Planning
The cost of costs
A charge you barely notice each year is not an annual cost — it is a share of everything that money would have earned, compounding for as long as you stay invested. Set two hypothetical yearly costs below and watch the gap they open between two otherwise identical pots.
What the higher cost takes by year 30
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The difference between the two pots at the end of the horizon — money lost to the extra charge, not to any difference in what was invested.
Pot at cost A
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Pot at cost B
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The chart compares two otherwise identical pots and shades the widening gap between them. Adjust the assumptions to update it.
Illustrative only — not advice, not a real portfolio, not a quote of our charges
This is an educational aid to explore one idea: how a yearly cost compounds. It is not financial advice, not a personal recommendation, not a forecast or a guarantee, and not a quote of any firm's charges — the two costs are illustrative figures you choose. The comparison is like-for-like: the same starting amount, contributions, horizon and assumed return, differing only in cost.
The assumed gross return is a single flat rate applied for illustration; real markets do not move in a straight line and this is not how any pot behaves year to year. The value of investments can fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. No decision should be made on the basis of this output; your own plan is agreed with Abhineet, looking at your full circumstances. Our full risk warnings and disclaimer apply.