Expense ratio
A fund's annual fee as a percent of assets, deducted from returns before you see them.
Where it is explained in full
Workplace plans: the 401(k), the 403(b), and the TSP, from the first paycheck to the last. Everything a person needs to open one, fill it, hold the right things in it, avoid the traps, and carry it with them when they leave. Long on purpose, so that one page is enough.
Funds: what you actually own when you buy one. Both kinds are baskets. The differences are in how you buy them, how they are priced, how they handle taxes, and what it costs to hold them for decades.
What a one percent fee costs over a working life. The fee is small. The share of your ending balance it takes is not. The arithmetic is short and worth seeing once, because after that you cannot unsee it.
A definition says what a thing is; it never says whether it fits you. The guides explain how it works and name the professional who confirms it for a particular person. The No Advice Disclosure.
Words beside it
- Duration
A bond's price sensitivity to interest rate changes, expressed in years. Higher means more sensitive.
- Expiration
The date an option contract ceases to exist. After it, only intrinsic value remained.
- qualified medical expense
A health related cost the IRS officially approves so you can pay for it using HSA money without owing taxes on that withdrawal.
- qualifying expense
A purchase the IRS officially approves so you can use your HSA money on it without owing taxes. Medical costs like doctor visits and prescriptions are common examples.
- S corporation
A tax election letting an owner split pay into salary and distributions, saving payroll tax with added compliance.
- Sharpe ratio
Excess return over the Treasury bill rate divided by the standard deviation of returns. A crude measure of return per unit of volatility.
- Social Security Administration
The Social Security Administration is a United States government agency that runs programs like disability benefits and retirement income for people who qualify.
Ask about Expense ratio
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