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Glossary entry · The silent subtractors
Commission
Definition
A per-trade fee charged by a broker for executing your buy or sell order. Once standard at $5-$15 per trade, now often zero with modern online brokers. Watch for commissions on specific products (mutual funds, foreign stocks) where they can still bite.
Example
Buying $10,000 of a stock at a $10 commission costs you 0.1% upfront — small once, expensive if you trade often.
Related
The silent subtractors
Fee
A charge taken from your investment by a fund, broker, or advisor — every year, forever.
Read →Tax
The other silent subtractor. Almost every gain you make is taxed somewhere.
Read →Expense ratio
The annual fee a fund charges, expressed as a percentage of your investment.
Read →Tax-advantaged account
An investment account where the government reduces or defers your taxes.
Read →