Financial Calculator
How Much Are Fees Eating Your Returns?
I ran a hedge fund. I charged 2/20. I know exactly how the fee game works. Let me show you what Wall Street doesn't want you to calculate.
Your Portfolio
Total invested across all accounts
How much you add per year
How many years until you need the money
7% = historical S&P 500 (real)
Add your own fee scenario
The Most Expensive vs. Cheapest Fee Scenario Costs You
$507.0K
over 30 years — that's money that went to fees instead of your retirement
Side-by-Side Comparison
Fidelity Zero
BestZero expense ratio (yes, really) — loss leader but it works
Vanguard Index (VOO)
S&P 500 index fund — the gold standard of low-cost investing
Custom (0.5%)
Your custom fee scenario
Financial Advisor
Typical 1% AUM fee — "but I provide value" (do they?)
Hedge Fund (2/20)
Worst2% management fee — I used to charge this. I know the game.
Glen's Rant on Fee Transparency
I'm going to be honest with you because I've been on both sides of this equation. I ran a hedge fund called Global Speculation. I charged management fees. I know exactly how this works.
Here's the dirty secret: the vast majority of financial advisors and fund managers cannot consistently beat a simple S&P 500 index fund. Over any 15-year period, about 90% of actively managed funds underperform the index. They're charging you 1-2% per year for the privilege of losing to a fund that charges 0.03%.
The math above isn't theoretical. It's the difference between retiring at 60 with $1.35M or $840.8K. That's $507.0K that went to someone else's retirement instead of yours.
My advice? Open a Vanguard or Fidelity account, buy a total market index fund, set up automatic contributions, and never look at it. Total annual cost: 0.03%. Total effort: 15 minutes. Total outperformance vs. the average advisor: priceless.
— Glen Bradford, reformed hedge fund manager turned index fund evangelist
Final Balance After 30 Years
Starting with $100.0K, adding $6,000/yr at 7% return
Frequently Asked Questions
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Recommended Resources
Tools & books I actually use and recommend
SeekingAlpha Premium
Quant ratings, earnings transcripts, and the stock analysis community where I published 300+ articles.
Try SeekingAlphaA Random Walk Down Wall Street
Burton Malkiel's classic case for index investing. The book that convinced millions to stop stock-picking.
View on AmazonThe Little Book of Common Sense Investing
John Bogle's manifesto on why low-cost index funds beat everything else. Straight from the founder of Vanguard.
View on AmazonSome links above are affiliate links. I only recommend products I personally use. See my full disclosures.
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