The Four C's of Investment Costs | bps and pieces (2024)

Alternative investments are generally more expensive than stock and bond funds. I'm not breaking any new ground here.

In a world where passive market beta is effectively free, investors rightfully place a greater degree of scrutiny on investments that at first glance seem relatively pricey.

Like anything in life, there is a place for low cost and a place for higher cost. Sometimes we want a burger from McDonald’s and other times we splurge on a bone-in ribeye from a nice steakhouse.

All else equal, the lower the cost the better - more money in our pockets. The challenge in investing is that all else is rarely equal. Trade-offs must be weighed and evaluated, and the costs of any investment must be contextualized. To help with this conversation, I like to frame fund expenses in terms of what I call the Four C’s of Investment Costs: Capacity, Craftsmanship, Complexity, and Contribution.

  • Capacity: The amount of capital a strategy can prudently oversee without degrading its integrity is of paramount importance to its cost. The reason market-cap weighted U.S. large-cap stock index funds are essentially free is because they have near infinite capacity. So, while the expenses as a percentage are infinitesimal, from a dollar standpoint they can create meaningful revenue for an asset manager given the incredibly large base they have to charge it on. Conversely, asset classes like catastrophe reinsurance aren’t as scalable. To offer such a strategy at Vanguard-like fees would not be profitable.
  • Craftsmanship: For nuanced strategies, implementation and design choices can make all the difference between success and failure when translating something that works on a spreadsheet into the real world. Fees should be commensurate with the level of detail involved in the development and execution work needed to maximize efficacy and minimize slippage.
  • Complexity: Assets with a higher degree of embedded intricacy typically require oversight and management from people with highly specialized talent, knowledge and expertise that are not as plentiful as found in other well-trodden corners of investing. Higher degrees of compensation naturally accompany useful skills that are in high demand and scarce supply.
  • Contribution: Investments that are structurally uncorrelated to things people already own and that offer meaningful risk premiums are valuable and thus should command a premium price. The more differentiated and additive to the portfolio, the more willing you should be to pay up.

The visual below summarizes the main features of low-cost and high-cost assets:

The Four C's of Investment Costs | bps and pieces (1)

When evaluating the expenses of different investment products, we must avoid comparing apples and oranges, or worse yet apples and orangutans. The expenses of an S&P 500 ETF should have no bearing on whether a managed futures mutual fund is deemed reasonable or overpriced. Similarly, a "smart beta" ETF that costs 20 bps might appear dirt cheap at first glance. But if you look under the hood, you might discover that for all intents and purposes the fund isn’t that much different than the broad market—which you can own for 3 bps. In this scenario, you are paying a great deal for the minimal amount of active risk being taken. On the flip side, the price tag for a liquid alternative mutual fund might seem steep at 1.25%, but when measured against a similar hedge fund that charges 2 and 20 it could be a bargain.

Costs can be a tricky subject to navigate when selecting funds and building portfolios. What’s important is that you don’t overpay for things you can get for much cheaper. When you do decide to pay up, make sure you have a high degree of confidence the expected benefits will survive the additional costs. As Cliff Asness has stated, “there is no investment product so good gross, that there isn’t a fee that could make it bad net.”

The Four C's of Investment Costs | bps and pieces (2)

About the author

Phil Huber, CFA, CFP®

Phil is the Head of Portfolio Solutions for Cliffwater, a leading alternative investment adviser and fund manager. Prior to joining Cliffwater in 2024, Phil was the Chief Investment Officer for Savant Wealth Management, a multi-billion dollar wealth management firm. Phil has been involved in the financial services industry since 2007. He earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. He is a member of the CFA Society of Chicago. More about me here. Twitter: @bpsandpieces

The Four C's of Investment Costs | bps and pieces (2024)

FAQs

The Four C's of Investment Costs | bps and pieces? ›

To help with this conversation, I like to frame fund expenses in terms of what I call the Four C's of Investment Costs: Capacity, Craftsmanship, Complexity, and Contribution.

What are the 4 C's of investing? ›

Mortgages may be for thirty years. Some corporations, such as Disney, have issued “century bonds” that will repay the original principal in 100 years. Before loaning anyone your hard-earned money, remember the 'Four Cs' of credit: character, collateral, covenants and, the most important, capacity.

What are the costs of investments? ›

The cost of investing: the types of expenses you incur

They are a fixed percentage or expense that is charged for things such as managing your money, administration, opening or closing a stock market transaction, underwriting a fund, custody of shares, and so on.

What are the components of cost of investment? ›

Common investing costs include expense ratios, market costs, custodian fees, advisory fees, commissions, and loads. Research has shown that lower-cost funds tend to have better returns than higher-cost funds.

What are the 5 different fees or costs related to investments? ›

High investment fees could have a major impact on your portfolio. Here are five common fees that you may see when you invest: advisory fee, expense ratio, sales charge, trading fee, and transfer fee.

What does the 4 C's mean? ›

The 21st century learning skills are often called the 4 C's: critical thinking, creative thinking, communicating, and collaborating. These skills help students learn, and so they are vital to success in school and beyond.

What do the 4 C's mean? ›

Do you know what they are? Communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity are considered the four c's and are all skills that are needed in order to succeed in today's world.

What is the cost and return on investment? ›

Key Takeaways. Return on investment (ROI) is an approximate measure of an investment's profitability. ROI is calculated by subtracting the initial cost of the investment from its final value, then dividing this new number by the cost of the investment, and finally, multiplying it by 100.

What is investment versus cost? ›

A cost is an expense for which the primary purpose is to continue operations under the current revenue and cost structures. An investment is an expense for which the primary purpose is to change the future revenue or cost structure of the enterprise.

What are the fixed costs of an investment? ›

Fixed cost refers to a business expense that doesn't change even with an increase or decrease in the number of goods and services produced or sold. Fixed costs are commonly related to recurring expenses not directly related to production, such as rent, interest payments, insurance, depreciation, and property tax.

What are the four components of investment spending? ›

On a macro level, the formula is written as: Investment Spending = Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - Consumption (C) - Government Spending (G) - Net Exports (NX).

What are the 3 major components of costs? ›

Elements of cost include Material, Labor, and Overhead costs. Material costs are the expenses on raw materials, Labor costs encompass wages and salaries, while Overhead costs cover indirect expenses like rent and utilities.

What is investment and its components? ›

An investment involves putting capital to use today in order to increase its value over time. An investment requires putting capital to work, in the form of time, money, effort, etc., in hopes of a greater payoff in the future than what was originally put in.

What are the basic types of costs? ›

The types of costs evaluated in cost accounting include variable costs, fixed costs, direct costs, indirect costs, operating costs, opportunity costs, sunk costs, and controllable costs.

What is the formula for calculating ROI? ›

Return on investment (ROI) is calculated by dividing the profit earned on an investment by the cost of that investment. For instance, an investment with a profit of $100 and a cost of $100 would have an ROI of 1, or 100% when expressed as a percentage.

What are three types of costs? ›

These expenses include:
  • Variable costs: This type of expense is one that varies depending on the company's needs and usage during the production process. ...
  • Fixed costs: Fixed costs are expenses that don't change despite the level of production. ...
  • Direct costs: These costs are directly related to manufacturing a product.
Mar 10, 2023

What are the C's in finance? ›

Most lenders use the five Cs—character, capacity, capital, collateral, and conditions—when analyzing individual or business credit applications.

What are the 4 C's of income? ›

  • Creation of Income. The primary focus. ...
  • Consumption of Income. This involves expending the income on necessities and other arenas. ...
  • Continuation of Income. The most important, yet the most overlooked aspect of family welfare. ...
  • Conservation of Income. This might be listed last but never should be the last step.

What are the 4 C's rather than the 4 P's? ›

The 4Cs to replace the 4Ps of the marketing mix: Consumer wants and needs; Cost to satisfy; Convenience to buy and Communication (Lauterborn, 1990). The 4Cs for marketing communications: Clarity; Credibility; Consistency and Competitiveness (Jobber and Fahy, 2009).

What is 4Cs framework strategy? ›

The 4C's process explores Customer, Competitors, Capabilities and Context to uncover unserved market needs, and identify where you organisation might have assets and capabilities to move more quickly than competitors to address those needs.

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