February 23, 2004
I would like to see a change in the proposed point of sale documentation for both front-end and back-end sales load funds. I would like to see a box which details the average fees which can be expected over a five year period, AND the average fee which can be expected over a ten year period of ownership. Otherwise brokers will push, and fund companies will create, funds which have a low up front cost, but which have a high fee structure which will generate additional income in the future. If the fees are required on the point of sale document, instead of an obscure note at the bottom of the page that some shares have high fees, then the investor can make an informed choice about which type of fund/share is better for them. We know that brokerage houses and investment fund companies are going to make money, and that is fine--we just want to see where they are making it so that we can accurately compare them.