July 6th, 2009  

Danish funds are still among the cheapest in Europe

The Federation of Danish Investment Associations has analysed how much it costs to save up in investment funds in Denmark compared to a number of other European countries.

The aim of this analysis has been to make a research into whether or not the 850,000 Danes, who hold fund shares, pay heavier expenses than investors from other parts of Europe.

This analysis is very clear: the Danish investment associations' expenses are still among the lowest in Europe. As an example, in 2008, administrative expenses in a typical Danish actively managed equity fund were 1.6 per cent. In the other eleven countries in the analysis, the expense level was 1.9 per cent. The Danish level is the third lowest in Europe.

It is commonly known that expenses in bond funds are lower than in equity funds. However, Danish funds still perform very well in this area also. In 2008, total expenses in bond funds, included in the analysis, averaged 0.8 per cent, whereas the average total expense in the other eleven countries amounted to 1.1 per cent. Consequently, expenses in Danish bond funds are the third lowest in a European context. Only the Swedish and Austrian funds succeeded in offering lower costs in 2008 in the bond area.

The analysis includes more than 24,000 funds aimed at private investors, and is based on the well known international concept of the total expenses, TER.

The analysis covers countries managing 96 per cent of the European UCITS-market.