Seeking Alpha Seeking Alpha Portfolio App for iPad  In theory,
the exchange traded fund price war seems like it would benefit
investors. Investment provider Charles Schwab has recently
undercut long time low-price leader Vanguard Group in the race
to cut ETF fees. However, fees are not the only consideration
when it comes to cost.  "A no-brainer, right? Perhaps for some.
But for most investors the choice is still pretty complicated.
One big reason is that, while previous rounds of price cuts have
helped companies like Vanguard Group upend the ETF world,
investment fees on most funds are now already so low that other
factors like trading costs can often have a bigger impact on
investors' bottom lines," Ian Salisbury wrote for SmartMoney.
Charles Schwab has used low fees as a selling point for its ETF
line. It began with free trades for in-house brokerages and has
since evolved into a fee war among other providers. To date,
Schwab now has the cheapest broad-based ETFs trading. Salisbury
points to the Schwab U.