Stuart E. Fross

Mutual funds are the single most widely proliferated investment vehicle in the United States. They can be thought of as capitalism for the common man. As such, any scandal in the mutual fund industry affects investor-voters and can have implications for the capital markets, and the economy as a whole. The course will cover the main provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940 that relate to mutual funds and will focus on investment company definition and status, fund structure, registration, disclosure and investment limitations, valuation and forward pricing, distribution practices, exchange offers, performance advertising, transactions with affiliates and conflicts of interest and compliance regimes. Exchange traded funds will also be examined as a contrast to mutual funds. Although the Pooled Funds and Investor Relations course is not a mandatory prerequisite, that course is highly recommended since the US Mutual Fund Regulation course will assume that students have taken (or will subsequently take) it. The mutual fund classes relating to fiduciary duties, the role of the fund board and management fees will not be discussed in this course.