ICI Viewpoints Content

Millions of Americans are filing their taxes today feeling like they're being punished for doing the right thing: saving and investing for the long term. That was the message at a Tax Day event hosted by the Investment Company Institute.

Securitisation has become a revealing test of Europe’s capital markets ambitions. Both the EU and the UK are revisiting their securitisation frameworks in the name of growth, competitiveness, and better‑functioning markets. That focus is well placed: a healthy securitisation market is a critical mechanism for freeing up bank balance sheets, supporting lending, and mobilising long‑term capital.

In 1982, the asset management industry landscape looked very different. ETFs didn’t exist, most work was done without modern technology, and most people would be lucky to have a beeper, much less a...

The Pressures Facing Smaller Funds Fixed compliance costs spread across fewer assets, leading to higher expense ratios and pressure on net returns Structural scale advantages that favor larger...

Small entities are essential to a competitive and innovative asset management ecosystem, expanding investor choice through specialized and niche strategies. Regulatory burdens that disproportionately affect these firms can weaken competition, restrict investor options, and reduce the overall diversity of the industry.

Demand for collective investment trusts has surged, driven by retirement plan sponsors, advisors, and institutional investors looking for cost‑efficient, flexible investment structures. This expansion has created meaningful benefits for plans and participants, but it has also exposed operational limitations in systems not designed for the size and complexity of today’s CIT offerings.

ICI’s recently launched CIT resource hub provides a single place for operational, policy, and legal information and resources for our CIT members and committees, including the CIT Advisory Committee...

Automation as a Foundation for Scalable Operations CITs should consider adopting an operational model centered on automation and relying more heavily on automated processing services. Using mutual...

ICI’s latest national survey on Americans’ views of 401(k) and other defined contribution plans shows just how central workplace retirement plan are to household financial security.

Workplace Retirement Plans Matter 47% of workplace retirement account owners say they probably would not save for retirement without a plan at work. 92% say payroll deduction makes it easier to save...

Making it easier to save Nearly half of DC plan account owners said they probably would not save for retirement without a workplace plan. That number is even higher for people in lower-income...

Americans want to preserve workplace retirement plans 87% of Americans oppose eliminating the tax advantages of DC accounts. 77% are confident that 401(k) and other employer-sponsored retirement plan...

This strong support is not limited to people who already have retirement accounts. Even among individuals whose households do not currently own a DC plan account or an individual retirement account...

Policymakers across Washington are focused on expanding access to private markets—particularly for retirement savers. The August 2025 Executive Order encouraging broader access to private market investments for 401(k) investors reflects a growing recognition that capital markets have evolved and that long-term investors should be able to participate more fully in that evolution.

Why This Matters for Retirement Savers If policymakers are serious about expanding private market access in defined contribution plans, open-end funds must be part of the solution. Open-end mutual...

The 2026 Investment Management Conference brought together more than 1,000 legal and compliance professionals in Palm Desert for three days of in-depth discussions on policy, innovation, and the industry’s evolution, including key ICI priorities such as e‑delivery, fund proxy voting, and ETFs.

Asset management firms are navigating rapid change—from new technologies to shifting regulatory expectations. Legal and compliance teams are playing a central role as firms rethink governance, investor protection, and organizational design. These issues come together at ICI’s 2026 Investment Management Conference, March 22–25 in Palm Desert, California. The program arrives at a pivotal moment, reflecting broader transformations in how the industry operates and serves investors.

As America celebrates its 250th year, ICI considers the significance of ongoing investment in the nation's infrastructure. For millions of Americans, participation comes through mutual funds, ETFs, and closed-end funds that invest in municipal bonds, which finances about 90% of US public infrastructure.

1Municipal bond fund assets by state do not equal total municipal bond fund assets because of a small amount of assets missing state information. 2Data are estimated by dividing municipal bond fund...

On February 26, ICI convened a webinar bringing together leading EU and UK experts to provide the latest developments on the transition to T+1 securities settlement in Europe and the United Kingdom...