Pay a Contingent Deferred Sales Charge

A contingent deferred sales charge, also known as a back-end load fee, is a charge that you pay when you sell shares of your mutual fund or stocks. Contingent means based on the number of shares you sell. Deferred means that you don't pay the charge upfront; you only pay when you sell shares, so the charge comes out of your total return. You can find the amount of any fees and how to pay a contingent deferred sales charge in your mutual fund prospectus.

Pay a Contingent Deferred Sales Charge

Open your prospectus to the heading 'Shareholder Fees' and look for the terms 'contingent deferred sales charge', 'back-end load' or 'back load'.

Find the percentage of the sales charge.

Figure your total investment. If you don't know this number, you can also find it in your prospectus or annual report.

Multiply your total investment or the amount you wish to withdraw by the percentage of the sales charge.

Avoid a Contingent Deferred Sales Charge

Look for a 'no-load' mutual fund before you invest. A no-load fund doesn't charge any additional fees.

Read your prospectus thoroughly, particularly the 'Shareholder Fees' section.

Look for a caveat to the contingent deferred sales charge. Many funds will not charge you the back-end load if you do not withdraw money before a certain length of time, such as one year.

Keep your money in the mutual fund for as long as possible. This allows it to continue to accrue returns while sometimes minimizing or eliminating the back-end load completely.