May Day destroyed the inbred old order, but from the wreckage evolved a smarter, more innovative, financial community and a better shake for investors. An equivalent shock is rumbling beneath the long-sheltered mutual fund industry. This time the Internet, not a zealous public servant, is the enabler. In an economic sense the Internet is about eliminating middlemen.
Mutual funds are classic middlemen, a layer between investors and actual stock ownership.
Not a lot. By and large mutual funds barely match the averages. Mutual funds, in short, pocket the income, leaving only capital appreciation, if any, for shareholders. So this is one profitable business. Except from maverick Vanguard, there's not much competition on fees.