ICI Applauds House Committee Passage of Key Legislation

Washington, DC; May 25, 2023—Investment Company Institute (ICI) President and CEO Eric Pan released the following statement on the House Financial Services Committee advancing two bipartisan bills yesterday – H.R. 2627 the Increasing Investor Opportunities Act, and H.R. 3063, the Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2023 – that would expand opportunities for American savers and investors. Pan remarked that: 

“ICI thanks Chairman McHenry and the sponsors of these important pieces of legislation for their leadership. The bills advanced today will strengthen our capital markets and investors’ access to retirement investment opportunities. ICI strongly encourages swift consideration of these bills by the full House of Representatives.” 

Background

The Increasing Investor Opportunities Act, sponsored by Reps. Ann Wagner (MO-02) and Gregory Meeks (NY-05), would expand opportunities for retail investors to access private investments through closed-end funds, which offer the robust investor protections of regulated funds. It also will strengthen the closed-end fund structure by eliminating a loophole that activist investors have used to extract short-term profits to the detriment of long-term retail shareholders.

Reps. Frank Lucas (OK-03), Andy Barr (KY-06), Bill Foster (IL-11) and Josh Gottheimer’s (NJ-05) Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2023 would expand the range of investment options available to employees of non-profits and public educational institutions by permitting 403(b) plans to invest in collective investment trusts (CITs). The provision, which had wide bipartisan support in the last Congress, will provide 403(b) plan participants with additional low-cost investments already available to participants in 401(k) plans and allow Americans more options to save for their future.