An Analysis Of Mutual Fund Custodial Fees

Abstract

The Securities Exchange Commissions (SEC) has an ongoing initiative to examine mutual fund fees, and their disclosure to fund shareholders. Mutual fund custodial fees are usually paid directly to the custodian from fund assets, and can therefore affect fund performance and investor returns. The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a model of mutual fund custodial fees using both equity and bond funds. Regression analyses on bond and equity fund samples reveal that custodial fees result from a variety of factors, and that these factors differ between equity and bond funds. The results of this study can be a useful benchmark to evaluate the effectiveness of custodial fee management.