For many years, the fees charged by investment managers of mutual funds grew ever so slightly, gradually approaching 1.5%. Over the last few years, though, the growth in these management fees has stopped. In fact, it reversed. Last year the average management fee charged for actively managed mutual funds was 1.38%, or 138 basis points, where a basis point is one tenth of one percent. But that average is badly misleading. It’s misleading because it treats all funds, regardless of size, as the same. When you adjust the fees for the size of the funds, you find that the dollar-weighted average for actively managed funds is now below 100 basis points. Three things have caused this reversal in management fees: low returns in the stock market, the growth of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and a price war among the biggest players in the market.

The first two of these factors need little explanation. Over the last ten years, an investment in many bond funds out-performed an investment in diversified equity funds. These low returns have many investors focusing on the costs they incur for the management of their money. These costs include transaction fees for trading securities and management fees for the companies managing mutual funds or exchanged-traded funds. The second factor, the growth of ETFs, is somewhat less obvious, but important. ETFs have garnered a significant share of new money invested in equity funds over the last few years. Companies managing ETFs charge low fees for managing these funds because they have very low costs for shareholder servicing and some other administrative functions associated with investment management. Shrewd mutual fund managers have reduced prices in order to manage the gap in pricing they allow for their managed mutual funds compared to comparable ETFs.

These two causes of the fall in prices for investment management now have a third important factor. This third factor may turn out to be the most important of all. (See the Symptom & Implication, “The industry is seeing its first price wars” on StrategyStreet.com.) As described in other blogs (see blogs HERE and HERE), Vanguard has started, and continued, a price war in the ETF market. For example, iShare’s MSCI Emerging Market’s ETF and Vanguard’s Emerging Market’s ETF compete directly. Vanguard’s fund charges 27 basis points. The iShare’s fund charges 69 basis points. The iShare’s fund entered the market well before the Vanguard fund, and was much larger than the Vanguard fund. However, during 2010, the Vanguard ETF added $18 billion to its fund while iShare’s added about $4 billion. Price matters among peers.

The iShare’s funds are not always market share losers, however. The iShare’s Gold Trust is an ETF that competes with a larger rival, SPDR Gold Trust. Until June of last year, both of these ETFs charged 40 basis points. In June, iShares cut its management fees to 25 basis points. SPDR Gold Trust stayed pat at 40 basis points. Over the next few months, the iShare’s fund gained $875 million in new money, while the SPDR Gold Trust saw a net loss of $1.2 billion of money under management. Price matters among peers.

These management fees can even go to zero. One ETF today has no management fee, zero. It gets its revenues by lending out the securities in its portfolio. (See the Symptom & Implication, “Technology improvements bring falling prices” on StrategyStreet.com.)

Of course, as companies engage in price wars, they advertise their lower prices extensively in order to capture as much market share as possible before their competitors respond. The result: customers are becoming ever more price sensitive about the management fees they pay, simply because the management companies tell them to be more sensitive.

How long will it be until this fee warfare spreads to other smaller types of ETFs? Not very long, as long as price moves share.

NEWS – The Petromax HK500 is a pressure outdoor kerosene lamp invented in 1910. It’s hand-assembled in Germany and features temperature-resistant borosilicate glass and optional accessories that will turn it into a heater and a stove. The one quart tank has a burning time of 8 hours and a light output of 500 CP (candle […]

Jupiter has often been thought to protect the inner Solar System from asteroids and comets, but new research has shown that the giant planet may actually increase the risk of an impact.

Detonating a nuclear weapon on or near an asteroid is one of several options for defending the Earth from an impact. Here's what nuking an asteroid might actually do, and why it isn't always the best option.

When a skyscraper-sized asteroid narrowly misses Earth in 2029, three spacecraft may be along for the ride.

A Planetary Society-funded project to understand asteroids achieved its main goals and scientific objectives this year.

The European Space Agency’s Hera spacecraft launched on Oct. 7, 2024, from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It will travel to the Didymos-Dimorphos asteroid system to study the aftermath of the first-ever field test of an asteroid deflection technique.

Kinderopvang wordt duurder in Bilzen-Hoeselt: “Daarvoor zijn we geen fusie aangegaan”  Het Belang van LimburgHele verhaal bekijken via Google Nieuws

Just when we thought we'd never get anything better than Donald Trump grasping that orb, we get this dark-humored, delightfully awkward pic that just oozes cringe. Naturally, people were ready to flood Twitter with some entertaining captions. 

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev spoke about the threat of climate change at the COP29 climate summit in Baku on Tuesday, where he backed a net zero target, admitting that just 10 years ago, he would have thought the goal was incompatible with competitiveness. The UN summit in Baku runs from 11 to…

Member of the European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council and Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau indicated on Wednesday that more interest rate cuts could be on the horizon, noting ...

A new trailer for Marvel Animation's animated anthology "What If…?" Season 3 has landed

Potentially dangerous comets could be spotted many years in advance by following the meteoroid trails they leave near Earth, new research shows.

The apparent non‑gravitational acceleration the extra-solar-system ‘Oumuamua exhibits is puzzling. We find that when the position and velocity of the Sun is correctly set in computing the predicted orbit, ‘Oumuamua’s trajectory can be explained with gravity and we have reproduced the unexpected gap by computation. We also propose to search for new extra-solar-system high speed...

Abstract: The walls of Tokamaks are heavily eroded by plasma which suggests that a mysterious force pushes the plasma to the wall. We have theoretically discovered this force and named it extra-force. This force appears only on single charges but not on current carrying wire, which is why the Lorentz force law does not contain...

We’ve already taken a dive into the pool of desire that is Jakub Stefano, and well, we enjoyed it so much we decided to dip our toes in again. Whether cuddly or lifting metal, in the bedroom, the kitchen or the boardroom, Jakub and his OnlyFans space is the place to have F.U.N! If you... View Article

The post OnlyFans: Jakub Stefano – ‘Full on’ Erotic appeared first on QueerClick.

Sweet Potato Casserole with Canned Yams is a classic dish that brings delicious warmth and comfort to the table, especially during the holiday season. Whether it’s Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas dinner, or any holiday feast, this delicious sweet potato casserole is the perfect side dish. Its creamy texture, sweet potato filling, and nutty flavor make it a delicious addition to your holiday table. This easy sweet potato casserole recipe is also a good...

The post Sweet Potato Casserole with Canned Yams appeared first on Dear Crissy.

Have you ever craved the flavors of a Big Mac but wanted something more substantial and comforting for dinner? This Big Mac Tater Tot Casserole is the perfect hearty casserole for busy weeknights! Combining all the classic tastes of the beloved fast-food burger with the warmth and heartiness of a casserole, this recipe is sure to make your whole family happy. Whether you’re looking for an easy...

The post Big Mac Tater Tot Casserole appeared first on Dear Crissy.

Dorito Casserole is an easy, comforting dish that combines crunchy nacho cheese-flavored Doritos with a savory chicken filling, black beans, and cheese. It’s a perfect meal for a busy weeknight dinner that the whole family will go crazy for! This recipe is a great way to use rotisserie chicken and can easily be customized to your preferences. Plus, it’s topped with a layer of Doritos that adds...

The post Dorito Casserole appeared first on Dear Crissy.

My easy Keto Breakfast Casserole is a simple, low carb recipe that your whole family will love! It combines the savory flavors of breakfast sausage, eggs, cheddar cheese, and heavy cream, making it a filling and nutritious breakfast or dinner recipe. Oh, and it has one secret ingredient that gives it a special kick! I...

The post Keto Breakfast Casserole appeared first on Dear Crissy.

By Ryan Menezes Published: November 11th, 2024

By Matt Solomon Published: November 12th, 2024

Where modern design, affordable living and sustainability meet, there is CABN. The first home of this project has just been created and soon, CABN's design will be the basis of a 67-home, net-zero community. If this is what the future looks like, there is hope that humans will actually have a healthy, happy future on this planet.[...]

Fargo is a house located in Louisville, Colorado and is designed for a former high-level design engineer at Apple. Despite the project's modern aesthetic, it blends into the historical neighborhood and meets multiple spatial criteria set by the client. These include a detached studio garage, an indoor-outdoor kitchen and easy access to the outdoors. The overall goal for DAJ Design was to incorporate these design elements while achieving net-zero energy consumption.[...]

It sits on a flat stretch of green, surrounded by the rolling hills and pretty palm trees of Southern California. It's an amazing little oasis, a quiet getaway. And it's the first building in California to receive Zero Carbon Certification from the International Living Future Institute. It's only the fourth building in the entire world to reach this status. This home is called Zero One by MariSol Malibu and it's the first of its kind.[...]

California-based Greatfill makes zero waste easy. With a variety of refillable household products, the company’s focus is on health for the home, humans and the environment.[...]

Lots of people want to have more sustainable homes, not just to help the environment. Because at the end of the day, it's a lot more affordable to get your energy from the sun and the wind than to pay some oil or coal plant to provide it. But for many people, being sustainable means having a home built. Hiring an architect and a contractor and going to all that trouble gets pretty expensive. Thanks to Clayton, sustainable living is about to get much more accessible.[...]

Soil erosion is an age-long predicament that always shows up whenever humans embark on any land use activity. Whether it is agriculture, construction or gardening, the need to tame erosion is apparent, especially in regions that experience significant precipitation. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warns that 90% of the world’s topsoil risks erosion by 2050. It is, therefore, the responsibility of those who participate in land use activities to prevent such a mess. [...]

Google said it discovered a zero-day vulnerability in the SQLite open-source database engine using its large language model (LLM) assisted framework called Big Sleep (formerly Project Naptime). The tech giant described the development as the "first real-world vulnerability" uncovered using the artificial intelligence (AI) agent. "We believe this is the first public example of an AI agent finding

Taiwanese network-attached storage (NAS) appliance maker Synology has addressed a critical security flaw impacting DiskStation and BeePhotos that could lead to remote code execution. Tracked as CVE-2024-10443 and dubbed RISK:STATION by Midnight Blue, the zero-day flaw was demonstrated at the Pwn2Own Ireland 2024 hacking contest by security researcher Rick de Jager. RISK:STATION is an "

Zero Trust security changes how organizations handle security by doing away with implicit trust while continuously analyzing and validating access requests. Contrary to perimeter-based security, users within an environment are not automatically trusted upon gaining access. Zero Trust security encourages continuous monitoring of every device and user, which ensures sustained protection after

The Iranian threat actor known as TA455 has been observed taking a leaf out of a North Korean hacking group's playbook to orchestrate its own version of the Dream Job campaign targeting the aerospace industry by offering fake jobs since at least September 2023. "The campaign distributed the SnailResin malware, which activates the SlugResin backdoor," Israeli cybersecurity company ClearSky said

Princeton's Jesse Jenkins on the new momentum in clean energy, and big challenges left to solve.

The quilting community is awesomely generous!!!  Thanks to all who have sent me scraps for making hexie flowers:


I really understand and appreciate that it takes time to sort through your scraps, selecting some that you feel might work for me, packing them to send, getting them to the post office. In some cases, you even took time to cut them into 2" squares for me... WOW! Bless your hearts!

The most interesting thing is that all the fabrics I've received so far are ones I might have picked myself, yet so far there are no duplicates. As of Oct. 19th, I have cut petal sets for about 650 flowers (from my own scraps and fat quarter stash, as well as scraps I've received from other quilters), all of them unique! That's about 90% of what I need to make the quilt, and certainly enough to keep me busy for a looooooong time. It will probably take me a year or so to baste and stitch all of the flowers, although I admit to going at it with a lot of gusto.

Alban Forcione, an internationally renowned scholar of 17th-century literature of “Golden Age” Spain, the Walter S. Carpenter Jr., Professor of Language, Literature and Civilization of Spain, Emeritus, and Princeton alumnus, died Sept. 14 at age 82.

“His mathematical legacy is enormous,” said John D’Angelo *76. “Joe was among the most friendly, popular and influential mathematicians of his generation.”

Lisk taught biology at Princeton for 30 years before transferring to emeritus status in 1990.

As the first-ever “full-scale planetary defense test” to deflect a space rock, the DART mission aims to show that protecting Earth from a hazardous asteroid is possible.

The debris NASA’s asteroid-touching spacecraft collected could help us learn about the origins of our solar system. But for that to happen, scientists have to protect it from just about everything.

The underlying cause of multiple sclerosis is not yet known, but Epstein-Barr virus is a possible culprit, Harvard researchers say.

Two hours before asteroid 2022 EB5 entered Earth’s atmosphere, scientists knew exactly when and where the space rock would strike.

The mission is a test to see if NASA could knock an Earth-bound asteroid off its path, should we ever need to.

Also available is the docudrama One Day in October on Yes TV, by Daniel Finkelman and Oded Davidoff, which offers dramatized versions of four stories from October 7.

Over a dozen flights cancelled or delayed between Bali and Australia

A pimenta, a cúrcuma e outras especiarias são frequentemente citadas como tendo benefícios para a nossa saúde ou até mesmo a capacidade de 'estimular nosso sistema imunológico'. Mas será que elas realmente oferecem algum benefício à nossa saúde ou nos ajudam a prevenir doenças?

His comments came ahead of an assisted dying bill being introduced to Parliament.

Lando Norris cuts Max Verstappen’s lead to 47 points and labels his rival “dangerous” as the championship battle reaches boiling point at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Wigan Athletic goalkeeper Tom Watson saves all three penalties in a shootout victory over Nottingham Forest U21s to send them through to the EFL Trophy knockout phase.