Regulation

Some mutual fund directors are chronically absent from fund board meetings, according to a top SEC official.

The Investment Company Institute has criticized an SEC proposal that would require investment advisers to disclose custodian and administrative fees, soft dollars and disciplinary actions against them.

The McGraw-Hill Companies of New York, parent company of Standard & Poor's, filed a lawsuit against Vanguard Group of Malvern, Pa. charging that Vanguard breached the 15-year-old licensing agreement it had with S&P by registering a new class of exchange-traded shares on three of Vanguard's equity index funds without the index creator's approval.

An SEC administrative law judge has sanctioned two executives of the now defunct Target Income Fund of Glendora, Calif. for their role in filing registration statements on behalf of the fund that failed to include significant facts.

WASHINGTON - The Securities and Exchange Commission will continue to scrutinize the sale of bonus annuities and could issue clarification of or additional rules for the products, according to commission officials.

Claims that the Investment Company Institute is violating federal securities laws are a legal longshot, according to mutual fund industry lawyers.

The Investment Company Institute is violating federal securities laws by collecting membership fees from mutual funds while allowing the organization to be dominated by mutual fund advisory firms, according to a lawsuit two shareholders filed against the trade group last week.

The SEC plans to issue the first in a series of legal bulletins on investment adviser advertising practices by Dec. 31.

WASHINGTON - The SEC should increase its scrutiny and possibly its regulation of investment accounts that may behave like mutual funds but are not required to abide by the same legal requirements as funds, according to the Investment Company Institute.

The SEC has used a low-profile closed-end fund case to make a point about the powers of fund directors and highlight the value of having independent lawyers advise fund directors.