ICI Viewpoints Content

Misinformation lurks in a recent column from Wall Street Journal Money & Investing editor Francesco Guerrera, “Hidden Dangers Lurking in Money Market Funds.” Given the vital role that money market funds play in our economy, regulators and investors alike need the best information...

This week, I had the pleasure of addressing members of the Rotary Club of Seattle on “The Outlook for Investors and Investing.” My speech approached this subject in part by examining our present situation in the historical context of past market bubbles and downturns.

The ongoing debt crisis in the eurozone poses challenges for portfolio managers of U.S. prime money market funds, as those managers actively continue to adjust their holdings to meet new developments. The latest monthly data on money market funds’ holdings demonstrate that these funds...

Across the globe, regulators remain active in examining possible rule changes and other initiatives to bolster the integrity of financial markets. As these efforts proceed, ICI has urged balanced policy responses that can strengthen markets while preserving and enhancing efficiency...

Over the past two decades, the world has witnessed the rise of asset managers as global financial intermediaries. The fund industry has been at the forefront of this movement, vigorously expanding its international reach and offering investors opportunities to diversify and to access...

Each month, ICI reports definitive long-term mutual fund flows, made up of stock, bond, and hybrid funds. The Institute also provides an estimate of weekly flows for those funds. It’s important to consider both weekly and monthly data when interpreting the activity of fund investors...

In October 2010, ICI began to work with staff at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to obtain no-action relief from a recordkeeping requirement of the “pay-to-play” rule, which the SEC adopted in July 2010. SEC staff recently granted that no-action relief, a positive...

On July 22, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated the proxy access rule adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last year. The court found that the SEC had failed to adequately assess the economic effects of the rule and noted...

In June, we wrote about the indirect exposure that U.S. prime money market funds have to European sovereign debt, especially Greek debt, through their holdings of securities issued by European banks. At that time, we noted that these funds had no direct exposure to Greek sovereign...

In a positive development for fund shareholders, the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service have issued new cost basis reporting rules that enhance a fund’s ability to provide shareholders with average cost basis information. Fund shareholders have become quite...