Sales Charge

Filed Under » ,
Dictionary Says

Definition of 'Sales Charge'

A commission paid by an investor on his or her investment in a mutual fund. The sales charge is paid to a financial intermediary (broker, financial planner, investment adviser, etc.) for selling the fund and is intended to provide compensation for the financial salesperson's efforts in assisting clients in selecting the mutual funds best suited to their needs.
Investopedia Says

Investopedia explains 'Sales Charge'

A large number of mutual funds carry sales charges. The amount of a sales charge represents the difference between the purchase price per share paid by the investor and the net asset value per share of the mutual fund. By regulation, the maximum permitted sales charge is 8%, but most loads fall within a 3-6% range.

With funds that carry a sales charge, there are three classes of shares: A, B, and C. The letter designations indicate the timing of when the charge is paid. For Class A shares, the sales charge is paid at the time of purchase (front-end load). For Class B shares, it is due when the shares are sold (back-end load). Class C shareholders incur a sales charge on a regular basis for as long as they hold the fund.  

Related Definitions

  • Mutual Fund

    An investment vehicle that is made up of a pool of funds collected from many investors for the purpose of investing in securities such as stocks, bonds, money market instruments and ...
    Read More »
  • Front-End Load

    A commission or sales charge applied at the time of the initial purchase for an investment, usually mutual funds and insurance policies. It is deducted from the investment amount and, as ...
    Read More »
  • Commission

    A service charge assessed by a broker or investment advisor in return for providing investment advice and/or handling the purchase or sale of a security. Most major, full-service ...
    Read More »
    • Net Asset Value - NAV

      A mutual fund's price per share or exchange-traded fund's (ETF) per-share value. In both cases, the per-share dollar amount of the fund is calculated by dividing the total value of all ...
      Read More »
    • Net Asset Value Per Share - NAVPS

      An expression for net asset value that represents a fund's (mutual, exchange-traded, and closed-end) or a company's value per share. It is calculated by dividing the total net asset ...
      Read More »
    • Open-End Fund

      A type of mutual fund that does not have restrictions on the amount of shares the fund will issue. If demand is high enough, the fund will continue to issue shares no matter how many ...
      Read More »
    • Brokerage Fee

      A fee charged by an agent, or agent's company to facilitate transactions between buyers and sellers. The brokerage fee is charged for services such as negotiations, sales, purchases, ...
      Read More »
    • Brokerage Company

      A business whose main responsibility is to be an intermediary that puts buyers and sellers together in order to facilitate a transaction. Brokerage companies are compensated via ...
      Read More »
    • Periodic Payment Plan

      A type of investment plan, often sold to military personnel, that allows an investor to accumulate shares of a mutual fund indirectly by contributing a small, fixed sum over a period of ...
      Read More »
    • Periodic Payment Plan Certificate

      A certificate representing ownership interest in a periodic payment plan. Through section 27 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Securities and Exchange Commission regulates the ...
      Read More »

Articles Of Interest

Partner Links