- The cost of investment can be the biggest single predictor of investment returns
- You need to assess the impact of a wide range of fees
- Higher costs don't often result in better returns
There’s plenty for investors to worry about. Inflation has hit a 40-year high, national and corporate debt is about as high as it’s ever been, and it’s far from clear that central bankers will be able to tame inflation without spurring recessions. Few people expect overall investment returns to be as strong in the coming decade as they were in the past one.
More encouragingly, if Investors' Chronicle columnist Mr Bearbull's view is correct ('Inflated fears' IC, 10.06.22), in the long run inflation has little impact on the performance of equities. It’s also a factor that we can neither predict nor control.