Level Load
Categories: Metrics, Mutual Funds, Insurance
"Hey guys, we gotta pay someone to tell people this fund exists, or we won't sell any shares."
Level load is a fancy term meaning "the cut of the profit in each transaction that goes to the salesman." Also called a "12b-1 fee," it's where none of the brokers or salespeople make a big up-front commission, but instead opt to get a little bit of the net-asset-value each year in exchange for their attention and advisory.
On the upside? Your broker isn't bouncing you around to this mutual fund or that mutual fund to get a commission. On the downside? They may not be bouncing you around enough to make the kind of investment returns you wanted.
"Level load" basically means that you know you'll be paying X% a year for the fund advice.