Regulation And Governance Of Mutual Funds

This book provides a detailed analysis of mutual fund regulations and governance in the UK from the investor protection perspective. It comprehensively describes mutual funds by their function, social utility, and legal attributes, examining the level of protection provided to retail investors under existing regulations. Mutual funds are externally managed with fund ownership separated out from their management, which carries a potential conflict of interest between the self-interests of the fund management and each fund’s investors. The book provides an in-depth analysis of this agency problem in the mutual fund industry, comparing the competing governance models in the UK and the US and the supervision of management activities. In the UK, it investigates the main governance mechanisms, including disclosure, the effectiveness of voting rights, and the role of the Financial Conduct Authority in protecting investors. It also considers the role of prudential regulations in protecting mutual fund investors, with a particular focus on risk management and mutual fund liquidity crisis. The book further investigates the impact of the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union (Brexit) on the industry and what this means for the future of the undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS) in the UK. The concept of mutual funds is still not clearly understood, so this book will clearly define the different legal and practical aspects of mutual funds. It will be the first substantial study of mutual fund governance mechanisms under the existing mutual fund laws and regulations in the UK.

With fifty trillion in worldwide assets, the growth of mutual funds is a truly global phenomenon and deserves a broad international analysis. Local political economies and legal regimes create different regulatory preferences for the oversight of these funds, and academics, public officials, and legal practitioners wishing to understand the global investing environment will require a keen awareness of these international differences. The contributors, leading scholars in the field of investment law from around the world, provide a current legal analysis of funds from a variety of perspectives and using an array of methodologies that consider the large fundamental questions governing the role and regulation of investment funds. This volume also explores the identity and behavior of investors as well as issues surrounding less orthodox funds, such as money market funds, ETFs, and private funds.This Handbook will provide legal and financial scholars, academics, lawyers and regulators with a vital tool for working with mutual funds.

The Regulation of Money Managers (with the original subtitle: The Investment Company Act and The Investment Advisers Act) was published in 1978 and 1980. The Second Edition, subtitled Mutual Funds and Advisers, was published in 2001 and has been annually updated since then. It is a comprehensive and exhaustive treatise on investment management regulation. The treatise covers federal and state statutes, their legislative history, common law, judicial decisions, rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, staff reports, and other publications dealing with investment advisers and investment companies. The treatise touches on other financial institutions such as banks, insurance companies, and pension funds. The work also discusses the economic, business, and theoretical aspects of the investment management industry and their effects on the law and on policy. The treatise contains detailed analysis of the history and development of the Investment Company Act and the Investment Advisers Act. It examines the definitions in the Acts, including the concept of ‘‘investment adviser,’’ ‘‘affiliates,’’ and ‘‘interested persons.’’ It outlines the duties of investment company directors, the independent directors, and other fiduciaries of investment companies. The treatise deals with the SEC’s enforcement powers and private parties’ rights of action.

Investment companies have become an important part of the financial system. This case book is designed to familiarize students with the special laws governing investment companies: their creation, structure, corporate governance, operations (including the distribution of shares and the management of the portfolios), dissolution and, time permitting, taxation. In particular, the case book focuses on the Investment Company Act of 1940 and on the practice in this area before the Securities and Exchange Commission.