For example, if you invested $10,000 in a product that produced a 10% annual return before expenses and had annual operating expenses of 1.5%, then after 20 years you would have roughly $49,725. But if the investment had expenses of only 0.5%, then you would end up with $60,858 — an 18% difference. It takes only minutes to use the SEC's Mutual Fund Cost Calculator to compute how the costs of different mutual funds add up over time and eat into your returns. 

For mutual funds and variable annuities, you can find information on costs and fees in the prospectuses. For fixed annuities, check the sales literature or the contract.

3. Does my financial professional make more money for selling one product over another?

Regardless of how much you trust your financial professional, it is always legitimate to ask how - and how much - he or she receives for selling a particular product. For example, you could ask the following:

	Do you receive a commission for selling Product X to me? If so, how much?
	Do you get any other type of compensation for selling Product X? If so, what? (This could include a bonus or points toward some other reward, such as a trip or a cruise.)
	Do you get more for selling Product X over Product Y?
	Are there any other products that can meet my financial objectives at a lower cost to me (even if you do not sell those products)?

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