ICI Viewpoints Content

Halloween season is well past, but some banking authorities seem happy to continue chasing the perceived “ghoul” of bond fund stress amplification. In trying to make the case that bond funds amplify market shocks, systemic risk regulators have for years twisted and contorted the data...

Bank loan mutual funds and ETFs play a key role in capital markets, facilitating financing for American companies and offering unique benefits to fund investors. These funds invest primarily in loans made by banks to other businesses—loans that often have stronger lender protections...

Technological innovation in the financial services industry has driven huge benefits for Main Street investors, slashing costs and ushering in new investment opportunities. This innovation has taken place within a strong legal framework that protects investors. Yet a new proposal by...

Closed-end funds (CEFs) trying to fend off hostile hedge funds and other activist investors are facing another headwind from an unexpected corner: proxy advisory firms. Proxy advisors, which make recommendations to institutional investors on management actions and shareholder...

As financial services firms around the world institute processes and procedures to align with T+1 implementation in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the industry should seize this opportunity to establish one-day settlement as the next global standard. [1] The move by North...

There’s a reason that stoplights don’t flash red, yellow and green at the same time—it’s a surefire recipe for collisions and congestion. Overlaps and redundancies between the string of new rule proposals from Chair Gary Gensler’s Securities and Exchange Commission are creating the...

ICI brought together nearly 600 tax and accounting professionals from September 17–20 for the 2023 Tax and Accounting Conference, hosted in San Antonio, Texas. This annual event educates attendees on the latest trends and information their firms need to succeed in the asset management...

Like the products themselves, exchange-traded fund (ETF) and mutual fund investors share many commonalities. In fact, most ETF-owning households also own mutual funds, using both vehicles to achieve similar goals. However, recent ICI survey data shed light on some important...

Critics of the current retirement system often claim that Americans have insufficient income in retirement and that the system’s voluntary component is failing, leaving retirees too reliant on Social Security. 1 While these assertions are used to justify proposals to overhaul employer...