SEC Gearing Up To Tackle 12b-1 Fees This Summer
Elisse Walter, one of the SEC's commissioners, confirms that once the Dodd-Frank deadlines are met in July, mutual fund marketing fees are her next priority.
The idea of investors paying extra to defray fund company marketing costs -- via 12b-1 fees -- has perplexed many market participants over the years.
In theory, the fees helped to establish the mutual fund category a generation ago.
But now that the business has grown into a multi-trillion-dollar behemoth, some are worried that the fees are neither fair nor clearly presented.
At the moment, one of the first steps the SEC will make is to get rid of the name.