Well this is surprising.
The frantic focus on fees appears to be paying off, with the “vast majority” of mutual fund investors reviewing fund fees and expenses when making their fund purchase decision, according to new survey results released by the Investment Company Institute (ICI).
ICI’s study, which actually took place in mid-2017, found nine in 10 mutual fund-owning households considered the fees and expenses of a fund, with 40 percent indicating that this information was “very important” when selecting their mutual fund investments.
The survey results, released in the mutual fund advocacy organization’s “What U.S. Households Consider When They Select Mutual Funds,” also finds that mutual fund investors consider the historical performance of a fund and a fund’s performance compared with an index when purchasing a mutual fund.
In mid-2017, about nine in 10 mutual fund-owning households considered historical performance when selecting mutual funds, with half indicating that historical performance was “very important.”
Thirty-five percent of respondents also indicated that a fund’s performance compared with an index was “very important.”
“Mutual fund-owning households review many factors when choosing mutual funds to help them achieve their investment objectives, such as the fund’s fees and expenses, the historical performance of the fund, and the risk level of the fund’s investments,” ICI Senior Director of Retirement and Investor Research Sarah Holden said in a statement. “By carefully considering these aspects of a fund, they are able to make informed choices and save and invest to meet their future financial goals.”
About nine in 10 mutual fund-owning households also considered the fund’s investment objective as well as the risk level of a fund’s investments when selecting mutual fund investments.
And thirty-six percent of mutual fund-owning households indicated that each of these measures was “very important” in their fund selection decision, ICI concluded.
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
