VeriPlan can estimate the lost lifetime value of investment sales loads that you have already paid in the past Your personal investment portfolio losses related to past investment sales load payments can and should be measured, when you evaluate the cost-efficiency of your investment strategy.
However, you cannot recapture any of the lost returns (past or future) that are associated with any excessive investment sales load payments that you have paid in the past. These lost assets were removed from your investment portfolio, when you made the purchase and you paid the sales load. However, if you can measure the cumulative lifetime value of these past investment sales load payments, you can make a more informed decision about whether to keep paying sales loads on investment purchases in the future. (See: How expensive is advisor compensation paid via sales loads? and Pay less to get more)
Sales load payments consume part of your original investment principal. With a front-end sales load, the asset is simply gone at the outset. With a back-end load, the asset is gone, when you sell the asset and buy a replacement investment. These lost sales load assets can never provide a future return. Sales load payments become ‘phantom’ assets to you and real assets in someone else’s pocket. Sales loads charges, which you paid in the past, effectively were 100% charges on the assets that were taken out of your original investment principal. The key question is whether you got your money’s worth, when you paid sales loads for “advice” in the past. There are strong reasons to doubt whether you did get your money’s worth. (See: Can you really get free and objective investment advice, when you pay investment sales loads? and Does it matter how financial planners and investment advisors are paid?)
The investment sales loads you have paid in the past have already diminished your investment portfolio. In addition, your portfolio was diminished further by the returns that you have lost on these phantom assets up to the present. Furthermore, because you cannot earn a return on them in the future, your portfolio will continue to be diminished for the rest of your life by these lost assets, which long ago slipped off your radar screen. All you can do is to stop paying future loads, if you can quantify and understand the lifetime costs to you of sales loads, and if [...]