The Regulation and Control of Mutual Funds

In recent years there has been considerable controversy involving the mutual fund industry. The Securities Exchange Commission has proposed new legislation for the mutual funds. It is the purpose of this study to evaluate the present status of mutual funds to determine if the additional legislation is needed. Information for this paper was gathered from books and periodicals found in Forsythe Library at Fort Hays State and from information furnished by the Investment Company Institute. The first section of this paper contains a definition of mutual funds and an explanation of how they operate. The second chapter shows the economic power of mutual funds including their impact on stock prices and their potential for gaining control of corporations in which they invest. The remainder of this study is concerned with the regulation of mutual funds including both present and proposed legislation, the SEC\u27s reasons for new legislation, and the mutual fund\u27s response to the Commission\u27s charges