Trustee fee

Pays for:
The people (or company), which are usually independent of the provider, that oversee the provider's activities on behalf of the investors in the product or trust. Under trust law, the trustee has specific responsibilities and is there primarily to look after investors' interests.

Also known as:
Trustee service fee.

Cost:
Nil to 0.2% a year of assets; sometimes the trustee can also charge a fee (of, say 0.5% to 1.0%) of the fund's assets as a one-off charge if the fund winds up.

Tips:

• The investment statement should say what the trustee charges. If not, ask whether a trustee fee is paid and, if so, how much is payable.
• The trustee fee might be a dollar amount or a percentage of the assets. Sometimes there may be a minimum charge for a small balance for example, the trustee fee might be expressed as 0.1% but increased to 1% if the balance in the account is less than $10,000.