Regulation

The Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking approval of a fiscal year 2001 budget of $422.8 million, an increase of $45.8 million, or 12 percent, over its fiscal year 2000 budget of $377 million. From 1999 to 2000, the budget increased by 11 percent, up from $338.9 million.

A former employee of Dalbar, a mutual fund consulting and research firm based in Boston, has filed a complaint against the firm, its CEO and four of its officers, charging sexual harassment.

MIAMI - The SEC is giving some hints about the fund companies it may examine as part of its special inspection sweep of selected mutual fund companies on their advertising practices.

The Securities and Exchange Commission voted Feb. 16 to seek comments over the next three months on how to structure international accounting standards that would make it easier to sell mutual funds and securities worldwide.

The SEC may require mutual fund companies and broker/dealers to tell investors more about the special payments fund companies make to broker/dealers for selling funds.

BOSTON - The SEC may ease its original stand on the amount of personal information mutual fund directors must disclose in SEC filings about the business relationships of members of their extended families, according to a high-ranking SEC official.

BOSTON - A U.S. District Court judge has expressed skepticism about a shareholder's claim that Fidelity Investments of Boston had biased its mutual funds' independent directors and charged funds excessive fees.

The Maryland Court of Appeals should uphold the constitutionality of a state law on mutual fund directors, according to mutual fund firms and fund and securities industry trade groups.

Broker/dealers could face pressure to provide investors with an unprecedented amount of detail about the special sales payments they receive from mutual funds and mutual fund companies as the result of a class action lawsuit that is moving slowly through the federal courts.

The SEC has suffered a pair of setbacks in its attempts to discourage intermediaries from recommending that their clients sell funds after holding them for only a short time and then use the proceeds to buy new, hot-performing funds.