deferred sales charge


Contingent Deferred Sales Charge

The formal name for the load in a back-end load fund. A CDSC is the fee paid when a shareholder sells shares in a mutual fund within a certain number of years. That is, when an investor initially buys a share in a back-end load fund, he/she agrees to pay a third party, usually a financial institution or broker, a certain percentage of the share's value if he/she decides to sell it within five to 10 years, depending on the specific nature of the agreement. The CDSC usually declines by the year until the maximum number of years is reached. See also: B-share.

deferred sales charge

A fee levied by some open-end investment companies on shareholder redemptions and by many insurance companies on annuities. The charge of up to 5% of the value of the shares being redeemed frequently varies inversely with the period of time the shares have been owned. A deferred sales charge is indicated in mutual fund transaction tables in newspapers by the symbol r. Also called back-end load, exit fee, redemption charge. See also contingent deferred sales charge.