Institute Comments on Proposed Changes to Mutual Fund Quotation Service

Washington, DC, June 26, 2000 - The Institute has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission a comment letter concerning a proposal by the Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. to amend the minimum listing requirements for inclusion and maintenance of open-end and closed-end funds in its Mutual Fund Quotation Service (MFQS). The amendments would lower both the initial and maintenance requirements for the inclusion of closed-end funds in the News Media List from $100 million and $60 million in net assets, to $60 million and $30 million in net assets, respectively. In addition, the proposal would amend the inclusion criteria for the Supplemental List with respect to both open-end and closed-end funds to add an alternative under which a fund would qualify if the investment management firm that manages the fund has at least one other fund listed in the MFQS that has at least $10 million in net assets and the firm has at least $15 million from open-end, closed-end and/or money market funds under management.

The Institute comment letter supports the proposed changes, but recommends that the proposed third alternative criterion for the Supplemental List use a more established concept, such as "fund complex" or "family of investment companies" to identify related funds.