How low can you go?

摘要

SINCE 1975, when the first retail investment fund that aimed simply to mimic a stoekmarket index was launched by Vanguard, such "passive" funds have squeezed margins and profits right across the asset- management industry. On August 1st that trend reached its logical endpoint with the launch of two zero-cost tracker funds by Fidelity, a Boston-based firm built on active investing that is the industry's fourth-largest, with $2.5trn under management. With no minimum investment required and an expense ratio (that is, net cost to investors) of zero, it will further shake up an industry that was already undergoing a major structural shift.