Conquering Your Fear of Fees Savvy investors know to read the fine print about money-management charges.

As business owners, we pride ourselves on knowing what things cost and on never paying retail (unless, of course, we run out of toner cartridges in the middle of the afternoon before a big presentation).

That's why, when it comes to investing, trying to get the best deal on money-management fees can be so frustrating. Even if you decide to manage your own money instead of handing it over to a brokerage firm, it's hard to avoid paying fees.

Let's say, for example, that you decide to put your money in a mutual fund that invests in a market basket of S&P 500 stocks. Even if there's no upfront sales commission when you buy the fund, you may still end up paying ongoing annual management fees--plus additional fees when you sell the fund down the road. And while every fund is required to disclose these fees in its prospectus, it's often hard for even the savviest investor to decipher the fine print.

That's important, because all those little fees add up and can become a huge drag on your portfolio's performance.

The first step to getting a handle on money management fees is to understand how money managers and mutual funds work and how much they charge for their products and services. Money managers who build and manage a client's portfolio of stocks, bonds and other securities typically charge an annual fee based on a small percentage of assets under management. These fees can vary from a quarter of one percent (25 basis points) to manage a stable portfolio of cash and bonds to a full percentage (100 basis points) or more to manage a more active portfolio of small cap stocks. The good news for investors is that money-management fees are not set in stone and, given the current economic climate, investors with big portfolios can often name their own price.