Lone Dissenting Voice on Harris Excessive Fee Case Could Haunt Funds Again

By Lee Barney

With the oncoming wave of Baby Boomers about to strain Social Security, Medicare, long-term care and families, mutual fund fees are going to continue to be in the crosshairs of class-action litigants, 401(k) plan sponsors, retail investors, regulators, legislators and even the courts. Whereas investors have unwittingly permitted fund companies to seamlessly subtract their fees from returns, never putting them in black-and-white dollars and cents-and fund companies have largely argued that by publishing their fees in tables satisfies their fiduciary duty-that may soon be coming to an end.