BOSTON - The SEC's fact-finding examinations of the securities execution practices of mutual funds are unlikely to result in a public report, said Edward A. Ryan, Jr., assistant district administrator for regulation in the SEC's Boston office. It is unclear how the SEC will use the data gathered from the exams, he said. The SEC could issue a statement discussing execution practices or it could propose a rule, he said.
Ryan made his comments during the National Investment Company Service Association's second annual mutual fund compliance conference here recently.
The SEC last year began an examination of mutual fund companies' and broker dealers' practices in buying and selling securities. SEC officials wanted to learn why mutual funds usually pay broker dealers six cents a share to execute securities transactions when electronic trading systems offer transactions at a lower rate.
The SEC wants to make sure that investors are not overcharged for securities transactions, Ryan said. The SEC will examine approximately nine investment advisers and four broker dealers in the exams, he said. One broker dealer and one investment adviser remain to be examined, he said. Ryan did not identify the firms.
