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Net-of-fee return

The change in a unit's calculated price — what the holder actually received after every expense taken out of the fund's property.

How to read the number

This is the figure to set against a benchmark: an index itself carries no costs, and the gap between them is the price of management.

When the metric lies

An advertised return is sometimes computed on a well-chosen stretch or before the fee is deducted. A comparison only works when the period, the benchmark and the treatment of distributions all match.

Also known as: return after fees

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