Advantage to direct purchase: saving that 0.54% annual expense burden the ETF charges.

FORBES: Magazine Article

The average closed-end fund tracked by Lipper Analytical Services has a 1.34% annual expense burden, the sum of overhead and management fees.

FORBES: When to buy a closed-end

Unlike the results of stock picking, which are volatile and only weakly predictable from one period to the next, the expense burden is an ongoing drag and highly predictable.

FORBES: Hidden Expenses

It is not just American companies that are finding it hard to cope with the burden and expense of tougher regulation.

ECONOMIST: Making the wrong sort of capital | The

"Bank of America denies the allegations and is entering into this settlement to eliminate the uncertainties, burden and expense of further protracted litigation, " it said in a statement.

BBC: Bank of America pays $2.4bn to settle Merrill Lynch lawsuit

It does require all of the employers to monetarily assume the burden of this expense.

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Pensioners would be better off, possibly at the expense of future taxpayers, who would bear the burden of repaying the government's more costly debt.

ECONOMIST: A call to set up a sovereign-wealth fund

Victory may not be welcomed by everyone back home since that nation bears the expense of hosting the following year's event -- a commitment that's more of a burden at a time of wide austerity in Europe.

CNN: Denmark wins Eurovision Song Contest