Exchange traded fund fees are cut

The cost of investing in exchange traded funds is falling dramatically as two of the largest providers, Barclays Global Investors and Merrill Lynch, cut their fees. Barclays Global Investors, which distributes iShares, is lowering the annual management fee on its eight European sector funds from 0.5% to 0.35% from this week. The move to reduce charges coincides with the changing of the benchmark on its eight European funds to track the new FTSE European rather than Bloomberg sectors. These new indices will comprise a narrower set of more liquid stocks, with no more than 30 in each inde...