Investing in the stock market just got cheaper

David Kuo, Director at the Motley Fool - Fool.co.uk, says: "The long-awaited launch of Vanguard's ultra-low cost index trackers is great news for cost-conscious stock market investors.

"Index trackers are passively managed investment funds, which means that you are not paying out for the services of active fund managers. And given that over 70% of actively managed funds fail to beat the market, most investors are better off investing through trackers.

"Trying to find a market-beating active fund manager can be as difficult as looking for a needle in a haystack. So rather than look for the needle buy the haystack. But the cost of buying the haystack makes a difference.

"Say you invest £100 a month for 25 years and your investment returns 9% a year on average. A fund with a Total Expense Ratio of 0.5% would give you a final sum of £98,200. But a fund that charges just 0.15% will give you £103,590 -- that's an additional £5,390!

"Every pound that the fund does not pocket in fees is another pound put towards your investment."