The total expense ratio (TER) of an ETF is a measure that sums up the management fee of the ETF plus all other expenses paid by the ETF. Therefore, an analysis of the Total Expense Ratios is more meaningful than a quick comparison of management fees. Even though the TER is a competitive measure, it has some flaws since there are costs which are not covered within the TER. In addition, there are costs for buying, selling, and holding an ETF. All the missing costs are displayed in the total costs of ownership (TCO). Since some of these costs depend

Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferable Securities (UCITS) is a well-known brand for mutual funds and ETFs, and investors all over the world appreciate the regulation scheme. Investors from inside and outside the E.U. expect that all funds under the UCITS regulation are treated the same. But are all UCITS funds really treated equally? Obviously not, since the UCITS regulation was created to leave room for the needs of local markets in the E.U. The UCITS regulation creates a minimum standard, and local regulators can extend this basis with stricter rules or adopt local rules if they don’t interfere with

Fees and expenses in the mutual funds industry are a hot topic for investors and market observers around the world. In some cases discussions are going so far that one could get the impression that fees and expenses are the only criteria an investor should use when selecting a mutual fund or ETF. These discussions have recently been fueled by media coverage of the launches of some low-cost funds by large asset management groups. Fees and expenses, especially for actively managed funds, have been under scrutiny for a while, since a large number of actively managed funds have not beaten