SEC Commissioner Backs Funds in Supreme Court Case

Securities and Exchange Commissioner Troy Paredes told the Investment Company Institute’s Capital Markets Conference Thursday that as long as mutual fund fees are negotiated in “good faith” between an investment manager and a fund board, the Supreme Court or any other court should not interfere in the inner workings of mutual funds, MarketWatch reports.

“The prospect that a better bargain could have been driven is slim justification” for bringing the case to the Supreme Court, Paredes said Thursday. While it is feasible that courts could look into “the process by which the fees were determined,” in general, he said, “Courts aren’t well-positioned to second-guess decisions made by boards and companies in good faith.”

Furthermore, Paredes said the fund industry is more competitive than in the 1970s and early 1980s when standards and laws regarding excessive fees were set.

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