Cut your losses and move on: I have illustrated a few different ways to minimize the hit
of deferred sales charges.
But first, you need to be aware
of deferred sales charges (DSCs)-- fees payable at the time you sell funds.
The new adviser will have an opinion on your future strategy and will want to work to minimize the impact
of any deferred sales charges you might incur by making changes.
Not exact matches
This is for mutual funds with share classes decided when shareholders pay the fund's load or
sales charge, Class - B shares carry a
deferred sales charge during a five - to 10 - year holding period intended from the time
of the initial investment.
Like almost all his contemporaries, De Goey started out selling mutual funds with
deferred sales charges, but later become one
of the early adopters
of the fee - based, no - commission business model.
At that time we positioned our $ 400,000 portfolio to follow the Couch Potato strategy and gave our financial adviser very explicit instructions that none
of our investments were to be in funds that have a
deferred sales charge (DSC).
Beware
deferred sales charge (DSC) mutual funds, which may levy a fee
of up to 5 % to sell the funds on transfer.
If there is a
sale of Class B shares within the first few years
of purchasing Class B shares, there will likely be a contingent
deferred sales charge or load added to the transaction in addition to higher annual fees and expenses, further reducing your investment returns.
Along with the MER, there may also be front - load fees (commission
charged when buying units
of the fund) and
deferred sales charges (costs when selling the units).
If an investor chooses a
deferred sales charge option, the mutual fund company that manages and administers the funds deducts what is called a
deferred sales charge from the value
of units sold if they are sold within a certain number
of years (which varies according to the fund type and company).
Instead
of a front - end load, you may pay a back - end load, also known as a contingent
deferred sales charge.
The
deferred sales charge is based on the market value
of the units and decreases with each year.
If you withdraw money from an annuity contract or surrender the contract within a certain period
of time after investing, the insurance company may assess a contingent
deferred sales charge (CDSC).
Because there are CDSC's — contingent
deferred sales charges for getting out
of B shares.
To reduce the fees you pay when redeeming units
of a fund, we will first redeem units for which a
deferred sales charge either is not applicable or is no longer applicable.
Most mutual funds were purchased with a
deferred sales charge (DSC), which paid the advisor 5 %
of the invested amount up front.
Best
of all, there's no MER and no
deferred sales charge.
But the new regulations from the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) will mandate new «Fund Fact» sheets that also include a clear explanation
of the risks investors are taking on when they invest, as well as a clear breakdown
of initial and
deferred sales charge options in both percentage and dollar terms.
Something else to be aware
of are
deferred sales charges, a back - end fee
charged to mutual fund investors who redeem their investment prior to a set period
of time.
She wanted to move her savings to a discount brokerage and rebuild the portfolio herself, but she quickly learned many
of her 20 or so mutual funds carried
deferred sales charges.
Ask your current advisor for a schedule
of all the
deferred sales charges that would kick in if your sold your funds, as well as the maturity dates (after which no DSCs would apply).
Deferred sales charges are one
of the fund industry's most destructive practices.
I googled it found that «A contingent
deferred sales charge (CDSC) is a fee (
sales charge or load) that mutual fund investors pay when selling Class - B fund shares within a specified number
of years
of the date on which they were originally purchased.
Fund with
deferred sales charges take away a portion
of the investor's money when the fund is sold.
For purchases
of Class A and Investor Class shares
of each MainStay Fund made without an initial
sales charge on or after August 1, 2017, a contingent
deferred sales charge of 1.00 % may be imposed on certain redemptions made within 18 months
of the date
of purchase.
If the latter sounds like you, I have outlined a number
of steps that will assist you in reducing the impact
of, or completely avoiding these
deferred sales charges.
• Total number
of free units or total market value
of the fund currently available to redeem free
of charge • Any additional units maturing in the current year • Total
deferred sales charge on full redemption • Final maturity date
Going forward, the investor will need to contact the remaining mutual fund companies at the beginning
of each year to determine what amount they can sell from the funds without incurring any
deferred sales charges, and make the necessary trades (the proceeds can then be used to purchase the iShares DEX Universe Bond Index Fund (XBB) as originally planned).
You also avoid the mistake
of using high - priced investments that lock you in, such as high - fee
Deferred Sales Charge (DSC) mutual funds.
All units
of the Trimark Global Balanced Fund, Series A (AIM1773) are not subject to
deferred sales charges, so will be sold immediately.
It can take years to fully transition from one investing mindset to another: those with DSC (
Deferred Sales Charge) mutual funds face the barrier
of waiting for redemption schedules to wind down while tax considerations make it difficult to convert any non-registered portfolio to a couch potato portfolio.
You can usually transfer 10 %
of the balance each year without being hit with the
deferred sales charge.
As for
deferred sales charges, Morningstar states that these have fallen steeply out
of favour in the top - ranking U.S., «with many fund companies shutting down the share classes that
charged deferred loads.»
Question No. 3: How much will it cost you in
deferred sales charges if you decide to sell your mutual fund within two years
of buying it?
A lot
of her money is tied up in mutual funds with
deferred sales charges, and she doesn't know whether to sell these all at once or gradually.
Investors are still faced with the decision
of holding the fund another four years, at an ongoing expense
of 5.56 %, or selling the fund and paying a contingent
deferred sales charge of 4.00 %.
Class C shares have a contingent
deferred sales charge of 1.00 % in the first year and an even higher expense ratio
of 1.44 %.
Further, the net annual distributions per unit may decrease over time because a portion
of the securities included in the portfolio will be sold to pay for organization costs,
deferred sales charges, the creation and development fee and other regular fees and expenses during the life
of the portfolio.
Annualized Total Returns with
sales charge reflect deduction
of current maximum initial
sales charge of 5.75 % for Class A shares
of equity funds and alternative funds (except alternatives funds that invest primarily in fixed income instruments), and 4.25 % for Class A shares
of fixed income funds and alternative funds that primarily invest in fixed income instruments, and 2.50 % for Class A shares
of short - term fixed income funds and applicable contingent
deferred sales charges (CDSC) for Class C shares.
Class A shares do not have a
deferred sales charge (except on certain redemptions
of shares bought without an initial
sales charge).
If a lot
of thought hasn't gone into picking your funds,
deferred sales charges can really compound your problems if you need to make changes in your portfolio.
Deferred sales charges work on a declining scale that typically starts at 5.5 per cent in the first year (sometimes that applies to the amount you invested, and sometimes to the current value
of your holdings) and declines to 1.5 to 2 per cent in the seventh year before disappearing altogether.
FINRA rules require disclosure
of the contingent
deferred sales charge before completing a
sale.
The proceeds, which are equal to number
of shares times NAV less any applicable
deferred sales charges or redemption fees, will be sent by mail to the address designated on your account or sent electronically, via ACH or wire, directly to your existing account in a bank or brokerage firm in the United States as designated on our application.
If the fund holds a contingent
deferred sales charge (CDSC), the $ 500
sales commission, which declines annually, comes out
of the proceeds when shares
of the fund are sold.
While these fees are higher than what I'm paying to manage my own portfolios, they are still much cheaper than owning mutual funds that
charge 2 — 4 %
of assets plus other annoying
charges like
deferred sales charges.
Also, the rider cost increases with the amount
of sales load
charges that are
deferred.
Be aware
of and adequately disclose the existence and effect
of surrender
charges and
sales loads, including contingent
deferred and back - end loads.
Also, the rider cost increases with the amount
of sales load
charges that are
deferred.
This rider lets the policy owner
defer the usual
sales load
charge and spread it out over a selected number
of years.