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How to Manage Unit Class Fees

Add, view, filter, and delete unit class fees across six fee categories, and understand how they appear on investor statements.

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Written by Andrew Hughes

Fund managers can configure fees at the unit class level across six fee categories. Each fee is either an annual percentage of holding value or a fixed dollar amount apportioned across the fee period. An annual percentage fee can also carry an optional redeeming amount for investors who redeemed during the statement period. This affects fees and costs reporting only: Australian periodic and exit statements, and the fee audit report.


Fee Categories

Every fee is assigned to one of six categories:

Category

Description

Management fee

Recurring fees for managing the fund and its assets

Performance fee

Fees tied to fund performance, such as carried interest or high-water mark fees

Transaction fee

One-off fees triggered by specific investment events, such as acquisitions, dispositions, or financing

Operating cost

Ongoing costs of running the fund passed through to investors, such as administration, audit, legal, or custody

Indirect cost

Costs incurred in underlying or interposed vehicles that reduce investor returns

Establishment cost

One-time costs at fund launch, investor onboarding, or fund close

Every category supports both fee types, Annual percentage and Fixed dollar amount.


Add a Fee

To add a fee to a unit class:

  • In the navigation pane, select Funds

  • Navigate to the relevant fund and open the Classes tab

  • Select the unit class you want to update

  • Go to the Fees and Costs tab

  • Click Add fee

In the dialog, complete the following:

  • Category – one of the six categories

  • Fee type – Annual percentage or Fixed dollar amount

  • Fee amount – the rate (up to 6 decimal places) or dollar amount charged to every investor

  • Different rate for redeeming investors – for Annual percentage fees, tick to add a Redeeming amount for investors who redeemed or transferred out during the statement period

  • Effective period – the dates the fee applies

  • Note (optional) – up to 500 characters

  • Click Add fee

Note: Fees in the same category with the same fee type cannot have overlapping effective periods. Fees in different categories, or with different fee types, may overlap.


Charge Redeeming Investors a Different Rate

Some funds charge investors who redeem a different rate for a fee, usually a transaction fee. Set the Fee amount for everyone else and the Redeeming amount for investors who redeemed. Both share one category and one effective period.

Important: The redeeming amount only affects fees and costs reporting: the fees and costs total on Australian periodic and exit statements, and the fee audit report. It does not change unit prices, distributions, redemption payments or any other statement or report.

Note: The Different rate for redeeming investors option is available on Annual percentage fees only, and appears only on unit classes where Caruso has enabled it. Contact Caruso Support if you need it.

When a statement is generated, each holding is classified for the statement period:

  • Redeeming – it had a redemption, partial or full, or an outgoing transfer during the period, of any amount. Exit statements are always redeeming.

  • Non-redeeming – it had neither. Subscriptions and incoming transfers do not count.

The redeeming amount applies to the investor's whole holding, not only the units redeemed. If a fee has no redeeming amount, every investor is charged the fee amount.

Tip: To charge a fee to redeeming investors only, set the Fee amount to 0.0000% and enter a Redeeming amount.


View and Filter Fees

The Fees and Costs tab on the unit class lists all configured fees with the following columns:

  • Category – the fee category label

  • Effective Period – the date range the fee applies

  • Fee Amount – the rate for every investor, or for non-redeeming investors where a redeeming amount is set

  • Redeeming Amount – the rate for redeeming investors. A dash (—) means the fee amount applies to everyone. None means that group has no rate for the category and is not charged it.

  • Note – any note added when the fee was created

  • Created – when the fee was created

  • Created By – the admin user who created the fee

Use the category filter above the list to narrow the list to one or more categories. Your selection stays in the page address, so you can share or bookmark a filtered view.


Delete a Fee

Click the ellipsis (...) next to the fee and select Delete, then confirm. If the fee has a redeeming amount, both amounts are deleted together.

Note: Fees cannot be edited. To change an amount or effective period, delete the fee and add it again.


Where These Fees Appear

Fees configured on the unit class flow through to investors' periodic statements and exit statements.

  • All six categories are included, combined into a single fees and costs figure. Redeeming amounts do not change this. The rate applied to each investor is shown in the fee audit report.

  • Adviser fees are separate. They are configured on the application, not the unit class, and appear on their own line of the statement.

  • Both statement types calculate fees the same way. A periodic statement covers the period you configure. An exit statement runs from the start of the financial year to the investor's exit date.


Download the Fee Audit Report

The fee audit report shows which rate each holding in a periodic or exit statement batch was charged, and how its fees and costs total was reached.

  • In the navigation pane, select Statements and open the batch

  • Click Download at the top of the batch and select Fee audit report (XLSX)

The Excel workbook has one row per holding, showing the investing entity, holding and fund / unit class, the Investor group (Redeeming or Non-redeeming) and Group reason, the Direct fees and Indirect fees totals matching the statement, and for each fee category on the class the rate applied and the amount in a redeeming or non-redeeming column.

Note: The report is available once the batch has generated statements. It uses the values saved at generation, so later changes to fees or transactions do not alter it. Batches generated before this report was introduced cannot produce one.


How Fees Are Calculated

Caruso calculates fees using a daily accrual method. The system automatically breaks the calculation into sub-periods whenever:

  • The holding value changes

  • A new fee rate becomes effective

For each sub-period: Fee = (Units Held × Unit Value) × (Annual Rate ÷ 365/366) × Days in Period

Fixed dollar amount fees are apportioned across the unit class and the days in the fee's effective period.

Each sub-period is rounded once, then the sub-periods are summed.


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If you have any questions or need help at any stage, please contact our Caruso Support team either by email or live chat.

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