Regulation

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz - The American Society of Pension Actuaries (ASPA) Executive Director Brian H. Graff warned the plan sponsor and retirement-services industries to jointly get their acts together and provide investors with better investment tools, or they will have Congress on their collective backs.

The clock is ticking for the Investment Company Institute (ICI), the fund industry's largest and most influential trade group, as 11th-hour lobbying efforts to stave off proxy-voting disclosure may not cut the mustard.

The B in B shares stands for "Bogus."

It takes money to make money, the adage goes, and this is no less true for the mutual fund industry. The sale of B shares requires up-front capital to compensate brokers, and at the same time generates an asset-based income stream that varies according to the fortunes of the market. To ease both of these pressures, fund companies have securitized 12b-1 fees, basically selling off that future income for a set period of time, in exchange for an up-front lump sum.

Sarbanes-Oxley? It sounds more like a debilitating disease than a remedy for corporate malfeasance.

By John C. Wilcox, Vice Chairman, Georgeson Shareholder Communications Inc.

Shareholder resolutions reached a record number this year - 862, up from 802 last year - according to a proxy season overview report by prominent activist proponents.

Funds Not Alone in SEC's New Compliance Crusade

If you are looking for corporate integrity, check out the mutual funds. In our lifetime, we have seen major scandals or collapses of the banks, savings and loans institutions, the life insurance industry, big businesses - even religious organizations.

Harvard/Templeton China Fund Fight Turns Ugly