TY - JOUR T1 - Bond Fund Returns and Expenses JF - The Journal of Investing SP - 8 LP - 16 DO - 10.3905/joi.1999.319426 VL - 8 IS - 4 AU - William R Reichenstein Y1 - 1999/11/30 UR - https://pm-research.com/content/8/4/8.abstract N2 - This study examines the relationship between expenses and net return among bond funds with similar style - that is, duration and quality. It concludes that there is a strong, negative relation between funds' expense ratios and net return. Most evidence implies that fund expenses, whether in the form of an annual expense ratio or a one-time sales load, are deadweight losses to the investor. The evidence suggests that the lowest-cost bond fund within a sample of similar-style funds will consistently produce top quartile net returns over five-year and longer horizons. Low costs do not produce a persistent net return advantage over shorter horizons, however. ER -