Mar 30, 2020 - Economy & Business

The investment fee fall continues

Dion Rabouin, author of Markets
Data: Investment Company Institute; Chart: Axios Visuals

As the popularity of passive investment vehicles has grown, money managers have consistently reduced their fees, particularly in stock funds and hybrid funds.

Driving the news: The cost of investing in equity and hybrid mutual funds through 401(k) plans fell again in 2018, a new report from the Investment Company Institute shows.

  • Despite the growth of ETFs, which still broadly have lower costs, mutual funds still represent the majority of assets held in 401(k) plans, ICI senior director of retirement and investor research Sarah Holden notes in a statement.

Between the lines: "Hybrid funds contain the bulk of 'alternative strategies' funds, which had a lot of demand between 2009 and 2013, and which generally have higher expense ratios," ICI associate economist James Duvall tells Axios in an email.

  • "These funds attracted $68 billion in net inflows, helping to boost their total net assets from $29 billion to $110 billion," during that four-year stretch.

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Twitter launches warnings on election misinformation and delays

Photo: courtesy of Twitter

Twitter will start pinning notices to the top of all U.S. Twitter users’ timelines warning that results in next week’s election may be delayed and that they may encounter misinformation on mail-in voting.

Why it matters: Delayed election results are expected across many states that are handling unprecedented amounts of absentee and mailed ballots, which President Trump has baselessly called "very dangerous" and "corrupt."

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3 hours ago - Science

NASA confirms water exists on sunny parts of the Moon

Photo: NASA/JPL/USGS

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