Mutualfundreform.com

Note: This article was originally published in July 2010.  Investors are still waiting for a decision. After decades of wrangling, false starts, and back room intrigues, it looks like the SEC is finally addressing the long-over due, critical issue of mutual fund fees. Today, these fees charged to fund shareholders amount to $12 billion, according to the SEC. Yet, despite this huge amount, shareholders have no idea what they are…

Investors who are disgruntled with erratic returns from stocks and are searching for yield are increasingly moving into Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs). Once considered esoteric and limited to sophisticated investors, MLPs are publicly-traded on the NYSE and NASDAQ. They offer yields in the form of quarterly distributions, which are similar to stock dividends, as well as tax-deferrals on a majority of the income they generate.  As a result, these investments…

The struggle for financial reform became more interesting this week as an association representing financial planners accused an insurance industry lobbying organization of trying to kill the adoption of a fiduciary standard for individual investors. In a petition signed by thousands of financial planners, the Financial Planning Coalition said the insurance industry wants to kill the proposal to adopt a single fiduciary standard for financial professionals who deal with the…

A new study examining the income sources for Americans over age 65 shows more people are relying on Social Security for their retirement income, while income from jobs has remained consistent since 1962, according to a new study by the Social Security Administration. The study found that 38% of Americans over age 65 in 2009 claimed Social Security as their largest income source.  This was an increase from 30% in…

The current long recession is changing American spending behavior. Based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data from 2007 and 2010, Americans have reduced expenditures on luxury items (restaurants and clothes) and more on essentials (healthcare, fuel.)  The data shows that consumer spending by family unit declined by 3% to $48,109, while average prices over the same period rose 5.2%.  As a result, real incomes fell by about 8%.

The housing fraud shockwaves that broke the U.S. banking system and had a ripple effect worldwide is going unchecked because it is part of the unofficial policy of U.S. regulators. According to Professor William Black, Associate Professor of Economics and Law at the University of Missouri, in Kansas City, U.S. legal and financial market regulators have adopted an “immunity doctrine” that is allowing senior mortgage and banking officials to go…

Wage-based incomes continue to decline, according to the U.S. Commerce Department’s April 2011 report.  Using data from February 2011, the report found that wages, benefits and salaries accounted for 75% of total personal income in 1970. This fell to 67% in 2005 and to 64% in 2010. At the same time, spending from the middle class has dropped from 85% in 1970 to 61% today, according to the Wall Street…

While the 401(k) movement has been going strong for the past 30-plus years, it now looks like the investment managers who were administering the funds and providing the advice have been engaged in a conflict of interest with their company plan counterparts. At least that is what the U.S. Department of Labor’s Government Accountability Office now contends. In a recent study, “Improved Regulation Could Better Protect Participants from Conflicts of…

In a global economy, the world’s central banks have become increasingly intertwined and interdependent.  This often creates interesting confrontations, especially when they are public.  This is what makes this Bloomberg news article interesting.  Since this article was published in June 2011, Europeans have imposed some salary caps on their top CEOs, yet that discussion has not reached the U.S.  “Geithner to Be Confronted by EU’s Barnier on Lack of Bonus…

One of the biggest problems facing the mutual fund industry’s relationships with its millions of shareholders is justifying fund wholesalers’ salaries. This is a contentious and sticky issue for a few reasons: First, mutual fund wholesalers really don’t add anything which directly benefits shareholders.  In theory, they should be reducing overall fund expense ratios by increasing the asset base of mutual funds. This would then lower the overall expense ratio…