I've been a teacher for 20 years and want to shift and shelter as much money as possible into higher yield funds with moderate to average risk. But let's start with the very basics.
ALL funds have two categories of expense, many have three.
That is what the management company charges to provide professional advice. This includes expenses such as audit, postage, reporting, and custodial fees. This is an area where small funds are heavily penalized because there are some real economies of scale. This is a charge that allows funds to recover marketing expenses. It can range from a very small figure up to 1.00 percent a year.