What does 1% in fees cost you?

Fees are the quiet portfolio killer. This tool projects two identical plans side by side — your fee vs a low-cost benchmark — so the dollar cost becomes visible.

Initial investment ($)

Monthly contribution ($)

Years

Gross annual return (%)

Your annual fee (%)

Low-cost benchmark fee (%)

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Your portfolio (fee: yours)

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Benchmark portfolio (fee: low)

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Total fee damage

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% of potential lost

How do fees compound?

A 1% annual fee eats 1% of the whole balance every single year — returns, losses and all. Over 30 years at 7% gross, a 1% fee converts a ~$1.07M portfolio into ~$800k. The difference is real money: often 20–30% of the total.

Why compare to a low-cost benchmark?

Index funds with expense ratios around 0.03–0.10% (e.g., broad-market ETFs) deliver nearly the same gross return at a fraction of the cost. This comparison makes the fee's price tag concrete.

What if my fee is front-loaded or transactional?

This models a recurring annual management fee, the most common structure (AUM-based). Add one-time purchase costs to the initial amount to approximate their impact.