Over 40 years, a 1% annual fee took more out of the account than the investor put in. Not 1% of the money. More than every dollar contributed.
One percent sounds like a rounding error, but run it properly and it is not. Take $500 a month for 40 years — $240,000 of contributions. At a 7% net return you end with about $1,312,000; at 6% net, because a 1% fee came off the top, you end with about $996,000. The gap is roughly $317,000.
— Educational, not financial advice.