                  used to pay a fund's marketing expenses, such as advertising 
                  and the cost of operating a toll-free telephone number. The 
                  charges can easily gobble up more than 1% of a fund's assets 
                  every year, which will lower its investors' overall return.