Watson Wyatt's investment consultant network was utilized globally to report fees and charging practices based upon direct client experience, as well as to provide input into the analysis of the questionnaires. The Asset Planning Life Cycle Fee practices typically form part of a lifecycle. Fees in the form of transaction charges, custody fees and similar arrangements are called dirty fees. Explicit investment management fees are referred to as transparent or clean fees. As markets become more developed, the basis of fees tends to become more transparent, although, ironically, this does not necessarily lower overall costs.
Clean fees are more common in Australia, Canada and the United States.
Fee structures in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Hong Kong have also become much cleaner over the past four years. Fees in the Netherlands, however, have become more transparent. In Japan, deregulation and financial malaise have ushered in an era of significant change. Overall, total expense ratios have declined considerably since the 1995 survey. In a global comparison, Japan, Hong Kong, Switzerland and the United States represent high-fee environments, with overall expenses lower in the United Kingdom and Ireland.