Transaction fees: Also called brokerage, it is the fee you end up paying every time you enter a transaction. More typical to the stock portfolio, these expenses look small in themselves; however they have a devastating effect when the portfolio turnover or the churn goes up. If a broker charges you a 0.5 per cent fee for a stock purchase, it may not seem like much. If, however, in the course of a year you bought and sold five times, your total fee as a percentage of your portfolio becomes 5 per cent!
