Where the figures come from
Most figures come from the fund's prospectus, filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Since 2010, fund companies have had to tag the fee table in every prospectus in machine-readable form, and the SEC publishes those tags in bulk every quarter. We take the total annual fund operating expenses line for every share class, from every prospectus, which gives each fund's fee history back to its first tagged filing. The source of every figure is linked beside it.
For the biggest funds we also read the fee by hand from the fund company's own fund page or fact sheet, and date it the day we read it. Those figures are exact.
Rounding in SEC data
The SEC's bulk data rounds every value to four decimal places of a fraction, which is 0.01% of a fee. A fee of 0.015% appears as 0.02%, and 0.0945% as 0.09%. Wherever a figure comes from the bulk data, the page says so. A fund company's own page may show a more precise number, and where we have read one by hand it is the figure shown.
A fee change is recorded when a new prospectus shows a different figure from the one before it. The date shown is the prospectus date, which is usually when the new fee took effect. A one-basis-point move that reverts within about a year is treated as rounding noise rather than a change.
Gross and net
The expense ratio is the yearly fee a fund takes from its assets, shown as a percentage. Some fund companies show a gross figure, before any fee waiver, and some show a net figure, after it. We record the figure the source shows and say which kind it is.
Two kinds of date
Read on is the day we read a figure from its source. Effective, for a fee change, is the date the fund company says the new fee applies. A change can be announced on one day and take effect on another, and we show both when the company gives both.
Basis points
Fees are often quoted in basis points. One basis point is 0.01%, so a fee of 0.03% is 3 basis points, which comes to $3 a year for every $10,000 invested.
How the cost estimate works
The calculator on each fund page assumes a steady yearly return, 5% unless you change it, and a fee that stays the same. Those are the assumptions behind the cost example in every fund prospectus. Each year, the fee is charged on the average of the balance at the start of the year and the balance after that year's return. The estimate leaves out taxes, trading costs and broker fees.
What the expense ratio leaves out
An expense ratio doesn't include trading commissions, the gap between buying and selling prices, taxes, or any account fees a broker charges.
Corrections
If a figure looks wrong, email hello@expenseratiohistory.com with the fund and where you saw a different number. We check it against the fund company's own documents and correct it.