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ARCHIVE
Global Leaders Discuss Building a Competitive European Union
By Jean-Claire Perini
June 12, 2019
EU policymakers need to have a global mindset if the European Union is to compete and thrive in today’s interconnected marketplace. That’s according to an informative panel at ICI’s 2019 General Membership Meeting in Washington, DC, featuring ICI President and CEO Paul Schott Stevens, Honorary Director General of the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) Peter De Proft, and former Secretary General of the International Organization of Securities Commissions David Wright.
Brexit and the New European Commission
Stevens kicked off the discussion by asking about one of the most hotly debated EU topics: Brexit. Both Wright and De Proft lamented the uncertainty around Brexit and the challenges that ambiguity poses to businesses. For the asset management industry, it’s “very difficult to see the way forward,” said De Proft. Both acknowledged that although nobody knows what will happen on October 31—the new deadline for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union—it is critical that EU policymakers focus on increasing the European Union’s competitive edge, especially if Brexit happens.
To ensure the bloc’s success in today’s global marketplace, the next Commission “needs to boost the European Union’s competitiveness,” De Proft said. Wright expanded on this idea by warning that if the European Union does not build a unified and globally competitive market, it will “set itself back years.”
Building an Integrated Capital Market
One of the keys to developing a single, strong, and deep capital market is achieving regulatory harmonization, said De Proft. Wright agreed that the European Union “needs a set of rules that allow services and capital to flow around the European Union without impeding competition.” Having a single rule book would make it easier for EU and non-EU firms to conduct business in the bloc, they explained. De Proft and Wright also detailed several other initiatives that would create a stronger, integrated capital market, including:
- eliminating cross-border barriers to conducting business;
- developing a securities law that addresses insolvency;
- fostering more diverse sources of financing for small- and medium-sized companies; and
- implementing a pan-European personal pension (PEPP—a voluntary savings vehicle that will provide EU citizens with additional opportunities to save for retirement).
The Importance of a Well-Structured PEPP
Stevens touched on the demographic and economic pressures that are making traditional defined benefit pension systems around the world unsustainable, and explained how having a developed private pension regime can help citizens build more retirement savings and foster capital markets. Wright agreed, saying that if Europe wants to have truly deep capital markets and a sustainable pension system then it has to “succeed at [implementing] a PEPP.” De Proft noted how the European Union has progressed in its thinking about asking citizens to be responsible for saving for retirement through such a product as a PEPP. “Years ago, asking people to save for retirement was something you just didn’t do. Now we have to. And we’re seeing the political support to implement it.”
Learn More
To learn about ICI’s global policy priorities, visit www.iciglobal.org. Watch this discussion at ICI’s GMM video page. Find more meeting highlights at the GMM highlights page.
Permalink: https://www.ici.org/viewpoints/19_view_globalgmm
TOPICS: GMMICI GlobalInternational
Fund Industry Leaders Encourage Cultural Stability and Willingness to Embrace Change
By Olivia Caverly
May 31, 2019
The mutual fund industry is being driven by change. At this year's General Membership Meeting, the panel “Facing the Future: Leadership Perspectives" highlighted why firms should be encouraging a positive workplace culture, which will enable them to embrace the fast pace of industry change....
TOPICS: GMMOperations and Technology
Parag Khanna Talks Asia at ICI’s GMM
By Miriam Bridges
May 30, 2019
How can powerful nations continue to thrive? By being more connected to Asia, said Parag Khanna, the founder and managing partner of the advisory firm FutureMap. The noted global strategist and author shared this argument and more from his latest book, The Future Is Asian, with the guests at ICI’s 61st General Membership Meeting in Washington, DC, highlighting that Asia is becoming an ever-more important destination for investment....
TOPICS: GMMICI GlobalInternational
In Marketing, Either Adapt or Fall Behind
By Rob Elson
May 30, 2019
Seasoned marketing professionals took to the main stage at ICI’s General Membership Meeting to survey the modern business landscape and unpack strategies for reaching and retaining customers in a digital, data-driven world. Drawing on their unique perspectives, BlackRock’s Frank Cooper III, Salesforce’s Simon Mulcahy, and Nuveen’s Martha “Marty” Willis each shared sharp insights on how the business-to-customer relationship is changing—and on what companies must do to keep ahead of the curve....
TOPICS: GMM
It’s 5/29—Are You Taking Full Advantage of College Savings Opportunities?
By Sarah Holden and Christina Kilroy
May 29, 2019
Saving for an education is an important financial goal for millions of US households. In fact, nearly one-quarter of mutual fund–owning households indicate saving for educational expenses is one of their goals for their mutual fund investments. An increasingly popular way to save for college is through 529 plans, named for the section of the tax code that provides for their favorable tax treatment....
TOPICS: Investment EducationSavingsTaxes
2019 Investment Company Fact Book: Letter from the Chief Economist
By Sean Collins
May 7, 2019
Globalization has hit a few speed bumps in recent years, but it hasn't slowed the globalization of the Investment Company Fact Book. Consistent with ICI’s mission to represent the interests of regulated funds and their investors worldwide, Fact Book is expanding its international presence....
TOPICS: Financial MarketsFund RegulationGlobalInvestor ResearchMutual FundPolicy ResearchRetirement PolicyRetirement ResearchSavingsShareholder
SEC Chairman Jay Clayton Tackles Hot Topics at GMM
By Garrett Hawkins
May 2, 2019
In introducing SEC Chairman Jay Clayton ahead of his highly anticipated appearance at ICI’s 61st annual General Membership Meeting this morning, ICI President and CEO Paul Schott Stevens praised the chairman’s “erudition, dedication, and acumen” in leading the Commission. And during their 40-minute conversation—which tackled some of the top issues facing funds and their investors—each of those qualities was on show.
TOPICS: Financial MarketsFund RegulationGMM
ICI’s Quarterly Retirement Market Resource
By Miriam Bridges
April 23, 2019
ICI publishes statistics on the US retirement market every quarter as an information resource for mutual funds, individual investors, the media, policymakers, and researchers. This report includes individual retirement account (IRA) and defined contribution (DC) plan assets, including 401(k) plans, and mutual fund assets held in retirement accounts....
TOPICS: 401(k)IRAMutual FundRetirement ResearchSavings
Don’t Forget the 401(k): America’s Retirement System Helps Workers Save and Preserve Assets
By Paul Schott Stevens
February 26, 2019
In a letter to the Wall Street Journal responding to “Forget the 401(k),” published February 11, ICI President and CEO Paul Schott Stevens shows how the US retirement system actively engages employers to promote workers' retirement saving, noting that the current system also preserves choice and control of investments....
IRA: Will You Be Mine?
By Sarah Holden
February 12, 2019
As this Valentine’s Day approaches, step back and consider treating yourself or your spouse to an individual retirement account (IRA) contribution. Saving for retirement is an important household financial goal and contributing to an IRA is a good step toward providing for those later years....
TOPICS: IRARetirement Research
From December Outflows to January Inflows: Seasonal Factors in Mutual Fund Flows
By Shelly Antoniewicz and Morris Mitler
February 4, 2019
As US and global stock markets churned in December, the press took note of ICI’s reports on outflows from US long-term mutual funds and drew a hasty conclusion: individual fund investors were fleeing from market turmoil. But weighing flows against total assets is the first step to putting fund flows in context. A second factor to be considered is the calendar. It turns out that mutual fund flows have a distinct seasonal pattern, with stronger inflows early in the year giving way to weaker inflows or outflows during the second half.
TOPICS: Bond FundEquity FundMutual Fund
A Year of Advocacy: IDC’s 2018 Annual Review
Amy B. R. Lancellotta
January 31, 2019
IDC is well known for its education and outreach programs—and it’s not hard to see why. Year after year, they provide fund directors with opportunities to hone their craft and connect with one another, equipping them with the tools they need to thrive in their oversight role for the benefit of fund shareholders....
Corporate and Investment Grade Bond Funds: What’s in a Name?
By Sean Collins
January 4, 2019
Financial stability concerns are being inflated by confusion over what the funds in question actually hold. In fact, these funds invest nearly half their assets in Treasury and agency securities, and less than one-third in corporate bonds. In other words, these funds hold more in government bonds—traditionally the “safe haven” that investors seek in times of turmoil—than in the corporate bonds that seem to cause the regulators’ angst....
TOPICS: Bond FundCorporate BondsFinancial StabilityMutual Fund
Even in Bear Markets, Equity Fund Investors Stay the Course
By Shelly Antoniewicz
December 21, 2018
With the S&P 500 on a downward trajectory since early October, we’ve seen many headlines in the financial press of an impending bear market in US stocks and the potential for retrenchment by investors. But just as we showed that bond investors aren’t stampeding the exits in another recent ICI Viewpoints, “Debunking Assumptions About Bond Mutual Funds’ Flows and Bond Sales,” equity fund investors’ reactions to substantial declines in stock prices are less dramatic than the popular belief would suggest....
TOPICS: Equity InvestingExchange-Traded FundsMutual Fund
Debunking Assumptions About Bond Mutual Funds’ Flows and Bond Sales
By Shelly Antoniewicz
December 20, 2018
Recent outflows from bond mutual funds have drawn press attention and revived concerns among regulators about the impact of bond fund investors’ actions on the broader bond market. Unfortunately, this attention is rooted in misconceptions—as we’ll show using ICI’s comprehensive data covering 98 percent of mutual fund industry assets.
Understanding Interest Rate Risk in Bond Funds
By Shelly Antoniewicz and James Duvall
December 17, 2018
Long-term interest rates reached their lowest recorded levels in July 2016 and were on a steady upward trend until early December. Rates dipped recently, but that could be short-lived if global trade tensions ease and the outlook for economic growth remains robust. Investors should be aware of the effects rising interest rates could have on their bond fund investments....
TOPICS: Bond FundBondsExchange-Traded FundsFixed IncomeIndex FundMutual Fund
Mutual Funds: Rated E for Everyone
By Sarah Holden
December 12, 2018
Investing is subject to many misconceptions, including the notion that only wealthy households own mutual funds. As US households’ ownership of mutual funds has grown over the past four decades, the need to correct myths about who owns mutual funds has also grown....
TOPICS: Investor ResearchMutual FundRetirement PolicySavingsShareholder
ICI’s 2018 Annual Report: Letter from the President
By Paul Schott Stevens
December 3, 2018
A version of this letter by ICI President and CEO Paul Schott Stevens was released in the Institute’s 2018 Annual Report.
Fund industry watchers will remember this year as one of important policy developments, including some that have been the subject of years of debate. The Investment Company Institute has been deeply engaged in this wide range of issues, working on both legislative and regulatory fronts to promote advantageous outcomes for regulated funds and their shareholders....
TOPICS: Exchange-Traded FundsFinancial MarketsFund RegulationGlobalIDCOperations and TechnologyRetirement Policy
Common Ownership: "Puffery" in the Legal Analysis
By Mike McNamee
December 3, 2018
Proponents of the common ownership hypothesis presume that the economic debate over the competitive effects of institutional investing is settled. But a new paper from Douglas H. Ginsburg, judge on the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and Keith Klovers, a judicial clerk on that court, finds that those proponents "substantially overstate the validity and strength of the existing empirical work" on common ownership....
TOPICS: Financial MarketsFund RegulationPolicy ResearchShareholder
Growing Better with Age: The 401(k) Turns Forty
By Miriam Bridges and Christina Kilroy
November 30, 2018
This month marks the fortieth birthday of the most prevalent retirement plan available to workers today: the 401(k). It’s a milestone, to be sure, but there are no mid-life doldrums here—401(k) plans continue to grow, and currently hold $5.3 trillion in assets on behalf of more than 55 million active participants and millions of former employees and retirees.
TOPICS: 401(k)Investor ResearchPolicy ResearchRetirement PolicyRetirement ResearchSavingsShareholderTarget Date Funds
Common Ownership: Ignoring the Age-Old Conflict Between Owners and Managers
By Mike McNamee
November 30, 2018
In his first public remarks as a member of the Federal Trade Commission, Commissioner Noah Joshua Phillips tackled what he called “the common ownership story”—and concluded that “this ‘economic blockbuster’ seems a little light on plot.” And like many other experts, Commissioner Phillips sees problems with both the empirical evidence and the theoretical basis for the claim of anticompetitive harm....
TOPICS: Financial MarketsFund RegulationPolicy ResearchShareholder
Common Ownership: Faulty Assumptions on Investors’ ‘Economic Interests’
By Mike McNamee
November 29, 2018
In a new paper, scholars Thomas A. Lambert and Michael E. Sykuta find that proponents of the common ownership hypothesis don’t understand—or even attempt to consider—the actual economic interests and incentives of asset managers and their fund clients....
TOPICS: Financial MarketsFund RegulationPolicy ResearchShareholder
Funds and Proxy Voting: Funds Vote Thoughtfully and Independently
By Morris Mitler, Sean Collins, and Dorothy Donohue
November 7, 2018
During the 2017 proxy voting season, registered investment companies—including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and closed-end funds—cast more than 7.6 million votes for proxy proposals submitted by either management or shareholders of corporations held in the funds’ portfolios. Some of those proposals were straightforward; others were more controversial. But in every case, a fund adviser had a duty to evaluate the proposal and act in the best interest of the fund and its shareholders.
TOPICS: Mutual FundProxy VotingShareholder
Funds and Proxy Voting: Who Submits Shareholder Proposals?
By Morris Mitler, Sean Collins, and Dorothy Donohue
November 6, 2018
Any registered fund that holds companies’ stocks in its portfolio has a duty to consider proxy proposals offered by those companies—and to act in the best interests of the fund and its shareholders. These funds also have a regulatory obligation to report those votes.
As the only investors required to disclose their votes publicly, funds draw an outsized share of the attention focused on proxy issues and voting outcomes. And critics frequently focus on whether they agree or disagree with funds’ votes—without regard to funds’ obligation to vote in the interests of fund shareholders....
Funds and Proxy Voting: The Mix of Proposals Matters
By Morris Mitler, Sean Collins, and Dorothy Donohue
November 5, 2018
Proxy voting is in the news and on the minds of policymakers, corporate executives, and investors. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will focus on a number of issues related to proxy advisory firms, shareholder proposals, and technology and innovation to make the proxy process more efficient at a staff roundtable on November 15. Major corporate issuers—organized as the “Main Street Investors Coalition”—are agitating against the voting practices of institutional investors, including registered funds....
TOPICS: Mutual FundProxy VotingShareholder
Fund Shareholders Have to Receive Reports. They Don’t Have to Pay So Much for Them
By Paul Schott Stevens
November 1, 2018
ICI has filed a comment letter calling on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to overhaul the framework for fees that funds are required to pay to vendors when intermediaries such as broker-dealers hire those vendors to distribute legally required reports and disclosures to shareholders. The issue may sound dry and technical—but if the SEC follows through on our recommendations, shareholders will save real money.
TOPICS: Mutual FundShareholder
Improving Operational Efficiency for Interval Funds
By Jeffrey Naylor
October 23, 2018
Fund firms that offer interval funds—a type of closed-end fund that periodically offers to repurchase a portion of its shares—face unique operational challenges. To address these, ICI’s Broker-Dealer Advisory Committee recently launched the Working Group on Interval Funds. The working group plans to publish a comprehensive white paper that will consider new approaches to boosting the operational cohesiveness and efficiency of trade processing for these funds. The paper will include pertinent recommendations that should greatly benefit interval fund investors....
TOPICS: Operations and Technology
28 Trillion Smart Decisions
By Christina Kilroy
October 22, 2018
Have you ever done one small, smart thing that ended up making a huge difference in your future? I’m not talking about blind luck—like buying a ticket that turns out to be the winner in the (currently) $1.6 billion Mega Millions. No, I’m talking about small, smart decisions that can materially affect us later in life....
TOPICS: Investment EducationMutual FundRetirement ResearchSavingsShareholderTaxes
SEC Should Reject Complex, Costly “Pass-Through” Proxy Voting
By Paul Schott Stevens
October 2, 2018
Policymakers and regulators at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have renewed their interest in proxy voting issues recently. Among the items under discussion at an upcoming SEC Roundtable is the idea that a fund would only be allowed to vote on portfolio company proxies after the fund asks its own shareholders how the fund should vote. In essence, this would “pass through” to fund shareholders the decision of how corporate proxies would be exercised. Even the briefest consideration demonstrates how misguided and impractical the idea is—and why it should go no further.
TOPICS: Fund GovernanceFund RegulationProxy VotingShareholder
Fund Adviser Proxy Votes Align with Fund Interests
By Paul Schott Stevens
September 24, 2018
A key assertion in “Cracking the Proxy Racket” (The Wall Street Journal's Review & Outlook, September 18) is that asset managers vote “in block” to support recommendations set forth by advisory firms like Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services. Such statements ought to be tested against actual data.
A decade’s worth of research shows that fund advisers vote proxies diligently, in line with their fiduciary duty to the fund and its shareholders...
TOPICS: Fund GovernanceFund RegulationIndex FundMutual FundProxy VotingShareholder
Stock Ownership in the United States: It’s Main Street
By Sarah Holden
September 10, 2018
US household activity in the stock market has undergone a transformation over the past three decades. The old idea that investing in the stock market is just for the wealthy is vastly out of date.
In the late 1980s, less than a third of US households held stocks. Now, a majority do. This growth in stock-owning households has occurred across all income quintiles....
TOPICS: Equity InvestingInvestor ResearchRetirement PolicySavingsShareholder
“Common Ownership” Hypothesis Is Unconvincing
By Sean Collins and Susan M. Olson
August 22, 2018
Economists and legal scholars have issued pointed critiques and empirical rebuttals of the “common ownership” hypothesis—the notion that institutional investors holding small, non-controlling stakes in competing companies in concentrated industries decrease competition and raise consumer prices. Yet the issue continues to draw attention and is one of a long list of topics that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will include in upcoming hearings on competition and consumer protection.
In response, the Investment Company Institute (ICI) has submitted a comment letter to the FTC to provide a factual baseline on key elements of the discussion to help dispel misrepresentations underlying the common ownership hypothesis.
TOPICS: Fund RegulationPolicy ResearchShareholder
IRA Investors Are Concentrated in Lower-Cost Mutual Funds
By James Duvall
August 8, 2018
Individual retirement accounts (IRAs) represent the largest share of assets in the US retirement market, with assets totaling $9.2 trillion at year-end 2017. Forty-seven percent of this total is held in mutual funds, with IRA mutual fund investors primarily invested in equity funds. As part of ICI’s ongoing efforts to shed light on important insights into IRA investing, ICI is offering an updated analysis of expense ratios that investors pay on mutual funds in their IRAs....
TOPICS: 401(k)Bond FundEquity InvestingIRAMutual FundRetirement ResearchShareholder
How Mutual Funds Service and Protect Shareholders Affected by Disaster
By Joanne Kane
June 26, 2018
Mutual fund shareholders were among the millions of people affected by the numerous natural disasters that affected the United States during 2017. The recent volcanic event in Hawaii is another reminder that disasters—natural or manmade—can strike anytime, anywhere.
As both the summer tornado season and hurricane season get underway, the destruction in Hawaii serve as a reminder that US residents should be prepared for the unexpected—just as mutual funds are prepared to help and protect shareholders affected by disaster....
TOPICS: Operations and Technology
IBM Expert Demystifies Artificial Intelligence, Touts Its Value for Asset Management
By Jeanne C. Arnold
June 22, 2018
Forget what you’ve heard about artificial intelligence (AI), Tom Eck, chief technology officer for IBM industry platforms, told the crowd at ICI’s 60th annual General Membership Meeting. Despite its depiction sometimes in popular culture as a malevolent force, he said, there is nothing to fear from the technology, which happens to hold great potential for the registered fund industry....
TOPICS: EventsGMMMutual Fund
Young Leaders Reflect on Building a Better Business
By Christina Kilroy
June 21, 2018
Emerging leaders in the asset management industry are at the forefront of changes that will fundamentally affect the business—from technology, to client expectations, to how to attract and retain top talent. During a panel at ICI’s Operations and Technology Conference, held concurrently with the 60th annual General Membership Meeting, three such leaders explored how their firms are rethinking legacy processes and moving into the future....
TOPICS: EventsGMMMutual FundOperations and TechnologyShareholder
Meeting Investors’ Evolving Expectations—and Why Delivering Returns Is No Longer Enough
By Jeanne C. Arnold
June 19, 2018
Serving investors is at the heart of asset management. Yet in today’s technology-driven world, in which personalized services and experiences dominate everything from banking to shopping, asset managers are having to rethink how to best meet the evolving needs of investors and advisers.
During the opening session of ICI’s 60th annual General Membership Meeting, held this year from May 22–24, a group of industry experts took to the stage to discuss the future of the fund industry—and to explain why simply delivering returns is no longer enough....
TOPICS: EventsGMMMutual Fund
How Astronaut Jerry Linenger Found Strength, Perspective During His 132 Days in Space
By Candice Gullett
June 14, 2018
Captain Jerry Linenger has been around the world more than a few times—literally. As a retired US Navy flight surgeon and NASA astronaut posted on Russian space station Mir, he’s seen it all. But you don’t have to go in to space to benefit from Linenger’s insight—he had plenty of wisdom to share with attendees of ICI’s 60th annual General Membership Meeting (GMM), held in Washington, DC, from May 22–24.
TOPICS: EventsGMMMutual Fund
Amy Herman Makes Order out of Chaos with the Art of Perception
By Melanie Cohen
June 11, 2018
Art might not be the first topic that comes to mind when discussing the mutual fund industry, but lawyer and art historian Amy Herman showed that there is a connection to be found after all.
Addressing attendees at ICI’s recent Operations and Technology Conference, held concurrently with ICI’s General Membership Meeting in Washington, DC, from May 22–24, Herman explained that analyzing art requires stepping in closely and asking questions from every angle—a style of observation that also is important for the fund industry…
TOPICS: EventsGMMMutual Fund
Artificial Intelligence Offers Opportunity for Funds and Investors
By Miriam Bridges
June 7, 2018
What’s the future of the financial services workforce and artificial intelligence (AI)? Adam Broun, president and COO of Kensho Technologies, believes that AI will help human beings become better at what they do. “We’re not replacing humans yet in any meaningful way; we’re making people more effective and efficient in what they’re doing,” Broun told the audience at ICI’s annual Operations and Technology Conference, held concurrently with the General Membership Meeting on May 22–24 in Washington, DC.
Kicking off the session, Broun described how Kensho developed its “new economy” indexes and how AI comes into play...
TOPICS: EventsGMMOperations and Technology
For Good Cybersecurity, Keep Your Eye on the Basics, Says Fidelity’s Chad Renfro
By Todd Bernhardt
June 5, 2018
The computer breaches and hacks that make headlines are typically massive and complicated, and this can lead to the belief that information security solutions must be similarly complex.
But—as Chad Renfro, head of enterprise cybersecurity at Fidelity Investments, told a capacity audience at ICI’s recent General Membership Meeting—good cybersecurity doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. Instead, he said, companies that make “strategic, optimized investments in cybersecurity” and that focus on the fundamentals can drastically reduce the amount of risk facing their firm…
TOPICS: CybersecurityEventsGMMOperations and Technology
Asset Management Leaders Talk Shop on Markets and Trends—and the Industry’s Gender Divide
By Rob Elson
May 31, 2018
A panel of four leading women in asset management took the stage at ICI’s 60th annual General Membership Meeting last week to share their insights on market outlooks, industry trends, and gender diversity....
Popular 529 Savings Plans Expand to Reach Students of All Ages
By Christina Kilroy
May 29, 2018
Today, on May 29—“5/29”—we mark 529 College Savings Day. Many people interested in saving for a child’s or grandchild’s future college costs are using targeted savings vehicles called 529 savings plans. The plans, which have grown in popularity over the past decade and a half as a way to save for a family member’s college expenses, may now also be used to cover tuition for elementary and secondary education....
TOPICS: Investment EducationSavingsTaxes
SEC Commissioner Michael Piwowar: A Commitment to Markets, Shareholders...and Facts
By Rachel McTague
May 24, 2018
SEC Commissioner Michael Piwowar responded with candor to questions posed by ICI President and CEO Paul Schott Stevens during a lively discussion at the final day of ICI’s General Membership Meeting. Piwowar’s announced July 7 departure from the agency offered the outspoken commissioner the opportunity to reflect on fund regulation during his five-year tenure....
TOPICS: Exchange-Traded FundsFinancial StabilityFund RegulationGMMMutual Fund
Jon Meacham’s Leadership Prescription: Curiosity, Humility, and Empathy
By Rob Elson
May 23, 2018
A lunchtime crowd of nearly 1,500 at ICI’s 60th annual General Membership Meeting sat rapt as Pulitzer Prize–winning author and presidential historian Jon Meacham dove deep into what he sees as three virtues that have defined America’s best eras, and that are “essential to any given hour in the republic, both at the top—and for all of us.”
Today’s divisive, contentious environment threatens those virtues, Meacham said, but not because of the division and contention themselves, which he said have been part of America and its system of government from the beginning...
TOPICS: GMM
The Carlyle Group’s David M. Rubenstein: Expanding Horizons, Doing What He Loves
By Miriam Bridges
May 23, 2018
“It’s the rate of return. Everything is the rate of return,” said David M. Rubenstein, cofounder and co-executive chairman of The Carlyle Group, summing up what has fueled the growth and success of the modern private equity business.
TOPICS: EventsGMMMutual Fund
Morgan Stanley’s James Gorman Builds Pride from the Inside Out
By Todd Bernhardt
May 22, 2018
A mental model that James Gorman uses in his role as chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley involves viewing the world as a series of concentric circles: the innermost circle represents the firm itself, while the subsequent circles represent the industry, the economy, and the political environment that a firm operates within. To succeed, one must build an understanding and mastery of each circle. Only then can one move back toward the middle.
TOPICS: GMMGlobalMutual Fund
2018 Investment Company Fact Book: Letter from the Chief Economist
By Sean Collins
May 15, 2018
Those of us who wear glasses know that one of the most crucial elements in seeing the world is the right lens. A bad lens warps the light and distorts the signals; the right lens sharpens the image and enhances our understanding.
This is a useful metaphor for the work that ICI Research does in providing informed analysis to guide public policy. Through our voluminous collections and surveys, we gather large amounts of data—signals about the behavior of funds, markets, and investors. But finding the patterns in these signals requires the right lens—accumulated knowledge provided by context, economic insights, and understanding of institutions.
The Investment Company Fact Book is one very visible result of this process and its many elements...
TOPICS: Financial MarketsFund RegulationInvestor ResearchMutual FundPolicy ResearchRetirement PolicyRetirement ResearchSavingsShareholder
A More Accurate Evaluation of Retirement Plan Participation
By Miriam Bridges
May 2, 2018
What’s the actual participation rate of Americans preparing for retirement through a workplace retirement plan? It’s an important question, and one that ICI economists Peter Brady and Steven Bass shed some light on in their new analysis of tax data, “Who Participates in Retirement Plans, 2014.”
The retirement plan participation rate—often used to evaluate the performance of the US voluntary employer plan system—understates the true scope and importance of these plans. In their careful analysis, Brady and Bass give two reasons for this understatement...
TOPICS: Retirement PolicyRetirement ResearchSavingsTaxes
Invest in Your Future Through an IRA
By Christina Kilroy
March 13, 2018
Nearly 44 million US households invest and save for their future through individual retirement accounts (IRAs). If your household isn’t one, now is a great opportunity to join them. And if you are already saving in an IRA, there are some advantages that you may not be aware of—and that are worth knowing about as Tax Day approaches...
TOPICS: Investment EducationMutual FundRetirement ResearchSavingsShareholderTaxes
Americans: In Defined Contribution We Trust
By Sarah Holden
March 8, 2018
Millions of Americans personally direct their retirement investments in defined contribution (DC) plans, which account for nearly $8 trillion in savings. Because it is vitally important that regulators, policymakers, and employers understand the beliefs and behaviors of these investors, ICI asked Americans what they thought of DC retirement plan accounts, which include 401(k) and 403(b) accounts.
The results, which we summarized in “American Views on Defined Contribution Plan Saving, 2017,” were clear: whether they had DC accounts or not, Americans appreciate DC plan accounts and are confident that these plans can help people meet their retirement goals...
TOPICS: 401(k)Investor ResearchRetirement PolicyRetirement Research
Fund Investors Will “Run”? Sorry, Charlie Brown
By Sean Collins and Sarah Holden
March 7, 2018
For decades, Charles Schulz kept us in suspense: surely this time, Lucy would let Charlie Brown kick the football. Nope. Every time, at the last second, she pulled the ball away—and Charlie Brown fell flat on his back.
We’ve seen the same gap between wish and fulfillment around market turmoil and mutual funds. For decades, commentators have predicted that investors in stock and bond funds, faced with market turmoil, would redeem en masse, perhaps adding to the market turmoil. Despite plenty of opportunities, that just hasn’t happened.
Stock market turmoil in February provides yet another example of this...
TOPICS: 401(k)Bond FundEquity InvestingFinancial MarketsFinancial StabilityInterest RateInvestor ResearchMutual FundRetirement ResearchTrading
Pointing Fingers at Index Funds Won’t Explain Market Volatility
By Shelly Antoniewicz
February 14, 2018
With all the recent volatility in the US stock market, two questions are frequently being asked:
- Are fund investors fleeing the stock market?
- Are index funds causing market turbulence?
The short answer to both questions is no.
Experience and research show that investor flows to and from mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tend to track market returns. ...
TOPICS: Equity InvestingExchange-Traded FundsFederal ReserveFinancial MarketsFinancial StabilityIndex FundInterest RateInvestor ResearchMutual FundTrading
Education, Outreach, Advocacy: A Big 2017 for IDC and Fund Independent Directors
By Amy B. R. Lancellotta
February 8, 2018
The following appeared as the “Letter from the Managing Director” in IDC’s 2017 Annual Review.
If there has been a single constant across the 13-year history of the Independent Directors Council (IDC), it’s the stability of our four-part mission...
Americans Rely on Stocks to Meet Their Financial Goals as Much as Ever
By Sean Collins
January 17, 2018
The following ICI Viewpoints is a letter to the Wall Street Journal by Sean Collins, ICI chief economist, in response to an article published on January 4, 2018:
Are America’s individual investors missing out on one of the biggest bull markets in history? No. The Wall Street Journal’s account (“As Dow Tops 25000, Individual Investors Sit It Out,” January 4) is based on anecdotes and selective use of data.
TOPICS: Exchange-Traded FundsFinancial MarketsFinancial StabilityMutual FundSavings
States Are Abusing Abandoned-Property Funds to Plug Budget Shortfalls
By Tamara K. Salmon
January 11, 2018
Imagine finding out that your investment account has been turned over to your state because it was considered “abandoned.” Imagine, too, that after the account was turned over to the state, the account received a capital gains distribution. As a result, you are liable for paying the taxes on that distribution—and can be assessed monetary penalties for not paying the taxes in a timely fashion.
TOPICS: Fund RegulationGovernment AffairsMutual FundRetirement PolicySavingsShareholderTaxes
Independent Directors’ Stringent Oversight Contributes to Decline in Fund Fees
By Amy B. R. Lancellotta
January 9, 2018
The following ICI Viewpoints is a letter to the New York Times by Amy B. R. Lancellotta, managing director of the Independent Directors Council, in response to an article published on December 30, 2017.
TOPICS: Fund GovernanceFund RegulationMutual FundShareholder
Let’s Give the US Retirement System the Credit It Deserves
By Sarah Holden
December 27, 2017
The Washington Post’s latest article on the future of retirement security (“‘I Hope I Can Quit Working in a Few Years’: A Preview of the US Without Pensions,” December 23) is not a preview but a retrospective look at some of the challenges that workers face in defined benefit (DB) pension plans even at “blue-chip” firms. As documented in the article, with traditional DB plans, workers often failed to get their full promised benefits, thanks to vesting rules, back-loaded benefit accrual, business failure, and labor mobility.
TOPICS: 401(k)Financial StabilityRetirement PolicyRetirement Research
More People Are Building Nest Eggs with Their IRAs
By Sarah Holden
December 20, 2017
Individual retirement account (IRA) owners are good stewards of their money. They take a thoughtful approach to preparing for retirement by taking advantage of the dual role of IRAs and by researching important investment decisions, according to recent research from ICI. These are among the findings from “The Role of IRAs in US Households’ Saving for Retirement, 2017,” which details ICI’s research on IRA-owning households.
TOPICS: 401(k)Fund RegulationInvestor ResearchMutual FundRetirement Research
Congress Must Spike “FIFO” for All Investors
By Paul Schott Stevens
December 8, 2017
As the House and Senate reconcile their differing versions of tax reform, one provision from the Senate’s bill should be deleted immediately. Tax reform must not impose an accounting system known as “first-in, first-out” (FIFO) that would deprive America’s investors of their long-standing ability to manage their finances for the greatest tax efficiency.
TOPICS: Fund RegulationGovernment AffairsMutual FundRetirement PolicyTaxesTrading
A Way Forward on Modernizing Fund Director Responsibilities
By Amy B. R. Lancellotta
November 14, 2017
In recent years, the workload for boards of US regulated funds has grown heavier and more complex—owing in part to the fund industry’s growth and evolution, but due largely to a raft of new responsibilities established in Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rulemakings and other initiatives.
TOPICS: Fund GovernanceFund RegulationMutual Fund
2017 Annual Report to Members: A Message from the Chairman
By William F. “Ted” Truscott
November 13, 2017
This letter by ICI Chairman Ted Truscott was released in our 2017 Annual Report to Members.
Every day, I’m reminded that each of us in the fund industry is driven to deliver ever-greater value for our fees and keep improving service to fund shareholders. Investors are demanding more from every asset manager—and the resulting competition drives us to innovate, find new efficiencies, and offer even better solutions for investors’ needs.
TOPICS: Financial MarketsFinancial StabilityFund RegulationGlobalGovernment AffairsICI GlobalIndex FundInternationalInvestor ResearchMutual FundPolicy ResearchRetirement PolicyShareholder
Let’s Make Disclosure Reform Serve Shareholders
By Dorothy Donohue
October 25, 2017
The October 12 meeting of the Investor Advisory Committee (IAC)—a group established by the Dodd-Frank Act to advise the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on regulatory priorities and other issues—has breathed new life into a long-running debate over how US-registered funds can best provide essential information to their shareholders.
TOPICS: Financial MarketsFund RegulationInvestor ResearchMutual FundShareholder
Autumn Air, Playoff Baseball, and…National Retirement Security Week
By Christina Kilroy
October 17, 2017
The baseball postseason is well underway and the air has finally turned crisp. Perhaps that’s why—as we’re marking National Retirement Security Week—our thoughts have turned to the words of Yogi Berra, the great New York Yankees catcher. He was credited with so many pithy, wise, and witty sayings that, in classic Berra style, he remarked, “I really didn't say everything I said.”
TOPICS: 401(k)Investment EducationMutual FundSavingsShareholderTaxes
Applying Evidence to Theories on Regulated Funds
By Sean Collins
October 12, 2017
Late last month, the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) voted to rescind its designation of American International Group (AIG). After requiring a bailout during the financial crisis, the insurer was designated as a non-bank “systemically important financial institution,” or SIFI, in 2013. When FSOC conducted its most recent annual review, it decided AIG no longer warranted “systemic” status.
TOPICS: Bond FundEquity InvestingFinancial MarketsFinancial StabilityFund RegulationMutual FundTreasury
In Reality, Data Tell a Different Story of Old Age in America
By Sarah Holden
October 10, 2017
“The New Reality of Old Age in America” (September 30) portrays economic security in retirement by pairing anecdotes about workers who have fared poorly with selected statistics. Comprehensive data on how our system is working overall tell a far different story: America’s retirement system enables most of today’s retirees to maintain their standards of living.
TOPICS: 401(k)Investor ResearchMutual FundPolicy ResearchRetirement PolicyRetirement ResearchSavingsShareholder
Cybersecurity at Work: To Confront Evolving Threats, Flexibility Is Key
By Peter Salmon
October 3, 2017
In the previous installment of this series, I examined a few ways to think about the cyberthreats facing us, and thus to guard against them more effectively. Now, with organizations in every sector of the US economy facing increased pressure to safeguard corporate and client data or suffer potentially ruinous damage to their operations and reputation, it seems that some regulators think they should dictate what’s best for all of us, regardless of individual firm circumstances.
TOPICS: CybersecurityFund RegulationOperations and Technology
It’s National 401(k) Day!
By Sarah Holden
September 8, 2017
ICI is marking National 401(k) Day by spotlighting the strengths of 401(k) plans and their role in the American retirement system, and by reminding workers to get the most of their own 401(k) plans.
TOPICS: 401(k)Investment EducationRetirement Research
Simulating a Crisis
By Sean Collins
August 15, 2017
The Bank of England (BoE) recently published a paper detailing results from a simulation intended to “stress-test” open-end investment funds. The paper suggests that under “severe but plausible” assumptions, investors could redeem so heavily from open-end investment funds (e.g., mutual funds or UCITS funds) during a period of market stress that they could cause “dislocations” in corporate bond markets.
TOPICS: Bond FundEuropeFinancial MarketsFinancial StabilityFixed IncomeFund RegulationGlobalInternationalMutual FundPolicy Research
Practical Use of RPR: Solving Oversight Issues in the Retirement Market
By John Randall
August 14, 2017
In this post, the second in a series on how to enchance operational efficiency using existing tools and practices, we look at a real-life example of Retirement Plan Reporting (RPR) in use by brokerage firm Edward Jones.
TOPICS: Mutual FundOperations and Technology
New ICI Paper Helps Readers Understand ETF Listing Processes and Standards
By Jane Heinrichs and Kenneth Fang
August 10, 2017
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have been a part of US markets for more than 20 years, and they remain some of the most highly regulated financial products, subject to multiple and sometimes overlapping statutory schemes.
TOPICS: Exchange-Traded FundsFinancial MarketsFund RegulationInvestment Education
DOL Fiduciary Rule Review Is Opportunity for SEC
By Paul Schott Stevens
August 8, 2017
The following ICI Viewpoints is an op-ed by Paul Schott Stevens that was published in InvestmentNews on August 7, 2017.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Jay Clayton deserves credit for his decisive action inviting public feedback on the standards of conduct for financial advisers to retail investors. He now has a critical window of opportunity to press forward and work with the Department of Labor (DOL) to establish a consistent best-interest standard of conduct that applies uniformly across retirement and non-retirement accounts, while preserving investor choice.
TOPICS: Fund RegulationGovernment AffairsMutual FundRetirement Policy
Inside SID: It’s All About the Rules
By John Randall
July 12, 2017
One of the benefits of mutual funds is that they can be designed to meet the specific needs of investors’ purchasing preferences. However, this same flexibility to tailor a product can present challenges, because it results in a wide variety of operational rules.
TOPICS: Mutual FundOperations and Technology
Americans Trust in Their 401(k) Plans
By Sarah Holden
July 7, 2017
Defined contribution (DC) plans have long been a key component of Americans’ retirement savings. And with more than $5 trillion in assets and about 54 million active participants, 401(k) plans are the most common type.
TOPICS: 401(k)Fund RegulationInvestor ResearchMutual FundRetirement Research
Funds Actively Seek Companies’ Sound Management
By Paul Schott Stevens
July 3, 2017
The following ICI Viewpoints is a letter to the Wall Street Journal by Paul Schott Stevens, president and CEO of the Investment Company Institute, in response to an editorial published on June 22, 2017.
In their muddled and inconsistent arguments, the authors of “Index Funds Are Great for Investors, Risky for Corporate Governance” (op-ed, June 22) rely on unfounded assertions while ignoring clear legal requirements placed on registered funds, their boards, and their advisers...
TOPICS: Exchange-Traded FundsFund GovernanceFund RegulationIndex FundMutual FundShareholder
Industry Leaders Highlight Opportunities Presented by Industry Change
By Miriam Bridges
June 1, 2017
Shifts in demographics, regulation, investor preferences, and new product offerings are creating a range of opportunities for the asset management industry. In conversations exploring these evolving trends, industry leaders offered their perspectives on how to succeed in these new environments during two insightful sessions on the second day of ICI’s 59th General Membership Meeting, held May 3–5 in Washington, DC.
TOPICS: EventsFund RegulationGMMInternationalMutual Fund
Geopolitics and Global Business: What the Future Holds
By Jeanne C. Arnold
May 31, 2017
The challenges of navigating geopolitical developments while operating a global business took center stage during two key sessions at ICI’s 59th General Member Meeting (GMM), held in Washington, DC, from May 3 to 5.
TOPICS: GMMICI GlobalMutual Fund
A Tech-Enabled Future—and Present—for Investment Advice
By Rob Elson
May 30, 2017
The future of investment advice will lie at the intersection of technology and humanity, said panelists at ICI’s 2017 General Membership Meeting. But those panelists—Eli Broverman, cofounder of Betterment; Kelly Coffey, CEO at JP Morgan’s US Private Bank; and Ben Huneke, head of investment solutions at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management—offered differing views on how much of a role people will play.
TOPICS: CybersecurityEventsFund RegulationGMMOperations and Technology
A 529 Day Primer: Do You Know What State Your College Savings Plans Are In?
By Christina Kilroy
May 26, 2017
You might not know that May 29 is 529 College Savings Day, or even what a Section 529 plan is. But if you’re a parent or grandparent concerned about future college costs, the day presents an opportunity to learn how 529 savings plans can help you plan for—and pay for—your loved ones’ postsecondary education expenses.
TOPICS: Investment EducationInvestor ResearchMutual FundSavings
Cybersecurity at Work: I Know What You Know!
Peter Salmon
May 26, 2017
Part of a series of ICI Viewpoints covering cybersecurity issues.
In the previous installment of this series I mentioned that this post would address steps that you should take if your computer is hacked. Well, in light of the WannaCry/WannaCrypt ransomware outbreak, it seems appropriate to address not only what to do, but how to think about the threats facing us.
TOPICS: CybersecurityOperations and Technology
Top Investment Strategists Sound Optimistic Notes amid Headwinds
By Rob Elson
May 25, 2017
Opportunities abound in today’s market and macroeconomic environment, and it’s up to fund managers to help their investors capitalize on them. That’s the outlook from a panel of world-class investment strategists sharing their insights at ICI’s 59th annual General Membership Meeting, held earlier this month in Washington, DC.
TOPICS: EventsExchange-Traded FundsFinancial MarketsGMMInternationalMutual Fund
Average Expense Ratios for Index ETFs Have Declined
By Shelly Antoniewicz, Sean Collins, James Duvall, and Morris Mitler
May 24, 2017
In yesterday’s ICI Viewpoints post, we noted that our annual report on the asset-weighted average expense ratios of funds—“Trends in the Expenses and Fees of Funds, 2016”—showed that expenses for long-term mutual funds continued to decline in 2016.
TOPICS: Bond FundEquity InvestingExchange-Traded FundsFixed IncomeIndex FundInterest RateMutual Fund
Average Expense Ratios for Long-Term Mutual Funds Continued to Decrease in 2016
By Morris Mitler and Sean Collins
May 23, 2017
ICI recently released its report on the expense ratios of mutual funds: “Trends in the Expenses and Fees of Funds, 2016.” This is ICI's first report that also summarizes expense ratios for exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
TOPICS: Bond FundEquity InvestingExchange-Traded FundsFederal ReserveFixed IncomeInterest RateMoney Market FundsMutual Fund
Solving for Data Transparency in the Retirement World
By John Randall
May 19, 2017
First in a series of ICI Viewpoints posts focusing on how to enhance operational efficiency using existing tools and practices.
One of the most important functions performed by ICI involves its role in bringing together members, who participate in a wide array of standing and advisory committees that focus on initiatives affecting the fund industry as well as the broader financial markets. This series will focus on the work of the operations and distribution advisory committees
ICI Study: Closed-End Fund Assets Were $262 Billion at Year-End 2016
By Shelly Antoniewicz
May 12, 2017
ICI recently released its annual report on the closed-end fund market, which analyzes data on closed-end funds, a type of registered investment company that issues a fixed number of shares that are traded on a stock exchange in the over-the-counter market.
TOPICS: Investment EducationInvestor Research
Stevens Calls for Measures to Enhance Economic Growth
By Rachel McTague
May 5, 2017
With America striving to achieve greater economic growth, Paul Schott Stevens, ICI president and CEO, called on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to enhance funds’ essential role in the capital markets by proposing new rules to govern funds’ use of derivatives and by creating a harmonized best-interest standard for advisers providing investment advice to retail and retirement investors. The ICI chief also urged the SEC to adopt a fund disclosure regime for the 21st century.
TOPICS: EventsFinancial MarketsFinancial StabilityFund RegulationGMMMoney Market FundsMutual Fund
Jeff Immelt and GE’s Bid to Own the Future
By Rob Elson
May 4, 2017
“I just couldn’t explain why we owned NBC.”
In only eight words, GE’s Jeff Immelt summed up one of the major catalysts for his transformation of the company during his nearly 16 years as president and CEO. His enlightening, lighthearted conversation with ICI President and CEO Paul Schott Stevens at ICI’s 59th Annual General Membership Meeting—which began yesterday in Washington, DC—dove deep into Immelt’s thinking behind this transformation, the company’s major decisions during his tenure, and his big plans for the company’s future.
TOPICS: EventsGMMInternational
Retired General Stanley McChrystal: Service, Connection, and Flexibility
By Todd Bernhardt
May 3, 2017
When General Stanley McChrystal took over the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in 2003, he was fully steeped in the US Army’s command-and-control philosophy. But he soon learned the need for adaptation. At the 59th annual General Membership Meeting, the retired general spoke of the importance of service, connection, and flexibility.
TOPICS: GMMInternationalMutual Fund
2017 Investment Company Fact Book: Letter from the Chief Economist
By Brian Reid
April 27, 2017
Have you ever tried to put a jigsaw puzzle together without knowing what the finished work should look like? It’s difficult—even with help from family and friends. Are those blue pieces part of a peaceful lake or a cloudless sky? Are those dark pieces a forest floor or storm clouds brewing on the horizon? Without the completed picture on the puzzle box as a guide, everyone has their own idea of what the completed work will look like and how to put it together.
TOPICS: Financial MarketsFund RegulationGovernment AffairsInvestor ResearchMutual FundPolicy ResearchRetirement PolicyRetirement ResearchShareholder
Scratch That: Why Arguments of a Broken Retirement System Are Misguided
By Peter J. Brady
April 6, 2017
What if you were given the task of designing a retirement system from scratch? In a recent paper, New York University law professor David Kamin proposes a retirement system that combines a mandatory savings floor with tax incentives to encourage savings above the mandated minimum. He is not the first to propose a new mandatory retirement plan, with others proposing that either employers be required to offer a plan or workers be required to contribute to a plan.
TOPICS: 401(k)Investor ResearchMutual FundRetirement PolicyRetirement ResearchSavings
ICI Staff Take Local Students on an “Investing Road Trip”
By Christina Kilroy
March 31, 2017
Among the eighth graders who walked into Junior Achievement’s Finance Park were an aspiring filmmaker, a model, and a sports agent. But for their daylong budgeting simulation—where each student is assigned an age, family, debt, credit score, job, and salary—they would transform into an auto mechanic, an insurance agent, and a bus driver.
TOPICS: 401(k)Investment EducationMutual FundSavings
Exemptions from Investor Protections Put California Savers at Risk
By Paul Schott Stevens
March 22, 2017
The following ICI Viewpoints is a letter to the editor by Paul Schott Stevens, president and CEO of the Investment Company Institute, in response to an editorial published on March 8, 2017, in the Los Angeles Times.
TOPICS: 401(k)Investor ResearchMutual FundRetirement PolicyRetirement ResearchSavingsShareholder
ICI Study: 55 Million US Households Own Mutual Funds
By Sarah Holden
February 24, 2017
Gathering and analyzing data about how shareholders purchase and use mutual funds are critical to ICI’s work to facilitate sound, well-informed public policies affecting funds, their investors, and the retirement markets.
TOPICS: 401(k)Investor ResearchMutual FundRetirement ResearchSavings
Cybersecurity at Work: Keeping Secure When Away from the Office
By Peter Salmon
February 17, 2017
Part of a series of ICI Viewpoints covering cybersecurity issues.
In the previous installment of this series, we discussed the risks associated with information sharing. One aspect we did not touch on is the inadvertent sharing of information, or data, when traveling for business or pleasure. For example, anyone who has flown lately can clearly observe that planes are full with business travelers, often made obvious by their black ballistic-nylon laptop bags.
TOPICS: CybersecurityOperations and Technology
What's the “Exposure” of Money Market Funds to Europe?
By Sean Collins
January 26, 2017
At the American Economic Association (AEA) meetings in Chicago early this month, speakers and attendees at several sessions asked: do money market funds pose systemic risks?
TOPICS: EuropeFederal ReserveFinancial MarketsFinancial StabilityFund RegulationInternationalMoney Market FundsMutual Fund
Mutual Funds and ETFs’ Share of the Corporate Bond Market: What’s the Right Answer?
By Shelly Antoniewicz
January 19, 2017
Participation by mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in US corporate bond markets was a topic of discussion during several sessions held at the American Economic Association Meetings in Chicago earlier this month. Panelists and presenters alike cited “statistics” on the share of corporate bonds held by funds. The funny thing was, they all cited different numbers, running the gamut from 18 to 35 percent.
TOPICS: Bond FundBondsExchange-Traded FundsFinancial StabilityFund RegulationMutual FundPolicy Research
Education, Outreach, Advocacy: A Big 2016 for IDC and Fund Independent Directors
By Amy B. R. Lancellotta
January 17, 2017
The Independent Directors Council (IDC) just wrapped up another year of vigorous support for the fund director community—educating directors, bringing them together to share ideas and experiences, and advocating on their behalf in policy debates. This brief post, adapted from IDC’s 2016 Annual Review, highlights some of IDC’s more notable work over the course of the year.
TOPICS: Fund GovernanceFund RegulationMutual Fund
For “401(k) Pioneers,” No Reason for Regrets
By Paul Schott Stevens
January 10, 2017
The following ICI Viewpoints is a letter to the Wall Street Journal by Paul Schott Stevens, president and CEO of the Investment Company Institute, in response to an article published on January 3, 2017.
Dear Editor:
It may be, as you report, that “401(k) Pioneers Lament What They Started” (Page A1, Jan. 3). But the facts are clear: America’s retirement system is stronger today, in the expanding 401(k) era, than it was when defined benefit pensions were the primary vehicle for retirement savings.
TOPICS: Investor ResearchMutual FundRetirement PolicyRetirement ResearchSavingsShareholder
A Proposal that Should Be Popped
By Paul Schott Stevens
December 15, 2016
The following ICI Viewpoints is a letter to the editor by Paul Schott Stevens, president and CEO of the Investment Company Institute, in response to an op-ed published on December 7, 2016, in the New York Times, “A Monopoly Donald Trump Can Pop.”
Millions of Americans could lose the low costs and broad diversification of fund investing under the dangerous proposal outlined in the op-ed by Posner, Weyl, and Morton.
TOPICS: Bond FundEquity InvestingExchange-Traded FundsFinancial MarketsFund RegulationMutual FundTrading
The Taper Tantrum—Take II
By Shelly Antoniewicz
December 13, 2016
Long-term interest rates in the United States have been on the rise since summer 2016—slowly creeping up from July through October, and then jumping after the presidential election. Thus far, the response from bond mutual fund investors has been subdued. Nevertheless, various commentators—from the vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Board to the multinational Financial Stability Board—have expressed concerns that bond fund investors may rush to redeem shares to avoid portfolio losses stemming from unexpected increases in interest rates.
TOPICS: Bond FundBondsFederal ReserveFinancial MarketsFinancial StabilityFixed IncomeFund RegulationInterest RateMutual FundTreasury
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