Many investors are unaware of or confused about various fees they may pay for investing, according to a survey from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
Twenty-one percent of respondents did not think that they paid any fees on their non-retirement investments, and 17% did not know how much they paid in fees. Thirty-nine percent thought they paid less than 1% annually in fees.
The proportion of investors who reported that they do not pay any fees rose to 21% from 14% in 2018. Those with portfolio values of less than $50,000 were much more likely than those with higher portfolio values to think they did not pay any fees.
Asked what types of fees they paid, 42% of investors believed they were paying account service fees, and 41% said they were paying fees or commissions on trades. Fewer than half thought that they paid either of these types of fees.
Only 23% of all investors surveyed said they paid fees for investment advice.
