Regulation

Troy A. Paredes was sworn in Friday afternoon as the newest commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission by SEC Chairman Christopher Cox.

The Securities and Exchange Commission issued guidance last week for fund boards of directors in assessing their firm’s soft-dollar practices. The SEC said it was issuing the guidance a full two years after the limitations it put on soft dollars in 2006, restricting it only to research, due to rapidly evolving market and trading practices. True enough, there are wide discrepancies among brokerages today, due to rapidly evolving markets, trading practices and electronic crossing networks. Fund companies have until Oct. 1 to comment on the SEC’s guidance.

WASHINGTON — The Investment Company Institute last Monday urged the Securities and Exchange Commission to expand its proposed credit rating agency rules on structured products to include municipal securities, and to increase the secondary market disclosure requirements for the municipal market.

NEW YORK - A lot of people are wondering when the U.S. will adopt the same international standards for financial reporting that Europe and the rest of the world seem to be moving toward.

Massachusetts sued Merrill Lynch on July 31 on the charges of fraud and “dishonest and unethical” conduct, Reuters reports.

Luis A. Aguilar, a former partner at McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP in Atlanta, was sworn in as a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 31.

U.S. junk bond mutual funds saw net inflows of $153 million in the week ending July 30, according to AMG Data Services.

U.S. Rep. George Miller of California is probably the best friend 401(k) investors have on Capitol Hill.

Despite market opposition, Argentina recently cut tax breaks for mutual funds and financial trusts, satisfying the center-left government promise to raise taxes on financial earnings, Reuters reports.

Pax World Management Corporation has settled charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission that two of its funds, Pax World Growth and Pax World High Yield, purchased securities that violated their fund policies.