"If so, they are subsidizing the marketing fees of their employer and getting nothing in return."

Ms. Krominga said that the marketing fees she will be expected to pay were less than $120,000.

She went ahead and paid a $40,000 marketing fee, which brought "a world of exposure," she said.

Then, in 1990, those same investors were told the annual marketing fee would rise to a relatively high 1 percent.

That means "multiple fees are charged, usually a marketing fee and either a sales or a redemption fee."

Normally, pension funds are not billed for marketing fees.

The hospital described the money as marketing fees.

This class carries steep annual marketing fees that would often outweigh the value of the initial discount after four years' time.

The dozen funds Phoenix is offering its policyholders also have high yearly marketing fees.

The fund has no load but charges a steep 0.5 percent 12b-1 annual marketing fee.