In this weekend’s Wall Street Journal, Jason Zweig discusses the importance of being conscious of fees. Our industry has worked towards encouraging managers to be more forthright regarding the impact of fees, but perhaps more is needed.

After-tax returns is an extension of this matter as it provides the investor with greater insight into what they’re actually earning. Unfortunately, the after-tax standards first promulgated by the Association for Investment Management and Research (AIMR) and later included in the GIPS(r) standards, only to be scheduled for elimination in January 2011, didn’t achieve the attention their developers expected: I think there was a “Field of Dreams” belief of “build it and they will come,” but few did.

Investors, especially less sophisticated ones, need to get the full story about what they will end up earning, after fees and taxes are removed. More work is definitely needed here. Glad to see that Mr. Zweig is providing some much needed visibility to this topic.