The FisCalc
ETF Fee Calculator

How Much Are Your ETF
Fees Actually Costing You?

Enter your ETFs and balances. See the true dollar cost of management fees over your investment horizon — and how much more you'd have with lower-cost alternatives.

Your ETF Portfolio
Add each ETF, its current balance, and annual MER (management expense ratio).
Your ETFs
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Portfolio Settings
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Add your ETFs

Enter your portfolio above to see the true cost of fees over time.

For illustration only. MER figures should be verified against each fund's current PDS. Returns are not guaranteed. This is not financial advice.

Why ETF Fees Matter More Than You Think

An ETF's management expense ratio (MER) is deducted daily from the fund's net asset value — you never see it as a line item, which makes it easy to underestimate. On a $500,000 portfolio, the difference between a 0.07% MER and a 0.67% MER is over $3,000 per year. Compounded over 20 years, that gap becomes enormous.

Australian investors have benefited from a wave of low-cost ETFs from providers including Vanguard, Betashares, and iShares. Understanding MER drag is the first step to optimising your portfolio's net return.

What is MER and how is it charged?

The management expense ratio is expressed as an annual percentage of funds under management. It covers the fund manager's costs including portfolio management, administration, custody, and legal fees. It is deducted continuously from the fund's NAV rather than charged as a separate invoice — meaning you never directly pay it, but it reduces your unit price growth accordingly.

Common Australian ETF MERs

For reference: VAS (Vanguard Australian Shares) 0.07%, DHHF (Betashares Diversified All Growth) 0.19%, NDQ (Betashares Nasdaq 100) 0.48%, IIND (iShares India) 0.69%, VGS (Vanguard Global Shares) 0.18%, A200 (Betashares Australia 200) 0.04%.

Does a higher MER mean a worse ETF?
Not necessarily — some specialist or emerging market ETFs charge higher fees because they're more expensive to manage. The question is whether the additional return justifies the higher cost. For broad market exposure, lower MER is almost always better.
Is MER the only fee I pay?
No. You also pay brokerage when you buy and sell, and there may be a buy/sell spread (the difference between the ETF's buy and sell price on the exchange). These are separate from MER. Some platforms also charge account or custody fees.
How often is MER deducted?
MER is accrued daily and reflected in the fund's daily NAV. The annual rate is divided by 365 and applied each day. You won't see a deduction on your statement — it simply reduces the growth in unit price compared to the underlying index.

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