Investment Fee Audit
Review expense ratios, management fees, account fees, and other investment costs that can reduce long-term returns.
What Investment Fee Audit gets you.
By the end of this upgrade you will know the total annual cost of every investment account you hold and have identified any unnecessary fees.
- Statements or online access for every investment and retirement account
- Fund fact sheets or prospectuses for each holding
- List of any advisor or wrap-fee arrangements
- Calculator or spreadsheet
Run the upgrade.
- 01
List every account and holding
Create a spreadsheet row for each fund, ETF, or managed product you hold across every account, including balance in each.
- 02
Find the expense ratio for each holding
Look up the current expense ratio (annual fund operating cost as a percentage) for each fund on the provider's fact sheet, not from memory.
- 03
Identify account-level and advisory fees
Check for account maintenance fees, transaction fees, and if you use an advisor, the advisory fee percentage charged on assets under management.
- 04
Calculate total annual dollar cost
Multiply each holding's balance by its expense ratio, sum across all holdings, then add flat account fees and advisory fees.
Total annual cost = sum(balance x expense ratio for each holding) + flat account fees + (AUM x advisory fee %)
- 05
Compare against lower-cost alternatives in the same category
For any high-cost holding, identify lower-cost funds in the same broad category (same asset class and strategy) to evaluate as a potential swap.
- 06
Decide and document action
For each high-cost holding, record a decision: keep, replace, or move accounts, and note any tax consequences of selling in a taxable account.
- Every holding's expense ratio is documented
- Total annual dollar cost across all accounts is calculated
- High-cost holdings are flagged with a keep/replace decision
- Tax impact of any proposed changes has been considered
Annually
- Re-check expense ratios since funds can change fee structures
- Audit fees again after any new account or advisor change
- Confirm no new account or transaction fees were introduced
This is not investment advice — verify current fees directly from official fund and account documents, and consider tax consequences before selling holdings.