What a 1.5% fee costs
With €20,000 invested, at 6% a year before costs for 25 years, a 1.5% yearly cost takes about €27,000. With no fees you'd have €85,800; with them, €58,800. Of that gap, €13,600 is fees you pay and €13,400 is the growth you miss out on by paying them.
What is a fund's TER
The TER (total expense ratio, or 'ongoing charges' in the key information document) is what it costs each year to hold the fund: the management fee, the depositary fee, the audit and other expenses. It's a percentage of the fund's assets.
It doesn't come as a bill: it's taken from the fund's price every day. That's why hardly anyone notices it, even though with a 1.5% TER and €20,000 you pay about €300 a year.
Where to find your fund's fees
- Key information document (KID): the costs section shows the yearly ongoing charges.
- Quarterly or half-yearly report of the fund, also on the CNMV website: it shows the total expense ratio for the period.
- The search on this page: the last twelve months' TER of funds registered in Spain, with CNMV data.
What funds charge in Spain
According to CNMV data as of 30 June 2026, half of the equity, mixed and global funds sold to the public in Spain have a TER of 1.47% or more. One in four is above 1.87%, and only one in four is below 0.95%.
For international equity funds the median is 1.62%. For euro bond funds, 0.64%.
| Fund type | Median TER | Funds |
|---|---|---|
| Euro equity | 1.7% | 62 |
| International equity | 1.62% | 303 |
| International mixed, equity-led | 1.52% | 92 |
| Global | 1.47% | 122 |
| International mixed, bond-led | 1.22% | 70 |
| Absolute return | 1.2% | 39 |
| International bonds | 0.96% | 58 |
| Euro mixed, bond-led | 0.8% | 61 |
| Euro bonds | 0.64% | 193 |
| Guaranteed, fixed return | 0.59% | 33 |
Fund fees by bank
Median TER of the equity, mixed and global funds of the 15 providers with the most investors, according to the CNMV as of 30 June 2026. It ranges from 1.01% at Andbank to 2.04% at Laboral Kutxa. Within each bank there's a big spread between funds, and even between share classes of the same fund: what counts is your fund's TER.
| Provider | Median TER | Typical range | Funds |
|---|---|---|---|
| CaixaBank | 1.47% | 0.84% to 1.87% | 88 |
| Santander | 1.32% | 0.77% to 1.62% | 77 |
| Kutxabank | 1.28% | 0.87% to 1.85% | 42 |
| BBVA | 1.64% | 1.26% to 2.11% | 42 |
| Amundi y Sabadell | 1.41% | 0.91% to 1.87% | 41 |
| Ibercaja | 1.73% | 1.19% to 2.19% | 38 |
| Caja Rural (Gescooperativo) | 1.62% | 0.88% to 2.37% | 32 |
| Unicaja | 1.66% | 0.92% to 1.87% | 23 |
| Laboral Kutxa | 2.04% | 1.57% to 2.63% | 18 |
| Bankinter | 1.22% | 0.91% to 1.61% | 57 |
| Andbank | 1.01% | 0.53% to 1.48% | 26 |
| Abanca | 1.22% | 0.78% to 1.44% | 11 |
| Renta 4 | 1.35% | 1.01% to 1.49% | 35 |
| Bestinver | 1.61% | 1.2% to 1.83% | 10 |
| Cobas | 1.3% | 1.06% to 1.55% | 13 |
Fees that aren't in the TER
- Portfolio management or advice. If your bank manages a portfolio of funds for you, it usually charges a separate fee on everything you hold. The funds in those portfolios can have a low TER while the total cost is high.
- Custody or account fees. Some providers charge for holding your funds.
- Subscription and redemption fees. A percentage when you buy into or sell out of the fund. Rare today, but they exist.
- Performance fee. A percentage of the gains, charged on top of the TER.
In Spain the law sets caps: the management fee can't exceed 2.25% a year of assets (or 18% of gains), the depositary fee 0.20%, and subscription and redemption fees 5% (Royal Decree 1082/2012, article 5).
How we work out what they cost
With a yearly return r before costs and a yearly cost c on assets, your money is multiplied by (1 + r) · (1 − c) each year. So:
Cgross = C0 · (1 + r)nCnet = C0 · [(1 + r) · (1 − c)]n
What fees cost you is the difference between the two:
Cost = Cgross − Cnet
- C0: the starting amount.
- r: the yearly return before costs, as a decimal (6% = 0.06).
- c: the total yearly cost, as a decimal (1.5% = 0.015).
- n: the number of years.
Example: €10,000 at 6% for 30 years is €57,435 with no costs and €36,497 with a 1.5% cost. Fees cost you €20,937, more than the money you put in. The calculator does the same month by month and for each fund separately.
What each point of fees costs
What fees cost you with €10,000 invested, at 6% a year before costs:
| Yearly cost | 10 years | 20 years | 30 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.2% | €355 | €1,259 | €3,348 |
| 0.5% | €876 | €3,059 | €8,019 |
| 1% | €1,712 | €5,840 | €14,950 |
| 1.5% | €2,512 | €8,366 | €20,937 |
| 2% | €3,276 | €10,660 | €26,105 |
Fees paid and lost growth
What fees cost you has two parts. Fees paid are the euros charged year after year. Lost growth is what those euros would have earned if they had stayed invested.
In the example of €10,000 over 30 years, of the €20,937 that a 1.5% fee costs, €9,302 is fees paid and €11,635 is lost growth. Over time the second part outweighs the first: that's why a fee that looks small ends up being so much money.
What this calculator leaves out
- Returns aren't constant. Markets go up and down. Use the calculator to see orders of magnitude, not an exact figure.
- It compares costs, not funds. Two different funds needn't earn the same before fees. The calculator assumes the same return to isolate the effect of cost.
- Taxes. In Spain, gains are taxed in the savings band of income tax (19% to 30%) when you sell. You can switch between funds without paying tax.
- The fund's trading costs and performance fees aren't in the TER or in the calculation.
Frequently asked questions
What is a fund's TER?
It's the total expense ratio: what it costs each year to hold the fund, as a percentage of its assets. It includes the management fee, the depositary fee and other running costs. It's taken from the fund's price, so the published return already has it deducted.
What's the difference between the management fee and the TER?
The management fee is only part of the TER. The TER also adds the depositary fee, the audit and other fund expenses, so it's always equal or higher. To know what a fund costs you, look at the TER.
Is a 1.5% fee a lot?
It's the median for equity, mixed and global funds sold to the public in Spain (1.47% according to the CNMV as of 30 June 2026). To give a sense of scale, with €20,000 at 6% a year for 25 years, 1.5% a year costs you about €27,000.
Which bank charges the highest fund fees?
According to the CNMV as of 30 June 2026, among the 15 providers with the most investors, the median TER of their equity, mixed and global funds ranges from 1.01% at Andbank to 2.04% at Laboral Kutxa. At CaixaBank it's 1.47%, at Santander 1.32% and at Kutxabank 1.28%. Each bank has funds far more and far less expensive than its median, so what counts is your fund's TER.
Where can I see my fund's fees?
In the key information document (KID), under costs, and in the fund's periodic reports, which the CNMV publishes. If the fund is registered in Spain, you'll find it in the search on this page with its last twelve months' TER.
Does the return my fund publishes already include fees?
Yes, the published return is net of the TER. In the calculator, enter the return before costs: if you use the published one, you'd be counting the fees twice.
How are fund fees charged?
The fund's own fees (management and depositary) are taken from its price every day, with no separate charge. Portfolio management, advice or custody fees usually do show up as a charge on your account, often every quarter.
Can I switch funds without paying tax?
In Spain, switching between investment funds isn't taxed: you pay tax when you cash out. Before switching, check whether the fund you're leaving charges a redemption fee.
Which funds are in the search?
Investment funds registered in Spain, with the data the CNMV publishes every quarter. Foreign funds sold in Spain, like most index funds, aren't included: you can add them manually with their ongoing charges.
Does the calculator store my data?
No. The maths runs in your browser and we don't ask for sign-up or email. If you share the link, the numbers travel in the web address itself.
How we calculate and where the data comes from
We simulate each fund month by month. The yearly return is turned into an equivalent monthly rate and each month the monthly share of the yearly cost is charged (the fund's TER plus portfolio fees). Each fund's TER is the sum of the total expense ratio for the last four quarters published by the CNMV. The data is updated every quarter.
Data source: CNMV, individual CIS information files
By the Davant team · · fund data as of 30 June 2026