What is one percent really costing you?

Questions about this tool

Why is the loss bigger than the fees I paid?

Because the money taken out stops working. Each deduction also removes every future return it would have earned, and those missing returns compound too. Over a long horizon that second effect is the larger one.

Is this the fee my bank charges?

It is whatever you enter. Real costs often sit in more than one place: a fund's ongoing charge, a platform fee, sometimes a wrapper on top. Adding them together is usually the honest number to test.

Does a higher return make fees matter less?

No. It makes them matter more in absolute terms, because the fee is charged on a larger balance every year. The proportion of the outcome lost stays close to constant.