ICI Viewpoints Content

Millions of Americans depend on 401(k) and other DC plans as their primary path to financial security, where investment choices play a critical role in outcomes. Because of this, the rules guiding how fiduciaries select plan investments are highly consequential. The DOL’s proposed rule would create a process-based, asset-neutral safe harbor to guide these investment decisions.

Millions of Americans rely on 401(k) plans and other workplace defined contribution (DC) retirement plans as their primary path to financial security. For these savers, the investment options...

ERISA’s Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE 77-4) limits a retirement plan’s investment options to open-ended registered funds.

Today’s 401(k) plans offer access to a far broader range of professionally managed investment funds than policymakers envisioned when many of the rules were first developed under the Employee...

The 2026 Leadership Summit and Fund Directors Workshop featured a policy-focused lineup of influential voices from Congress, the White House, the CFTC, and across the industry.

The 2026 Leadership Summit and Fund Directors Workshop featured a policy-focused lineup of influential voices from Congress, the White House, the CFTC, and across the industry. With Washington, DC, as...

President Trump’s National Economic Council Director, Kevin Hassett, spoke at ICI’s 2026 Leadership Summit on the administration’s commitment to expanding participation in capital markets and fostering Americans’ retirement security.

ICI President & CEO Eric J. Pan in a fireside chat with National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett at the 2026 ICI Leadership Summit. President Trump’s National Economic Council Director, Kevin...

The conversation turned to Trump Accounts, the program creating tax-advantaged investment accounts for American children. Hassett described implementation as a top Administration priority and made the...

ICI’s 2026 Leadership Summit, convening April 29 through May 1 in Washington, DC, brings together CEOs, COOs, heads of distribution, chief product and marketing officers, senior strategists and communicators, legal and compliance leaders, and independent directors for three days of discussion on the challenges facing the asset management industry.

Private credit is one of the fastest-growing segments of today’s capital markets. These loans—made by funds and other investors—were once the domain of large institutions, but regulated funds are increasingly making them available to everyday investors. With that growth come important questions about how funds determine what these assets are worth.

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.

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...