tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5465015914589377788.post6777689224884586256..comments2024-03-20T09:32:16.592-04:00Comments on Michael James on Money: BlackRock Raises iShares Management Fees by 5%Michael Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10362529610470788243noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5465015914589377788.post-83900222868261467852020-10-31T20:44:42.977-04:002020-10-31T20:44:42.977-04:00The comment above is a reply to Thicken My Wallet&...The comment above is a reply to Thicken My Wallet's comment:<br /><br />It may have been William Bernstein (I can't recall) who sounded the warning bells about a publicly traded company, like Blackrock, owning an ETF issuer. Suddenly, the stakeholder that matters the most is the shareholders and their short-term desire to see rising quarterly earnings, consumer/investor of the products be damned.<br /><br />Mutual fund companies have gone down the same road (private issuer being acquired by pubco) and it is now better to own the issuer than the product itself. History doesn't repeat itself but it sure does rhythm.<br /><br />Even with more competition, I just don't see fees going down given historical patterns. Sorry to be a downer.Michael Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10362529610470788243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5465015914589377788.post-88150979696403983622020-10-31T20:44:11.183-04:002020-10-31T20:44:11.183-04:00The comment above is a reply to Canadian Capitalis...The comment above is a reply to Canadian Capitalist's comment:<br /><br />This was the subject of my post today as well. My theory is that BlackRock is piggybacking on to the upcoming hike in HST to pass along the GST to unitholders as well. I'm so glad that not all my ETF eggs are in the iShares basket.Michael Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10362529610470788243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5465015914589377788.post-80586371884084079132010-05-06T14:09:01.346-04:002010-05-06T14:09:01.346-04:00@Thicken: Don't be sorry -- I'd rather se...@Thicken: Don't be sorry -- I'd rather seek truth than wallow in comfortable falsehoods. Rising MERs on ETFs is a real concern. Any time my interests are almost completely opposed to another person's or entity's interests (as is the case between me and BlackRock), I try to be wary.Michael Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10362529610470788243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5465015914589377788.post-3550012767556103982010-05-06T12:09:35.023-04:002010-05-06T12:09:35.023-04:00@CC: Your theory that BlackRock wants to avoid eat...@CC: Your theory that BlackRock wants to avoid eating the increase from GST to HST is a good one. A side benefit for BlackRock is the added 5% in management fees.<br /><br />I'm almost completely moved over to ETFs now. Fortunately, they aren't all iShares either. However, I'd like to see some competitors to iShares put some pressure on them to prevent future MER increases.Michael Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10362529610470788243noreply@blogger.com