ICI Offers Free Online Guide to Help Investors Understand Mutual Fund Breakpoints, February 2003

Washington, DC, February 25, 2003 - The Investment Company Institute, the national association of the mutual fund industry, today offered a free online guide to help investors ensure that they receive the proper discounts, or breakpoints, when they purchase mutual funds.

The guide explains that many mutual funds that are sold with sales charges (or “loads”) offer discounts to investors who invest certain amounts of money. The amount of the discount varies, depending upon fund policies and the amount of the investment. The amounts at which investors qualify for the discounts are called breakpoints.

The guide suggests three things investors need to do to ensure they receive the discounts they are entitled to and emphasizes the importance of working with their financial professionals to make sure any breakpoints provided by a fund are properly applied.

“The Institute is pleased to offer this guide as part of our long-standing commitment to helping investors understand all aspects of mutual fund investing,” Institute Executive Vice President Julie Domenick said.

Domenick noted that the mutual fund industry strongly supports tough regulation of sales practices involving mutual funds. The Institute is participating in a task force established by the NASD, which regulates brokerage firms, to recommend measures to ensure that mutual fund investors are charged the correct sales charges on mutual fund transactions.