ICI Viewpoints Content

Discussions among regulators and the financial press about the role of bond mutual funds in financial stability risks have been fueled by concerns about the size and apparent growth in bond funds’ participation in corporate bond markets. But what if that role and its growth have been...

In the last installment of this series, we wrote about the importance of information sharing. Though important, there is a balance to be struck; you don’t want to share too much information. Growing up in New York City, for example, my friends and I would poke fun at drivers with...

Ten years ago, on August 17, 2006, President George W. Bush signed the Pension Protection Act (PPA) into law, with the goal of ensuring greater retirement security for American workers. With regard to defined contribution (DC) plans, such as 401(k) plans, PPA further encouraged...

Millions of Americans save for retirement using employer-sponsored plans that offer tax advantages and excellent investment options.

Fourth in a series of ICI Viewpoints testing the hypotheses of academics and regulators about mutual fund and investor behavior during times of market stress. Regulators and researchers have put forward a common narrative that fund investors can destabilize markets during a period of...

Third in a series of ICI Viewpoints testing the hypotheses of academics and regulators about mutual fund and investor behavior during times of market stress.  

Commentators have long predicted that, one of these days, a market downturn will send U.S. mutual fund investors racing for the exits.

On Thursday, June 23, the electorate of the United Kingdom voted in a referendum on the country’s membership in the European Union. The result—51.9 percent in favor of “Brexit,” 48.1 percent in favor of “Remain”—went against pollsters’ and pundits’ expectations and surprised the world...

Retirement assets in the United States totaled $24 trillion at the end of 2015, bolstered by investments through employer-sponsored plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs).

The proper role for fund independent directors—the role where they are best-positioned to represent shareholder interests—is to oversee the work of fund management. The sharp distinction between directors’ oversight role and management’s on-the-ground, day-to-day responsibilities has...