Regulation

A proposed shorter disclosure document for Canadian mutual fund investors is an improvement over earlier forms, but needs to be made even simpler, industry officials say.

A recent federal court decision is causing mutual fund industry lawyers to have reservations about simplifying fund prospectuses even as mutual fund companies are redoubling their efforts to produce the revised documents.

Fidelity Investments' so-called vulture investing practices in the early 1990s are under attack in a Texas state court.

Federal regulators are reviewing a proposed rule from the National Association of Securities Dealers that would let bond mutual funds publish volatility ratings in their sales literature for an 18-month trial period.

Selling funds through mutual fund supermarkets may start taking a larger bite out of profits for the companies which advise mutual funds.

The performance of 78 percent of the approximately 500 existing closed-end funds will most likely soon be published daily, providing a boost to the popularity of the product.

The fight between Donald Yacktman and the independent directors of his funds is likely to continue this month, propelled in part by intervention from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Representatives of the mutual fund industry are moving quietly in Massachusetts to enact a law which would help define what makes a mutual fund director independent, an increasingly contentious issue.

The practice of paying brokers fees to reward them for maintaining assets under management for as long as possible may be resurfacing even as regulators weigh whether the practice warrants increased oversight.

The National Association of Securities Dealers has amended its by-laws to require the executive representatives of each member organization to maintain e-mail accounts for communications with NASD. The new requirement becomes effective Jan. 1, 1999.