Are published fund returns net of fees?

Usually net of management fees, but "net" is not a standard term, and the benchmark beside the return may be on a different basis.

Four things to check before comparing two return figures:

• Whether the return is net of management fees, performance fees and transaction costs, or only some of them
• Whether distributions are assumed reinvested
• How tax is treated - most published returns are pre-tax at the investor level
• Whether the benchmark is shown gross or net

InvestHAQ states the convention used on every performance field, and labels sub-one-year figures as cumulative period returns rather than annualising them.