ICI Viewpoints Content

The EU Retail Investment Strategy (RIS) aims to advance the Capital Markets Union (CMU) and empower retail investors to save and invest more effectively, including through UCITS and similar products. One important element of the European Commission’s RIS proposal is a focus on “value...

The recently released EU Retail Investment Strategy (RIS) aims to advance the Capital Markets Union (CMU) and empower retail investor participation in the capital markets, including through UCITS and similar products, with a package of proposed legislative changes. ICI Global strongly...

In a recent ICI Viewpoints, we promised to briefly revisit some of the concerns we’ve long voiced about the theoretical underpinnings of the first-mover hypothesis. That is, the notion that fund investors may redeem en masse during market downturns to avoid the possibility of other...

Policymakers are laser-focused on a concept in open-ended funds called dilution, suggesting that it poses financial stability risks. In a nutshell, dilution occurs when fund shareholders redeem and the transaction costs of meeting those redemptions—such as bid-ask spreads or the...

Last week, ICI’s annual Leadership Summit convened some of the most important decisionmakers in asset management and government. Amid fast-moving developments in financial markets, emerging technologies, and geopolitics, we learned how these leaders are managing through this time of...

ICI was honored to host the Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Gary Gensler, at our annual Leadership Summit and to hear from him about his priorities. Appearing virtually, Gensler spoke at length about financial stability and his agenda regarding open-end funds. However...

Over the past 80 years, closed-end funds (CEFs) have helped millions of Americans achieve their long-term financial goals. Representing $252 billion in assets as of year-end 2022, CEFs are professionally managed, subject to a robust regulatory framework, and have several unique...

ICI is proud to unveil the 63rd edition of the Investment Company Fact Book. The annual publication features in-depth research, analysis, and data compiled by ICI’s research staff over the previous year. These outputs are key to ICI’s efforts to support the foundation of the asset...

What’s the issue? Following the difficulties at Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), Signature Bank, and Credit Suisse in early March 2023, a number of media reports cited analysts who suggested that money market funds (MMFs) are drawing deposits away from banks, adding to stresses at banks and...

Demand for lower-cost investment products, competition among the vast number of available funds, and economies of scale have driven down average expense ratios industrywide over the past quarter century. With average expense ratios declining again in 2022, investors will continue to...