SEC Director of Investment Management Outlines Agenda

Andrew J. Donohue, Director, Division of Investment Management, SEC, outlined the following agenda for the Division at an April 24, 2008, Keynote Address at the Practicing Law Institute, Investment Management Institute 2008:

I expect the remainder of 2008 to be an exciting time for those of us at the Commission and, similarly, those of you who practice in the investment management area. I am hopeful that the Commission and its staff will be addressing three fundamental issues of critical importance to America’s investors. They are the structure of the mutual fund disclosure regime, the payment of distribution-related fees from fund assets as permitted by rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act, and the appropriate regulatory framework that should govern relationships between financial professionals and retail investors as discussed in the recent report issued by the RAND Corporation.

None of these is a new issue.  Let's hope that the SEC can finally accomplish some meaningful reform in the mutual fund area to provide better protection for retail investors.