Yesterday's Wall Street Journal had an odd, erroneous piece entitled, "Asset Managers Fight Push to Bend on Fees". It said, "Long accustomed to fixed gratuities, some asset managers are learning what it is like to be stiffed. At least, that is the unfortunate predicament facing money-market funds right now. They guarantee their investors' full principal [sic], so with short-term interest rates near zero, many have recently failed to collect enough on investments to cover their money-market management fees. [This too is incorrect.] The result: Some funds are having to forgo fees to make investors whole. Charles Schwab, for instance, which normally charges fees as high as 0.61% on its money-market funds, has seen its management-fee revenue reduced by 20% in the first half. The problem mightn't end with money-market funds. As returns fall, fixed commissions in other asset classes have begun to look overly large."
