Greed is the enemy of wealth

A fantastic column that lays out the effects of compound interest in stark and simple manner. It makes a compelling case that investor and investee companies interests need to be better aligned. And it has also convinced me to stay away from all "managed" mutual funds. I think I will stick with my index funds.

It uses the example of Warren Buffet, who has returned 20% on invested capital over his long investing career. He has accumulated 62 billion dollars. It asks a simple question. How much would he have accumulated if he had paid the standard 2% fee to a manager of a mutual fund? The answer is 5 Billion. The manager would have made 57 Billion!

The effect of compounding at 14 per cent, rather than at 20 per cent, is to reduce the accumulated pot by over 90 per cent.... The Sage of Omaha has made more money than anyone else without charging management fees. In the long run, the trust of investors and of investee companies may be the most valuable asset of all. And greed may be the enemy of wealth.

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