Empower Web Fee Analyzer

WHAT IT DOES

Empower Web Fee Analyzer automatically scans Empower portfolio and account pages to extract comprehensive fee data including expense ratios for each holding, advisory fees, management fees, and total account costs. The tool calculates total annual fees, fee impact on investment returns as a percentage of your total balance, and projected long-term fee costs over a 10-year horizon. A floating overlay panel displays a detailed fee breakdown showing fee percentages and dollar amounts for each holding, with high-cost holdings highlighted in red. The panel compares your weighted average expense ratio against industry averages (0.50%) to show whether you're paying more or less than typical investors. You can set a fee tolerance threshold, and the tool flags any holdings that exceed your threshold with visual alerts. This provides a complete picture of the fees you're paying and their impact on your portfolio.

WHERE IT RUNS

This extension operates exclusively on empower.com domain pages that contain portfolio and account content—specifically pages with "/portfolio", "/account", "/holdings", or "/investments" in the URL path, or pages that display portfolio holdings and fee information. It works alongside the free BotGentz companion extension, which provides the necessary DOM access and page interaction capabilities. The fee analyzer runs entirely within your local browser instance and does not communicate with any external servers or APIs. All fee data extraction, impact calculations, and threshold preferences are processed and stored on your machine, ensuring your portfolio data and fee analysis remain private. It supports all modern Chromium-based browsers (Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera) and Firefox when paired with the BotGentz bridge.

HOW TO USE

After installing both BotGentz and this fee analyzer, navigate to any Empower portfolio or account page. Within 1-2 seconds, a panel appears in the bottom-right corner displaying a fee summary with total balance, annual fees, average expense ratio, advisory fee, and account type. The "Fee Impact" section shows the fee impact as a percentage of your balance and a 10-year projected fee cost. The "Holdings" section lists each holding with its expense ratio, balance, and annual fee—high-cost holdings (exceeding your threshold) are highlighted in red. The "Threshold" section lets you set a fee alert threshold—any holding with an expense ratio above this level is flagged. A comparison against the industry average (0.50%) shows whether your fees are higher or lower than typical. Your threshold preference is saved automatically across sessions.

FEE DATA EXTRACTION AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

The fee analyzer uses a multi-strategy extraction system to locate and parse fee data from Empower pages. It first attempts to find structured holding and fee elements using selectors based on the site's typical class naming patterns, including "holding-item," "investment-item," "fund-item," and "position-item." When these selectors fail due to site updates, the tool falls back to scanning page content for fee-related text patterns using pattern matching for terms like "expense ratio," "ER," "fee," and percentage values. For each holding, the tool extracts the fund name, expense ratio through percentage pattern matching, and balance through dollar amount pattern matching. Annual fee is calculated as (expense ratio / 100) × balance. Total annual fees are summed across all holdings, and the weighted average expense ratio is calculated as the balance-weighted average of all expense ratios. The fee impact is calculated as (total annual fees / total balance) × 100, and the 10-year projected cost is estimated as total annual fees × 10. Industry average comparison uses a benchmark of 0.50%.

THE PANEL

The fee analyzer panel is a compact, functional overlay that integrates into the Empower portfolio page. It can be dragged by clicking and holding the title bar, positioning the panel anywhere on the screen for optimal visibility while you analyze fees. The panel includes a built-in snap feature that automatically aligns to the nearest screen edge when released within 48 pixels, keeping your workspace organized. Click the collapse arrow in the top-right corner to minimize the panel to a small icon bubble showing a gear emoji, preserving screen space while keeping the tool accessible. The panel is not resizable in this version, maintaining a consistent compact size that works on all screen resolutions. Press the Escape key to instantly hide the panel; press Escape again to restore it. All position, collapse state, and fee threshold preferences are saved locally using GM_setValue and persist across browsing sessions.

PLEASE NOTE

This extension requires the free BotGentz extension to function—the fee analyzer does not work standalone. Empower occasionally updates its page layouts and portfolio presentation formats, which may temporarily affect fee data extraction accuracy. The tool extracts fee data from the visible page content; if portfolio data is loaded dynamically after page load, you may need to wait a moment or refresh the page for the panel to populate. Fee calculations are based on extracted data and are provided for informational purposes—always verify fee information on the official Empower platform. The industry average comparison uses a general benchmark and may not reflect specific account types or investment strategies. The tool does not store or transmit any data; all fee data extraction, impact calculations, threshold preferences, and settings are processed and saved entirely within your browser. This tool is designed for personal investment analysis and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Empower or its parent company. Investment fees can significantly impact long-term returns; always consider the full range of costs associated with your investments and consult with qualified financial advisors.