What is a fund's TER?
The TER (Total Expense Ratio) is a fund's total annual fee expressed as a percentage of its assets. You never pay it separately: it is deducted daily from the fund's net asset value, so the return you see already has it subtracted. A 1.5% TER means the fund quietly takes 1.5% of your money every year, whether it beats the market or not.
What is the difference between TER and the management fee?
The management fee is only one component of the TER — what the fund manager charges for running the fund. The TER adds on top the custody fee, administration costs and other ongoing expenses, so it reflects the real total cost you bear each year far better than the management fee alone.
What is a reasonable TER for an index fund?
The reference index funds available in Europe usually sit well below 0.5% per year, and the most competitive ones below 0.2%. Actively managed funds sold by traditional banks, by contrast, often exceed 1.5% — a difference that, compounded over decades, can cost tens of thousands of euros, as the simulator above shows.