📊 Mutual Fund Calculator
Mutual funds charge an annual expense ratio that quietly compounds against you, year after year. This calculator projects your balance twice: once at the full expected return and once net of the expense ratio, so the lifetime cost of fees is impossible to miss.
The model assumes the return and expense ratio stay constant and contributions arrive monthly. Taxes, loads and minimum investments are not included.
How to use this calculator
Enter your initial investment, monthly contribution, expected return, time horizon and the fund's expense ratio to project growth with and without fees.
- Enter the Initial investment and the Monthly contribution.
- Type the Expected annual return before fees.
- Set the Years invested and the Annual expense ratio.
- Press Calculate to compare the after-fee value with the no-fee value.
Frequently asked questions
What makes this different from a plain growth calculator?
It projects your balance twice: at the full expected return and at the return minus the expense ratio. The gap between them is the lifetime cost of fees, which for $10,000 plus $200 a month at 8% over 20 years with a 1% fee is about $20,205.
How are fees applied in the maths?
The expense ratio is subtracted from the expected return to get a net annual rate, then the investment compounds at that net rate. This mirrors how ongoing fund fees drag on performance year after year.
Can you walk through the example?
With $10,000 initial, $200 monthly, 8% return, 1% expense ratio and 20 years: the after-fee value is about $140,204, the no-fee value about $160,409, and total contributions are $58,000.
Does it include taxes or sales loads?
No. Taxes on distributions and any front-end or back-end loads are not part of the model, so the after-fee value is before tax.