Load Fund

A load fund is a mutual fund that charges a sales commission (the "load") on top of its ongoing expense ratio, either when you buy shares (front-end load) or when you sell them (back-end load, sometimes called a contingent deferred sales charge). Loads typically run from 3% to 6% of the amount invested.

A load is a one-time cost that goes to the person or platform that sold you the fund, not to the fund's own performance, which is why the rise of commission-free ETFs and no-load index funds has made load funds far less common than they once were.