Reduce Investment Fees

Fees and costs erode wealth that has plateaued, slow wealth that is growing, and accelerate the decline of wealth that is decreasing. This works for any and all types of costs, including basic expenses and luxury expenditures, but most importantly pertains to fees and commissions, and interest paid out.

A basic business rule is revenue minus costs equals profit or loss. This applies to investment as well, but the equation changes. An investment instrument’s gain or loss, minus investment fees and commissions, equals actual investment gain or further investment losses. The higher your investment fees, the lower your gains, and higher the losses you suffer. High costs decrease investment returns and increase the amount of return necessary to make the investment worthwhile.

To counter, invest in ways that reduce your investment fees and costs. By reducing the amount of fees and commissions paid out, you reduce the amount of wealth you direct to others over time and increase your earnings kept. Many investors do not actually consider the damage done to their wealth level by not recognizing the costs of their fees and commissions while chasing returns. You need to ensure low fees and commissions, which requires taking the time to comparison shop brokers and funds for lower costs.

Reducing the frequency of trading also reduces the commissions paid when you are charged on a per trade basis. Frequent trading of investment instruments results in frequent losses to commissions and fees. Frequent sales at profit result in higher amounts of capital gains taxation. This rapid movement occurs more often in speculative trading than it does in investment since assets are held for longer terms. Long term holding patterns accrue fewer costs over time than rapid speculative trading. They also earn higher returns from dividends and increases in core business value.

Investment firms know that a great deal of their income is dependent on how often you trade and encourage frequent speculative movements which pay commissions and trading fees. This is another reason to avoid “buy now sell now” speculation from Wall Street. They profit from rapid trading fees, which is the money you lose. An investment purchased below its value, held for long periods of time to extract profit from value and dividends, and then sold above its value, does not cost as much as investments constantly entered and exited in fees. This approach is neglected by those selling investment instruments because they do not profit advisors as much as the speculative approaches they encourage.