Knowing the financial consequences

If you invested $5,000 a year in a product (which has a mix of shares and fixed interest) with fees at 3%, you could pay $25,640 after tax in fees after 20 years.

This figure is based on an 8.5% return before tax and fees, and tax at 33%. But by shopping around for your investments, you could save money. For example, if the fees were only 1% (rather than 3%) you could pay $9,410 in fees for the same period. That's a saving of $16,230!