Free tool · Fund economics

VCC fund expense ratio benchmarker

See how your fund’s total expense ratio (TER) stacks up against peers. Enter your management fee and other operating costs and find your percentile within the relevant strategy cohort.

Your TER
2.60%
260 bps
Peer median
2.60%
260 bps · PE / VC (closed-end)
Cheaper than
50%
of peers (sample)
Where you sit — Below median — competitive
2.60%
P25
2.10%
Median
2.60%
P75
3.20%
P90
4.00%

Mid-size funds cluster around the median; the marginal cost lever is usually fund administration and audit.

PercentileTER (bps)TER (%)Read
25th (lean)2102.10%Above this level
Median2602.60%You are at or below this
75th3203.20%You are at or below this
90th (costly)4004.00%You are at or below this
Sample distribution — not real benchmark data. The peer percentiles above are illustrative placeholders. For a defensible benchmark, plug in a licensed dataset (e.g. SGX-listed peers, Morningstar, or your fund administrator’s book). TER excludes performance fees, which are compared separately.

Educational tool — not investment advice or a representation of market rates. Built by aama.io.

About this tool

The total expense ratio (TER) measures a fund's annual operating costs — management fee plus administration, audit, custody, directors, tax and regulatory costs — as a percentage of net asset value. It is the single clearest gauge of how cost-efficient a fund is for its investors.

This benchmarker places your TER within a strategy cohort (buyout/VC, hedge, private credit, multi-asset or fixed income), showing your percentile against the 25th, median, 75th and 90th-percentile peer levels.

How to use it

  1. Select the strategy cohort that matches your fund.
  2. Enter your management fee and other operating costs in basis points.
  3. Read your TER, your peer percentile and where you sit on the quartile gauge.

Frequently asked questions

How is a fund's total expense ratio (TER) calculated?

TER is total annual operating costs — management fee plus administration, audit, custody, directors, tax and regulatory costs — divided by the fund's average net asset value, expressed as a percentage or in basis points. It excludes performance fees.

What is a good total expense ratio for a fund?

A "good" TER depends on strategy and size. Private equity and venture funds commonly run higher TERs (around 2–3.5%) than fixed income (often under 1%). Larger funds dilute fixed costs and tend to sit below the median for their cohort.

What does the TER exclude?

TER typically excludes performance fees and carried interest, transaction costs, and one-off setup costs. Those are assessed separately from the recurring expense ratio.