Some companies that sell load funds now even try to hide the sales load. They call the fund a no-load fund and claim that you don't have to pay a sales fee if you stay invested in the fund for a certain amount of time. But one way or another the broker is going to get his commission out of you and your investment dollars. Usually how it's done is by charging you high continuing operating expenses. Finding a fund with low operating expenses is another way to get the most out of your investment dollars.
All funds charge fees.
The fees are collected on a daily basis and pay the employees' salaries, marketing expenses and printing and mailing prospectuses. The operating expenses are given as a percentage of your investment and are deducted before you're paid any return. Clearly, you want to reduce this fee as much as possible. Especially with bond funds where the securities are so similar and efficiently priced it just doesn't make sense to dramatically reduce your return by paying a high fee. Many funds charge under 1 percent a year, and some charge less than .5 percent annually.