Mutual funds traditionally required investors who buy through a broker to pay an up-front sales commission; these funds are known in industry jargon as A shares.
Processing Content
But the prospect of paying commissions deters some investors. In response, the fund industry in recent years has come up with new ways to compensate brokers.
Funds with back-end sales fees, which enable customers to defer payment of commissions until they redeem shares, are catching up with front-end loads in popularity. They are dubbed B shares.
Level-load funds, which enable investors to spread out commissions over several years, are also gaining a following. They are known as C shares.
Funds that carry no brokerage fee are growing in part because of the boom in tax-deferred retirement plans. Fund companies that offer these institutional shares-known as Y shares-are willing to waive commissions because they stand to get substantial income from investment management fees.