@daheff
The first thing you need to do is talk to someone who understands how all the charges work and isn't reluctant to be transparent with them. So, find a different advisor.
This is what CIVs are and, depending on the company, other product providers use different terms (like Other Ongoing Charges OOCs)
The Annual Management Charge may include trail commission (some advisors like to call this an annual fee) but doesn't include CIVs/OOCs or portfolio transaction costs (PTCs).
When you add the AMC and the CIV/OOC together you get the equivalent of a Total Expense Ratio (TER).
KIDs are generic and are not representative of the price of the product you are buying. They represent the worst charging structure that you
could buy from via an advisor/product provider. So, if a product provider has an investment product with circa 50/60 different charging structures, you don't know what structure applies to what you're buying until the point of sale. Becuase the advisor chooses that. But, KIDs in their current form are a mess and misleading.
Every product provider has a 'menu' of charging structures for each product - for a €5,000 investment you
could be charged an AMC or 2% or you
could be charged an AMC of 0.65%, the advisor/intermediary (and type of service you want) will dictate that.
CIVs/OOCs
and PTCs are included the the fund performance figures/unit prices on the product provider websites. Product providers vary in how the AMC is presented in Fund Fact Sheets and Performance Figures - for example, a provider may include 0% or 0.4% etc.
The good news is that there has been progress on the transparency/disclosure (with the sole exception of Executive/Directors Pension Plans) of products over the last while. It's way more important to get the investment/saving product right from the outset because the Exit Tax regime limits the ability to move to something better. Pension products (without early exit charges in first 4/5 years), not so much, or just ride out the 4/5 years.
Gerard
www.bond.ie