U.S. fund investors are more worried about high fees than they are about the details of the U.S. fund trading scandal, according to a survey released today by Chicago-based consulting firm, Spectrem Group.

The survey found that 57% of mutual fund investors “have no particular concern” about the scandals currently roiling the industry and 44% admit to “having little knowledge about the issues”. Only 37% said they were concerned about market timing or late trading, while 58% said they were concerned about fees.

“Mutual fund investors have demonstrated a surprising lack of concern about the scandals that have rocked the industry, and when they do express anxiety it involves pocketbook issues such as fees and overall return. While a general lack of knowledge about the issues no doubt contributes to this apathy, the findings do suggest that investors simply don’t see a direct connection between the headlines and their own bottom lines,” said Catherine McBreen, managing director of Spectrem, in a news release.

Indeed, nearly 20% of mutual fund investors said they don’t care about allegations of favoritism or special rules for big investors as long as their investment returns are sufficiently high. And, 62% said they have confidence in the fund companies they’ve invested in.

Still, 62% said they would participate in class-action lawsuits involving any of their mutual fund providers found guilty of improper behavior. As well, 35% said that they would transfer out of companies whose funds are mentioned in allegations.

The survey comprises responses from 402 mutual fund investors, including 168 who invested through retirement plans, contacted by telephone in February 2004. The margin of error for the entire survey group is plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.