CFO Corner Week 31: What Are Your Investments Actually Costing You
Most investors have never once looked at what their funds actually cost them each year — the expense ratio quietly built into every fund they hold. This episode walks through a simple, three-minute audit anyone can do to find that number, understand what it's really costing them in lost growth, and make one targeted swap to a lower-cost alternative without overhauling their whole portfolio.
Content Breakdown
Why fees are one of the only things in investing you can actually control
How expense ratios work: the annual, percentage-based fee built into every fund
Typical ranges — index funds (0.02%–0.10%) vs. actively managed funds (0.50%–1%+)
Why the real cost isn't just the fee itself, but the growth that money never got to compound
The 3-Minute Fee Audit: a simple three-step walkthrough for finding your expense ratios
How to identify a lower-cost alternative without abandoning your existing strategy
Common mistakes: panic-selling, ignoring tax consequences in brokerage accounts, chasing "cheap" without understanding what you own
Action Steps
Log into your investment account (401(k), IRA, or brokerage)
Click into your funds and locate the "expense ratio" for each
Flag anything above roughly 0.50% and research a lower-cost equivalent with similar exposure
