Streaming Fee

A streaming fee is a continuous management fee, quoted as an annual percentage, that a managed index or fund product charges holders simply for holding it over time. Rather than a one-time charge, the fee streams: it accrues block by block or second by second, so the longer you hold, the more you pay. Onchain products typically collect it by minting new fund shares to the manager, which slowly dilutes existing holders, or by skimming a small slice of the underlying assets. Either way, your claim on the basket shrinks gradually compared with a fee-free equivalent.

Streaming fees are the onchain counterpart of the expense ratio in a traditional ETF or the management fee in a mutual fund. Managed products, including governed folios in the mold of Reserve Protocol's DTFs, often use them to pay whoever maintains and rebalances the basket. That can be a fair trade when active management genuinely adds value, but the fee is charged whether or not it does.

When comparing products, check how the fee is collected, whether governance can raise it, and how it stacks with other costs like swap fees and rebalancing slippage. Some platforms monetize trading activity instead of time held: Tessera, for example, pays index creators from a share of trading fees, so creator income tracks volume rather than accruing against holders continuously.

Because a streaming fee compounds continuously, even a modest rate meaningfully erodes long-term returns, and it applies in down markets too. Fees are only one input alongside backing, liquidity, and smart-contract risk, so weigh the full picture. None of this is financial advice.