Fee drag as of · 261

A one-percent fee is not one percent of outcomes — compounding makes costs exponential too. Fee drag is the quiet subtraction of expense ratios, advice charges and trading costs from the rate that actually compounds for you. Fee drag sits in the engines family of this atlas: mechanisms first, products second, hype never.

Use the calculator for scenarios, then return to the section pages when you want the vocabulary behind the curve. No. Tool-Lifes pages are educational atlases. Decisions need your goals, constraints and, when appropriate, a licensed adviser. Do I need a high return for compounding to matter?

Higher net rates help, but time and contributions often dominate — especially early. Costs and behaviour can erase a “good” rate. Treat outputs as scenario sketches. Vary contribution, rate, fees and inflation to see which lever moves your goal date. Always ask whether a figure is nominal or real. A high nominal path can still lose purchasing power.