Net return not calculated
Investment fee-drag calculator
Compare two annual fee levels while holding the portfolio, contributions, gross return, and time horizon constant. The result translates a percentage difference into projected dollars and lost compounding.
Compare investment fees with equal assumptions
This comparison is meaningful only when the services and investment exposures are genuinely comparable.
Projected ending-balance differenceNot calculated
The difference includes fees and the growth those dollars no longer receive.
Net return not calculated
- Fee difference
- Not calculated
- Difference as part of lower-fee balance
- Not calculated
- Total contributed principal
- Not calculated
This is a cost-isolation model. It does not establish that the lower-fee option has the same holdings, risks, service, tax effect, or performance.
Why investment fee drag compounds
This investment fee-drag calculator holds cash flows and gross return equal. The annual fee reduces each path before compounding. Once a fee dollar leaves the portfolio, it also loses every future year of growth it might have earned.
Gross returnminusAnnual feeequalsNet modeled returnthenCompounding
Check the first-year difference
On a $250,000 starting portfolio, the gap between a 0.15% fee and a 1.00% fee is $2,125 before return or new contributions. The calculator then compounds both net paths to show the longer-term balance difference.
Turn the fee result into an investment review
Use the dollar gap to ask better questions, not to choose a product by price alone. The SEC's Investor.gov fee bulletin (opens in a new tab) explains where investors can find product and professional fee disclosures. Review holdings, overlap, diversification, and all-in investment fees. If a professional manages the portfolio, use the advisor selection guide to compare scope, compensation, conflicts, and exit terms.