Investing Costs on the Stock Market — What's Not Visible in the Fee Schedule

Five Costs You Actually Pay

• Brokerage commission — a percentage of the transaction with a minimum fee. This minimum determines the profitability of small orders.
• Spread — the difference between the bid and ask price. An immediate cost of entering a position, not visible in any fee schedule.
• Currency conversion — for foreign instruments, usually 0.2–0.5% each way.
• Management fee — for funds and ETFs, charged annually from the fund's performance.
• Tax — nineteen percent of your profit, paid with your annual tax settlement.

Why the Minimum Commission Hurts the Most

Stawka 0,29% wygląda niegroźnie, ale przy minimum 5 zł zlecenie na 500 zł kosztuje realnie 1% — i drugie tyle przy sprzedaży. Dwa procent na wejściu i wyjściu to dużo, zanim cokolwiek się wydarzy.

Practical conclusion: for small amounts, it's better to buy less frequently and in larger blocks than a little bit every week.

The Cost That Grows Over Time

The management fee applies every year and to an increasingly larger capital, so its impact accumulates. Over twenty years with seven percent annual returns, the difference between a fund costing 0.07% and 0.45% is several percentage points of the final capital.

This is the only number in the entire analysis that you know for sure upfront. No one knows future returns — that's why, when choosing a fund, the fee is a stronger criterion than past performance.

How to Check How Much You Actually Paid

Your brokerage account statement includes all commissions and fees charged. Portevo calculates the total costs actually incurred from this statement, as well as an estimate of the cost of exiting current positions — because a portfolio valued without considering sales shows a result that cannot be realized.

Frequently Asked Questions

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