Let’s start with a simple question:

If you’re paying a financial advisor or fund manager a higher fee, wouldn’t you expect better results?

Of course you would! That’s what we’ve all been led to believe. You pay more, you get more — right?

You’re not silly for thinking that. It makes perfect sense in most areas of life. Pay more for a car, you get a better engine. Pay more for a hotel, you get a comfier bed and a fancier breakfast. So why wouldn’t it be the same with investing?

Because investing is weird. And in this world, you get what you don’t pay for.

🧠 The Two Things That Really Matter in Investing

When it comes to choosing a fund, there are two key factors that determine your long-term success:

1. Fees – How much it costs to invest in the fund. This includes:
   • OCF (Ongoing Charges Figure): The annual cost of managing the fund, expressed as a percentage.
   • Platform fees, advisor fees, entry/exit fees — all the sneaky little charges that nibble away at your returns.
2. Performance – How well the fund actually does. Does it grow over time? Does it pay dividends? Does it beat the market?

Most people focus on performance. But here’s the kicker: fees are the single biggest predictor of performance. And not in the way you’d expect.

🏃‍♂️ The Marathon Analogy: Why Fees Matter

Imagine two runners in a marathon:

• Runner A is carrying a 10kg backpack (high fees).
• Runner B is running free and light (low fees).

Who’s more likely to win?

That’s what fees do to your investments. They weigh you down. Even a 1% fee can crucify your long-term returns. Over 30 years, that 1% could cost you hundreds of thousands in lost growth. 😱

Check out our article: 1% Matters here

📉 The Dream They Sell You (and Why It’s Rubbish)

Flashy advisors and expensive funds sell you a dream: “Yes, we charge more, but we’ll make you more too!”

If they could consistently outperform the market by more than they charge, that would be fine. But here’s the truth:

They don’t. And they can’t.

Katie’s first advisor charged high fees and delivered worse performance. Double whammy. 💥

📚 The Research That Blew My Mind

After reading Trillions: How a Band of Wall Street Renegades Invented the Index Fund, I got geeky. I dug into studies and annual reports. One study in particular — “Shopping for Alpha: You Get What You Don’t Pay For” — changed everything.

They looked at a bunch of factors to see what predicted fund success:

• Expense Ratio (fees)
• Fund Concentration (how diversified it is)
• Turnover (how often they buy/sell)
• Fund Size
• Past Alpha (past performance)

And guess what?

The only factor that consistently predicted better performance was low fees.

Here’s what the study said:

“The expense ratio remained the most powerful (and, indeed, the only statistically significant) predictor of relative performance.”

Translation? The cheaper the fund, the better it performed. 🎯

You might be wondering “How is this possible?” I was left wondering, how? why? where? when? My mind was racing after reading this!

🤔 But Don’t You Get What You Pay For?

Nope. Not in investing.

In fact, the opposite is true. The more you pay, the worse your results are likely to be. Why?

Because high fees usually mean active investing — where fund managers try to beat the market by picking stocks. This sounds clever, but it rarely works.

🔄 Active vs Passive Investing

• Active investing = humans picking stocks, trying to beat the market. High fees. Low success rate.
• Passive investing = buying the whole market (like the Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap or S&P 500). Low fees. Proven long-term performance.

Passive funds don’t try to be clever. They just track the market. And over time, the market wins.

💸 Wealthify or… Poorify? 🤔

Let’s talk about one of the most well-known robo-advisors in the UK: Wealthify.

They market themselves as a smart, modern way to invest. Slick branding, easy-to-use app, and the promise that their experts will manage your money and deliver great returns.

But when we dug into the numbers, we found something very different:

• High fees — Wealthify’s charges are significantly higher than going direct with a provider like Vanguard.
• Poor performance — Despite the fees, their returns have consistently underperformed low-cost index funds.
• Empty promises — They sell the dream of “we’ll do it all for you,” but the results just don’t stack up.

We wrote an open letter to them titled “Wealthify or Poorify?” — and we didn’t hold back. If you or someone you know has money with Wealthify, you need to read this.

👉 Click here to read the full Wealthify article

📣 Read it and SHARE with anyone who has a Wealthify account. You could save them thousands.

✅ What You Can Control

You can’t control the stock market. You can’t control recessions, pandemics, or politics.

But you can control your fees. And that one decision could be the most important thing you do for your financial future.

📝 Homework FREEDOMwork 💥

This isn’t boring school homework. This is FREEDOMwork — the kind of work that sets you free financially. The more you understand your investments, the more power you have to shape your future.

Here’s your mission (should you choose to accept it):

🔍 Step 1: Investigate Your Investments

For every investment account you have — pensions, ISAs, 401(k)s, SIPPs, ROTHs, whatever — find out:

• ✅ What are you invested in?
  Look at the actual funds, not just the platform name.
• ✅ What are the underlying funds?
  Are they index funds, actively managed funds, or something else?
• ✅ What are the fees?
  Look for:
  • OCF (Ongoing Charges Figure) – the annual cost of the fund.
  • Platform fees – what the provider charges to host your investments.
  • Advisor fees – if someone is “managing” your money.
  • Entry/exit fees – any charges for buying or selling.

💡 Step 2: Take Back Control

Once you know what you’re paying and where your money is going, you can:

• Switch to lower-fee funds
• Ditch expensive advisors
• Maximise your employer match
• Start building wealth on your terms

🧠 TL;DR – The Rebel Finance School Takeaway

• Fees matter. A lot.
• The lower the fees, the better your chances of success.
• Passive > Active.
• You don’t need a fancy advisor. You need a low-cost index fund and a bit of knowledge.

💥 Final Word

You don’t need to be a financial expert. You just need to know that fees matter. And now you do.

Take back control. Lower your fees. And build the financial future you deserve. 💪