Investment fees (MER)
Management fees and the management expense ratio (MER)
The percentage of your investment taken every year to run a fund, whether it goes up or down. The MER, or management expense ratio, is the total.
The 2026 numbers
- 0.5%
- Huard & Co’s default feeHuard & Co default, and you can change it
- 5.1%
- Default return before fees
Numbers checked against the official sources on September 28, 2026.
What it’s for
- Comparing two investments beyond their advertised return.
- Estimating what fees cost over 20 or 30 years.
Who it’s for
- Anyone with mutual funds, or a managed portfolio.
How it works
The MER comes out of the fund itself: you don’t get a bill, and the return you’re shown is already after fees.
A 1% MER on $100,000 is $1,000 this year, and more as the account grows.
Other fees can come on top: trading, advice, exit fees. Ask for the total in dollars, or look for it on your annual fee report.
Huard & Co takes 0.5% a year off your by default; change it in your assumptions to match your real fees.
An example
$100,000 invested for 25 years
The same return before fees (5.1% a year). Only the fees change.
- With 0.5% in fees a year
- $310,800
- With 2% in fees a year
- $216,600
- Difference after fees
- $94,200
In year one, the gap is only $500 vs $2,000. The decades are what make it large.
Fictional example, round numbers.
Common mistakes
- Looking only at past returns: the fees, at least, are certain.
- Thinking “free” advice costs nothing: it’s often built into the fund’s fees.
- Ignoring 1% because it sounds small: over decades, it’s a large share of the growth.
In Huard & Co
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General information to help you understand, not personalized advice. Rules change: every number links to its official source.