**GAO-03-551T**                      Published: Mar 12, 2003. Publicly Released: Mar 12, 2003.                  

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## Highlights

Millions of U.S. households have invested in mutual funds whose value exceeds $6 trillion. The fees and other costs that these investors pay as part of owning mutual funds can significantly affect their investment returns. Recent press reports suggest that mutual fund fees have increased during the market downturn in the last few years.  In addition, questions have been raised as to whether the disclosures of these fees and other costs, such as brokerage commissions, are sufficiently transparent. GAO updated its analysis from its June 2000 report, which showed the trends in mutual fund fees from 1990 and 1998 for large funds by collecting data on how these 76 funds' fees changed between 1998 to 2001. GAO also reviewed the Securities and Exchange Commission's recent rule proposal on fee disclosure as well as studies by industry.

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## Topics

Financial Markets and Institutions

Brokerage industryFinancial disclosureInformation disclosureInvestmentsMutual fundsSecuritiesShareholdersBid proposalsFinancial instrumentsMass media