Investors of mutual funds here pay higher fees than in other markets because most of the funds charge front loads and trail commissions, said a new study by Morningstar.

It added that the outlays make Singapore a less investor-friendly market in terms of fees and expenses.

Singapore was again graded "below average" - as it was in the 2017 survey - on a scale of "top", "above average", "average", "below average" to "bottom".

The asset-weighted median fees of funds sold here are generally high and it is rare for investors to be able to pay for advice other than through commissions or retrocessions, said Mr Wing Chan, a director of manager research practice at Morningstar Investment Management Asia, which runs the survey.

"Nonetheless, there have been some positive changes, such as the Government having announced last year that it would reduce expenses for the Central Provident Fund Investment Scheme," he added.

The biennial report grades the experiences of mutual fund investors in 26 markets across North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. .

The markets with the lowest costs were Australia, the Netherlands and the United States, which earned "top" grades.

The US has received the highest grade in all six editions of the study, underpinned by the positive effects of economies of scale and competition, Morningstar said.

Australia and the Netherlands both maintained their grade for the third consecutive study, as effective regulation has led to high fee transparency in both markets, while competition and economies of scale also conferred savings in Australia.

Taiwan and Italy were the worst performers, receiving "bottom" grades.

"Taiwan is a perennial poor performer, with some of the costliest funds among markets covered in the study," Morningstar noted.

Morningstar's analysis found that investor experience is improving across multiple economies, given the lower fees and ease of entry to buy funds without loads or trailing commissions.

Fund fees have continued to decline across global markets since the last study two years ago. The Netherlands saw the biggest drop in fees, followed by India and Canada.

"This (overall decline in fund fees) reflects a number of key trends, including orderly competition, regulatory intervention, and changing practices that have led to the unbundling of advice and sales fees from fund expense ratios in some markets," said Mr Grant Kennaway, Morningstar's global practice leader of manager research and co-author of the study.

Many regulators are promoting fee transparency as governments have facilitated increased savings through tax incentives, compulsion, or both, Morningstar noted.